🥳 Dream City is now one year old.

To mark the anniversary, Cuneyt and Tom look back at a remarkable year in D.C. politics. And they revisit their first newsmaker interview: their sit-down with Janeese Lewis George during the mayoral primary.

During the interview (originally aired 2/23/26), JLG lays out how she would fund expanded child care, search D.C. government for waste, tackle truancy, deal with President Trump and ICE, rebuild downtown and respond to concerns about democratic socialism. She also weighs in on AI, Waymo and accelerating housing development at RFK.

Thanks for listening and supporting.

00:00 Dream City Turns One 🎂

05:21 Janeese Lewis George’s D.C. Roots

09:09 How JLG Would Pay for Child Care for All

14:30 Can JLG Cut Waste Before Raising Taxes?

17:09 Truancy and D.C.’s Education Problem

19:23 JLG’s Management Style

21:27 How JLG Would Deal With Trump and ICE

23:55 Rebuilding Downtown and Union Station

26:52 Democratic Socialism and Business Anxiety

29:39 AI, Waymo, and the Future of D.C.

31:34 Can JLG Speed Up Housing at RFK?

33:41 The Mark Segraves Experience

The Dream City Podcast is supported by SpotlightDC: Capital City Fund for Investigative Journalism.

The Dream City Podcast will hold the powerful accountable and take you inside D.C.’s business and political worlds. Along the way: Revelatory conversations with city officials, business leaders, and the best-sourced journalists in town.

Music credit: Highway 430 by Blue Dot Sessions

The Dream City Podcast is a product of COSMOS Media LLC.

It’s a special post-election edition of Dream City.

Cuneyt and Tom break down the Democratic sweep of Congress and what the dramatic shift in Washington could mean for D.C. Mayor-elect Janeese Lewis George and incoming D.C. Del. Robert White both have ideas for how to make good use of their new allies on the Hill.

00:00 The Blue Tsunami — and What It Means for D.C.

04:39 How a Democratic Congress Could Reshape Washington

08:08 Robert White’s Federal “Recovery Package” for D.C.

12:12 JLG Starts Building Her Administration

14:18 JLG’s “Desk Audit” and the Government Efficiency Test

17:54 The Budget Crisis Waiting for the Mayor-Elect

19:17 Can JLG Find Common Ground With Trump?

21:29 Christina Henderson’s Party-Switch Power Play

The Dream City Podcast is supported by SpotlightDC: Capital City Fund for Investigative Journalism.

The Dream City Podcast will hold the powerful accountable and take you inside D.C.’s business and political worlds. Along the way: Revelatory conversations with city officials, business leaders, and the best-sourced journalists in town.

Music credit: Highway 430 by Blue Dot Sessions

The Dream City Podcast is a product of COSMOS Media LLC.

Cuneyt and Tom dig into one of the strangest fights on D.C.’s otherwise sleepy November ballot: Initiative 86, which would ban the force-feeding of ducks and geese to produce foie gras.

Celebrity chef José Andrés has come out against the measure, while Butterworth’s owner Bart Hutchins is responding with a $150 four-course foie gras tasting menu — complete with a foie gras “Twinkie.”

Then, they preview Election Day, the transition to a likely Janeese Lewis George administration and Robert White’s expected move to Congress — before turning to another big money question: whether D.C. should put $300 million toward expanding and roofing Audi Field.

00:00 D.C.’s Foie Gras Food Fight

08:39 Election Preview: JLG, Robert White, and the Transition

12:15 Ranked-Choice Voting Gets Confusing

14:09 What’s Next for Kenyan McDuffie?

16:13 Audi Field’s $300 Million Expansion Fight

26:20 Commanders and Nationals Sports Check

29:06 Hacks and Flacks Returns

The Dream City Podcast is supported by SpotlightDC: Capital City Fund for Investigative Journalism.

The Dream City Podcast will hold the powerful accountable and take you inside D.C.’s business and political worlds. Along the way: Revelatory conversations with city officials, business leaders, and the best-sourced journalists in town.

Music credit: Highway 430 by Blue Dot Sessions

The Dream City Podcast is a product of COSMOS Media LLC.