Searchlight: The Podcast

Searchlight: The Podcast kicks off with the people who built it. Host Robert A. George, editor of Searchlight, sits down with Citizens Union Board Chairman John Avlon and Executive Director Grace Rauh to talk about why New York needs a dedicated forum for serious policy debate.

Avlon, a former chief speechwriter for Mayor Rudy Giuliani and former editor of The Daily Beast, shares where the idea for Searchlight came from and how it fits into Citizens Union’s reform tradition, which dates back to 1897.

Rauh, a longtime City Hall reporter, talks about first getting to know Citizens Union as a journalist, bringing the 5BORO Institute with her to Citizens Union, and the organization’s newest work, including the George S. Kaufman Forums, the recent event that brought six former city planning commissioners together, and the Citizens Union Civic Academy with Macaulay Honors College.