It's the Brian Larry Show on WNYC.

Good morning, everyone.

My team and I are taking a holiday season break today,

and we're re-airing some segments from 2025 that we think you'll enjoy or enjoy again,

lightly edited for clarity and time. So we can't take your calls today, but we can offer you

free tuition as we will spend most of the show in school with Jared Fox on taking his science

students outside, American Federation of Teachers President

Randy Weingarten, her take on teachers as defenders of democracy. And this fascinating lesson

we got from a political philosopher about socialism yesterday and today, now that New Yorkers

have elected Zeranamam Dani, mayor, here we go. New Yorkers and others

are continuing to ask, what does it mean that mayor elects Aran Mamdani calls himself a

democratic socialist? What will that mean in practice? Now, we know from polls and from our callers

that the word socialist is not as toxic in American politics as it was during the Cold War

when the main threat to democracy in the world was perceived to be the USSR, the Union of

Soviet Socialist republics. Younger Americans don't have that in their experience and are

frequently down on capitalism, which I don't have to tell you.

They experience as failing to provide them a path to financial stability as much as it did

for their parents or grandparents or maybe never did on mass for African Americans and other

economically marginalized groups.

So the word socialism was not a disqualifier, obviously,

because Momdani got elected, and arguably it was even a political plus. And maybe that's why

antagonists of Momdani have ascribed other labels to him and his politics.

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