In the latest installment of How to Really Run a City, Kathryn Wylde, CEO of Partnership for New York, shares the secrets to – and power of –  harnessing cities’ business communities.

On this episode, Tech expert/author Jennifer Pahlka and Little Rock, AR, Mayor Frank Scott Jr., caution those in power that leadership is about more than having great ideas. Learn how to provide those who are tasked with executing policy with the right training, tools, or decision-making power to make it happen. 

Within the first six months of her term, L.A. Mayor Karen Bass has faced the Hollywood writers’ and actors’ strike and the teachers’ strike. She moved more than 14,000 unhoused Angelenos inside, relocating people from encampment tents into motels.

She’s also taken the helm of the city’s Metro system, and she pledges to make the 2028 Olympics car-free.  How has she been so productive – and remained so passionate? To find out, listen to the latest episode.

“You know about the handshake, right?” Mayor Michael Nutter says. “You gotta get up in that web. You gotta own the handshake.” Mayor Kasim Reed agrees, saying that Nutter once also taught him an ancillary move: One hand on the shoulder while the other clasps the hand. 

Get insider tips, like the anatomy of the mayoral handshake, from these former two-term mayors. They also compare notes on how to lead with swagger, and on the mentors who convinced them they really could lead their respective cities. 

Your hosts then welcome current third-term D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser who shares what it takes to navigate the many obstacles to smart policy and governing in a city that is also (effectively) a county and state — and how she keeps focused on her goal of fueling economic prosperity without leaving anyone behind.

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Alarmingly, in a city that is 44 percent Black, Black-owned businesses with payroll represent less than 3 percent of the businesses in our ecosystem. This episode has our hosts sit down with Newark, NJ, Mayor Ras Baraka and Nowak Metro Finance Lab’s Bruce Katz – two experts who have a litany of solutions to address one of the most pressing issues of our time: creating and supporting the success of Black businesses.

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For all of the seeming division in our country, there really are leaders who are committed to bringing people together to achieve real change. Helming that charge? Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt, an anti-Trump, tax-increasing Republican who joined this episode of the podcast. Whatever political party you ascribe to, meeting in the middle may be easier than you think.

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In this episode, Nutter, Reed and Platt turned to one of the architects behind Oakland’s 50 percent reduction in gun violence over seven years: David Muhammad, Executive Director of the National Institute for Criminal Justice Reform. Gun violence has taken a toll in cities across America. Muhammad’s game plan will leave you with a sense that this problem is one thing: solvable.

Find more solutions at The Philadelphia Citizen.

Did you know that changing the color of roads could lower their temperature by more than 10 degrees? Or that strategically planting trees could lower air temperature by up to 40 degrees? Neither did we, until we heard this episode, featuring Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego. Learn the ways she has made her city’s focus on sustainability pay off for its citizens. Don’t miss an episode release: Subscribe now!

There’s a secret leadership skill you can’t gain from a Harvard MBA or Stanford education: It’s connecting with the people. In this episode, hosts Reed, Nutter, and Platt explore the power of relationship to make positive changes, then welcome Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf to share the replicable ways she’s made a difference in Oakland, CA, about problems ranging from gun violence to potholes.

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