FAQ NYC

In a pre-internet world, the Village Voice was a newspaper like no other: a haven for writers about avant garde arts, Black politics, queer identity and a million things more — and that's after the pages devoted to exposing the seamy side of New York City politics. In this episode of FAQ NYC, Alyssa Katz, the executive editor of THE CITY who worked at the Voice early in her career, interviews Tricia Romano, author of the new book "The Freaks Came Out to Write: The Definitive History of The Village Voice, the Radical Paper That Changed American Culture."

Hosts Chrissy and Katie discuss the $364 million former President Trump was ordered to pay to New York in a fraud case, as well as his brand-new sneakers and the FBI's investigation into the FDNY. Plus, there's a Vital City interview between physician and epidemiologist Jay Varma and Sociologist Erik Klinenberg, author of the newly published book ‘2020: One City, Seven People, and the Year Everything Changed.’

The Gowanus Canal is a “toxic Wonderland” in the midst of a neighborhood undergoing a complicated transformation. Hear from locals, government officials and developers about the future of the area — and what challenges stand in the way of a cleaner, more resilient community. Samantha Maldonado, senior reporter at THE CITY,  and independent journalist Jordan Gass-Pooré dig in on the final episode of Hazard NYC, a four-part FAQ NYC Presents limited series exploring the city’s Superfund sites.

A small patch of land and the buildings located on it contain radiological contamination, posing a cancer risk for workers on the site and nearby neighbors. Work is ongoing to get rid of the threat — but it hasn’t been easy to get there. Samantha Maldonado, senior reporter at THE CITY,  and independent journalist Jordan Gass-Pooré dig in on episode three of Hazard NYC, a four-part FAQ NYC Presents limited series exploring the city’s Superfund sites.

Exploring the hazards of the Meeker Avenue Plume in North Brooklyn, residents deal with industrial pollution and health risks. The episode discusses vapor intrusion into buildings, community action to address contamination, and advocacy for cleaner air despite industrial risks.

THE CITY's senior reporter Samantha Maldonado and journalist Jordan Gass-Pooré discuss the pollution threats and clean-up efforts at Newtown Creek, one of the country's most polluted waterways. They explore the impact of climate change on the contamination, community activism, and the emotional toll of witnessing severe pollution.

Guest host Richard Kim, THE CITY's editor in chief, talks to journalists Kai Wright and Lizzy Ratner about their Blindspot podcast digging into the early years of the HIV/AIDS epidemic and focusing on overlooked populations including intravenous drug users, incarcerated people, and the pediatric patients separated from their families "who lived and died their entire lives on the ward of Harlem Hospital" — and the individuals and communities who stepped up and stepped in where institutions failed.

Will Eric Adams finally have his Aaron Judge year in Albany, or at least get north of the Mendoza line? The FAQ hosts discuss that, the dark and distorted ways local New York City news is showing up nationally as the presidential election gets underway and much more.

On the FAQ NYC podcast, Chrissy, Katie and Harry discuss the brouhaha over a police officer pulling over Public Safety Chair Yusef Salaam in the middle of an online City Council hearing, and much more. Plus, Craig Gurian of the Anti-Discrimination Center explains his group's settlement with the city that sharply cuts the share of affordable housing units that can be set aside for people inside of a given community district — and why that’s a good thing. Listen here.

Journalists Ellen Moynihan, Chris Sommerfeldt and Michael Sheridan talk to host Katie Honan about why almost the entire staff of New York's hometown paper is walking out of their newsroom, such as it is, on Thursday, and why that matters.