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Wherever you are in the county, you’ve probably heard the name “Zohran Mamdani”. New York City’s mayoral race is a national story, and it’s hard to overstate the significance of the leading candidate in this moment. If elected, Mamdani would become the first Muslim-American and only the second Democratic Socialist Mayor of the largest city in the U.S. His victory, on a promise to make New York affordable for working people, would have implications for politics everywhere. The race is already garnering both excitement and anxiety. President Trump is threatening to withhold federal funding for New York City if Mamdani wins. From Chicago to Dearborn, Michigan, journalists are watching. In this installment of “Meet the BIPOC Press”, Laura Flanders speaks with Felipe De La Hoz, investigative immigration and policy reporter whose work has been featured in The Intercept, The Washington Post, New York Mag and The Nation; Osama Siblani, publisher and founder of The Arab American News, the largest Arab American newspaper in the U.S., and Asha Ransby-Sporn, organizer and writer for In These Times and co-founder of Black Youth Project 100, where she led the group’s national organizing program. Join us as we explore what a Mamdani victory would signal for the nation.
“. . . There’s this sense that [Left-leaning candidates] have to essentially be apologizing for their policy prescriptions and their stances. Mamdani has not done that . . . For the most part, he very much embraces who he is and what his policy prescriptions are.” – Felipe De La Hoz
“More so than I am concerned with Black people being pulled to the Right or being pulled in by Trump . . . I think what we see are people who are disengaged and feel like our political system isn’t going to deliver for them at all. Who feel let down by the establishment Democratic party that has sold all of us out for decades, and Black people have borne an enormous amount of the brunt of that impact.” – Asha Ransby-Sporn
“I hate giving labels. I don’t look at Mandani as a progressive. I look at him as representing the anger and anguish of people who have been left behind with the political apparatus.” – Osama Siblani
Guests
• Felipe De La Hoz: Immigration & Policy Reporter, Epicenter NYC
• Asha Ransby-Sporn: Writer & Political Strategist; Columnist, In These Times
• Osama Siblani: Publisher, The Arab American News
Transcript
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Related Episodes, Articles, Uncut Conversations and More
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Full, Uncut Interview
Related Laura Flanders Show Episodes:
• Mamdani, Black Farmers, USDA & ICE: The Stories BIPOC Journalists Uncover- Watch / Listen: Episode and Full Uncut Conversation
• Muslim Americans & Islamophobia in the Media: Here’s How Muslim Reporters Are Fighting It [Meet the BIPOC Press Series]- Watch / Listen-Episode
•. Organizing for Gaza Ceasefire Through Policy & Protest: Meet JVP & NY Assemblymember Mamdani: Watch / Listen- Episode and Full Uncut Conversation
• Black Candidates, BIPOC Media: Making Coverage Complex-And Better- Watch / Listen: Episode
• Meet the BIPOC Press Playlist- Watch
Related Articles and Resources:
• Gracie Mansion – anyone home? By Felipe De La Hoz, October 2, 2025, Epicenter NYC
• Local Arab American leaders weigh in on Zohran Mamdani’s NYC primary win, July 6, 2025, by Zeina Jaafar, Arab American News
• Zohran Mamdani, Black Voters and the Left, by Asha Ransby-Sporn, August 7, 2025, In These Times
• Bernie Sanders visits Michigan and backs Abdul El-Sayed’s Senate bid: Stop funding genocide in Gaza, August 29, 2025, The Arab American News
• Lessons From Chicago’s Left, Two Years in Power, by Alex Han, Asha Ransby-Sporn, Jeanette Taylor, September 28, 2025, Jacobin
• NYC Mayor’s Race: Adams Exits, Cuomo Gains, Mamdani Up By Double Digits, Quinnipiac University New York City Poll Finds; Who Would Best Represent NYC’s Interests Under Trump? Mamdani & Cuomo Essentially Tied, October 9, 2025, Quinniiac University/Poll
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