Max & Murphy

Drew Warshaw, a candidate in the June 2026 Democratic primary for New York State Comptroller, joined the show to discuss his campaign platform, why he believes Comptroller Tom DiNapoli should be replaced as the state's chief fiscal officer, his views on a variety of policy and budget matters, and more. (Ep 589)

Chris Herring and Jonathan Fishner joined the show to discuss the Knicks and their run to the 2026 NBA Finals, New York as a basketball city, echoes of the '90s Knicks in this team, this Knicks-Spurs finals matchup, and more. Herring is an NBA reporter and author of the book "Blood in the Garden: The Flagrant History of the 1990s New York Knicks," and Fishner is a former Knicks writer and lifelong New Yorker and Knicks fan.

Housing experts Annemarie Gray and Alex Armlovich joined the show to discuss Mayor Zohran Mamdani's new "Block by Block" housing plan to create and preserve 400,000 units of affordable housing over the next decade, while addressing broader development, tenant protection, homelessness, NYCHA public housing, and more. Gray is executive director of Open New York, a former city government housing and planning official, and was a key figure on Mamdani's transition committee. Armlovich is a Senior Fellow at the Niskanen Center and Housing Program Officer for the Abundance and Growth Fund at Coefficient Giving. He's also a former member of the city's Rent Guidelines Board. (Ep 588)

This special episode features audio from the Abundance Candidate Forum in the Democratic primary for New York's 10th Congressional District, held at New York Law School on the morning of May 19, 2026. The forum was moderated by host Ben Max, and features consecutive one-on-one interviews with challenger Brad Lander (former city comptroller), then Rep. Dan Goldman. The forum was co-sponsored by Abundance New York and NYC New Liberals. The conversations focused on a variety of issues, especially key tenets of the abundance agenda like housing, transit, green energy, and faster government delivery of projects. (Ep 587)

State Senator Erik Bottcher and Assembly Member Keith Powers, two Manhattan Democrats and former City Council Members, joined the show to discuss their transition into the State Legislature (they were both elected in February special elections), their first state budget negotiations as legislators, how Mayor Mamdani is doing, and more. Bottcher represents the West Side's 47th Senate District while Powers represents the East Side's 74th Assembly District. (Ep 586)

Journalists Nick Garber and Annie McDonough joined the show to discuss Mayor Zohran Mamdani's $124.7 billion Executive Budget, released on May 12, 2026, that took a very different approach than his prior budget plan, in part thanks to a lot of help from Governor Hochul and the State Legislature. Garber (of New York Focus), McDonough (of City & State New York), and host Ben Max discussed how Mamdani's budgeting approach has shifted, how his top priorities are faring, some of the city's fiscal challenges ahead, and more. (Ep 585)

Darializa Avila Chevalier, a Democrat and democratic socialist running for Congress in New York's 13th Congressional District, joined the show to discuss her primary campaign against Congressman Adriano Espaillat. The district includes much of Upper Manhattan (East Harlem, Harlem, Washington Heights, Inwood, etc) and a section of Bronx (Fordham, Bedford Park, Kingsbridge, etc) and the primary is in June. (Ep 584)

David Freedlander, a features writer for New York magazine, joined the show to discuss the Democratic primary in New York's 12th Congressional District, which encompasses much of Manhattan's East and West Sides and is currently represented by retiring Rep. Jerry Nadler. The race, which Freedlander just dissected in-depth in New York, features four leading candidates: Micah Lasher, Alex Bores, Jack Schlossberg, and George Conway. The conversation also touched on other interesting New York and national political trends. (Ep 583)

State Senate Deputy Leader Michael Gianaris, a Queens Democrat, returned to the show to discuss the status of state budget negotiations and key issues on the table like aid to New York City, tax rates, and a variety of policy matters that Governor Hochul and the Legislature are negotiating. The state budget, expected to be a massive $260 billion spending and policy package, is a month late, but negotiations are progressing with a lot on the line for New Yorkers and Mayor Mamdani's agenda. (Ep 582)

