WNYC and Gothamist Reintroduce NYC Now,
the local news podcast making sense of the city for New Yorkers
the local news podcast making sense of the city for New Yorkers
With a refreshed format and stronger focus on investigative and enterprise reporting, NYC Now returns today with an investigation into unlicensed tow trucks, the dangers they pose on the road, and the cost to New Yorkers
NEW YORK, NY — February 11, 2026 – Today, WNYC and Gothamist reintroduce NYC Now, the award-winning local news podcast, now with a renewed focus on investigative and enterprise reporting. New episodes drop Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.
Through interviews, original reporting, and sharp analysis, host Janae Pierre helps New Yorkers understand what’s happening across the city by digging into the news, culture, and conversations shaping life in New York.
NYC Now’s new format debuts with an investigation into the growing number of illegal tow trucks in NYC, and how their predatory practices put New Yorkers at risk. WNYC and Gothamist parks and sanitation reporter Liam Quigley was able to capture how many unlicensed tow trucks are on city streets by analyzing speed and red light camera data. He found that a shift in NYPD policy away from responding to less serious car crashes has allowed unlicensed tow trucks to thrive, seizing on opportunities to profit from insurance payouts and junk fees. Unlicensed tow truck drivers have also amassed over 3,000 red light and speeding tickets over the last year alone, and have been involved in fatal crashes that have left at least 15 people dead since 2010. Quigley’s report features interviews with former Councilmembers Bob Holden and Sal Albanese, consumer advocates, and a woman who was shot as tow truck drivers fought over her damaged car.
“NYC Now was launched in 2023 to give New Yorkers another way to access WNYC and Gothamist’s top stories and timely local news updates. It was a pioneering format – radio headlines made available as on-demand audio – that was replicated by other public radio stations,” said Stephanie Clary, Interim Editor-in-Chief, WNYC and Gothamist. “Since then, we’ve found that what NYC Now listeners gravitated to was our special investigations and long-form enterprise reporting. The podcast will still give listeners quick, need-to-know updates, but with a sharper focus on original in-depth stories about the city and people who make it work.”
NYC Now will feature a broad range of stories about life in New York, including the mayor’s first 100 days, the rising cost of living, and the city’s famed public transit system. Every other Friday, WNYC and Gothamist’s culture editor Matthew Schnipper will take listeners inside a corner of New York’s arts and culture scene, starting this week with a look at Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s use of cultural references, curling clubs at Prospect Park, and the “ultimate NYC sandwich”: the tuna melt.
NYC Now was honored with a 2026 duPont-Columbia Award and was a 2025 Pulitzer Prize finalist for audio journalism for its special investigation into sexual assault at Rikers Island. The podcast also received an Edward R. Murrow Regional Award, New York Press Club Award and a Front Page Award for an investigative series on a doctor with a track record of medical negligence who continued to practice.
Episodes of NYC Now can be found at https://www.wnyc.org/shows/nyc-now or wherever you get your podcasts.
NYC Now is produced by Senior Producer Jared Marcelle and Assistant Producer Iru Ekpunobi.
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With an urban vibrancy and a global perspective, WNYC is New York’s public radio station, broadcasting and streaming award-winning journalism, groundbreaking audio programming, and essential talk radio to the city and beyond. WNYC offers its listeners a unique range of local, national, and international programming, including programming from NPR, American Public Media, and the BBC World Service, along with a roster of WNYC-produced local programs that champion the stories and spirit of New York City and the surrounding region, including The Brian Lehrer Show and All Of It. From its state-of-the-art studios, WNYC is reshaping audio for a new generation of listeners, producing some of the most beloved nationally-syndicated public radio programs including Radiolab, On the Media, and The New Yorker Radio Hour. WNYC broadcasts on 93.9 FM and AM 820 to listeners in New York and the tri-state area, and is available to audiences everywhere at WNYC.org, the WNYC app, and through major digital radio services, all made possible through the generous support of our members, donors, and sponsors.