Max Politics
Max Politics is a New York politics podcast hosted by journalist Ben Max featuring in-depth interviews with elected and appointed officials, candidates, advocates, and others about New York City and State politics and policy. Produced at New York Law School and its Center for New York Law. Get in touch: benmax25@gmail.com -------- Intro/outro music is Live-It by Ketsa. source (Free Music Archive) and license type (CC BY-NC-ND)
Episodes
June 24, 2026 • 62 mins
New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams joined the show to discuss the results of the 2026 federal and state primary elections in New York City, the continued rise of Zohran Mamdani and the DSA, the future of the Democratic Party, and more.
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Three journalists from City & State New York joined the show to discuss New York state legislative primaries to watch in the June 2026 elections. Jeff Coltin, Rebecca Lewis, and Holly Pretsky spoke with host Ben Max about a variety of interesting and competitive Democratic primaries for the State Senate and Assembly, broader themes of these primary elections like Mayor Mamdani's endorsements, and more.
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June 19, 2026 • 74 mins
The co-chairs of the New York City Democratic Socialists of America (NYC DSA), Grace Mausser and Gustavio Gordillo, joined the show to discuss the 2026 primary elections, NYC DSA's priority races and electoral strategy, Mayor Mamdani's endorsements, and more.
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June 15, 2026 • 74 mins
Raj Goyle, a candidate in the June 2026 Democratic primary for New York State Comptroller, joined the show to discuss his campaign platform, why he believes Comptroller Tom DiNapoli should be replaced as the state's chief fiscal officer, his views on a variety of policy and budget matters, and more.
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June 12, 2026 • 84 mins
Michael Lange - a writer, strategist, and organizer - returned to the show to discuss the major New York City-based congressional primaries to watch in the June 2026 elections, just ahead of the start of early voting (June 13-21) and primary day (June 23). Lange, who writes The Narrative Wars on substack, and host Ben Max discussed Mayor Mamdani's endorsements, DSA's growing electoral efforts, and other interesting themes of the pr...
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June 11, 2026 • 34 mins
Host Ben Max is joined by FAQ NYC podcast co-hosts Harry Siegel and Christina Greer to break down the Knicks' historic comeback win in game 4 of the NBA Finals and 3-1 series lead, putting the team and city one win away from the Knicks' first championship since 1973. (Ep 591)
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June 8, 2026 • 80 mins
New York State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli joined the show to discuss his case for reelection, first to be the Democratic nominee via the primary that is taking place in June 2026, where he is facing challenges from Drew Warshaw and Raj Goyle. DiNapoli, who has been Comptroller since 2007, is seeking another four-year term as the state's chief fiscal officer, and discussed his record in office, response to the criticism from his chall...
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June 3, 2026 • 92 mins
Drew Warshaw, a candidate in the June 2026 Democratic primary for New York State Comptroller, joined the show to discuss his campaign platform, why he believes Comptroller Tom DiNapoli should be replaced as the state's chief fiscal officer, his views on a variety of policy and budget matters, and more. (Ep 589)
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June 2, 2026 • 63 mins
Chris Herring and Jonathan Fishner joined the show to discuss the Knicks and their run to the 2026 NBA Finals, New York as a basketball city, echoes of the '90s Knicks in this team, this Knicks-Spurs finals matchup, and more. Herring is an NBA reporter and author of the book "Blood in the Garden: The Flagrant History of the 1990s New York Knicks," and Fishner is a former Knicks writer and lifelong New Yorker and Knicks fan.
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May 29, 2026 • 62 mins
Housing experts Annemarie Gray and Alex Armlovich joined the show to discuss Mayor Zohran Mamdani's new "Block by Block" housing plan to create and preserve 400,000 units of affordable housing over the next decade, while addressing broader development, tenant protection, homelessness, NYCHA public housing, and more. Gray is executive director of Open New York, a former city government housing and planning official, and was a key fi...
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May 19, 2026 • 92 mins
This special episode features audio from the Abundance Candidate Forum in the Democratic primary for New York's 10th Congressional District, held at New York Law School on the morning of May 19, 2026. The forum was moderated by host Ben Max, and features consecutive one-on-one interviews with challenger Brad Lander (former city comptroller), then Rep. Dan Goldman. The forum was co-sponsored by Abundance New York and NYC New Liberal...
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State Senator Erik Bottcher and Assembly Member Keith Powers, two Manhattan Democrats and former City Council Members, joined the show to discuss their transition into the State Legislature (they were both elected in February special elections), their first state budget negotiations as legislators, how Mayor Mamdani is doing, and more. Bottcher represents the West Side's 47th Senate District while Powers represents the East Side's ...
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May 13, 2026 • 45 mins
Journalists Nick Garber and Annie McDonough joined the show to discuss Mayor Zohran Mamdani's $124.7 billion Executive Budget, released on May 12, 2026, that took a very different approach than his prior budget plan, in part thanks to a lot of help from Governor Hochul and the State Legislature. Garber (of New York Focus), McDonough (of City & State New York), and host Ben Max discussed how Mamdani's budgeting approach has shif...
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May 12, 2026 • 58 mins
Darializa Avila Chevalier, a Democrat and democratic socialist running for Congress in New York's 13th Congressional District, joined the show to discuss her primary campaign against Congressman Adriano Espaillat. The district includes much of Upper Manhattan (East Harlem, Harlem, Washington Heights, Inwood, etc) and a section of Bronx (Fordham, Bedford Park, Kingsbridge, etc) and the primary is in June. (Ep 584)
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David Freedlander, a features writer for New York magazine, joined the show to discuss the Democratic primary in New York's 12th Congressional District, which encompasses much of Manhattan's East and West Sides and is currently represented by retiring Rep. Jerry Nadler. The race, which Freedlander just dissected in-depth in New York, features four leading candidates: Micah Lasher, Alex Bores, Jack Schlossberg, and George Conway. Th...
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State Senate Deputy Leader Michael Gianaris, a Queens Democrat, returned to the show to discuss the status of state budget negotiations and key issues on the table like aid to New York City, tax rates, and a variety of policy matters that Governor Hochul and the Legislature are negotiating. The state budget, expected to be a massive $260 billion spending and policy package, is a month late, but negotiations are progressing with a l...
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April 30, 2026 • 51 mins
Jeff Coltin, Editor-in-Chief of City and State New York, joined the show to discuss Mayor Mamdani's endorsements in several 2026 races, key congressional and state races to watch in this year's elections, and more. (Ep 581)
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April 25, 2026 • 82 mins
This special edition of the show is a candidate forum in the Democratic primary for New York’s 12th Congressional District, which includes much of Manhattan’s west and east sides. The forum, moderated by host Ben Max, included 7 candidates running in the June primary and trying to succeed retiring Rep. Jerry Nadler, including: Micah Bergdale, George Conway, Chris Diep, Laura Dunn, Jack Schlossberg, Nina Schwalbe, and Pa...
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April 21, 2026 • 48 mins
State Senator John Liu, a Queens Democrat and chair of the Senate's New York City Education Committee, joined the show to discuss the status of state budget negotiations, major policy items the Governor and Legislature are navigating, state aid to New York City, and several education issues, including potential adjustment of school funding formulas, an extension of mayoral control of city schools, and changes to class size reductio...
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April 13, 2026 • 61 mins
Veteran journalists Sally Goldenberg of The New York Times and Bob Hardt of Spectrum News NY1 joined the show to discuss Mayor Zohran Mamdani's first 100 days in office, his celebratory rally marking the occasion, the highs and lows of his tenure so far, and what comes next. (Ep 578)
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