After a spate of hit-and-run deaths earlier this year, the Mamdani administration has released its new Vision Zero plan to reduce traffic fatalities. Stephen Nessen, transportation reporter for the WNYC Newsroom, reports on what's in the plan and how safety advocates are responding.

Photo: On September 15, 2026, NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani announces new street safety measures aimed at preventing automobile accidents and pedestrian injuries. (Photo courtesy of City Hall/Office of the Mayor)

 

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William Cohan, co-founder of Puck News and author of many books, including Money to Burn: The Unvarnished Truth About Leon Black, Apollo, and the Rise of a New Wall Street (Portfolio, 2026), tells the story of one Wall Street titan's rise and fall and what it says about the larger system.

Photo: Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange during morning trading on September 16, 2026 in New York City. (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

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Concrete may be the world's most widely used building material, but it isn't widely considered a stimulating topic of conversation. John Wilson, filmmaker and creator of "How To with John Wilson", discusses his new documentary, "The History of Concrete," about the hidden side of a material that's more fallible than we might think and why we should care. 

Photo: A scene from THE HISTORY OF CONCRETE, a Magnolia Pictures release. (Courtesy of Magnolia Pictures)

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City Council Speaker Julie Menin (D-5, Upper East Side) talks about the latest developments in the City Council and takes calls from listeners, in the latest installment of a new monthly series.

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The Trump administration's new "public charge" rule, which is scheduled to go into effect this week, will make it more difficult for immigrants applying for visas and green cards if they have used public benefits like SNAP or Medicaid. Catherine Chen, CEO of the Asian American Federation, talks about what to know, the city's lawsuit to try to stop it and why Asian immigrants will be disproportionately affected.

Photo: A sign alerting customers about SNAP food stamps benefits is displayed in a Brooklyn grocery store on December 5, 2019 in New York City. (Scott Heins/Getty Images)

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Adam Jentleson, former chief of staff to Senator John Fetterman and a former deputy chief of staff to Senator Harry Reid and the author of Supermajority: How Democrats Can Build Lasting Power (WW Norton, 2026), argues Democrats need a supermajority in Congress and offers advice for achieving it, and suggestions for what legislation to enact if it's achieved.

Photo: People watch as U.S. Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) appears on a video to endorse U.S. Sen. David McCormick (R-PA) on the first day of the 2026 Republican National Convention at the American Airlines Center on September 09, 2026 in Dallas, Texas. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

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Robert Sietsema, veteran restaurant critic and author of Substack newsletter Robert Sietsema’s New York, talks about his recent article in Gothamist on the diversity of curry dishes in New York City as listeners share curry dishes from their home country and their favorite curry spots in the five boroughs. 

Photo: The spice curry powder in center is made up of, from left, coriander, black pepper, cardamom, mustard, cumin, cayenne pepper and turmeric at Caroline Barrett's home on Thursday, Aug. 10, 2017 in Delmar, N.Y. (Lori Van Buren/Albany Times Union via Getty Images)

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Will Oremus, a staff writer at The Atlantic, discusses the uproar over the warnings of potential threats to humanity from unregulated AI, then Andrew Prokop, senior politics correspondent at Vox, talks about possible government actions to prevent disaster from the purposeful or inadvertent consequences of AI harm.

Photo: A person holds an iPhone displaying icons for Copilot, Gemini, Meta AI, Claude, ChatGPT, Grok, DeepSeek, Perplexity and Doubao in a folder titled "Artificial Intelligence" on September 15, 2026, in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China.(Cheng Xin/Getty Images)

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Daniel Fienberg, chief television critic at The Hollywood Reporter, talks about the big winners, losers, and memorable events from the Emmy Awards.

Photo: Mariska Hargitay attends the blue carpet rollout for the 78th Emmy Awards at L.A. Live in downtown Los Angeles on Thursday, September 10, 2026. (Christina House / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

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Caroline Lewis, health care reporter for WNYC and Gothamist, explains what you need to know about fall vaccines, including flu, Covid and RSV, plus discusses the news that there is a new Legionnaires' cluster in The Bronx.

