Hosted by Juan Manuel Benítez · 🇺🇸 US · EN · 30 episodes
Established thought leaders with verified media credentials.
"Juan Manuel Benítez Wants to Know" is a New York City-based interview podcast that gets inside the minds of the people shaping our world - from rising political heavyweights to policy architects to cultural influencers. Drawing on more than two decades of reporting experience on television and radio, and on his role as Columbia University’s Professor of Local Journalism, host Juan Manuel Benítez combines sharp policy questions with unexpected personal curiosity, exploring not just what his guests think, but how they think. Each conversation reveals the books, music, experiences, and obsessions that drive decision-makers, creating intimate portraits of public figures that satisfy both news junkies and anyone curious about the human side of power. It's journalism that remembers people are people first.
Juan Manuel Benítez hosts Juan Manuel Benítez Wants to Know, a news show with 30 episodes published.
For the Season 2 finale, Juan Manuel Benítez revisits the moments that stayed with him — the candid answers, the unexpected turns, and the heaviest conversations of the year. Clips from Christina Greer, Luis Miranda, Mic
Chuck Park was born in Flushing to Korean immigrants who started out as street vendors on Canal Street, selling whatever they could find on the loading docks of Bloomingdale's. He grew up to become a U.S. diplomat under
Mounting a small play in London costs about £2 million. The same play on Broadway? Around $8 million. That's the math Frank DiLella lays out in this conversation about why Broadway tickets cost what they do — and what Ne
Dr. Alister Martin is the 45th Commissioner of the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene — an emergency physician, Harvard graduate, and former White House fellow who's been on the job for two months. In
DESCRIPTION Ross Barkan covered New York City politics for years before running for office himself. He lost. His campaign manager was a little-known political operative named Zohran Mamdani. That man is now the mayor of
DESCRIPTION Two weeks before Earth Day, Juan Manuel Benítez sits down with Julie Tighe, president of the New York League of Conservation Voters. They take stock of what's being dismantled in Washington — clean air and wa
DESCRIPTION State Assembly Member Micah Lasher is running to replace Jerry Nadler in New York's 12th Congressional District — one of the most-watched Democratic primaries in the country. He talks about the US-Israel war
DESCRIPTION / SHOW NOTES Brooklyn 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
SHOW NOTES Julie Menin didn't plan on a career in politics. She started a nonprofit to help rebuild Lower Manhattan after 9/11, became a three-time city commissioner, ran New York City's 2020 census — finishing first amo
Show Notes Luis Miranda — political consultant, founder of the Hispanic Federation, and yes, Lin-Manuel Miranda's father — sits down with Juan Manuel Benítez to talk about five decades of building Latino political power
SHOW NOTES He grew up in a fly-fishing motel near Lake Placid. As a teenager, he was suicidal and spent a month in a psychiatric hospital. Decades later, he helped pass marriage equality in New York State, represented Ch
Episode Description Christine Quinn was once the second most powerful person in New York City government. As City Council Speaker — the first woman and first openly gay person to hold that role — she negotiated eight bud
Political scientist Christina Greer joins Juan Manuel Benítez to discuss why the current moment of federal raids, ICE violence and authoritarian governance isn't shocking to Black Americans - it's familiar. From the hist
Former immigration judge Carmen María Rey joins Juan Manuel Benítez to discuss her August 2025 termination by the Trump administration, what she witnessed in New York's immigration courts during the first months of Trump
Season 2 kicks off with a special reunion! Juan Manuel Benítez brings together the original Off Topic/On Politics team — Grace Rauh and Zack Fink — to reflect on NYC's political transformation, their post-journalism care
Episode description It’s the book many of my podcast guests recommended –and that I’m also now reading: The Gods of New York. In it, New York Times journalist Jonathan Mahler argues the last years of the 1980’s shaped th
Assemblymember Alex Bores is one of the only lawmakers in America who can read both a bill and a codebase — and he's now running for Congress in New York’s competitive 12th District. In this episode, we dig into his push
Show Notes Special Book Edition: 25,000 Streams Celebration Recorded in New York City on Thanksgiving Day A milestone episode. After just a dozen conversations, Juan Manuel Benítez Wants to Know has crossed 25,000 stream
Ben Smith has been at the vanguard of digital journalism for two decades. In a candid conversation, Semafor 's co-founder and editor-in-chief discusses his mission to fix the chaos of information overload, how Semafor 's
Antonio Delgado isn’t just New York’s lieutenant governor — he’s now Kathy Hochul’s biggest political headache. In this episode, Delgado tells Juan Manuel Benítez why he’s taking on his own boss in next year’s Democratic
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Juan Manuel Benítez Wants to Know is hosted by Juan Manuel Benítez. The show is categorised under news (politics) and has published 30 episodes.
Juan Manuel Benítez Wants to Know has published 30 episodes.
Juan Manuel Benítez Wants to Know regularly covers news, politics, government. It sits in the news category, with a politics focus.
Juan Manuel Benítez Wants to Know is accessible for guests with genuine news expertise. A personalised, episode-aware pitch will still outperform a generic one every time.
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Episodes of Juan Manuel Benítez Wants to Know average 34 minutes. a focused format where a clear narrative arc and tight preparation matter most.
Our data rates Juan Manuel Benítez Wants to Know's guest bar at 80/100 (Premium tier). Established thought leaders with verified media credentials. Sign in to PitchCentric to see how your own Pod Score compares against this show.
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