Hello everyone! We're going into #TheUpdate vault to play one of our many episodes throughout our many years of the show. For today's episode, we go into the world of Year 4 of The Update. It was a weird year- starting off in the WKRB studios and then going out on the road (in the middle of a pandemic no less!), but somehow, we found a way to make it work. Oh, and one last thing about this episode- after the show aired, one of my former producers who happened to be listening to the show called me up and invited me out to lunch. How about that?

Hello everyone! We're going into #TheUpdate vault to play one of our many episodes throughout our many years of the show. For today's episode, we go into the world of Year 4 of The Update. It was a weird year- starting off in the WKRB studios and then going out on the road (in the middle of a pandemic no less!), but somehow, we found a way to make it work. Oh, and one last thing about this episode- after the show aired, one of my former producers who happened to be listening to the show called me up and invited me out to lunch. How about that?

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.

This week’s Update Journal is a three-part emotional rollercoaster featuring false goodbyes, television betrayal, and a body that clearly did not read the New Year memo. First, a miracle: five dollars—long presumed dead and buried—returns to my life like an ex who “just wants to talk,” forcing me to re-evaluate everything I thought I knew about economic stability. Then, a media mystery: MythBusters is still on TV… allegedly. The name remains, the explosions remain, but the people? Absolute strangers. I don’t know who they are, I don’t know how they got there, and I’m fairly certain they haven’t watched their own episodes either. And finally, the seasonal grand finale: seasonal depression teams up with flu season in a crossover nobody asked for, proving once again that winter is not a vibe—it’s a hostile environment. Consider this episode part reflection, part rant, and part public service announcement reminding everyone to wash their hands and stop rebooting things that didn’t need saving.

In the headlines on #TheUpdate this Monday, thousands of nurses in three hospital systems in New York City went on strike after negotiations through the weekend failed to yield breakthroughs in their contract disputes.

Richard “Dick” Codey, a former acting governor of New Jersey and the longest serving legislator in the state’s history, died Sunday. He was 79.

And in Minneapolis, federal agents carrying out immigration arrests in Minnesota’s Twin Cities region already shaken by the fatal shooting of a woman rammed the door of one home and pushed their way inside, part of what the Department of Homeland Security has called its largest enforcement operation ever.

The ferry docks, the doors open, and suddenly you’re forced to make a life-altering decision at the ramp: bus, train, or accept your fate and wander Staten Island like a confused tourist with a MetroCard. We relive the nightly chaos of shoulder-to-shoulder exits, disappearing buses, and the unspoken Olympic sport of walking aggressively with purpose. Then, in what might be the best bargain in New York City history, we unpack how nine whole dollars somehow became a meaningful step toward City Hall—proving once again that in local politics, the price of admission is lower than a combo meal, but the paperwork is somehow worse. And finally, we close with The Last Word, a group therapy session disguised as a podcast segment—checking in after the first full week of the new year, when resolutions are already wobbling, alarms feel personal, and everyone’s pretending they’re “back in the groove” while clearly lying.

In the headlines on #TheUpdate this Friday, the NYPD fatally shot a man wielding a sharp object who barricaded himself in a Brooklyn hospital room.

The summertime shooting of an off-duty federal border patrol agent at a Manhattan park by a pair of scooter-riding immigrants sparked a massive roundup of Big Apple gangbangers, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem announced at a Lower Manhattan press conference.

And as anger and outrage spilled out onto Minneapolis’ streets over the fatal shooting of a woman the day before by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer, a new shooting by federal officers in Oregon left two people wounded and elicited more scrutiny of enforcement operations across the U.S. Meanwhile, in the American west in Portland, Federal immigration agents shot and wounded two people in a vehicle outside a hospital in Portland, a day after an officer fatally shot a woman in Minnesota, authorities said.

Some days, New York doesn’t gently inconvenience you — it kicks you directly in the ankles. In this entry, my boots make an executive decision to retire mid-task, leaving me duct-taped, humbled, and questioning every life choice that led me outdoors. Then we check in on the express bus, which now costs so much that even thinking about tapping OMNY feels financially irresponsible. “Express Bus? In this economy?” is no longer a joke — it’s a lifestyle. And for today’s honorable mention: a lawyer reveals the five phrases liars love to use, including a beautifully polished, professionally crafted tagline of pure, weaponized BS — proof that if you’re going to lie, at least be consistent about it.

In the headlines on #TheUpdate this Thursday, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer shot and killed a Minneapolis driver during the Trump administration’s latest immigration crackdown on a major American city — a shooting that federal officials said was an act of self-defense but that the mayor described as reckless and unnecessary.

New York City parents may soon have access to free child care for their 2-year-olds, under a plan set to be unveiled by Gov. Kathy Hochul and Mayor Zohran Mamdani.

And in Washington, Americans should eat more whole foods and protein, fewer highly processed foods and less added sugar, according to the latest edition of federal nutrition advice released by the Trump administration.