Five boroughs. One mayor. Mad drama.

New York Public Radio icon Brian Lehrer breaks down the New York City mayor's race and New York magazine's David Freedlander explains what Democrats nationally can learn from the two leading candidates.

This episode was produced by Peter Balonon-Rosen and Denise Guerra, edited by Amina Al-Sadi, fact-checked by Laura Bullard, engineered by Andrea Kristinsdottir and Patrick Boyd, and hosted by Noel King.

Listen to Today, Explained ad-free by becoming a Vox Member: vox.com/members. Transcript at vox.com/today-explained-podcast.

Democratic mayoral candidate Andrew Cuomo shaking hands with Zohran Mamdani. Photo by Yuki Iwamura-Pool/Getty Images.

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