You Decide with Errol Louis

Errol Louis and co-moderator Susan Arbetter discussed the first and only debate in New York's gubernatorial race between Gov. Kathy Hochul and her Republican challenger, Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, which was produced and aired by NY1 and Spectrum News. They offer a behind-the-scenes look at preparations that began in August, with a roughly 10-person team developing and refining questions for a 60-minute televised debate with commercial breaks. They also assess the candidates' experience in elected office and their ability to articulate their ideas, while discussing how moderators balance breaking news, such as the sexual assault investigation at Cornell, with policy issues like taxes and Medicaid.

In the second installment of NY1's exclusive series "Out of Office with the Mayor," Mayor Zohran Mamdani rode the Staten Island Ferry with NY1 political anchor Errol Louis to the only borough he lost on Election Day. They discussed Pete Davidson's doubts about the mayor, coastal resiliency 14 years after Hurricane Sandy, his meeting with President Donald Trump at Gracie Mansion, the anniversary of the Oct. 7 attacks in Israel, his role in the governor's race and how he plans to celebrate turning 35.

Jeff Coltin is editor-in-chief of City & State NY, recently returning to the magazine and news site where he spent a decade building his career covering New York politics. The magazine is celebrating its 20th anniversary with a special edition examining the city's power players from a variety of perspectives. Coltin joined NY1's Errol Louis to discuss his return to City & State and the magazine's two decades of political coverage. They also explored the upcoming midterm elections, New York's gubernatorial race and how Zohran Mamdani has fared in his first nine months as mayor of New York City.

Sam Roberts is a longtime New York urban affairs journalist and an obituary writer for The New York Times. His new book, "Are They Dead Yet? The Art of the Obit" chronicles the craft of writing obituaries and the stories behind them. Roberts joined NY1's Errol Louis to discuss the differences between obituary writing and long-form biography, the taboo against speaking ill of the dead, the use of euphemisms, and the challenge of crafting accurate, compelling leads under deadline. He also explained how advance obituaries are prepared and how editors select just a few notable lives from the many candidates who die each day.

Hundreds of judges sit on the bench in New York City, deciding the fate of criminal defendants. But how did they get their jobs in the first place? It's a surprisingly complicated question that NY1 investigative reporter Courtney Gross explores in her special series, "Building the Bench." She examined how local political parties control the process and select favored judicial candidates, often leaving voters with no real choice. Courtney joined NY1 political anchor Errol Louis to discuss why she pursued the series and what she learned along the way. They explored whether the current system is truly the best way to select judges for state Supreme Court, and Mayor Zohran Mamdani's upcoming judicial appointments for Family Court and Criminal Court. They also discussed allegations of patronage and nepotism, concerns about lawyers who help "make" judges, oversight by the state Commission on Judicial Conduct. They also looked at how the system has also helped diversify the bench, leading to historic firsts in Brooklyn and Queens.