Writer Raina Lipsitz joins co-hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell to sermon Zohran Mamdani’s astonishment triumph successful the Democratic superior for New York City mayor. Lipsitz explains however Mamdani, a 33-year-old Muslim person supported by the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), appealed to a wide swath of voters to upset three-term politician Andrew Cuomo. She talks astir volunteering for Mamdani’s campaign, the racist and Islamophobic attacks helium faces, his advocacy for Palestine and for immigrants, and the almighty effect helium got from 18- to 29-year-old voters, arsenic good arsenic galore radical who voted for President Trump. Lipsitz considers the DSA’s accelerated maturation connected assemblage campuses arsenic progressives question to physique community, and reads from her publication The Rise of a New Left: How Young Radicals Are Shaping the Future of American Politics.
To perceive the afloat episode, subscribe done iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify, oregon your favourite podcast app (include the guardant slashes erstwhile searching). You tin besides perceive by streaming from the subordinate below. Check retired video versions of our interviews connected the Fiction/Non/Fiction Instagram account, the Fiction/Non/Fiction YouTube Channel, and our amusement website: https://www.fnfpodcast.net/. This podcast is produced by V.V. Ganeshananthan, Whitney Terrell, Hunter Murray, and Janet Reed.
Selected Readings:
The Rise of a New Left: How Young Radicals Are Shaping the Future of American Politics •“The Little Super PAC That Could (Stop Andrew Cuomo)” | The New Republic • “Sheriffs Already Have Too Much Power. Who Will Stop Them Now?” | In These Times • Media Obscure Message of Oscar-Winning Documentary No Other Land” | FAIR • “Lefty Groups Making It Possible for Families to Do Politics” – The Nation
Others
“Republican Tells Zohran Mamdani: ‘Go Back to the Third World’” – Newsweek • “Mamdani: ‘So galore of our victories’ were successful Trump neighborhoods” – The Hill • “Trump Ramps Up Threats to Arrest Mamdani” – New York Magazine
EXCERPT FROM A CONVERSATION WITH RAINA LIPSITZ
V.V. Ganeshananthan: So absorbing to perceive to that and deliberation astir Mamdani walking the magnitude of Manhattan, for example—our everyman campaigning for mayor. I truly similar this thought that the DSA and different progressive groups similar the Justice Democrats oregon Sunrise oregon the Dream Defenders aren’t funny successful “celebrity candidates,” and are alternatively offering members a signifier of assemblage that has different been mislaid successful their lives. Can you speech a small spot much astir that?
Raina Lipsitz: That’s what was astir striking to me. It’s really a large portion of what made maine privation to constitute my book, conscionable noticing that it truly is meaningful to radical to person a spot to spell and link with like-minded radical who are astir your age, who stock a batch of your beliefs and who are moving connected a communal task together, right? I mean, that is what ideology is astatine its best. That’s what we’re ever saying we privation to get back. That’s what we privation young radical to prosecute with. Zohran Mamdani won, successful part, by expanding the electorate, right? He got a clump of caller radical coming in. He got a clump of 18- to 29-year-old radical to vote, and they don’t usually vote, period, fto unsocial successful superior elections. So helium truly did this monolithic happening that truthful galore radical person wanted to bash for truthful long.
And arsenic I said successful the book, spiritual communities are waning successful a batch of ways, particularly for younger people, galore of whom place arsenic spiritual successful immoderate way, but are not portion of organized religion. This truly is simply a affirmative mode to civically prosecute and to bash thing unneurotic for your community, and besides wherever you conscionable friends. I’ve been progressive successful DSA for agelong capable that I cognize 3 antithetic babies whose parents met successful DSA and past got unneurotic and made these babies. I deliberation that’s specified a beauteous thing. It’s truly 1 of the astir touching things, and 1 of my favourite parts.
Whitney Terrell: The different happening you wrote astir that I did not cognize about, but that my son, who is simply a sophomore astatine NYU close now, who suggested this episode, did, is the Young Democratic Socialists of America. There’s a younker enactment specifically connected assemblage campuses and precocious schools. Could you speech a small spot astir that and however palmy that has been, and what bash they do?
RL: I don’t person the numbers close astatine the apical of my head, but determination are chapters everywhere, each implicit the country. There are chapters successful truly blimpish states, connected truly blimpish campuses. I deliberation the assemblage organizing facet is simply a truly important portion of DSA. I cognize there’s a pistillate successful my publication who’s present a person successful DSA. She was a assemblage pupil erstwhile I talked to her. This truly is funneling radical into preparing them for enactment successful a precise superior way. Zohran Mamdani is simply a precise young guy. He’s going to beryllium 1 of the youngest mayors we’ve ever had, I hope, successful November. You don’t get determination overnight without immoderate benignant of preparation. So I deliberation DSA is truly laying the groundwork for that. I respect these students truthful much, particularly due to the fact that they are doing this enactment successful places wherever the full authorities government, section authorities and national authorities is hostile to them, wherever there’s effect wealth for Republican groups. They’re up against corporately funded chapters of Turning Points, USA, Young Republicans. They don’t person immoderate money. They conscionable person existent content successful a fairer satellite and successful a nine that works for everybody. So I deliberation what they’re doing is precise important
VVG: I’m inexplicably inactive connected Twitter, trying to dilatory determination off. But I was pursuing the predetermination connected Twitter and watching the mode that right-wing posters, who were getting enactment into my provender by ads and things similar that, were utilizing a batch of scare tactics, things similar calling him a communist, calling him a socialist, arsenic though these were inactive effectual pejoratives, which it seems they’re not.
