Explain the significance of that, if you would.

Absolutely.

Uh, housing is really a fascinating question in how this works.

What we've seen around the country is a resistance to the idea of the home voter.

This is a term that they've come up with to describe how local politics essentially revolves around people who own their home and whose main interest, frankly, is keeping their home value and their neighborhoods, you know, a certain way.

Uh, so, you know, that's essentially how American, uh, communities have always worked, that the, that the localities get to define what their communities look like.

So you wanna have a certain type of zoning.

And, and you heard, uh, so often, like, where did this come from? How did this happen? A- and you, you talk a bit about why issues like Palestine have become central concerns of, of the local domestic politics.

And it seems like a- election after election, where these Democratic candidates go down in defeat to these people for the same reasons over and over, they learn nothing.

No. Um, well, the Democrats have an issue, which is that they've always felt this way, that there's no enemies to the left.

Like, they're not allowed to, uh, say that s- that one of their opponents is, um, too far to the left, because what to them is too far? Like, there's no such thing.

So that being the case, you can always want...

Look, Dan Goldman, he ran as the impeachment manager against Trump, and he was, like, a hugely, you know, staunch, uh, enemy of Trump, and he just...

That was all...

That was his whole thing.

I think that they believe that they're working for the enemy.

And it seems like a- election after election where these Democratic candidates go down in defeat to these people for the same reasons over and over, they learn nothing.

No. Um, well, the Democrats have an issue, which is that they've always felt this way, that there's no enemies to the left.

Like, they're not allowed to, uh, say that s- that one of their opponents is, um, too far to the left because what to them is too far? Like, there's no such thing.

So that being the case, you can always want...

Look, Dan Goldman, he ran as the impeachment manager against Trump, and he was, like, a hugely, you know, staunch, uh, enemy of Trump, and he just, that was all, that was his whole thing.

Now, he's, he lost his primary to, um, a- another leftist, Brad Lander, who's basically DSA aligned.

Uh, like an, a hardcore liberal anti- liberals, what he calls a, a liberal Zionist.

I think that they believe that they're working for the enemy.

How, why did you identify those four places as being the centralized place to turn our focus?

Well, when I started thinking about the country, uh, in general, and I, I w- I wanted to write a book about, you know, what I saw the problems that were happening, mainly from the left.

It occurred to me that, okay, the way America was, was founded is the idea that the people are sovereign, and all power stems from the people, not from a king, not from the top, but from the people whom God has invested self-evidently with liberty and, you know, b- natural rights of self-government, basically.

And so in the American system, power derives from the bottom and through the communities, and then up to the states, and then to the country.

Well, this drives the left crazy because they have a universal vision that they want to impose everywhere all at once.

So it's annoying to them to have to consult every different district, every different community, and gain consensus that way.

They would prefer just to, you know, they have their diktats, and they'd like to just impose them from the top.

When they talk about defunding and the so-society that emerges without police, are they in s- in a sense saying that police are the root cause of crime in our cities?

How, why did you identify those four places as being the centralized place to turn our focus?

Well, when I started thinking about the country, uh, in general, and I, I w- I wanted to write a book about, you know, what I saw the problems that were happening, mainly from the left.

It occurred to me that, okay, the way America was, was founded is the idea that the people are sovereign, and all power stems from the people, not from a king, not from the top, but from the people whom God has invested self-evidently with liberty and, you know, b- natural rights of self-government, basically.

And so in the American system, power derives from the bottom and through the communities, and then up to the states, and then to the country.

Well, this drives the left crazy, because they have a universal vision that they want to impose everywhere all at once.

So it's annoying to them to have to consult every different district, every different community, and gain consensus that way.

They would prefer just to, you know, they have their diktats, and they'd like to just impose them from the top.

When they talk about defunding and the so- society that emerges without police, are they in s- in a sense saying that police are the root cause of crime in our cities?

How, why did you identify those four places as being the centralized place to turn our focus?

Well, when I started thinking about the country, uh, in general, and I, I w- I wanted to write a book about, you know, what I saw the problems that were happening, mainly from the left.

It occurred to me that, okay, the way America was, was founded is the idea that the people are sovereign, and all power stems from the people, not from a king, not from the top, but from the people whom God has invested self-evidently with liberty and, you know, b- natural rights of self-government, basically.

And so in the American system, power derives from the bottom and through the communities and then up to the states and then to the country.

Well, this drives the left crazy because they have a universal vision that they want to impose everywhere all at once.

So it's annoying to them to have to consult every different district, every different community, and gain consensus that way.

They would prefer just to, you know, they have their diktats and they'd like to just impose them from the top.

When they talk about defunding and the so- society that emerges without police, are they in s- in a sense saying that police are the root cause of crime in our cities?

What is third worldism from your perspective? And how did this concept get laundered into the broader American and social discourse?

Well, thanks for having me on, Josh.

I'm really happy to be here.

And yeah, it's a fascinating question.

And, you know, I started writing this book well before Mamdani even announced his candidacy.

So I was pleased and surprised to see the whole question, like, really emerge into the public space.

I mean, third worldism is basically this conception of society and the world as one.