Photo: 12 years and older New Yorkers got vaccinated at the St. Anthony of Padua Roman Catholic Church in Bronx of New York City, United States on June 13, 2021. (Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

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From street parking to attending concerts, seems like everything requires an app nowadays. And not everyone has a smartphone, a data plan, or the patience for a glitchy download. Listeners share the moments an app got in the way of something that used to be simple.

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Stephen Fowler, political reporter with NPR's Washington desk, and Lisa Lerer, national political reporter for The New York Times, talk about the politics of the midterm elections, after Republicans held a convention.

Photo: President Donald Trump greets supporters at the 2026 Republican National Convention on Thursday, Sept. 10, 2026 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Tex. (Joel Angel Juárez/For The Washington Post via Getty Images)

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New York State Assembly member Michaelle Solages (D - District 22, Valley Stream, North Valley Stream, Elmont, South Valley Stream, South Floral Park, Floral Park, the Village of Bellerose, Bellerose Terrace, North Woodmere, Stewart Manor, and sections of Franklin Square), d...

Daniel Levy, president of the U.S./Middle East Project and a former Israeli peace negotiator, talks about the United Kingdom's new sanctions on Israeli settlements in the West Bank, Israel's retaliation, and what the rupture means for Washington and Israel's upcoming election.

Photo: Pro-Palestinian demonstrators gather in Parliament Square in London, United Kingdom, on September 9, 2026. Demonstrators waved Palestinian flags and held banners urging the UK government to impose immediate diplomatic and economic sanctions on Israel, cut arms exports, and terminate bilateral military cooperation agreements. (Rasid Necati Aslim/Anadolu via Getty Images)

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Adrian Benepe, managing director & chief development officer, Fort Tryon Park Conservancy, talks about the unique features of Fort Tryon Park, and the value of parks in general to our collective health and happiness.

Photo: People enjoy Brooklyn's Prospect Park as trees near their peak autumn foliage on October 27, 2022 in New York City. New York's foliage, especially trees upstate, are reaching their full fall colors in the coming days. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

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Three of our favorite segments from the week, in case you missed them.

Islamophobia, Then and Now (First) | The CDC and Measles Deaths (Starts at  24:58) | Arturo O'Farrill Brings Music to Schools (Starts at 52:10)

Photo: Children counter-protesting a rally organized by people opposed to Park51, the so-called Ground Zero mosque, Sunday, August 22, 2010. (Photo by: David Shankbone)

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Gale Brewer, NYC Council Member (District 6, Central Park, Lincoln Square, Upper West Side, Clinton), former Manhattan Borough President, and Benjamin Chevat, executive director of 9/11 Health Watch, talk about the Mamdani administration's release of city documents related t...

Rebecca Florsheim, MD, MPH, environmental health physician at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine and the World Trade Center survivor's clinic, discusses the health effects of the September 11th terrorist attacks, still ongoing 25 years later.

Photo: Capt. John Gallagher, FDNY (Ret.), right, stands with Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., during a news conference to urge passage of the "James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act" to address the long-standing health effects of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, Nov. 18, 2009. Gallagher was a first responder to ground zero on 9/11 and now suffers from a terminal lung disease. (Tom Williams/Roll Call/Getty Images)

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Mike Kelly, columnist for The Bergen Record / NorthJersey.com and author of After Ground Zero: Everyday Americans and the Unhealed Scars of 9/11 (Bloomsbury, 2026), tells the stories of ordinary Americans, including many from New Jersey, who lost their lives in the 9/11 attacks, and talks about his related reporting at home and abroad over the past 25 years.

Photo: The Tribute in Light installation is tested over lower Manhattan in New York City on September 9, 2026, as seen from the "Empty Sky" 9/11 memorial in Jersey City, New Jersey. The twin beams shine from dusk on September 11 until dawn on September 12 every year. (Jeremy Weine/Getty Images)

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Listeners call in to pay tribute to the first responders and other people who put themselves in harm's way to save others on 9/11.

