The Provocateur

Why did a Sequoia partner in faraway Silicon Valley feel the need to troll the Democratic nominee for New York City mayor? Bradley breaks down the power dynamics at play in Sean Maguire's inflammatory remarks about Zohran Mamdani: a high-performing VC chasing attention, a prestigious firm caught in the crossfire, and the challenge of balancing individual expression with institutional risk. Maguire’s move wasn’t a misstep, says Bradley, it was a calculated play for relevance in a niche echo chamber. Also in this episode: The UK’s plan to lower the voting age to 16 offers a blueprint for U.S. reform, a rumination on the Jekyll and Hyde nature of the human species, and why Bradley lost his lifelong aversion to Billy Joel.This episode was taped at P&T Knitwear at 180 Orchard Street — New York City’s only free podcast recording studio.Send us an email with your thoughts on today’s episode: [email protected] sure to watch Bradley’s new TED Talk on Mobile Voting at https://go.ted.com/bradleytusk.Subscribe to Bradley's weekly newsletter and follow Bradley on Linkedin + Substack + YouTube.