We just talked live with Jonathan Mahler, New York Times staff writer and author of the new book The Gods of New York: Egotists, Idealists, Opportunists, and the Birth of the Modern City: 1986-1990. We talked about the Epstein emails and the world of the neoliberal power elite, and how that world had its beginnings in the New York City of the 1980s — the moment when private power took over, and, among other things, gave us Donald Trump. Mahler told us about:
How, in the 1980s, private-sector elites convinced the people that they could do a better job at governing than the public servants who’d devoted careers to the general welfare
How Donald Trump — a creation of the financial and real estate establishment — was able to capitalize on the rage against that very establishment to take power
Why people are hungry for change after four decades of rule by this power elite — and some turned to Zohran Mamdani
What made Mamdani’s meeting with Donald Trump happen— and why, even if the relationship isn’t likely to last, it may point the way to something beyond the icy divisions of red and blue America
And why Public Enemy’s “Fight the Power” is the song for our era, as it was for New York City at the dawn of the 1990s
You won’t want to miss any of it. Just click on the video player above to watch the entire conversation.
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Join us for more Live conversations this week!
Join us tomorrow, Tuesday, November 25, at 12:30 p.m. Eastern, when we’ll meet with journalist and editor-in-chief of The Lever, David Sirota; followed by a conversation with journalist and former ABC anchor Terry Moran at 1:00 p.m. Come back on Wednesday, November 26, also at 12:30 p.m. Eastern, for a meeting of The Ink Book Club, where we’ll be announcing our December pick.
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