Also, we did our FIRST ever podcast - on Bradley Tusk’s Webby-nominated podcast Firewall. check it out here.

The whole point of UNMUTED is to make politics more accessible for the people who want to be involved, but can’t stand the hate and drivel and lack of nuance provided through our social media platforms. We want better candidates driven by incentives to GOVERN not just to CAMPAIGN on revenge.

So this is our first big test of that - 120 attendees, many of whom are first time primary voters get to see a forum that combines a bit of levity, and substance not just on the wonky stuff, but on how candidates THINK. Sign up in the link below.

Upcoming UNMUTED Events
Thursday, 5/14: An UNMUTED Forum: Beyond the Yard Signs (link)

Tuesday, 6/2: An UNMUTED Dialogue: Lock Up AI? (link)

The events I’ve got my eye on in the next two weeks. Check them out!

🗓 Monday, April 27
•7:30 PM – The Great Divide: American Jews and Israel Today
Subject: Foreign Policy / Israel / Jewish Community / Cross-Partisan Debate
Where: Temple Emanu-El Streicker Center, 1 E. 65th Street (also livestreamed)
Who: Temple Emanu-El Streicker Cultural Center
What: Bret Stephens, NYT conservative columnist, Pulitzer winner, and the guy half of you love and the other half want to destroy, goes head-to-head with Jeremy Ben-Ami, founder of J Street, the liberal pro-Israel lobby. Moderated by Abigail Pogrebin. The question on the table: Is the American Jewish community splitting apart over Israel, and does it matter? This is the kind of debate UNMUTED was built for, two sharp minds who fundamentally disagree, neither one backing down, in front of an audience that includes both sides. Free with RSVP.

🗓 Tuesday, April 28
🗳️ Election Day — NYC Council District 3 Special Election. If you’re in the Village, Chelsea, Hell’s Kitchen, or the Upper West Side, go vote. Polls open 6 AM – 9 PM.

•6:30 PM – NYC’s Unsung Pioneer of Preservation: Anthony C. Wood on Albert S. Bard
Subject: Urban Planning / Civic Activism / History
Where: The Gotham Center for New York City History, 365 Fifth Avenue, Midtown
Who: Gotham Center for New York City History
What: You probably don’t know Albert Bard’s name, but you know his legacy: he’s the guy who spent forty years fighting to protect New York’s architectural beauty, went toe-to-toe with Robert Moses (subject of one of my favorite books The Power Broker), and paved the way for the Landmarks Law that now protects over 37,000 buildings across the five boroughs. Author Anthony C. Wood tells his story, with Kent Barwick, the preservationist who partnered with Jackie O to save Grand Central Terminal, joining in conversation. If you care about what NYC looks like and who decides, this is your evening. Free.

•6:30 PM – AI Reshaping Markets, Risk, and Investment in Asia
Subject: Tech Policy / Finance / Geopolitics
Where: Asia Society, 725 Park Avenue (at 70th Street)
Who: Asia Society (in partnership with Nikkei Asia)
What: Alok Sama (former president of SoftBank International) and NYU professor Vasant Dhar break down how AI is reshaping markets, risk, investment strategies, and ethical decision-making, in Asia and globally. For my finance-adjacent readers and anyone who wants to understand the geopolitics of AI beyond the DC talking points, this is the real conversation. In-person.

🗓 Wednesday, April 29
•6:30 PM – The Wounded Generation: Coming Home After WWII
Subject: History / War / American Society / Book Talk
Where: Elebash Recital Hall, CUNY Graduate Center, 365 Fifth Avenue, Midtown
Who: GC Public Programs
What: We like to remember World War II as a clean American triumph. David Nasaw’s new book argues the return home was anything but. He looks past the victory-parade version of the story and into the damage that followed: PTSD before the country had language for it, divorce rates surging, alcoholism, women pushed back into domestic roles, and black veterans coming home to the same racism they had left behind. This is revisionist history 101 - I would LOVE to do a debate on how you can actually marry the good things of the nation with the bad things of the nation, without exclusively focusing on one camp. Free, reservations required

•7:00 PM – Book Launch: “The Pain Brokers” by Elizabeth Chamblee Burch
Subject: Law / Consumer Protection / Investigative Journalism
Where: POWERHOUSE Arena, 28 Adams Street, DUMBO, Brooklyn
Who: POWERHOUSE Arena
What: University of Georgia law professor Elizabeth Chamblee Burch exposes what happens when mass tort litigation goes sideways — con men, call centers, and rogue doctors exploiting pelvic mesh patients to make millions. She’s in conversation with attorney Corey Stern. If you’ve ever wondered whether the legal system actually protects people or just moves money around, this book will keep you up at night. Free.

