Newsday Opinion

Levittown’s early legacy of discrimination had an effect that lingers to today. Listen to interviews with early Levittown residents who relished the opportunity to own a house and land, as well as two black former-residents who faced discrimination when their families squeaked through the cracks and moved in. They, like home-seekers today, just wanted the opportunity that others already had.

Newsday founder Alicia Patterson was a Jazz Age pilot and newspaper-family scion. She also ran the editorial page and oversaw some of Newsday’s triumphs and blind spots on policy, including the racial clauses in Levittown. Featuring clips from Newsday’s archives with reporters and editorial writers talking about Patterson and Levittown, including one writer who said “She felt strongly on social justice except for the blacks.”

Newsday led the charge for Levittown, a model for post-war suburban living that provided homes for returning veterans. But Levittown was only open to some: whites-only clauses in early leases and discrimination from developer William Levitt prevented African American home-seekers from moving in. Newsday’s editorial board failed to fully address this legacy of discrimination at the time, including an editorial that said a racial issue in Levittown “did not exist.” This podcast investigates the why and the how of Newsday’s blinking when it came to Levittown.

Episode 7 of The Bellwether takes you to the Suffolk Democrats’ election night party, where attendees celebrated some State Senate seats turning blue even as congressional challengers came up short. We look back at the races in New York’s 1st and 2nd Congressional Districts, where the national party wave benefiting challengers didn’t quite crest in contests against Republican Reps. Lee Zeldin and Peter King.

Episode 6 of The Bellwether looks at the state of the race in the final days before Nov. 6. It is a fraught finish in New York’s 1st and 2nd Congressional Districts, with misleading mailers and angry insults back and forth. We talk to a nun who works with immigrants in Hampton Bays about how the immigration issue contributes to a tense atmosphere on Long Island, and we offer tidbits to voters ahead of Election Day.

Episode 5 of The Bellwether looks at the behind-the-scenes influence of powerbrokers on two key Long Island Congressional races. Suffolk County Democratic Party Chairman Rich Schaffer often focuses on local issues. Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo has in the past been absent in fighting for other Democrats in the state. This time around, what help are the challengers in New York’s 1st and 2nd Congressional Districts getting from two of the biggest fish in the local political sea? Tune in for a glimpse at some of the non-Congressional politics that may affect these Nov. 6 national races, including turnout from tight State Senate races on Long Island.

Episode 4 of The Bellwether looks at what’s happened since Donald Trump won Suffolk County so decisively in 2016. And now, with polls showing a shift away from President Donald Trump in recent months, will Trump-ally Lee Zeldin be able to weather the storm? This episode is a deep dive -- featuring the county Democratic and Republican bosses, an intriguing turnout theory from a Democratic superPAC, and a trip back in time to the halcyon days of duck-hunting, bow-tie wearing Long Island Rep. Otis Pike, who has something to teach us about how challengers win on Long Island.

Episode 3: Peter King is seeking his 14th term in Congress. Episode Three of The Bellwether looks at some of the ups and downs of his long congressional career. From fighting for 9/11 first responders to winning funding for Superstorm Sandy victims on Long Island, King has developed a reputation as someone who would buck his party -- someone who will meet with the other side and hash things out at the DC watering hole, The Dubliner. But do controversial decisions like hearings on Muslim radicalization and rhetoric about the Black Lives Matter movement complicate that reputation?

Episode 2 of The Bellwether looks at the gender dynamic in New York's 2nd Congressional District race. Democratic challenger Liuba Grechen Shirley hopes to capitalize on Rep. Pete King's stances on abortion and Brett Kavanaugh. In the wake of the #MeToo movement and the Women's March, record numbers of women are running for office. Will Grechen Shirley ride the wave?

Episode 1: Two Long Island congressional races, two paths for the country come November. Newsday Opinion's new podcast, The Bellwether, follows Pete King and Lee Zeldin and their Democratic challengers Liuba Grechen Shirley and Perry Gershon as they fight (tightly contested races) in swing districts east of New York City. Will a blue wave overwhelm Republicans on Election Day? These Long Island races have the answer.