The Hell Gate Podcast

As Hell Gate surveys the conversation surrounding the 25th anniversary of 9/11, certain (awful) people are spewing 2002 vintage bigotry. The latest scandal: Our mayor passed a pen to a guy. Meanwhile, New York City mayors not named Mamdani lied to New Yorkers about the toxic dust at Ground Zero.In the back half of the episode, Max brings us up to speed on Mt. Sinai’s betrayal of trans kids in NYC. Finally, Julianne considers (a bit wistfully) the scrapped proposal for a building that has a lot more to say than what we got with 1 WTC.

This Labor Day weekend Hell Gate is celebrating with an episode on the very 2026 form of labor that is social media. Is Mamdani’s Signal group chat with 200 influencers as scandalous as it sounds? Why can’t a guy like Chris Robbins just enjoy @7SoulsDeep graffiti in peace? (Katie has an answer.)

Is Robert Moses smiling down on Mamdani’s BQE? Why didn’t Frank Seddio bring cannolis to the Brooklyn Dems function? And what did we uncover when we requested the transcripts from a weird New York Times interview with Governor Kathy Hochul?

Editor Holly Pretsky dove into NYC-DSA’s caucuses and found rumblings of a 2028 where charismatic DSA members might try their hand at higher office. Editor Christopher Robbins updated us on the state of gambling in New York—from prediction markets to "dead facades." Start placing your Kalshi bets now. Then, Jessy Edwards on ICE getting sued by the septuagenarian they maced—And finally Alisha Allison, our intern, looks back on the summer she turned Hell Gate.

Former New York City Mayor Eric Adams has taken on a new role as a traveling salesman. ICE has been crawling around and macing elderly people, harassing children, and hiding behind face coverings. And the e-bike wars rage on. New York City journalists from Hell Gate break it all down in the latest episode of the Hell Gate Podcast.

This week: Mamdani’s pied-à-terre “hit list,” God’s most beautiful creature (sharks), and some apartment hunting tips for Lebron James.

Zohran Mamdani stole headlines once again, proclaiming he was looking into arresting war criminal Benjamin Netanyahu…which he quickly admitted he couldn't. But are the mechanics of an arrest really the point here? Jessy, Max, Adlan, and Chris discuss. Then we go deep into the murky world of dark PAC money. And finally, we've launched Cultural Capital, our culture newsletter. Adlan talks about why basically if you don't sign up for this newsletter, you're going to have no idea what anyone is talking about.

From the brand new Studio H, Max, Jessy, Julianne, and Nick take on Mahmoud Khalil’s lawsuit against the federal government, a conflict of interest playing out in housing court, and Albania’s rebellion against Eric Adams in the name of flamingos. Everything is normal in New York City, and Hell Gate is growing once again.