Conversations with New Yorkers who are bearing the costs and consequences of New York's COVID-19 vaccine mandates. <br/><br/><a href="https://firsthandmedia.substack.com/s/new-york-mandate-podcast?utm_medium=podcast">firsthandmedia.substack.com</a>
New York Mandate Podcast
Claim This Podcastby Aimee@Firsthand Media
5.0(3 reviews)
61 episodes
Updated Bi-weekly
Accepts GuestsHas SponsorsLocation 🇺🇸
43
Podcast Authority
BetaFairBased on show quality, social media presence, reviews, charts, and more
Quality61
Social0
YouTube0
Engagement60
Podcast Overview
Conversations with New Yorkers who are bearing the costs and consequences of New York's COVID-19 vaccine mandates. <br/><br/><a href="https://firsthandmedia.substack.com/s/new-york-mandate-podcast?utm_medium=podcast">firsthandmedia.substack.com</a>
Language
🇺🇲
Publishing Since
5/9/2022
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43
Podcast Authority
BetaFairBased on show quality, social media presence, reviews, charts, and more
Quality61
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Engagement60
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Recent Episodes
June 24, 2026
New York Mandate Podcast, Ep. 60: Firefighter O'Brian Pastrana & Attorney Sujata Gibson
<p><strong>“I really hope that there’s some accountability held for those who were responsible for pushing forward with all of this. Too many wrongs were done. A lot of them still have not been corrected. People need to be made aware that this was wrong, what happened, and a lot of people have been affected.” - O’Brian Pastrana</strong></p><p><p>The New York Mandate Podcast and Firsthand Media are subscriber-supported. To receive new episodes and support my work, please consider becoming a subscriber.</p></p><p>In this episode of the New York Mandate Podcast, I talk with retired FDNY firefighter O’Brian Pastrana and attorney Sujata Gibson, shortly after Gibson presented oral arguments in his federal appeal against the New York City Fire Department. </p><p>Pastrana was retired from the fire department after he developed heart damage following a COVID-19 vaccination he took in compliance with New York City’s 2021 vaccine mandate for municipal workers.</p><p>After the June 22, 2026 hearing at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, I sat down with Pastrana, Gibson, and attorney Christina Martinez. Gibson discussed the importance of the case and where it’s headed, and Pastrana talked with me about the profound changes to his life since 2021, the hearing, and his hopes for the future.</p><p><strong>Here are some links related to things we talked about during the episode:</strong></p><p>You can <a target="_blank" href="https://ww3.ca2.uscourts.gov/audio/25-2104.mp3">listen to the full June 22, 2026 hearing</a> where Sujata Gibson presented oral arguments in Pastrana v. New York City Fire Department on the <a target="_blank" href="https://ww3.ca2.uscourts.gov/home.html">U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit website</a>.</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.bravestforchoice.org/">Bravest for Choice</a>This organization advocates for NYC firefighters, fire inspectors, and EMS workers who were adversely affected by New York City’s COVID-19 vaccine mandates.</p><p>Attorney Christina Martinez talked with me about the Pastrana case and other lawsuits challenging New York City’s COVID-19 vaccine mandates last year:</p><p></p><p><strong>About the New York Mandate Podcast</strong></p><p>The New York Mandate Podcast is an ongoing series of conversations exploring the costs and consequences of vaccine mandates in New York City. I talk with workers, students, and parents who have been directly affected by the mandates, as well as legal and policy experts.</p><p>In late 2021, the City introduced a series of requirements for workers to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. These requirements were put in place through executive orders issued by the administration of former mayor Bill de Blasio. They covered nearly all workers in New York City, in both the public and private sectors. They also barred unvaccinated adults, including parents, from schools.</p><p>Mayor Eric Adams kept the mandates in place until November 1, 2022 for the private sector and February 10, 2023 for City workers, and encouraged private employers to put their own vaccine requirements in place.</p><p>The views expressed in the New York Mandate podcast are the personal opinions of the people speaking, and are not intended to provide medical or legal advice.</p> <br/><br/>This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit <a href="https://firsthandmedia.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2">firsthandmedia.substack.com/subscribe</a>
August 31, 2025
New York Mandate Podcast, Ep. 59: Attorney Christina Martinez
<p><strong>“People are still suffering. People are still out of work. . . . and a lot of them are still fighting these long legal battles. And the city has not backed down. . . . It really is up to the people, right? People need to reach out and let their voices be heard and let the people at the top, the mayor in particular, know that this is an important issue.” - Christina Martinez</strong></p><p><p>The New York Mandate Podcast and Firsthand Media are subscriber-supported. To receive new episodes and support my work, please consider becoming a subscriber.</p></p><p>In this episode of the New York Mandate Podcast, I talk with Christina Martinez, an attorney who has represented dozens of New Yorkers who lost work, careers, and health under New York City’s COVID-19 vaccine mandates.</p><p>Martinez talks about some of the fundamental issues being addressed in ongoing lawsuits, and discusses the details of four recent decisions—one that brought reinstatement to a teacher, two that denied FDNY firefighters the relief they were seeking, and one that may bring an NYC COVID-19 vaccine mandate lawsuit before a jury for the first time.</p><p><strong>More from Christina Martinez:</strong><a target="_blank" href="https://www.exemptionlawyer.com/">Christina Martinez’s website</a>You can also follow Christina Martinez <a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/ExemptionLawyer">on X</a> and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.instagram.com/exemptionlawyerny/">Instagram</a>.</p><p><strong>Here are some links related to things we talked about during the episode:</strong></p><p>New York State <a target="_blank" href="https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2025/S7207">Senate Bill S7207 </a>and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2025/A3686">Assembly Bill A3686</a>These bills if passed will require the reinstatement of New York City employees who were dismissed from employment due to a COVID-19 vaccine requirement.