Alex Isenstadt, POLITICO reporter, and Heather Haddon, Wall Street Journal reporter, report on the Republicans' last efforts to win over New Yorkers before the primary.

Both Isenstadt and Haddon agreed that the Republican candidates are largely looking ahead to the convention at this point, seeing as it's likely the nomination will still be contested in July.

The candidates made it clear that they're fighting for New Yorkers' votes at last night's tense (and at times loud) Brooklyn debate.

We assembled an all-star team of local political reporters for a day-after breakdown:

Having been on the debate stage, Errol Louis said there was a palpable energy in the room, considering this might be the last Democratic debate of this campaign season.

If you were undecided and something about last night’s #DemDebate made you change your mind, call in: 212-433-9692. #ConvinceCat

@BrianLehrer the single most important moment from the debate was Sanders' choice to stand up for the rights and dignity of Palestinians

@BrianLehrer the more I hear Clinton the worse I FEEL about voting for her. The more I hear Bernie the more I want to vote for him BUT

@BrianLehrer as a POC I REALLY feel that my life will be no better under ANY president. The die was cast for blacks years ago and

@BrianLehrer barring a revolution nothing will change for us. Wait I think I just talked myself into Bernie!

@BrianLehrer as a lib Rep, i continue to be more inclined toward feeling the Bern over feeling the Clinton. Sanders is 10x more trustworthy

@BrianLehrer After #DemDebate I'm now firmly in Clinton camp. Bernie's idealism and inflexibility not good fit for current DC climate.

As blue-collar jobs shift require more technical training, Katherine Newman, professor of sociology at Johns Hopkins University and the co-author of Reskilling America: Learning to Labor in the Twenty-First Century (Metropolitan Books, 2016) argues for the U.S. to borrow practices from European countries and offer vocational training to more students, instead of automatically assuming college is best.

Newman said despite millions of people being unemployed in the U.S. many middle-skilled jobs go unfilled. But this wan't always the case; in the 1930s the U.S. had the type of vocational training in high schools across the country that enabled millions of American to find steady jobs that propelled them into the middle class, but at some point the U.S. favored a different type of economy. "We moved our emphasis into university education," she said. "The white collar zone became the prestige ranks for everyone to aim for and we slowly disinvested in this sort of training."

But with an estimated 2.5 million of these jobs, such as welders, carpenters and airplane mechanics, projected to enter the U.S. workforce in 2017 and account for 40 percent of all job growth, Newman said it's time for the government to invest in and provide sustained vocational training. " A consistent investment that emphasizes the value of this type of education and respects the kinds of careers it's headed for is what the country needs," she said.

A few of our favorite segments from the week, in case you missed them.

James Brown’s Legacy (First) | A Poetry Assignment (Starts at 13:50) | A History of Big Banks (Starts at 29:40)

If you don't subscribe to the Brian Lehrer Show on iTunes, you can do that here.

Trump makes many people feel a lot of things these days, but for New Yorkers there will always be one extra ingredient: nostalgia.

Dean Mullaney, editor, publisher, designer, and author of Rotten to the Core Trading Cards: The Best and Worst of New York City's Politics (Eclipse Enterprises, 1989), looked at the rise of the brash real-estate tycoon, from his humble roots in Queens to his gleaming Trump Tower on the West Side.

Plus WNYC's economic development reporter Janet Babin spoke about the deal-making that made Donald Trump so famous, and WNYC's Kurt Andersen, writer and host of Studio 360, talked about his experience writing about Trump.

Have a look at a few of the trading cards from Mullaney's set, published in 1989. Here's the Trump card, front and back (read the text!):

You may also recognize this at-the-time mayoral candidate:

To wrap up Week 1 of our #30Issues in 30 Weeks series, Barney Frank, a former U.S. Congressman (D-MA) and the author of Frank: A Life in Politics from the Great Society to Same-Sex Marriage (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2015), looks back at The Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, a law he helped introduce in 2010 as a response to the Great Recession.

Frank, a supporter of Hillary Clinton, criticized Bernie Sanders for "vague" proposals. He said Sanders has said the solution is to reduce the big banks to a certain size but has failed to point to an actual number cap.

Frank reacted to the news from earlier this week that the Federal Reserve has deemed the living wills of 5 out of our 8 largest banks unsatisfactory.

"That's a sign it's working," he said, referring to his law. Frank said this shows that the banks are under tough scrutiny and have been put on notice for failing to provide satisfactory living wills, and if they don't improve regulators can step in.

Here's how he explained Dodd-Frank, paraphrased:

Under the old law, if a large institution is unable to pay its debts, the fed would step in, pay, and keep it alive. Under Dodd-Frank, the institution would be allowed to fail and go out of business. At that point, the federal government may decide to pay some of those debts using funds from other institutions.

Frank said that Sanders' plan to break up the banks could result in smaller institutions that are maybe too small to serve international business. "The problem is not size alone. The problem is an institution that is so indebted that it cannot pay it off. And part of what we do is to say: 'You can't get so indebted.'"

One week down, 29 to go!

The Brian Lehrer Show is counting down to Election Day with #30Issues in 30 Weeks, a week-by-week exploration of important topics that are shaping your candidates and your vote.

