Unmuted's Political Pulse
Hi there! The Political Pulse is a newsletter on events across the spectrum and occasional thoughts on America.
Ed Manzi here - I run Unmuted, an offline hub for intelligent people to discuss the issues of our time without judgment. In our newsletter, I highlight one upcoming Unmuted event a week, and we also highlight a number of other organization events that I find interesting across the political spectrum. In addition, every month we will publish one piece of thoughtful, Founding Member content. We’re open to feedback, so let us know what you like and want to improve!
Let’s talk H1Bs.
H1Bs are often positioned as the way that American retains the best talent and truly innovate. They allow companies, especially in tech, to recruit for international talent they otherwise couldn’t source in America - building our economy and giving our international colleagues a chance at the American Dream.
However, is this really true, or just a narrative that Big Tech and other large corporations peddle to suppress wages, hold immigrant labor hostage to their company, and damage American labor? It’s not a simple answer, no matter what you’ve learned before. Our first non-Ed moderated debate, featuring two experts with radically different views on the efficacy of H1Bs. Buy a “referral ticket” here - simply mention the Political Pulse in your answer and you’ll be accepted! Thursday, December 4!
Our first guest moderator, a fellow NEU alumn!
Upcoming Unmuted Events
Next Friday (rescheduled),11/21 Substance Abuse and Mental Health with City Council Member Tiffany Cabán
Thursday, 12/4: A Debate on H1Bs: Good for American Innovation or Bad for Labor featuring Rutgers Professor Hal Salzman
Thursday, 12/11 Unmuted Holiday Party
This Week
Events of the Week
The events I’ve got my eye on this week across the spectrum. We have our next event this Friday (sorry people, rescheduled from Monday due to speaker obligations!), Dutch people talk about American politics, an exciting talk on the evil of Private Equity at the Haaaarvard Club on Thursday, and audience participation debate on Mamdani’s election with Braver Angels.
🗓 Monday, November 17
• 6:00 PM Let’s Talk Politics
(⚪ Non-partisan, International Perspective on US Politics)
Where: THE NETHERLANDS CLUB OF NEW YORK (this is a thing)
Who: Same as above!
What: A panel of Dutch correspondents who focus on American politics talk about post-election America. have no idea if this will be any good - but the copy for the event is incredible. “Last year's event sold out, and this sequel promises even more explosive insights… These experts are ready to share what the mainstream media won't tell you.” I guess hold on to your pants, because the Dutch are about to blow your socks off with the facts you never thought you’d hear….
• 7:00 PM Fareed Zakaria in Conversation with Ezra Klein, Age of Revolutions(🟦 Lib, Comparative Analysis)
Where: Peter Jay Sharp Theatre
Who: Symphony Space
What: Ezra Klein of Abundance fame and Fareed Zakaria (CNN) talk about Fareed’s new book on how revolutions foment. Expect a lot of comparisons to the Trump admin today. Tickets are relatively inexpensive ($20-40 w/o book). A good talk if you like learning about comparative history or if you like hearing about how the Trump administration has parallels to fascism for the 1,000th time lol.
🗓 Tuesday, November 18
•6:00 PM – Resolved: Mamdani was the Right Choice
(⚪ Bipartisan, NY Mayor)
Where: St. Bartholomew’s Church
Who: Braver Angels
What: My good friend Joey McFadden of Braver Angels is hosting a debate on whether Zohran Mamdani was the right choice for Mayor. Kind of an off-the-record Jubilee type event where the audience is also the debate team… very cool format from an organization that is doing great work. For my incessant talkers out there, this is for you!
•6:30 PM – The Road Ahead for NY’s Next Mayor (🟥 Republican, Veterans)
Where: The NYC Bar Association
Who: The Manhattan Institute
What: A talk by the new Cities Fellow at the Manhattan Institute, Daniel Golliher, who runs the popular substack Maximum New York - which is all about New York City governance. I actually didn’t realize that Daniel was right leaning (at least, I’m assuming since he’s on this). Anyways, I’ll be going to this, let me know if you’d like to come with me!
🗓 Wednesday, November 19
• 6:00 PM – SCOTUS Affirmative Action Debate (🟥 Skews Libertarian, Affirmative Action)
Where: 20 Cooper Square, 5th Floor
Who: SoHo Forum Debate
What: A debate between a Princeton professor (lib) and a Manhattan Institute fellow (conservative) on whether SCOTUS’ decision to dismantle affirmative action set back racial equality significantly. Oxford style debate. I will be attending this - tickets are $35, $25 for students.
• 7:00 PM – Democracy in Practice: A Model Assembly
(⚪ Non-partisan, Civic Engagement)
Where: Powerhouse Arts, 322 3rd Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11215
Who: NYC Civic Engagement Commission
What: Interesting mock “model assembly” on flooding and climate resilience in NYC. I’ve never really heard of anything this - but it’s described as such “Civic assemblies are a growing practice where residents of a municipality come together to discuss issues in their community and arrive at practical solutions.” If I didn’t have the event above, I’d be going to this. I’m so curious what this entails!!
🗓 Thursday, November 20
• 7:00 PM –The Art of the Deal — or the Cost of It: Megan Greenwell on Private Equity (🟦 Liberal, Journalism)
Where: Harvard Club of New York
Who: Harvard Club of New York
What: A book talk on how private equity really works, from a journalist who’s studied the field across industries. The author definitely has a negative opinion on the field writ large (take that as you will). However, I personally think private equity has had a significant impact on the shaping of America today, including hyper-globalization. I will be attending this one, if you’d like to go. Please text me (Ed) at 978 302 5849.
• 5:30 PM – Navajo Nation USA (🟦 Liberal, Healthcare)
Where: Allan Rosenfield Building, 722 W. 168 St., New York, NY 10032
Who: Columbia Mailman School of Public Health
What: A talk about the opening of the first ever cancer center on Native land in the United States. Pretty cool stuff - for those who follow healthcare stuff this is all about culturally based care, something whichc is often discussed in progressive health policy circles (better outcomes and understanding come from cultural competence).
🗓 Friday, November 21
• 6:00 PM – Breaking Point: Substance Use and Mental Health
(⚪ Non-partisan, NYC Policy)
Where: Irish-American Bar, FiDi
Who: UNMUTED
What: Our next Unmuted event, a hard-hitting interview on substance use and mental health policy in NYC with CM Tiffany Cabán, a former public defender who’s done a lot of work on this topic. My questions will focus more on the practical implications and challenges of the policies she espouses vs a discussion on ideology -we’re not going to get a politician to change their mind in an Unmuted interview - yet!
🗓 Saturday, November 22
NONE I LIKED.
🗓 Sunday, November 23
• 5:00 PM - The Greatest Sentence Ever Written
Where:The Robert H. Smith Auditorium at The New York Historical, 170 Central Park West, New York, NY 10024
Who: New York Historical Society
What: Sucker for events on what the American Dream is today. This event has Walter Isaacson and David Rubenstein discuss and dissect the key words “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness”. Sold out. Livestream only -$40!!!!
That’s it for this week. Let us know if there are events to highlight in upcoming weeks!
Show up, think deeper, and as always, stay Unmuted!
The Unmuted Team