

FAQ NYC
FAQ NYC
A weekly dive into the big questions about this city of ours, hosted by Christina Greer, Azi Paybarah and Harry Siegel, and produced by Alex Brook Lynn.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Jan 10, 2019 • 47min
Episode 19: L-pocalypse Nah
The governor controls the train authority that planned and warned for years that the L train tunnel would need to be shut down for repairs after Hurricane Sandy ravaged it back in 2012. Then Governor Cuomo walked through the tunnel in 2019, and emerged with a new plan averting the shutdown and a retconned origin story about that plan. Huh? MTA board member Veronica Vanterpool and transit reporter Aaron Gordon join us to make some sense of this, and, err, break down the sorry state of our public transportation system.

Dec 20, 2018 • 41min
Episode 18: Our 2018 Kicker
We talk De Blasio, Cuomo, NYCHA, and more. Plus Alex Brook Lynn on the death of the Cornelia Street Cafe, and Victoria Bekiempis takes you in the courts.

Dec 13, 2018 • 47min
Episode 17: Nazis and Street Fights in Victory City
White supremacists holding rallies with fascists and anti-fascists brawling outside, and war looming. Maybe that sounds like NYC in 2018, but we're talking NYC in WWII and the years around it along with special guests John Strausbaugh, author of "Victory City: A history of New York and New Yorkers during World War II," and Ron Howell, author of "Boss of Black Brooklyn: The life and times of Bertram L. Baker."

Dec 6, 2018 • 1h 3min
Episode 16: Albany's Sex Crimes Horror Show
“I’m a single woman. I don't come from wealth. How do I survive this experience so I can get a job again? In politics, your loyalty and your network is your value and taking on a member as powerful as Vito, you’re not just taking on that member—you’re taking on their entire network and everything that network has to lose and especially if your claims aren’t enough to bring them down…I started to change my own behavior just to survive… I was suicidal. I was on my last legs."

Nov 29, 2018 • 46min
Episode 15: NYCHA's SOS
Councilman Ritchie Torres and Daily News investigative reporter Greg B. Smith discuss lead, neglect, private money and public housing. Plus Gwynne Hogan goes to the Andrew Jackson houses in the Bronx to talk with Daniel Barber, the leader of the group of tenants associations suing New York City.

Nov 15, 2018 • 40min
Episode 14: Ugly Optical Illusion
Voting in New York is a certified disaster. Michael Benjamin joins the FAQ crew to discuss why that is, and how to fix it. Plus Chirissy Greer, on her way to Georgia, breaks down the unsettled governor's race there, and much more…a including ChapAzon.

Nov 7, 2018 • 45min
Episode 13: Fresh From the Election Day Coup
Ben Max of Gotham Gazette sat down with us in the wee hours of Wednesday morning for a first look at the polls, and a new day in New York where fat cats just might get slapped back. Plus Alex Brook Lynn hits Staten Island and South Brooklyn Tuesday to talk with voters, and so much more.

Nov 1, 2018 • 35min
Episode 12: The ‘Authentically Effervescent’ Mr. Johnson
🎶 Corey Johnson may be the City Council speaker, but we've got him singing in our first ever musical episode.

Oct 25, 2018 • 42min
Episode 11: Molinaro, the Mooch & the State of the N.Y. GOP
We talked in person about the sad state of the Republican party here, and on the phone with the Republican who would be governor who evokes some of what the party once was and, he hopes, could be. Alex Lynn reports from her night out partying with Anthony Scaramucci and his mom who—spoiler alert!—also does not think much of Steve Bannon. Plus a truly disgraceful tribute to Azi, and it all adds up to oh so much New York in your ear.

Oct 11, 2018 • 41min
Episode 10: November Stakes
With Democrats poised to keep holding every statewide office, FAQ talked with City and State's Rebecca C. Lewis about the high stakes fights for control of the state Senate in Albany and the House in Washington, and the races here that could decide which party triumphs.


