Is Chicago About to Catch Fire?

Firewall with Bradley Tusk

Bradley gets a Windy City on-the-ground report from friend and colleague Bob Greenlee, which leads to a bleak read on national politics: even if Democrats gain in 2026, the realities of executive power and a thin bench mean that little changes. Bradley then unveils a major milestone for mobile voting—Free & Fair’s open-source, rigorously engineered cryptographic protocol, arguing that transparency invites tougher verification and faster improvement. They then pivot to city governance trade-offs in New York and Chicago (flight of the affluent, public safety, unions, deficits), stressing that execution and pragmatism — not ideology — will make or break new mayors. Finally, they debate leveraging Trump’s Israel deal and his Nobel ambitions toward Ukraine, then land on Bradley’s “grand synthesis”: amid real doomsday risks, personal happiness is still within reach...if we build our lives around love and purpose.

Discussed on today's episode:

Rigorous Digital Engineering: The Bedrock For Secure Mobile Voting by Bradley Tusk (10/09/25)

This episode was taped at P&T Knitwear at 180 Orchard Street — New York City’s only free podcast recording studio.

Send us an email with your thoughts on today’s episode: [email protected].

Be sure to watch Bradley’s new TED Talk on Mobile Voting at https://go.ted.com/bradleytusk.