The Update with Brandon Julien

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 2020- or as we call it around here, 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 2020- or as we call it around here, 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 2020- or as we call it around here, 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.

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 2020- or as we call it around here, 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 2020- or as we call it around here, 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 2020- or as we call it around here, 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 2020- or as we call it around here, 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?

Today’s Update Journal is all about wishlists — the ones the city makes, and the ones parents secretly sabotage. On one hand, we’ve got MTA chief Janno Lieber rolling out his 2026 transit wishlist like a kid circling every single toy in the December catalog: more service, better reliability, maybe a miracle or two if the budget elves cooperate. It’s ambitious. It’s hopeful. It’s… probably going to run into reality by spring. And on the other hand, today’s Honorable Mention reveals that parents are now hiding gifts inside decoy gifts to keep Christmas morning magical. These folks are running an undercover operation that makes NYPD Intel look amateur. You’ve got parents stashing Nintendo Switches inside cereal boxes, Barbie dolls in vacuum cleaner packaging, and one parent probably putting an iPad inside a pack of socks just to keep the element of surprise alive. Transit dreams. Christmas schemes. Only in New York could those two things make perfect sense in the same show.In the headlines on #TheUpdate this Thursday, the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree, an icon of New York City’s holiday season, was lit up in midtown Manhattan as crowds of people wearing Santa hats and Christmas light necklaces cheered.A man who wore a clown mask and brandished a chain saw during a frightful episode in an upstate New York neighborhood was convicted of two felony charges.And in Washington, the Pentagon knew there were survivors after a September attack on an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean Sea and the U.S. military still carried out a follow-up strike, according to two people familiar with the matter.

Today’s Update Journal takes you from the chaos of primetime to the calm glow of midtown. First up: Deal or No Deal: Island of Confusion — the reality show so bewildering that even Howie Mandel couldn’t save it from itself. We break down why the concept never quite added up… and why maybe some classics are better left untouched. Then we pivot from TV turbulence to holiday perfection with The Rockefeller Tree Glow-Up — the annual reminder that while America may struggle to produce good reality shows, New York can still produce a spruce that steals the season. It’s a tale of two spectacles: one cancelled, one illuminated, both somehow peak 2025.In the headlines on #TheUpdate this Wednesday, the first major storm of the winter covered parts of the Northeast and mid-Atlantic with snow and ice, making roads hazardous, disrupting travel and closing schools as some areas braced for several inches of heavy snowfall.Video shown in court documented how police approached, arrested and searched Luigi Mangione at a Pennsylvania McDonald’s — moments that underlie key questions about what evidence can and can’t be used in the case surrounding the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.And In Tennessee, Republican Matt Van Epps won a nationally watched special election for a U.S. House seat, maintaining his party’s grip on the conservative district with help from President Trump. But the comparatively slim margin of victory fueled Democratic hopes for next year’s midterms as the party grasps for a path back to power in Washington.

Today’s edition is pure New York energy — equal parts drama, confusion, and “did that really just happen?” The Mets have once again treated the Yankees like their own personal lost-and-found bin, reaching in and pulling out Devin Williams like a kid grabbing the last toy on the shelf at Target. Apparently the city now has a baseball transfer portal, and the Mets are the only ones who know the password. Meanwhile, in our Honorable Mention, Americans are celebrating the holidays the old-fashioned way: by absolutely obliterating their credit limits. The numbers are so high, Santa might have to start accepting Visa, Afterpay, and maybe even Klarna just to get through the season. It turns out the only thing we’re wrapping this year… is ourselves in debt.In the headlines on #TheUpdate this Tuesday, a Nor’easter is set to slam metro-area commuters with a wet wintery mix, but the evening rush’s heavy rains could bring the most treacherous conditions, according to forecasters.New York City is poised to get its first Vegas-style casinos, including one next to the home stadium of baseball’s New York Mets and another that could see a windfall for President Trump.And out in the American west, family members were getting ready to cut the cake at a toddler’s birthday party when the gunfire started inside a banquet hall packed with relatives and friends over the weekend in California. Four people were killed. Meanwhile, even with those killings, mass shootings in the U.S have hit the lowest number recorded since 2006, according to a database maintained by The Associated Press and USA Today in partnership with Northeastern University.

Another winter, another round of “Snow Day Politics,” the annual NYC ritual where logic goes to die. Once upon a time, we stayed up until 1 a.m. refreshing the DOE website like we were waiting to see who got the first pick in the NBA Draft. Then De Blasio came along and declared the snow day extinct, replacing it with remote learning—because nothing says “holiday magic” like logging into Zoom while the city is buried in powder. And under Mayor Adams? We finally got a snow day… only for the “bulletproof” remote-learning infrastructure to crash harder than the F train during rush hour. In New York, even winter weather has drama.In th headlines on #TheUpdate this Monday, as the first anniversary of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson’s killing looms this week, the man charged in his death will be in court fighting to prevent prosecutors from using evidence they say links him to the crime.Hundreds of rabid anti-ICE protesters clashed with cops in New York City on Saturday — with NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch blasting the feds for putting her officers in harm’s way, according to sources.And in Washington, the Afghan man accused of shooting two National Guard members blocks from the White House had been unraveling for years, unable to hold a job and flipping between long, lightless stretches of isolation and taking sudden weekslong cross-country drives.

