Recent Episodes
Can Mamdani Balance the NYC Budget without Raising Taxes? | Conversations with Jim Zirin
Last February, left wing NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani released his “preliminary budget” projecting a deficit of $5.4 billion which he would close by imposing a “tax on the rich.” To do the income tax piece, he needs authority from Albany, unlikely in an election year. So, his fallback is a hefty 9.5% property tax rate increase generating $3.7 billion and invading city reserves called the “rainy day fund.” Robust pushback has come from the more moderate City Council which must approve the plan. Andrew Rein, President of the Citizen Budget Commission shares his insights on the executive budget.
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Recording Date: 04/07/2026
First Air Date: 05/12/2026
Guest: Andrew Rein, President, Citizen Budget Commission
Conversations with Jim Zirin is a talk show designed to illuminate the news by taking the time required to understand and interpret national and world events. The series features high-profile guests from the worlds of politics, law, business, foreign relations, national security, counterterrorism, media, lifestyles, literature, the arts, and the military. The series is hosted by Jim Zirin, a leading litigator and contributor to major publications including Forbes, the Daily Beast, the Nation, The Times of London and the Los Angeles Times. He is the author of two books, The Mother Court -- Tales of Cases That Mattered in America's Greatest Trial Court, and Supremely Partisan—How Raw Politics Tips the Scales in the United States Supreme Court. Jim served as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York in the Criminal Division under the legendary Robert M. Morgenthau.
Watch more Conversations with Jim Zirin at http://tv.cuny.edu/show/conversationswithjimzirin
Subscribe to the CUNY TV channel: https://bit.ly/2GmGb13
Subscribe to the Series Playlist: https://bit.ly/2RJKqKy
CNJZ09008
Will the Courts Be the Brakes on Trump's Mass Deportations? | Conversations with Jim Zirin
In March 2025, invoking the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, never before used in peacetime, Trump, in violation of a court order, sent hundreds of Venezuelan men, alleged to be gang members, to the infamous CECOT prison in El Salvador. Lee Gelernt of the American Civil Liberties Union tells Jim Zirin of the lawsuits that rescued them from torture and abuse.
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Find more from CUNY TV at https://tv.cuny.edu
Recording Date
04/09/2026
First Air Date
04/28/26
Guest:
Lee Gelernt, Lawyer, American Civil Liberties Union
Conversations with Jim Zirin is a talk show designed to illuminate the news by taking the time required to understand and interpret national and world events. The series features high-profile guests from the worlds of politics, law, business, foreign relations, national security, counterterrorism, media, lifestyles, literature, the arts, and the military. The series is hosted by Jim Zirin, a leading litigator and contributor to major publications including Forbes, the Daily Beast, the Nation, The Times of London and the Los Angeles Times. He is the author of two books, The Mother Court -- Tales of Cases That Mattered in America's Greatest Trial Court, and Supremely Partisan—How Raw Politics Tips the Scales in the United States Supreme Court. Jim served as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York in the Criminal Division under the legendary Robert M. Morgenthau.
Watch more Conversations with Jim Zirin at http://tv.cuny.edu/show/conversationswithjimzirin
Subscribe to the CUNY TV channel: https://bit.ly/2GmGb13
Subscribe to the Series Playlist: https://bit.ly/2RJKqKy
CNJZ09007
How Can We Reform Homeland Security? | Conversations with Jim Zirin
Former Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson takes a critical look at the agency he headed and wonders whether the Trump administration is undermining the DHS core mission to protect Americans from terrorist threats to pursue a program of mass deportation, removing undocumented migrants who are contributing to our economy.
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YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@cunytv
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/cunytv/
Find more from CUNY TV at https://tv.cuny.edu
Recording Date 03/13/2026. First Air Date 03/31/2026
Guest:
Jeh Johnson, Former Secretary, U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Conversations with Jim Zirin is a talk show designed to illuminate the news by taking the time required to understand and interpret national and world events. The series features high-profile guests from the worlds of politics, law, business, foreign relations, national security, counterterrorism, media, lifestyles, literature, the arts, and the military. The series is hosted by Jim Zirin, a leading litigator and contributor to major publications including Forbes, the Daily Beast, the Nation, The Times of London and the Los Angeles Times. He is the author of two books, The Mother Court -- Tales of Cases That Mattered in America's Greatest Trial Court, and Supremely Partisan—How Raw Politics Tips the Scales in the United States Supreme Court. Jim served as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York in the Criminal Division under the legendary Robert M. Morgenthau.
