On paper, a thirty-three-year-old socialist would seem an unlikely contender for mayor of New York City. But Zohran Mamdani’s campaign proved compelling enough to make him the front-runner to lead the largest city in America. On the first in a series of Critics at Large interview episodes, Naomi Fry talks with her fellow staff writer <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/contributors/eric-lach">Eric Lach</a> about <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/zohran-mamdanis-new-york-city-miracle">the surprising protagonist</a> of this year’s mayoral race. Together, they contextualize Mamdani’s persona within a long history of New York characters, from Batman to <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-new-yorker-interview/bill-de-blasio-still-loves-new-york">Bill de Blasio</a>, and consider the hold these narratives have on observers within the city and beyond. “The history of New York City mayors is not a litany of successes and heroes. It’s mostly fuck-ups and rogues,” Lach says. “Often, it’s this tug-of-war between the machine and the reformer.”Read, watch, and listen with the critics:Zohran Mamdani’s “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_K-mi0sJvc">Uganda Miss Me! (But I’ll Be Back Soon)</a>”“Gangs of New York” (2002)“<a href="https://cna.st/affiliate-link/C5BN9bLtpHgEytxFNrgHdHwKLsjzuKz9mdDtkVu6CRM4mvakuSGaF5NKhy42WFKdKxqcBKZ3mVTVKP1ov3srXwMGHGgDrbAe2wsP8fDg8AVa7iGoraP3Y3HUfe1qoFRiyStUKtCnM881LApbRyoy8pimXJxKRy4DkLLgYxWmWZzxbqy2hJgNxMQ">The Gangs of New York</a>,” by Herbert Asbury“<a href="https://cna.st/affiliate-link/FzrGcxRntjxTY7a47yGkbTWSogfAMi9Fd6c2yPdJKpTGtSZPv6yLeJ6Hf8d7WMNofkXvBeHc2jdz89rpsrrK9jpuHEY2Ytw5w6EsyGZhC9ApGZpzMdBx8RF9eYHVowtPm3q38Yp3RCzkBbsXRT5fybovF2hkY6RpizAFzUGqRA7t">Low Life</a>,” by Lucy Sante“Serpico” (1973)“The Dark Knight” (2008)New episodes drop every Thursday. Follow Critics at Large <a href="http://swap.fm/l/tny-cal-extref">wherever you get your podcasts</a>.

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How Zohran Mamdani Became the Main Character of New York City

Critics at Large | The New Yorker

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