We've done a lot of episodes throughout our many years of #TheUpdate, but some of them are my personal favorites. Every month, we're going to go into The Update vault and play one episode from my personal list of favorite episodes. I hope you enjoy them as much as i did hosting it.

This edition of The Update Journal asks the hard questions—like why television now ghosts us after six episodes, why we’re still emotionally recovering from Tony & Ziva, and who decided “two years between seasons” was acceptable behavior. We spiral into a full streaming rant, question whether TV is broken or just tired, and mourn the era when shows had filler episodes and character development. Then we switch tracks—literally—into subway signals, train foamers, and the rare, mythical phenomenon known as wrong-railing (spoken of in hushed tones, like a unicorn sighting with third-rail power). And finally, Brandon’s Take tackles the ultimate January mystery: why the calendar insists this month is 87 days long, emotionally sponsored by darkness, cold air, and unfinished New Year’s resolutions.

In the headlines on #TheUpdate this Wednesday, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul used her annual State of the State address to unveil a reelection year agenda aimed at bridging divides in the Democratic Party — moving to harness liberal anger at President Donald Trump and excitement over Mayor Zohran Mamdani, while also tending to moderates anxious about public safety and antisemitism.

Hospital officials and union leaders traded barbs, but failed to return to the bargaining table on the second day of New York City’s biggest nursing strike in decades.

And in Washington, President Trump said that starting Feb. 1 he will deny federal funding to any states that are home to local governments resisting his administration’s immigration policies, expanding on previous threats to cut off resources to the so-called sanctuary cities themselves.

Today in The Update Journal, we examine the great mystery of modern life: what exactly are we paying for anymore? First up, the S40 bus suffers what can only be described as a public medical episode, forcing everyone to abandon ship and board another bus… only for that same S40 to later cruise by like nothing ever happened. No warning lights. No shame. Just vibes. Then, a casual walk past Sugar Factory turns into a financial stress test. One look at the menu and suddenly dessert feels like a luxury item reserved for people with offshore accounts. A sugar rush is temporary, but that receipt? Emotional damage. And in today’s honorable mention, a mom casually defeats impossible plastic packaging with a simple hack—proving once again that the strongest force on Earth isn’t duct tape or scissors, it’s parental frustration.

In the headlines on #TheUpdate this Tuesday, a New York City Council staffer was hauled away by ICE officials when he showed up to a routine court check-in at a Long Island immigration center, Big Apple leaders said as feds labeled the employee a “criminal” in the US illegally.

Officials at a major New York City hospital accused the nurses’ union of attempting to protect members who come to work drunk or stoned — as thousands of medical caregivers went on strike.

And Minnesota and its two largest cities sued the Trump administration to try to stop an immigration enforcement surge that led to the fatal shooting of a Minneapolis woman by a federal officer and evoked outrage and protests across the country.