WT: I saw a post—this is the station I was going to bring up, Sugi—that’s like, determination was a representation of a college-age woman, and said, “We should nonstop the Democratic Socialist to the countries that really signifier the policies that they’re doing and spot if they similar that.” That’s different benignant of attack, but it’s an awareness. As Raina was saying, the Republicans person been organizing connected assemblage campuses and successful churches and among young radical for a agelong time. Traditional Democrats are not doing it, which drives maine fucking insane, and truthful it’s bully to person idiosyncratic doing it.
RL: I deliberation that’s precisely right, and I deliberation that those slurs are losing their powerfulness successful a batch of ways, partially due to the fact that we’ve seen that they don’t enactment connected say, Barack Obama oregon Joe Biden, neither of whom are remotely socialists but they were some called socialists. They were some called communists. Kamala Harris was called a communist, and I don’t deliberation that worked against them. Kamala mislaid for reasons, successful my view, that were perfectly unrelated to being called a communist, which cipher believed successful the archetypal place. But I deliberation 1 happening that Zohran does truthful good is that helium does not backmost down, right? He’s precise intelligibly defined himself. He’s explained what that is and what the connection means to him. And he’s not precisely instrumentality it oregon permission it. He wants you to travel connected committee with his program, but helium does it successful a mode that is unfastened and honorable and candid and similar a leader, right? He’s showing radical what this could beryllium and what it means to him.
VVG: It’s bully to spot that again. Psychologically we’re truthful starved for immoderate examples of politicians being decent. I’ve seen that video wherever helium gives the property league astir the decease threats that he’s received, and he’s truthful quality and helium besides doesn’t backmost down. He’s susceptible of showing emotion portion astatine the aforesaid clip remaining poised and himself. He doesn’t look similar he’s performing successful the mode that I often subordinate with campaigning and with politicians.
So we’ve seen the follow-up from Mamdani’s predetermination and the close helping scare mongering has followed 2 tracks and 1 has to bash with his taste identity. He is the kid of a prof and a filmmaker and and connected societal media, Texas Congressman Brandon Gill suggested that Mamdani should, “Go backmost to the Third World” successful effect to a video of him eating with his hands. I conscionable privation to constituent retired present that Brandon Gill is joined to Dinesh D’Souza’s daughter. Anyway, I person a batch of feelings astir this, but Trump has threatened to deport Mamdani which is outrageous. And yet, arsenic you constituent retired successful your book, the DSA has received disapproval for being excessively achromatic successful the past. This is besides a happening that was launched astatine Bernie erstwhile helium was running. How effectual bash you deliberation these attacks connected Mamdani—“Go backmost to the Third World,” the Islamophobic attacks, etc—are apt to be?
RL: I americium hopeful that they won’t beryllium precise effective. One mode that I deliberation we tin archer that they won’t beryllium is that I received, successful the past week earlier voting closed successful the election, 20 pieces of message calling him a radical, fundamentally a extremist Muslim. Implicit was the connection terrorist. There was blood-spattered lettering. One of them was successful Hebrew, and it translated to thing astir “Thou shalt not spill the humor of your brother.” Lots of unhinged stuff—they tin lone beryllium described arsenic racist attacks, and they didn’t work, you know? They didn’t halt him.
The different happening that they kept saying astir him is that he’s a nepo baby, which I find very, precise comic successful presumption of the information that his closest hostile successful the contention was the three-term politician of New York and the lad of a three-term politician of New York. That’s a much, overmuch greater advantage, particularly successful politics, than thing that Zohran grew up with.
One happening I truly respect him for, among galore things, is his steadfast lasting up for successful enactment of Mahmoud Khalil, who was kidnapped, taken from his family, enactment successful a God knows where—in a installation successful Louisiana connected the ground of speech, for what the national medication decided was fundamentally a transgression against America, but was based wholly connected his information successful pro-Palestine rallies and protests, and Zohran stood by Mahmoud Khalil. Mahmoud Khalil was eventually, aft dense unit from organizers similar Zohran Mamdani, released and agreed with his family. I deliberation the acquisition from that is that you don’t get anyplace responding to the racist, fascist, aggression of radical similar Donald Trump with a antiaircraft crouch. You tin lone triumph by lasting up for yourself, by being brave and uniting with different people, right? By having a ample enactment down you, by having radical down you, and that’s what Zohran has done.
Transcribed by Otter.ai. Condensed and edited by Rebecca Kilroy.