🗓 Thursday, April 30
•5:00 PM – Spring Celebration with Voters For Animal Rights and World Animal Protection
Subject: NYC Politics / Advocacy / Animal Welfare
Where: 1803 Bar (Downstairs Speakeasy), 82 Reade Street, Manhattan
Who: Voters For Animal Rights + World Animal Protection
What: If you want your politics with less donor-panel stiffness and more actual issue organizing, this is a pretty good Thursday option. Voters For Animal Rights is using the night to celebrate the new New York City Council Animal Welfare Caucus and lay out its 2026 legislative and budget priorities. That means actual city politics, not just animal-lover mingling: they’re pushing a ban on the retail sale of birds in pet stores, more affordable spay/neuter funding, and a pilot pet food pantry program in NYC. There are also free vegan bites and cocktails. This is the only thing you need to know. Free, casual dress, RSVP required.

•6:00 PM – She Shaped the Seaport: Secrets and Lies
Subject: History / Women’s History / Civic
Where: Aboard the tall ship Wavertree, South Street Seaport Museum, 213 Water Street
Who: South Street Seaport Museum & Double or Nothing Media
What: Closing night of this series that digs into the women who held power in the harbor’s most clandestine corners, and you literally board an 1885 tall ship to hear the stories. Four storytellers share their tales, but one of them is lying, figure out which one and win a prize. Drinks, snacks, mystery, and feminist maritime history on the East River. I mean, when else are you going to do this? $15, preregistration encouraged, credit/debit only.

🗓 Friday, May 1
•4:00 PM – NYC May Day March & Rally: “We Will Not Be Silent”
Subject: Labor / Civic Engagement / Politics
Where: Rally at Washington Square Park, march down Broadway to Foley Square
Who: NYC Central Labor Council (AFL-CIO) + coalition of labor, community, and civic organizations
What: Not technically past work hours, but this is the big one: the annual May Day march that brings together workers, unions, students, and families to march from Washington Square to Foley Square. This year’s theme is workers vs. billionaires, and the coalition includes NYSNA, the Writers Guild, and dozens of community orgs. Your mileage will vary, contingent on your opinion of protests writ large. Free, obviously. We’re planning a TAX THE RICH debate this summer, FYI.

•6:30 PM – Political Fables (PEN World Voices Festival)
Subject: Literature / Politics / Free Expression
Where: NYU Global Center, C95 Lecture Hall, 238 Thompson Street
Who: PEN America (World Voices Festival)
What: In the tradition of Orwell’s Animal Farm, three novelists who use fable and dystopia to expose what’s actually happening in the world right now. George Packer (Atlantic staff writer, author of The Unwinding) imagines an empire’s collapse in The Emergency. Hungarian novelist Krisztina Tóth sets her dystopia in a surveillance state born from civil war. And Congolese writer Alain Mabanckou turns a ghost story into a razor-sharp satire of corruption and political violence. Atlantic writer Gal Beckerman (How to Be a Dissident) moderates. This is part of the 21st PEN World Voices Festival: four days, 140+ writers from 40+ countries. I’ve been to a few of their events, they have a liberal bias that’s a bit suffocating in its redundancy.Tickets required, non-refundable.

🗓 Saturday, May 2
•All Day (times vary by walk) – Jane’s Walk NYC 2026
Subject: Urban Planning / Civic Engagement / Community
Where: 200+ walks across all five boroughs
Who: Municipal Art Society of New York
What: The world’s largest chapter of Jane’s Walk, the annual festival of free, community-led walking conversations inspired by Jane Jacobs. Over 200 walks led by volunteer New Yorkers who know their neighborhoods cold: community gardens, hidden architecture, forgotten histories, waterfront ecology, you name it. No tickets, no reservations for most walks, just show up. This is the most democratic thing NYC does all year. If you’ve never done one, pick a borough you don’t know well and go get lost in the best possible way.

