"You Are Light" — Antonio Reynoso on Congress, Mamdani, and What's at Stake for the Democratic Party

DESCRIPTION / SHOW NOTESBrooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso is running for Congress — and this race is more complicated than it looks. He's trying to succeed Nydia Velázquez in NY-7 after 33 years. His opponents include a DSA-backed Assembly member endorsed by Mayor Zohran Mamdani — the same Mamdani that Reynoso championed loudly when he ran for mayor. We asked him about all of it.In this episode: the Mamdani endorsement he knew was coming (and what that conversation actually looked like), why he thinks this race is about the future of the Democratic Party — not just his career, what he'd actually do in Congress as part of a minority, and why after borough president, he thinks he's done with politics.Also: outdoor dining, anime, a wife who watches too many murder shows, and a closing answer about a kid growing up in Los Sures that we didn't see coming.📚 Books & recommendations mentioned in this episode:Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing — Borrow free from Brooklyn Public LibraryManual del Guerrero de la Luz by Paulo Coelho — Borrow free from Brooklyn Public Library (Spanish) / English editionDemon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba — Stream on CrunchyrollAntonio Reynoso is the Brooklyn Borough President and Democratic candidate for New York's 7th Congressional District. The primary is June 23, 2026.Juan Manuel Benítez Wants to Know is produced at Columbia Journalism School in New York City.