Firewall with Bradley Tusk

Dan Burstein is not your typical venture capitalist. He started as a journalist and has written 14 books on everything from Japanese finance to what makes a great thriller. He talks to Bradley about the precarious state of venture investing, as well as his latest book, a children's story called 'The Ivy Hero: The Brave Life of Sergeant William Shemin', co-written with Sara Shemin Cass, about a relative of theirs who they refuse to let be forgotten.

Bradley considers the rise and fall and rise again of President Trump as a Biblical allegory. He -- meaning God, not Bradley — wants to show us where a Zero Sum view of life (and politics) leads. But will we heed His message this time? Plus, Bradley applauds New York's City of Yes housing plan and floats an idea for a national housing program modeled on Obama's Race to the Top education initiative. If it was sold the right way, Trump might just like it. Especially if God gives it a nudge.

When it comes to government corruption, nobody touches Illinois. Bradley talks to Ray Long and Rick Pearson, investigative and political reporters for the Chicago Tribune, about their excellent series on the state's legacy of crooked politics and why people say the Governor's Mansion in Springfield is a better stepping stone to the Big House than to the White House.This episode was taped at P&T Knitwear at 180 Orchard Street — New York City’s only free podcast recording studio.Send us an email with your thoughts on today’s episode: info@firewall.media.Subscribe to Bradley's weekly newsletter, follow Bradley on Linkedin + Substack + YouTube, be sure to order his new book, Vote With Your Phone. 

If you make voters feel stupid or small or bad about themselves, says Bradley, they hate you for it. And that's exactly what too many Democrats have been doing since 2016, if not before. Plus. he expresses guarded optimism about the Elon-Vivek commission, admires the abject political malpractice that is congestion pricing in New York and celebrates the end of broker fees for city renters.This episode was taped at P&T Knitwear at 180 Orchard Street — New York City’s only free podcast recording studio.Send us an email with your thoughts on today’s episode: info@firewall.media.Subscribe to Bradley's weekly newsletter, follow Bradley on Linkedin + Substack + YouTube, be sure to order his new book, Vote With Your Phone.

Why does business success often go hand in hand with cluelessness at politics? Bradley talks to Dana Mattioli, reporter for The Wall Street Journal and author of "The Everything War: Amazon’s Ruthless Quest to Own the World and Remake Corporate Power" and gets her perspective on Bezos in a two-part conversation recorded both before and after the recent election.This episode was taped at P&T Knitwear at 180 Orchard Street — New York City’s only free podcast recording studio.Send us an email with your thoughts on today’s episode: info@firewall.media.Subscribe to Bradley's weekly newsletter, follow Bradley on Linkedin + Substack + YouTube, be sure to order his new book, Vote With Your Phone. 

Anyone who has paid 15% of their annual rent in brokers fees for someone to let you into an apartment for only 10 minutes knows the practice is nothing more than legalized theft — and the City Council is voting today, November 13, on the FARE Act to finally end it. So we're rereleasing a October 2023 episode with Council Member Chi Ossé, the main sponsor of the FARE Act, about his fight against the real estate lobby and how making the city more attractive and accessible to young people can make it better for everyone.For more, read Bradley's NY Daily News op-ed in support of banning brokers fees.This episode was taped at P&T Knitwear at 180 Orchard Street — New York City’s only free podcast recording studio.Send us an email with your thoughts on today’s episode: info@firewall.media.Subscribe to Bradley's weekly newsletter, follow Bradley on Linkedin + Substack + YouTube, be sure to order his new book, Vote With Your Phone.

No, says Bradley, but in this environment of social-media-fueled anger and discontent, they have to be open to difficult feedback, be honest with themselves and voters about where they've fallen short and show people just how hard they're willing to work. Plus, Bradley floats an idea for protecting Jews around the world from attacks like the ones we saw last week in Amsterdam. It's time to meet anti-Semitism head-on.This episode was taped at P&T Knitwear at 180 Orchard Street — New York City’s only free podcast recording studio.Send us an email with your thoughts on today’s episode: info@firewall.media.Subscribe to Bradley's weekly newsletter, follow Bradley on Linkedin + Substack + YouTube, be sure to order his new book, Vote With Your Phone.

The Democrats' hard, sobering defeat last night revealed uncomfortable truths about what a majority of Americans want from their leaders. Bradley and Chris Coffey, CEO of Tusk Strategies, zero in on their areas of expertise — New York politics, tech regulation, cryptocurrency, anti-hunger campaigns and mobile voting — and talk about where we go from here. "There is no real silver lining here -- it is a bad outcome for America and the world," says Bradley. "With that said, once we get through processing this, the only thing you can do is fight -- and when I say fight, I don't mean the MSNBC / DSA just resist and scream about everything that Trump says and does all day, I mean pick the issues you care about -- for us, it's voting, it's hunger, it's abortion -- and work on those. And if it can't be done at a federal level, work on them at the state level, work on them at a local level, work on them at a community level, work on them at a philanthropic level. Ultimately, the way to feel better about ourselves and about the world we live in is to take the things we believe in and dedicate ourselves to them and try to make them happen."This episode was taped at P&T Knitwear at 180 Orchard Street — New York City’s only free podcast recording studio.Send us an email with your thoughts on today’s episode: info@firewall.media.Subscribe to Bradley's weekly newsletter, follow Bradley on Linkedin + Substack + YouTube, be sure to order his new book, Vote With Your Phone.

On this Election Day 2024, Bradley takes a temporary pass on politics. Instead, he offers this exercise in wellness: Which personal qualities are most likely to make you feel fulfilled and happy? He, Meaghan and Hugo conduct a draft from a list he drew up of 40 traits. Feel free to keep the news on hold for an hour and play along at home.This episode was taped at P&T Knitwear at 180 Orchard Street — New York City’s only free podcast recording studio.Send us an email with your thoughts on today’s episode: info@firewall.media.Subscribe to Bradley's weekly newsletter, follow Bradley on Linkedin + Substack + YouTube, be sure to order his new book, Vote With Your Phone.

...since the creation of the Internet. Bradley talks to Adam Zeplain of Austin-based mark vc, about the reasons to be fired up about business ("A lot of this stuff that was a pipe dream now seems like it's pretty real'), even-keeled about politics ("I'm going to focus on what I can do personally to live a good life, support people, think independently, and try to do what's right, regardless who's in office") and fiercely loyal to Austin and its people.This episode was taped at P&T Knitwear at 180 Orchard Street — New York City’s only free podcast recording studio.Send us an email with your thoughts on today’s episode: info@firewall.media.Subscribe to Bradley's weekly newsletter, follow Bradley on Linkedin + Substack + YouTube, be sure to order his new book, Vote With Your Phone.