Feb 13, 2026
Citizen Co-founder Larry Platt convened podcast co-hosts former Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed and former Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter for a special episode about recent crises plaguing the leaders of prominent cities.
“We are in a constitutional crisis,” Platt said. “You have federal troops — masked law enforcement — doing these surges. The question is: Who’s in charge?”
“Folks should remember,” Reed said, “almost always, the mayor controls the biggest police department. There is an incentive to make sure the people policing your communities are … people you control, by virtue of you being elected CEO of the city.”
Join us for a special edition of How To Really Run A City that examines the challenges of dealing with ICE (“To ICE, get the fuck out of Minneapolis,” — Minneapolis Mayor John Frey) as well as snow and ice (“[Mayor] Cherelle Parker better not fucking forget about us!” — viral Redditor from North Philly).
Mayors Reed and Nutter have weathered crises before, and they don’t pull their punches on this episode.
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As cities go, so goes the nation!