Episode
D.C.'s Recession, Poo-tomac River, and Metro's Rebound
- Podcast
- Dream City Podcast
- Published
- Feb 16, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 1356
- Processing state
not_requested
Actions
POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/dream-city-podcast-7576772/episodes/d-c-s-recession-poo-tomac-river-and-metro-s-rebound/transcription-requests
Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode.GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/dream-city-podcast-7576772/d-c-s-recession-poo-tomac-river-and-metro-s-rebound.md
Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource.
Summary
In this President's Day Episode, Cuneyt and Tom talk about city hall bracing for a recession-like budget, after DOGE hammered D.C. jobs economy. Mayor Bowser says tough choices are ahead. Progressives warn the social safety net is is being dismantled. Plus, one of the worst sewage spills in U.S. history is happening in the Potomac River. Local leaders should speak up more about the environmental disaster, Tom says. And last but not least, Cuneyt and Tom bat around a lightning round of topics, including Metro's rebounding ridership and a DOGE'd federal worker who's now running for mayor. 00:00 Introduction and Presidents Day Fun 01:00 DC's Recession-Like Budget Challenges 02:49 Impact of Federal Tax Changes on DC Budget 04:36 Spending Grew During Pandemic 05:02 Childcare Subsidy and Budget Trade-offs 08:28 Progressives Fight Against Dismantling of Safety Net 11:11 Mamdani Effect 11:54 Environmental Disaster: Sewage Spill in Potomac 13:20 Public Health Concerns and Sewage Management 16:10 Fishing and Recreational Impact on Potomac 19:15 News Speed Round and Local Developments The Dream City Podcast is supported by launch partner SpotlightDC: Capital City Fund for Investigative Journalism . The Dream City Podcast will hold the powerful accountable and take you inside D.C.’s business and political worlds. Along the way: Revelatory conversations with city officials, business leaders, and the best-sourced journalists in town. The Dream City Podcast is a product of COSMOS Media LLC.