Political scientist Christina Greer joins Juan Manuel Benítez to discuss why the current moment of federal raids, ICE violence and authoritarian governance isn't shocking to Black Americans - it's familiar. From the historical parallels between Nazi Germany and American racial terror to the Republican Party's 50-year strategy to overturn Roe v. Wade, Greer explains how America's "capacity for cruelty" has always been present, just newly visible to white Americans.

She breaks down Mayor Zohran Mamdani's first month in office, the strategic genius of his White House meeting with Trump, and her concerns about the lack of Black advisors in his administration. Greer also discusses the double-female ticket of Kathy Hochul and Adrienne Adams, why Democrats keep losing the long game, and what it means to politically "tithe" during a crisis. Plus: her reading recommendations for understanding this moment, the transformative Seydou Keita exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum and why the Tenement Museum's "Your Story, Our Story" project offers hope when everything feels dark.

Christina Greer, PhD

• Associate Professor of Political Science, Fordham University
• Co-host, FAQ NYC podcast (THE CITY)
• Weekly columnist, The Amsterdam News
• Member, The New York Editorial Board

• Nikki Giovanni - Poetry collections
• The Ungovernable City 
• Phil Thompson 

• Lani Guinier 
• Bell Hooks 

Brooklyn Museum

• Seydou Keïta: Portraits 

Tenement Museum