And we kicked it off with something light: is it time to break up the “too big to fail” banks?

Hit the play button above to hear all of our Week 1 conversations, or choose à la carte below.

Listen to the beginning of Monday's show about the history of trying to reign in big banks! Trust us, it'll explain a lot of your questions about the origins of Glass-Steagall and Dodd-Frank. You'll hear archival tape of Franklin D. Roosevelt, Bill Clinton, and a senator named Byron Dorgan who basically predicted the 2008 crash.

Really, we didn't plan that! Our guest that day was the Roosevelt Institute's Mike Konczal, and here's how he explained it: 

Under Dodd-Frank, the largest banks (there are 8 banks over $500 billion in size in the U.S.) are required to create a "living will," which is essentially a plan to deal with bankruptcy without placing a huge amount of stress on the overall economy.

The fundamental question right now is: do regulators believe that the banks have learned and changed enough since 2008 to be able to survive a bankruptcy without causing panic? This latest headline from the Fed shows that regulators still have their doubts, said Konczal.

The Democrats: Bernie Sanders wants to break them up (now!); Hillary Clinton wants to impose a risk fee and regulate them according to Dodd-Frank. How do their two plans stack up?

The Republicans: Trump has said he'll do away with the carried interest tax. And Ted Cruz is the only candidate suggesting we return to a gold standard, which would make it "impossible" for central banks to use monetary policy to help the economy.

Contrary to the takes, Sanders's Daily News answers on financial reform and breaking up banks were clear and fine: https://t.co/nSs1VGbBDp

.@BrianLehrer #BernieSanders saying banks will figure out how to break themselves up = Mitt's 'self-deportation' plan. #clueless

@rortybomb on @BrianLehrer discussing whether (bank) #SizeMatters on @WNYC enlightening conversation worth "trying" to understand

@BrianLehrer Financial crises only happen when widely-held assumptions are wrong. No way to make a living will that predicts real collapse.

@BrianLehrer Help! My eyes are glazing over

It turns out that attack ads, while much maligned, actually perform a measurable and valuable service to voters.

David Redlawsk, professor of political science at the Eagleton Institute’s Center for Public Interest Polling at Rutgers University and Kyle Mattes, assistant professor of political science at Florida International University, are co-authors of The Positive Case for Negative Campaigning (University Of Chicago Press, 2015), explain their findings that show the power of negative ads.

Here's a video mash-up posted by Donald Trump on his Instagram account several weeks ago:

Is this what we want for a President?

A video posted by Donald J. Trump (@realdonaldtrump) on Mar 16, 2016 at 9:15am PDT

And here's an attack ad against Trump, paid for by the Our Principles PAC (not associated with any candidate):

This conversation is part of a series of interviews with representatives of each of the 2016 candidates. Click here to see more.

Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders will debate at the Brooklyn Navy Yard on Thursday.

Here to preview the event: New York City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, who supports Hillary Clinton, and New York State Senator James Sanders, Jr. (D 10th), who spoke on behalf of U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders.

The Speaker said she'll keep an ear out for any mention of HUD (that is, the Department of Housing and Urban Development), which New York City relies on to deal with housing challenges.

She also said she met with Clinton yesterday in a round-table discussion, and Clinton mentioned creating an Office of Immigrant Affairs out of the White House, which would centralize and improve access to federal resources and social services.

Senator James Sanders, Jr. said one of the issues he'd like to hear addressed tonight is income inequality and the big banks.

"My community was ravaged by predatory lending and the mortgage meltdown," he said, citing a figure that the black community in America lost 50% of its total wealth from 2008-2012.

The Senator wants to know: what will be done about these banks using illegal practices to take money from the community, and when will any of the responsible parties serve time?

For all you cord-cutters, @CNN will stream the debate live online (no cable subscription necessary!).

@BrianLehrer @CNN @NY1 NYers can't afford to live in NY, what would the candidates do to keep nyc available to the middle & working class?

@BrianLehrer @CNN @NY1 I would like them the address the scourge of gun crime and how loose gun laws allow guns to flow into NY State

@BrianLehrer NY specific issues: Will the federal government help build sea walls along the NYC coast in preparation to rising sea levels?

@WNYC @BrianLehrer -- how about a #climate question that has yet to be asked #DemDebate https://t.co/a8Uf0jW8JJ

Bernie Sanders was very much in his element Wednesday, joining Verizon workers as they went on strike.  "Brothers and sisters!" he shouted to a picket line in Brooklyn. "Thank you for your courage in standing up for justice against corporate greed!”

The strike began early yesterday morning after Verizon failed to reach an agreement with unions representing almost 40,000 of its wireline workers.

Noam Scheiber, labor and workplace reporter for The New York Times, talked with Brian about some of the charges and counter-charges behind the strike. At play are benefits, pensions and job security. 

The disagreement over contracts highlights what Scheiber says is one of the most fundamental questions facing the United States: “Can an economy in the throes of dizzying technological change be a source of new middle-class jobs for blue-collar workers?” 

A striking worker just called, said @Verizon wants the right to transfer employees anywhere for 2 months. With kids, she can't promise that.