Today in The Update Journal, we revisit the annual tradition that turns even the bravest among us into rule-writing tyrants: the 2025 Potluck. Yes, it’s that magical time of year when everyone suddenly discovers they have dietary restrictions, allergies, or moral objections to dishes that have existed for centuries. This year, however, I’ve decided to do something bold. Something daring. Something historic. I’m retiring from cooking. Effective immediately. My apron is hung up. My spatula is in storage. My oven mitts have unionized and walked out. And then, as we wrap up the chaos of sign-up sheets, crockpots, and mystery casseroles, The Last Word tonight brings us back to something simple, something warm, something real: Thankfulness. Because despite the food debates, the last-minute store runs, the stove that always breaks at the worst possible moment, and the one coworker who insists their “famous” macaroni salad is a personality trait, we still gather, laugh, eat, and appreciate the people who make our days a little brighter.In the headlines on #TheUpdate this Wednesday, a notorious 1979 missing-child case is headed to trial a third time after New York prosecutors vowed to retry the man whose murder conviction was recently overturned in the disappearance of 6-year-old Etan Patz.The 70th and final conviction in a sweeping New York City corruption probe was secured, concluding a decade-long bribery scheme in which public housing employees steered work to contractors in exchange for bribes.And in Florida, the death of a teenager on a Carnival cruise ship earlier this month has been ruled a homicide, the latest development in a case that has drawn international attention and sparked intense speculation on social media.

New York football has officially left the chat… again. The Jets have clinched their annual tradition of heartbreak, the Giants became the first team eliminated from the postseason (because of course they did), and all of us are already Googling “When does baseball season start?” like we didn’t swear off the Mets at least twice last year. Misery truly does love company—good thing both teams are providing plenty of it. And for today’s Honorable Mention: Party of none. A bar owner has banned solo drinkers from entering his business in order to “mitigate risk” the companionless have been known to bring, dividing the internet over the controversial policy. Because nothing says “welcome to the holidays” quite like being told even your beer needs a +1.In the headlines on #TheUpdate this Tuesday, New York City celebrated Gotham FC’s capture of its second National Women’s Soccer League championship in three years, with a procession for the players in Manhattan and the presentation of the keys to the city.The Big Apple firefighter’s union is steaming mad over the sudden discovery of 68 boxes of Ground Zero health data following the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks — files they were told never existed.And in Washington, a federal judge dismissed the criminal cases against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, concluding that the prosecutor who brought the charges at President Trump’s urging was illegally appointed by the Justice Department.

This week on The Update Journal, we’re carving up a holiday trio so wild it makes the Macy’s balloons question whether they should’ve just floated away for good. First up: Marjorie Taylor Greene decides she’s had enough of Congress — or maybe Congress finally had enough of her. Either way, she’s resigning in January, proving once again that sometimes the biggest plot twist is the ending everyone saw coming… and yet somehow still needed popcorn for. Then, over in Queens, the first domino of the Mets’ latest culture shift falls as Brandon Nimmo packs his bags and heads for Texas. Yes, you read that right — Nimmo waved his no-trade clause, probably after seeing the Mets’ 2026 direction and thinking, “You know what? I could use some warmer weather and fewer existential crises.” And finally, Thanksgiving in New York City, where the vibes are different, the parade balloons are exhausted, and Black Friday has evolved from “chaotic stampede” to “you better buy it now or you’ll never see it again.” It’s the season of deals, delays, and delusion — the holy trinity of any New Yorker’s holiday timeline.In the headlines on #TheUpdate this Monday, Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani didn’t back down in an interview that aired Sunday from past criticism that President Trump acted like a despot and a fascist after a surprisingly friendly White House meeting between the two men.NYC Schools Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos is engaged “in a loving relationship” with the son of a powerful state lawmaker whose support she was counting on to help keep her job under the Mamdani administration.And in Wisconsin, a woman who admitted to nearly stabbing a classmate to death at age 12 to please the online horror character Slender Man is missing after she cut off an electronic monitoring device and left a group home, authorities say.

On the road from American Dream, we learned that even a mall with a ski slope, a theme park, and pretzels priced like luxury items can’t compete with the glory of going home, taking off your shoes, and collapsing like a drained iPhone.In the headlines on #TheUpdate this Friday, Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani said that he’s “not concerned” his upcoming meeting with President Trump could be a political trap, vowing instead to center the Oval Office sit-down on how they could work to make the city more affordable.New York Rep. Nydia Velázquez — a trailblazer known by the nickname “La Luchadora” or the fighter — announced Thursday that she will retire next year after more than three decades in Congress.And in Louisville, Kentucky, federal investigators released dramatic photos Thursday of an engine flying off a doomed UPS cargo plane that crashed two weeks ago, killing 14 people, and said there was evidence of cracks in the left wing’s engine mount.

