It's the Brian Lairn show on WNYC. I'm Matt Katz, former reporter here at WNYC. I'm now running a local news podcast in Philadelphia called CityCast Philly, and I'm filling in for Brian today.

Coming up on the show, we're going to talk about President Trump's move to take control of the police department in Washington, D.C.

My guest, David Graham from the Atlantic, says it's a raw assertion of presidential power, a pattern for Trump.

Plus, later in the show, why the public health messaging around vaping and using nicotine

pouches is so mixed.

Let's put it this way.

We've known for decades that smoking cigarettes is addictive and harmful for long-term health,

but as vaping or using a Zin pouch, which both contain nicotine just as bad or a less bad alternative?

We'll get into all of that.

And we'll wrap today's show with a call-in for you to share your memories of AOL, since the company announced this week that it's ending its dial-up internet service.

This one is especially for the young Gen Xers, elder millennials,

older Gen Zers among us. You know, that sound, that dial-up sound was a defining feature of my

teenage years and maybe yours too if you fall into one of those generational groups.

But first, we begin in New York City with WNYC and Gothamist reporter Elizabeth

Kim for our weekly coverage of the latest news in the mayor's race. Typically, the month of

August is a slow period for local elections, but the candidates right now are unusually

fired up throughout the Democratic primary assembly member Zoran

Mamdani was the aggressive underdog punching up at the frontrunner, Andrew Cuomo. But now that

Mamdani's polling 20 points ahead of the former governor, the roles have reversed. Cuomo, now

running as an independent, is unleashing the fire he kept contained during his frontrunner days with a relentless social media campaign highlighting Mamdani's privileged upbringing in an attempt to underscore the contradictions between his politics and Mamdani's life experience.

He's zeroed in on Mamdani's apartment, a $2,300 rental in Astoria,

which is presumably a great price in a city where the average cost of a one-bedroom is over $4,000.

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