Photo: A victim of the World Trade Center attack is tended to by paramedics Septemeber 11, 2001 en route to the hospital in New York City. (Photo by Carolyn Schaefer/Getty Images)

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Hillary Rodham Clinton, former U.S. senator (D-NY, 2001-2009), first lady, secretary of state and the first woman nominated for president by a major U.S. political party (2016), reflects on what's been learned in the 25 years since 9/11.

Photo: Six weeks after the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center, New York Senator Hillary Clinton joins family members of the dead for a memorial ceremony at Ground Zero, October 29, 2001 in New York City. (Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images)

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Joseph Pfeifer, retired FDNY assistant chief, founding director of the FDNY’s Center for Terrorism and Disaster Preparedness, and the author of Ordinary Heroes: A Memoir of 9/11 (Portfolio, HC 2021, PB 2026), reflects on his experiences as the first FDNY chief to respond to the World Trade Center 25 years ago, and how the attacks led to changes in crisis response, and the lingering health effects of the aftermath of the attacks.

photo: May We Never Forget, 2011 (Erik Drost, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons)

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Last week, Mayor Mamdani announced the creation of a new "Office of Worker Power." Julie Su, deputy mayor for economic justice, explains what that office will do, and unpacks some other organized labor initiatives her office has been working on.

Photo: Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su testifies before the Senate Appropriations Committee in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill on May 09, 2024 in Washington, DC. Su testified before the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies Subcommittee about the Biden Administration's proposed FY2025 budget for the Labor Department. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

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Priya Parker, author of The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why It Matters (Riverhead Books, 2018) and her latest, The Art of Fighting: The Transformative Power of Conflict (Riverhead Books, 2026), talks about the importance of conflict and offers a framework for resolving it constructively.

Book cover art courtesy of Riverhead Books

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On this first day of school for NYC public school students, composer, pianist, and bandleader Arturo O'Farrill, also the founder of Belongó, talks about his work to bring music education to New York City schools, and for youth on Rikers Island.

Photo: Arturo O'Farrill (Photo by Shervin Lainez)

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Jimmy Vielkind, New York State Issues reporter for WNYC, discusses the latest news as Nassau County executive Bruce Blakeman attempts to unseat Gov. Kathy Hochul to be the next governor of New York.

Photo: US President Donald Trump greets New York Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman on stage as he delivers remarks at the Nassau County Police Academy Center for Training and Intelligence in Garden City, New York, on August 14, 2026. (Photo by Kent Nishimura/AFP via Getty Images)

 

 

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Ralph Thomassaint Joseph, Caribbean communities correspondent for Documented, recaps Brooklyn's annual West Indian Day Parade and how the immigration crackdown targeting Haitian New Yorkers affected the festivities. Plus, Councilmember Rita Joseph, representing parts of Flatbush and Crown Heights, calls in to share how her constituents have been dealing with the changes.

Photo: Parade participants attend the 59th annual West Indian American Day Parade on September 07, 2026 in New York City. (Photo by John Lamparski/Getty Images)

 

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Asma Khalid, co-host of the BBC's The Global Story and former NPR White House correspondent, talks about the rise in Islamophobia following the 9/11 attacks and how it has changed over 25 years.

Photo: Children counter-protesting a rally organized by people opposed to Park51, the so-called Ground Zero mosque, Sunday, August 22, 2010. (Photo by: David Shankbone)

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Listeners call in to share how heading back to school is going, including any preparatory rituals they observe and kids’ attitudes about going back if they’re old enough to remember lockdown.

Photo: Students arrive at PS 36 on Amsterdam Avenue on the first day back to school for New York City public school students September 8, 2003 in New York City. (Photo by Monika Graff/Getty Images)

 

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Jonathan Lemire, co-host of Morning Joe on MS NOW, writer for MS NOW and staff writer for The Atlantic, talks about the latest developments in national politics, including the state of the Iran war and the midterms.

Photo: US Democratic Senate candidate from Michigan Abdul El-Sayed attends the Labor Day parade in Detroit, Michigan on September 7, 2026. (Photo by Jeff Kowalsky/AFP via Getty Images)

 

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