Watch more Conversations with Jim Zirin at http://tv.cuny.edu/show/conversationswithjimzirin
Subscribe to the CUNY TV channel: https://bit.ly/2GmGb13
Subscribe to the Series Playlist: https://bit.ly/2RJKqKy
CNJZ09006
About This Show
Conversations with Jim Zirin is a talk show designed to illuminate the news by taking the time required to understand and interpret national and world events. The series features high-profile guests from the worlds of politics, law, business, foreign relations, national security, counterterrorism, media, lifestyles, literature, the arts, and the military.
Regular Air Times
Monday – Thursday 10:30pm
Featured Segments
Will the Courts Be the Brakes on Trump's Mass Deportations? | Conversations with Jim Zirin
In March 2025, invoking the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, never before used in peacetime, Trump, in violation of a court order, sent hundreds of Venezuelan men, alleged to be gang members, to the infamous CECOT prison in El Salvador. Lee Gelernt of the American Civil Liberties Union tells Jim Zirin of the lawsuits that rescued them from torture and abuse.
For full episode: https://tv.cuny.edu/show/conversationswithjimzirin/PR2013895
Follow CUNY TV:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CUNYTV
Twitter: https://twitter.com/cunytv
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cuny.tv/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@cunytv
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/cunytv/
Find more from CUNY TV at https://tv.cuny.edu
Recording Date
04/09/2026
First Air Date
04/28/26
Guest:
Lee Gelernt, Lawyer, American Civil Liberties Union
Conversations with Jim Zirin is a talk show designed to illuminate the news by taking the time required to understand and interpret national and world events. The series features high-profile guests from the worlds of politics, law, business, foreign relations, national security, counterterrorism, media, lifestyles, literature, the arts, and the military. The series is hosted by Jim Zirin, a leading litigator and contributor to major publications including Forbes, the Daily Beast, the Nation, The Times of London and the Los Angeles Times. He is the author of two books, The Mother Court -- Tales of Cases That Mattered in America's Greatest Trial Court, and Supremely Partisan—How Raw Politics Tips the Scales in the United States Supreme Court. Jim served as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York in the Criminal Division under the legendary Robert M. Morgenthau.
Watch more Conversations with Jim Zirin at http://tv.cuny.edu/show/conversationswithjimzirin
Subscribe to the CUNY TV channel: https://bit.ly/2GmGb13
Subscribe to the Series Playlist: https://bit.ly/2RJKqKy
CNJZ09007 FS1
How Can We Reform Homeland Security? | Conversations with Jim Zirin | Featured Segments
Former Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson takes a critical look at the agency he headed and wonders whether the Trump administration is undermining the DHS core mission to protect Americans from terrorist threats to pursue a program of mass deportation, removing undocumented migrants who are contributing to our economy.
Follow CUNY TV:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CUNYTV
Twitter: https://twitter.com/cunytv
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cuny.tv/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@cunytv
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/cunytv/
Find more from CUNY TV at https://tv.cuny.edu
Recording Date 03/13/2026. First Air Date 03/31/2026
Guest:
Jeh Johnson, Former Secretary, U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Conversations with Jim Zirin is a talk show designed to illuminate the news by taking the time required to understand and interpret national and world events. The series features high-profile guests from the worlds of politics, law, business, foreign relations, national security, counterterrorism, media, lifestyles, literature, the arts, and the military. The series is hosted by Jim Zirin, a leading litigator and contributor to major publications including Forbes, the Daily Beast, the Nation, The Times of London and the Los Angeles Times. He is the author of two books, The Mother Court -- Tales of Cases That Mattered in America's Greatest Trial Court, and Supremely Partisan—How Raw Politics Tips the Scales in the United States Supreme Court. Jim served as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York in the Criminal Division under the legendary Robert M. Morgenthau.
Watch more Conversations with Jim Zirin at http://tv.cuny.edu/show/conversationswithjimzirin
Subscribe to the CUNY TV channel: https://bit.ly/2GmGb13
Subscribe to the Series Playlist: https://bit.ly/2RJKqKy
CNJZ09006 FS1
Meet the Host
Jim Zirin
Host