This week in the wild world of The Update, the internet caught a full-blown case of pneumonia after Cloudflare let out the tiniest sneeze — reminding us once again that our entire digital universe is apparently held together with bubble gum and hope. Meanwhile, the MTA promised a bold new era where rear-door boarding might finally become a thing… just as soon as OMNY stops behaving like a fussy toddler who refuses to get in the stroller. And to round it all out, we dive headfirst into the Great Gravy Debate — because if anything is going to hold Thanksgiving (and half our sanity) together, it’s a good ladle of the brown stuff. In the headlines on #TheUpdate this Wednesday, a Democratic ex New Jersey mayor and current police sergeant was arrested for allegedly drugging and sexually assaulting a child he met online, officials announced.A judge has dismissed a Trump administration legal challenge to New York policies that block immigration officials from arresting people at state courthouses, saying the federal government can’t force states to cooperate with those enforcement efforts.And in New Orleans, around 250 federal border agents are set to descend there in the coming weeks for a two-month immigration crackdown dubbed “Swamp Sweep” that aims to arrest roughly 5,000 people across southeast Louisiana and into Mississippi, according to documents obtained by The Associated Press and three people familiar with the operation.

Tis The Season- For Unaffordability. This Thanksgiving will cost the average American almost $1,000, new research has revealed. That’s according to a survey of 2,000 U.S. adults who celebrate Thanksgiving, split evenly by generation.In the headlines on #TheUpdate this Tuesday, an NYPD cop took a shotgun blast to the face after being ambushed in Brooklyn by a suspected killer — but got off the fatal shot that downed the crazed gunman, police and sources said.Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani said that he hopes to meet with President Trump to find ways the political polar opposites can work together on the central focus of his winning campaign: affordability.And in Washington, the House is heading toward a vote on a bill to force the Justice Department to release the case files it has collected on the late financier Jeffrey Epstein, pushing past a monthslong effort by President Trump and Republican leaders to stymie the effort.

Today’s Update Journal is taking you on a rollercoaster — the kind where one minute you’re debating childcare policy and the next you’re suddenly emotional over cranberry sauce. Buckle up. First, we dive into The Childcare Question: the promise, the price tag, and the collective New York skepticism of “Okay… but can we actually do this, or are we all just pretending?” It’s ambitious, it’s inspiring, and it’s giving very much “group project where only one person is doing all the work.” Then, we fully pivot — because that’s how this show works — into the Thanksgiving memory I always come back to. You know the one. Parade balloons soaring overhead, me on video chat with Tommie while she’s off in Delaware, and me trying not to burn anything in the kitchen because I was unsupervised. A true holiday classic.In the headlines on #TheUpdate this Monday, New York Jets cornerback and special teams standout Kris Boyd was critically injured in a shooting in midtown Manhattan, according to Mayor Adams’ office.Two people have been killed, including a 10-year-old boy, and three others wounded in a mass shooting in Newark.And in Charlotte, North Carolina, a top Border Patrol commander touted dozens of arrests in North Carolina’s largest city as Charlotte residents reported encounters with federal immigration agents near churches, apartment complexes and stores.

Today’s Update Journal delivers a full buffet of stories — and like any good buffet, you’re not sure how these dishes ended up next to each other, but somehow it works. We kick things off with a genuine MTA miracle — yes, you read that right — as the Mamdani proposal inches from pipe dream to possible reality, proving that sometimes transit justice does show up fashionably late. Then we pivot to the funeral for America’s last penny. It lived a long life, annoyed generations of cashiers, and bought absolutely nothing since 1968. Meanwhile, cable news has entered its “let’s just try something new and hope the ratings gods are kind” era. MSNBC has officially rebranded itself as MS NOW — because apparently someone in corporate stood up during a meeting and said, “What if… hear me out… we change the name?” And finally, The Last Word reminds us that as we march toward Thanksgiving, the real stories aren’t in the headlines — they’re at the table. The kitchen table, the folding table, the “we never use this except for holidays” table — all of them. Because nothing brings people together like a feast, a good laugh, and a family member quietly judging the mashed potatoes.In the headlines on #TheUpdate this Friday, a man with a gun was killed in a shootout with the NYPD after he pointed his weapon at a man in an apartment building elevator and a deli worker and threatened to shoot up a hospital. A Long Island man who allegedly smashed up and slashed the tires of nearly a dozen police cruisers parked outside the NYPD’s newest station house was busted after he nearly backed into cops on his tail –and then promptly cut loose in court, cops and prosecutors said.And in Chicago, The Rev. Jesse Jackson, who has been receiving around-the-clock care at home, has been hospitalized with a rare neurological disorder, according to his Chicago-based organization.