What what is it about Mamdani that seems to attract so many people on the on the left to him? And how do you assess the scale of this threat, not just to New York City, but really to the broader national population?

But give our uninformed, you know, people who have not read the book, the concept of what those categories are and what are the elements and where are we on the roadmap?

sure uh well the the four domains that i that i look at in the book are um well the border meaning like you know not just the border itself but also uh the civic sensibility um i look at public safety the whole idea of you know having you know basically crime and policing i look at education and i look at housing And people ask me, well, what do you mean by weaponization? And what I mean is, how have essential American myths been twisted by the left in order to twist these key institutions, these key domains that we sort of swim in and may not even notice, twisted them to serve this radical political purpose? So, for instance, like the term the American dream.

The American Dream always meant this is something that Americans strive for.

Americans, you know, strive to improve their lives and create prosperity for their children and their grandchildren, like, you know, their posterity.

And the idea being like, well, and if you work hard, you can have a house and a car and maybe take a vacation once a year and your kids will do better.

And that's what it meant for a very long time.

And then at a certain point, the American dream ceased to be something that Americans are allowed to claim.

It's per se, but do any of them have this kind of realization that whenever you do this thing that you do, that it comes out mucky and miserable?

I think they're learning this nonsense in their taxpayer-funded schools.

Yeah, absolutely.

These are people who are over-credentialed and underemployed.

They grew up with a sense of, you know, I guess you could call it entitlement to, you know, so that they have this expectation of luxury communism, like just that everything should be available, everything that seems nice, they should be able to have.

They want $400 apartments in a cool neighborhood.

They want jobs that aren't very demanding, that will, like, you know, sound impressive.

And this is what the colleges have created, this extremely entitled communistic mindset.

What would you say is, was there one particular moment, one particular story that really set you off to write the book today?

I wonder if you could describe this and just how much damage it's doing to education in America.

Sure, Brian.

Um, the way I see it is that the left views children, and by the left I mean the teachers' union, but the left generally, the same way they view money, which is that all of it belongs to the state, and they let you keep some of it.

In the same way, children belong to the state.

You know, you're familiar with the, the phrase, "It takes a village to raise a child." All children are our children, or as Randi Weingarten likes to say, "Teachers want what kids need." All children's best interests flow through the teachers' union, so whatever the teachers want is what the children want.

So children belong to the state.

Parents have the responsibility or the pleasure of raising them, feeding them, and hugging them, and so forth.

What is available within the system, though, that might, uh, improve things, or do parents really have to look to these alternative kinds of education models?

[laughs]

I mean, here's the thing.

I've been following, like, New York City politics for a long time, and, like, for 20 years, every time the mayor puts out a budget, it's accompanied by a press release saying, "This is the most responsible budget.

Uh, this is compassionate.

This, uh, you know, doesn't do this, it doesn't do...

And it's a very, uh, solid budget." So this happens every year.

Um, but this is the first year where people are pretending to believe it.

What does he do with pensions?

And also, you know, how bad is it right now in New York with Mandami leading the way?

Well, my book is largely national, though I do touch on Mandami, but I'll get to Mandami.

The book is based on the idea that.

The American experiment is built on the individual and the people are sovereign.

We are the people, we are the sovereigns of the country.

The left hates this.

They like to centrally plan everything.

And by the way, what's the after effect of that? Sky-high

And also, you know, how bad is it right now in New York with Mandami leading the way?

Well, my book is largely national, though I do touch on Mandami, but I'll get to Mandami.

The book is based on the idea that the American experiment is built on the individual and the people are sovereign.

We are the people, we are the sovereigns of the country.

The left hates this.

They like to centrally plan everything.

They have better ideas for how things should run.

And by the way, what's the after effect of that? Sky high

So I'm wondering, what was the institution, in your opinion, in your book, that you feel was the linchpin that let this happen? Was it the Supreme Court? Was it the Senate? Was it the f- the federal judges? What was your, what was the one where it was the cherry on the sundae of your research?

Well, let me, let me tell you how I looked at this.

Uh, those are all august, important institutions, but I looked at four systems that define o- the American way of life and ha- and sort of, uh, the, the controlling operation.

So here's what I looked at.

I looked at the, the question of, the national question, citizenship, meaning the border.

I looked at public safety, I looked at education, and I looked at housing.

These are four, I guess you could call it, domains that define American life, and in each of them, I, I really found the same theme.

... what we've been living through.

So I'm just curious what compelled you to, to tackle this particular subject matter.

Well, you know what? I've always heard this line that the left uses, uh, and it's very compelling sounding when they say, um, "Think globally, act locally." And it's like, hmm, what an interesting, uh, what an interesting nostrum.

But if you think about it, this is ...

W- whenever they tell you to think globally, what they're saying is, "Don't think about what you s- don't, don't act on what you see in front of you.

You have to incorporate our world vision, and then you need to im- implement it at the local level." So it got me thinking about all the different ways in which the left is interested in basically interrupting democracy, in the sense of people operating in their communities, responding to local needs, by imposing this, this greater philosophy that they've come up with, uh, a- and essentially filtered through all of our institutions to basically disrupt those institutions.

