Brian Lairn on WNYC, and now we head to Albany with WNYC and Gothamist reporter John Campbell,

who covers the capital of New York State for us.

Later on in this segment, we'll get his take on how Zeran Mamdani,

of course the Democratic Party's nominee for the mayor of New York City,

would have to try to work with state lawmakers to make the core parts of his agenda a reality

if he wins election.

You know that most of his policy proposals,

or at least many of the big ones like free buses, universal free child care, others rely on

his ability to garner enough support from the state legislature, and then on top of that,

not have things vetoed by Governor Hocl, who has yet to endorse him.

Remember, he himself is an assembly member representing Long Island City and Astoria.

So we'll talk about his existing relationships and the work he would need to do up in Albany

if he becomes mayor.

But also, John brings us his reporting, and maybe you've seen this story on Gothamist or heard

his radio version, the story that went viral right before the presidential election last year,

probably the last thing you expected us to be talking about today.

Peanut the squirrel, the pet squirrel, his capture and subsequent death became a rallying cry for right-wingers,

fanning the flames of the ongoing culture war.

John's with us now to share Peanuts story, if you don't know it yet, and why it's left New York State's Department of Environmental Conservation in shambles in some respects and what the policy implications are of that.

Hey, John, thanks as always for coming on.

Thanks for having me, Brian.

Remind everyone who was Peanut the Squirrel and why was he being kept as a pet?

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