It’s the campaign that’s electrified New York and unsettled Washington. Zohran Mamdani, the 33-year-old democratic socialist from Queens, has become the unexpected lightning rod of American politics. Ugandan-born, the son of a filmmaker, and a proud New Yorker, he’s promising to take on the city’s entrenched establishment with rent freezes, free buses, universal childcare, and a $30 minimum wage. 

He’s taken on heavyweights like Andrew Cuomo and Curtis Sliwa and won over crowds of young voters in stadium-sized rallies featuring Bernie Sanders and Alexandia Ocasio-Cortez. But his insurgent campaign has also drawn fierce criticism from centrist Democrats and Republicans alike, who accuse him of dragging the party too far left. 

So, who exactly is Zohran Mamdani? What explains his meteoric rise from local organiser to national figurehead? And could his brand of grassroots socialism redefine what it means to be a Democrat in America? 

On today’s podcast, Shane Beatty speaks to Scott Lucas, Professor of American Studies at UCD’s Clinton Institute, about Mamdani’s story, from his Queens roots to his bid for City Hall — and what it tells us about the future of U.S. politics. 

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