Mona Davids
32 episodes listed below
New York City politics with community stakes.
Real Talk with Mona Davids follows New York City politics through interviews and panel conversations with political figures, community stakeholders, and observers. It pays particular attention to education, equity, mayoral power, immigrant communities, and the practical consequences of government decisions.
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Real Talk with Mona Davids is a New York City civic affairs show built around interviews, panels, and policy-heavy conversations. Its center of gravity is local power. City Hall, the Department of Education, mayoral campaigns, ethnic media, public comment processes, unions, and community organizations all become part of the same practical question: who is making decisions, and what will those decisions mean on the ground? The pace is measured. Mona Davids tends to set the scene carefully before asking guests to explain their work, defend a concern, or spell out what a policy change could do to families and communities. Education is a recurring pressure point, especially when the discussion turns to a Mamdani Department of Education, specialized high schools, charter students, the UFT, and the scale of the school budget. The show also spends time on racial equity planning, including public feedback, language access, outreach to African and African-American communities, and the role of city agencies in turning legal requirements into public-facing action. Political panels bring a more combative energy, with guests weighing Governor Hochul's endorsement of Mamdani, November voter coalitions, Eric Adams, Curtis Sliwa, Cuomo, and the changing behavior of East Asian voters. One-on-one interviews widen the lens. Vijay Dandapani discusses the Hotels Association of New York City, scholarships, workforce development, and hotel jobs as a path for immigrant advancement. Tony Herbert frames the mayoral race through community advocacy and experience across several levels of government. The show is not polished into sound bites. It keeps the procedural detail in view, then keeps asking why that detail matters. That makes it useful for listeners who care less about quick partisan scoring than about the local institutions, alliances, and community effects behind New York City's political fights.
Made for: For listeners who follow New York City politics, education policy, civic advocacy, and immigrant-community issues. It suits people who want practical context around city decisions rather than quick campaign chatter.
What sets it apart: The show pairs City Hall and campaign analysis with community-facing questions about schools, equity, language access, jobs, and voter outreach. It stays close to New York City's local institutions while asking what their decisions mean for residents.
Real Talk with Mona Davids dives deep into New York City politics, national issues, and global affairs. Join candid conversations with political leaders, community stakeholders, and experts on the ground who share real insights and perspectives.To watch the video versions of our interviews, visit the Real Talk with Mona Davids YouTube channel.
Mona Davids puts New York civic power on the spot, so you can hear how it answers.
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Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
A grounded look at hotel jobs, scholarships, and worker advocacy.
It frames hotel work as more than a business story, with the attention landing on scholarships, workforce development, immigrant pathways into hotel jobs, and the stability a long-running contract can bring.
A practical look at the mayoral race, with turnout and coalition-building at the center.
Real Talk with Mona Davids offers a solid look at the recent mayoral primary and the unofficial ranked-choice results. The conversation stays most useful when it turns to turnout, energy, likability, and the need to bring in new voters, with each point tied back to the harder…
A policy-driven forum that turns the comptroller race into a discussion of real city consequences.
This episode follows Mark Levine as he makes his case for New York City comptroller, moving from housing affordability and public safety into the less flashy but more revealing work of pension stewardship.
Perez frames the comptroller role around pension independence, cautious divestment, and limited but possible scrutiny of insurance costs.
Perez's comptroller-candidate interview is most useful when it stays close to the office's real levers: pension stewardship, investment judgment, and the limits of city financial oversight.
Oklahoma policy, framed as executive action.
Jewish ideas with cultural nerve.
Singapore markets, policy, and daily dilemmas.
School choice policy, close to the ground.
School policy through a parental-rights lens.
Real Talk with Mona Davids features Eric Grannis explaining Strive Charter School’s flexible model for working families in the Bronx.
Mona Davids speaks with Vijay Dandapani, CEO of the Hotels Association of New York City, about his hotel background and the association’s work for members and employees.
Commissioner Afua Atta-Mensah discusses New York City's racial equity plan in an interview with Little African News.
Experts discuss Governor Hochul's endorsement of Soren Mamdani for mayor, analyzing her op-ed and the political motivations behind it.
Yiatin Chu discusses parental concerns about mayoral candidate Mamdani's education policies, including his lack of detailed plans and ties to the teachers union.
A discussion of concerns about mayoral candidate Mamdani's education agenda, including his lack of detailed policy and influence from the teachers union.
Mona Davids introduces new panelist John Levine, a former New York Post reporter now at Washington Free Beacon, and Yatin Chu, an education advocate, to discuss New York City politics and the upcoming mayor's race.
Mona Davids interviews community advocate Tony Herbert about his background and the upcoming NYC mayoral election.
Mona Davids brings together a panel to talk through the recent mayoral primary and the unofficial ranked-choice results.
A candidate forum co-hosted by Mona Davids and Maria Danzillo, featuring Manhattan candidates Keith Powers and Brad Hoylman-Sigal discussing housing, safety, and growth.
The forum opens with birthday wishes for Mark Levine and a firm time limit for each answer.
Real Talk with Mona Davids features New York City comptroller candidate Ismael Malave Perez in a rapid-fire forum covering audits, pensions, education, housing costs, municipal bonds, and insurance rates.
Mona Davids interviews Erika Donalds about the proposed abolishment of the U.S.
Mona Davids interviews community leader El Hadji Ndao about his work in New York City's African community and his radio station Sunu Afrik Radio.