How do we s- how do we stop, how do we stop this from happening?

Well, people have to kind of wake up and realize that they are the sovereigns, that they control the... ultimately, they control the, the country.

It, it, it, power rests in the hands of the people.

Yesterday did that.

Yes.

Uh, you know, we're gonna tax rich.

And the funny thing about his taxes, uh, he says, and the people he talked to said, "It's not about raising revenue.

It's about seizing power.

It's about taking power from, you know, people who work hard, who are successful, and transferring it to the government." Uh, they don't want power residing outside of, of, of, you know, their network.

What do you mean they're taking over the institutions?

Well, what I look at is four key institutions in America.

Yesterday, did that.

Yes.

Uh, you know, we're gonna tax rich.

And the funny thing about his taxes, uh, he says, and the people he talked to said, "It's not about raising revenue.

It's about seizing power.

It's about taking power from, you know, people who work hard, who are successful, and transferring it to the government." Uh, they don't want power residing outside of, of, of, you know, their network.

What do you mean they're taking over the institutions?

Well, what I look at is four key institutions in America.

So, but w- what we've seen so far in the transition team, what's your take?

Well, it's, it's about as bad as one could imagine.

Uh, you know, he comes in.

He, he makes noises to try to, you know, mollify the, the business community and the, the, the Jewish community and the public safety people.

But if you look at his transition team, I mean, he has this Alex Vitale guy who wrote a big book called The End of Policing.... uh, he's got all kinds of, uh, former criminals, anti-Semites, uh, you know, Muslim radicals, all over ... you know, threaded throughout the entire team.

So it's clear, and these are the people who are gonna vet, not ... they're not necessarily gonna choose the top commissioners, but certainly the second-

So why, why cut that tape, Seth Baron?

Uh, I mean, he's telling his base.

First off, what's your takeaway?

Uh, hi Brian.

Um, well, my takeaway is that, you know, Mamdani, uh, all he needed to do was skate through and I think he did.

Uh, you know, he's a smug, self-satisfied liar.

Uh, he proved that last night when he said that he had never called for the decriminalization or the legalization of prostitution.

Uh, he did, and not only did he do it, he did it on the floor of the Assembly.

Uh, he said, "Sex work is work." He heartily believes in the legalization of prostitution.

Israel has the right to exist, but not the way it is."

First off, what's your takeaway?

Uh, hi, Brian.

Um, well, my takeaway is that, you know, Mamdani, uh, all he needed to do was skate through, and I think he did.

Uh, you know, he's a smug, self-satisfied liar.

Uh, he proved that last night when he said that he had never called for the decriminalization or the legalization of prostitution.

Uh, he did, and not only did he do it, he did it on the floor of the Assembly.

Uh, he said sex work is work.

So, I mean, he doesn't like the way the Israel, Israel is set up, so he says, "I like, uh, Israel has a right to exist but not the way it is."

I've known him for a while." You're talking w- what are they listening for? And just by delaying, what is that showing you?

Well, it's showing that there's a major rift in the Democrat Party.

Uh, look, we talked about this last time.

The Democratic Party is a multi-trillion dollar franchise.

They're not just gonna roll over and give up to a faction, this hard left faction that doesn't even consider themselves Democrats, the Democratic Socialists.

Uh, they have a totally different agenda, and it's, you know ...

I mean, Hochul, yes, she bent the knee.

What do you think she's gonna run for?

Well, what's an, what's it intended for?

for?It's in-- th-- rent stabilization, rent control, rent regulation was put in after World War II when it seemed like there was a rent...

there was an emergency because there was... housing was so tight, uh, and it's never gone away.

The problem with, with what you get is you have people staying, like they don't leave their apartments because they get a good deal.

So you wind up with like older people who are living in an apartment that's maybe more room than they need, but they don't leave because why should they? Um, it just kind of...

Look, all economists, left and right, agree that rent control is, is not a good thing for the rental market.

Is there a plan here? To make her a national figure?

I mean, I, I, I imagine she'll run for president.

Were you, Seth, one of the people that thought that he had a shot right away?

Um, initially no, but as I watched the campaign and listened to him, it became clear that this guy has like...

Look, he's very photogenic, he has a certain amount of charisma, and he can, he can talk a blue streak.

So, uh, you know, given the, the field, there was definitely a possibility.

Plus, he's a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, which is not like being a member of the Republican Party.

This is an organization you have to pay to belong to.

They have regular meetings.

So, why is it that we watched a state where Zeldin got a legitimate run at Hochul, and then we have Elise Stefanik and Law are really looking at whether they can win this state? Republicans have hope, but yet we have this result from a Democratic primary.

... surprised that Mamdani won?

Uh, I was not that surprised.

I mean, uh, if you've been watching for a while, he had a lot of energy, has a very activated base.

Uh, Cuomo, I don't know what he was doing.

He seemed to be asleep at the wheel.

He had a lot of money but there was no campaign going on.

So, um, you know, look, Democrat primaries are very, uh, tilted to the left, and they're pretty low turnout.

Yeah.