🗓 Sunday, May 3
None I found interesting.

🗓 Monday, May 4
•7:00 PM – Lloyd Blankfein with Hortense le Gentil: Streetwise, From Brooklyn to Boardroom
Subject: Finance / Memoir / Power / American Dream
Where: New York Public Library, Stephen A. Schwarzman Building, Fifth Avenue at 42nd Street
Who: NYPL
What: The former Goldman Sachs CEO, a kid from the Linden Houses in East New York who became the most powerful man on Wall Street, tells his story in conversation with executive coach Hortense le Gentil (what a great way to rep your brand honestly). Whether you think Blankfein is a capitalist hero or a symbol of everything wrong with finance, the dude is a pretty important part of recent American history (especially re 2008) Free. NYPL Live event. RSVP required.

🔗 🗓 Tuesday, May 5
Happy Cinco de Mayo! 🇲🇽
•6:00 PM – The U.S. Constitution with Melissa Murray
Subject: Law / Democracy / Civic Education
Where: Kimmel Center, NYU, 60 Washington Square South
Who: NYU
What: NYU Law professor Melissa Murray, co-author of "The Trump Indictments" and one of the sharpest constitutional law minds in the country, breaks down the document that everyone has opinions about and almost nobody has actually read. Michael Waldman of the Brennan Center moderates. Given the political persuasion of law professors and the Brennan Center - my Kalshi bet would say that Murray will say everything Trump has ever done is illegal and he should be in jail forever. I tend to show away from events like this - “political opinions dressed up as legal fact”, but your mileage will vary. Free.

🗓 Wednesday, May 6
•6:30 PM – The Great Global Transformation: The United States, China, and the Remaking of the World Economic Order
Subject: Geopolitics / Economics / U.S.-China Relations / Policy
Where: CUNY Graduate Center, 365 Fifth Avenue (also livestreamed)
Who: Stone Center on Socio-Economic Inequality, CUNY Graduate Center
What: Economist Branko Milanovic, who invented the "elephant curve" to explain why globalization left the Western middle class behind, launches his new book with a murderers' row of panelists: Adam Tooze (Columbia historian, author of Crashed and Shutdown), Daniel Markovits (Yale Law, "The Meritocracy Trap"), and Qin Gao (Columbia social policy). Moderated by Janet Gornick. I really want to go to this and I’m SO mad it’s sold out. There is a livestream though… Free, hybrid, open to the public.

🗓 Thursday, May 7
•6:00 PM – John Feal and the Fight for 9/11 Responders
Subject: Civic Advocacy / 9/11 / Public Health / Politics
Where: 9/11 Memorial & Museum, 180 Greenwich Street
Who: 9/11 Memorial & Museum
What: John Feal, the demolition supervisor who lost half his foot at Ground Zero and then spent years dragging Congress kicking and screaming into funding the 9/11 Victims Compensation Fund, in conversation with retired FDNY firefighter Michael O'Connell, Georgetown Law's Rupa Bhattacharyya, and Northwell Health's Dr. Jacqueline Moline. Moderated by Museum President Beth Hillman. This is the real story of what happened AFTER the towers fell: the fight for healthcare, recognition, and justice that's still going on. If you've ever wondered why it took Jon Stewart yelling at Congress to get first responders covered, these are the people who were in the room. Free with museum admission.

🗓 Friday, May 8
Ed’s birthday. Nothing else happening in the city.

🗓 Saturday, May 9
•11:00 AM – Japan Parade & Street Fair
Subject: Culture / Community / International Relations
Where: Central Park West (81st to 67th Street parade route) and 72nd Street between Central Park West and Columbus Avenue (street fair)
Who: Japan Parade NYC
What: The 5th annual Japan Parade takes over Central Park West with taiko drums, karate demos, sword-fighting, folk dance, and a street fair packed with Japanese food and art. Grand Marshal this year is manga artist Acky Bright. Opening ceremony at 12:30, parade kicks off at 1:00. Whether you're into Japanese culture or just want to see Central Park West shut down for something that isn't a protest or a marathon, this is one of the best free cultural festivals of the spring, I went last year and really enjoyed it :) Free.

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