<a target="_blank" href="https://legistar.council.nyc.gov/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=6509365&GUID=9B31C0A1-7AB0-448E-9DAC-2B7FE299FA37&Options=ID|Text|&Search=reinstate">New York City Council Resolution 0005-2024</a>Resolution 5 calls on the New York State legislature to pass, and the governor to sign, state legislation that would reinstate NYC employees who were dismissed from employment due to non-compliance with the COVID-19 vaccination requirement.</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.bravestforchoice.org/">Bravest for Choice</a>This organization advocates for NYC firefighters, fire inspectors, and EMS workers who were terminated or put on leave because they did not comply with the City’s vaccine mandates.</p><p></p><p><strong>About the New York Mandate Podcast</strong></p><p>The New York Mandate Podcast is an ongoing series of conversations exploring the costs and consequences of vaccine mandates in New York City. I talk with workers, students, and parents who have been directly affected by the mandates, as well as legal and policy experts.</p><p>In late 2021, the City introduced a series of requirements for workers to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. These requirements were put in place through executive orders issued by the administration of former mayor Bill de Blasio. They covered nearly all workers in New York City, in both the public and private sectors. They also barred unvaccinated adults, including parents, from schools.</p><p>Current mayor Eric Adams kept the mandates in place until November 1, 2022 for the private sector and February 10, 2023 for City workers, and has encouraged private employers to put their own vaccine requirements in place.</p><p>The views expressed in the New York Mandate podcast are the personal opinions of the people speaking, and are not intended to provide medical or legal advice.</p><p><strong>Join the Conversation</strong></p><p>Have you lost your job, been put on leave, or lost opportunities to work as an independent contractor as a result of your decision not to comply with a vaccine mandate in New York? Did you take a vaccine against your wishes in order to keep your job? Please get in touch with me at NYMpodcast@protonmail.com.</p><p></p> <br/><br/>This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit <a href="https://firsthandmedia.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2">firsthandmedia.substack.com/subscribe</a>
May 14, 2025
New York Mandate Podcast, Ep. 58: Teacher and City Council Candidate Athena Clarke
<p><strong>“We’re going to continue to push and fight for the people like us, because we have to fight for ourselves. . . . when everything happened, I was like, ‘But we’re New Yorkers! This isn’t supposed to happen to us. We’re supposed to fight. And I feel like that old New York feeling disappeared, but now it’s starting to feel like, ‘All right, I think it’s coming back.’”- Athena Clarke</strong></p><p><p>The New York Mandate Podcast and Firsthand Media are subscriber-supported. To receive new episodes and support my work, please consider becoming a subscriber.</p></p><p>In this episode of the New York Mandate Podcast, I talk with Athena Clarke, who was terminated from her position as a special education teacher with the New York City Department of Education in October 2021, because she declined to take a COVID-19 vaccine. Clarke had worked as a teacher for seven years. Her request for a religious exemption to the DOE vaccine mandate was denied.</p><p>Clarke filed a lawsuit against the Board of Education for violating her due process rights. That case was not successful and went to an appeal, before being combined with seven similar lawsuits by tenured teachers that were heard by New York State’s highest court, the Court of Appeals.</p><p>After the Court of Appeals affirmed the lower courts’ decisions against Clarke and the other teachers, Clarke decided to run for New York City Council in the 2025 election. She talked with me about the momentous changes in her life, her experiences as a litigant and candidate, and how the travails of recent years are fueling a new political movement.</p><p><strong>More from Athena Clarke:</strong></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://2025clarkecitycouncil.com/">Athena Clarke’s website</a>You can also follow Athena Clarke on <a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/Clarke4Council">X</a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.instagram.com/clarke4council/">Instagram</a>, and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61574031242418">Facebook</a>.</p><p><strong>Here are some links related to things we talked about during the episode:</strong></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www1.nyc.gov/office-of-the-mayor/news/578-21/mayor-de-blasio-chancellor-porter-commissioner-chokshi-department-education">Announcement of NYC Department of Education Employee Vaccine Mandate </a>This is the August 23, 2021, announcement of the vaccine mandate for New York City Department of Education employees by then Mayor Bill de Blasio, Schools Chancellor Meisha Porter, and Health Commissioner Dave Chokshi.</p><p><strong>About the New York Mandate Podcast</strong></p><p>The New York Mandate Podcast is an ongoing series of conversations exploring the costs and consequences of vaccine mandates in New York City. I talk with workers, students, and parents who have been directly affected by the mandates, as well as legal and policy experts.</p><p>In late 2021, the City introduced a series of requirements for workers to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. These requirements were put in place through executive orders issued by the administration of former mayor Bill de Blasio. They covered nearly all workers in New York City, in both the public and private sectors. They also barred unvaccinated adults, including parents, from schools.</p><p>Current mayor Eric Adams kept the mandates in place until November 1, 2022 for the private sector and February 10, 2023 for City workers, and has encouraged private employers to put their own vaccine requirements in place.</p><p>The views expressed in the New York Mandate podcast are the personal opinions of the people speaking, and are not intended to provide medical or legal advice.</p><p><strong>Join the Conversation</strong></p><p>Have you lost your job, been put on leave, or lost opportunities to work as an independent contractor as a result of your decision not to comply with a vaccine mandate in New York? Did you take a vaccine against your wishes in order to keep your job? Please get in touch with me at NYMpodcast@protonmail.com.</p><p></p> <br/><br/>This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit <a href="https://firsthandmedia.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2">firsthandmedia.substack.com/subscribe</a>
61 total episodes available
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