With Ronald Reagan and the GOP dominating America’s political landscape in the 1980s, Democrats were largely dispirited and looking for someone to push back against a new wave of conservatism. Improbably, Mario Cuomo, the son of a grocer from Queens, became one of their heroes.

Serving as governor of New York for 12 years, Cuomo was one of the chief standard-bearers of liberalism at a time when the political pendulum was swinging to the right. Even as many New Yorkers were increasingly worried about crime, Cuomo strongly resisted any calls for the death penalty, saying it made no sense morally or pragmatically. Filled with passion, Cuomo’s address on abortion rights and his keynote speech at the Democratic National Convention in 1984 are still studied today by students of the political craft and by those trying to explain the DNA of the Democratic Party.

Cuomo was well-positioned to take his positions and ambitions nationally and launch a presidential campaign in 1992. Why Cuomo never pulled the trigger is one of the great mysteries of New York politics. 

Told from the perspective of his key advisors and the reporters that covered him, this special three-part podcast with NY1’s Errol Louis traces the rise of Mario Cuomo, measures his impact on New York and America, and tries to solve the riddle of why Cuomo didn’t run for president.