Jeff Coltin, Editor-in-Chief of City and State New York, joined the show to discuss Mayor Mamdani's endorsements in several 2026 races, key congressional and state races to watch in this year's elections, and more. (Ep 581)

This special edition of the show is a candidate forum in the Democratic primary for New York’s 12th Congressional District, which includes much of Manhattan’s west and east sides. The forum, moderated by host Ben Max, included 7 candidates running in the June primary and trying to succeed retiring Rep. Jerry Nadler, including: Micah Bergdale, George Conway, Chris Diep, Laura Dunn, Jack Schlossberg, Nina Schwalbe, and Patrick Timmins. Two other candidates - Micah Lasher and Alex Bores - decided not to participate at the last minute after having previously confirmed. The forum was hosted by the American Constitution Society New York Lawyers Chapter along with its Fordham Students Chapter, and the NYC Bar Association and its Election Law Committee. (Ep 580)

State Senator John Liu, a Queens Democrat and chair of the Senate's New York City Education Committee, joined the show to discuss the status of state budget negotiations, major policy items the Governor and Legislature are navigating, state aid to New York City, and several education issues, including potential adjustment of school funding formulas, an extension of mayoral control of city schools, and changes to class size reduction requirements. (Ep 579)

Veteran journalists Sally Goldenberg of The New York Times and Bob Hardt of Spectrum News NY1 joined the show to discuss Mayor Zohran Mamdani's first 100 days in office, his celebratory rally marking the occasion, the highs and lows of his tenure so far, and what comes next. (Ep 578)

New York State Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, a Westchester Democrat who has led the Senate since 2019, joined the show to discuss the status of state budget negotiations as the Senate and Assembly majorities and Governor Hochul work to agree on a spending and policy plan. The state fiscal year began April 1, but the parties have passed budget extenders to pay the state's bills while they negotiate the roughly $265 billion spending plan that will also include a variety of major policy decisions, how much aid the state gives New York City, and much more. (Ep 577)

New York City Council Finance Chair Linda Lee, a Queens Democrat, joined the show to discuss the Council's response to Mayor Mamdani's $127 billion preliminary budget for next fiscal year (FY27, which begins July 1), top Council priorities, how the two sides of City Hall differ on closing the city's budget gap, what the city is asking for from the state, and more. (Ep 576)

New York City Comptroller Mark Levine, a Democrat, returned to the show for further discussion of the city's difficult budget picture and how to fill the multi-billion-dollar budget gap that Mayor Mamdani inherited — including on savings, spending, tax policy, state aid to the city, and more — as well as discussion of the importance of economic growth in the city and key pillars to a city economic development strategy. (Ep 375)

State Senator Gustavo Rivera, a Bronx Democrat and chair of the Senate health committee, joined the show to discuss state budget negotiations with under two weeks until the April 1 start of the new fiscal year. The conversation touched on major areas of negotiation among Governor Hochul and the two Democratic majorities of the State Legislature including climate and energy regulations, tax rates, Medicaid and other health policy and budget issues, mayoral control of New York City schools, and more. (Ep 574)

Experts Howard Slatkin and Annemarie Gray joined the show to discuss housing priorities for the Mamdani Administration, the city's overall housing policy and political climate, the push for state-level environmental review reform to speed housing development, and more housing policy specifics. Slatkin, executive director of Citizens Housing and Planning Council, is a former top official at the NYC Department of City Planning, and Gray, executive director of Open New York, is a former housing and planning official in the NYC Mayor's Office. (Ep 573)

New York City Council Member Lincoln Restler, a Brooklyn Democrat, joined the show to discuss making city government work, his priorities for the new term, a recent hearing on the city's Streets Plan and the expansion of bus, bike, and pedestrian infrastructure, his bill to create the Department of Community Safety that Mayor Mamdani has promised, and more. (Ep 372)

Julie Won, a Democratic candidate for Congress in New York's 7th Congressional District (which includes parts of Brooklyn and Queens), joined the show to discuss her campaign to succeed the retiring Rep. Nydia Velázquez in the House of Representatives. Won is a City Council member from Queens running in this June 2026 primary. (EP 571)