The Revolutionary (Zohran Mamdani and the Remaking of American Politics)

A behind-the-scenes, deeply reported window into Zohran Mamdani’s campaign and early days as Mayor of New York, and the impact his socialist platform will have on a local and national scale—from a New York magazine journalist with unparalleled access

On October 23, 2024, Zohran Mamdani announced that he was running for mayor of New York City. In the year that followed, he went from anonymous political organizer to global celebrity, fundamentally shifting the landscape of local, national, and international politics. Galvanizing volunteers and voters across demographics with his unique approach to grassroots campaigning and governing, Mamdani has charted a new, populist path for an actual political revolution in America.

Mamdani is the first mayor in modern New York history whose agenda is so explicitly at odds with the city’s power elite and the first openly pro-Palestine politician to lead America’s largest city, earning him the support of younger voters and criticism from Democrats and Republicans alike. Will he be the hero Americans fed up with establishment politicians have been looking for or will he fall short of the enormous expectations set for him? Journalist Ross Barkan follows along as Mamdani steps into office to see if he can maintain the earnest, studied cool that won the hearts and minds of over one million New Yorkers.

In sharp, keenly observed reporting, The Revolutionary documents an enormous political and cultural shift, taking the reader behind the scenes into Mamandi’s journey from grassroots activist to state assemblyman to mayor of the greatest city in the world.