Last week, Zohran Mamdani shattered the notion that a New York City mayor has to be some craggy-faced, man-shaped stack of disappointments who’d sooner die than be seen on the subway. The young, energetic Democratic Socialist ran on a platform of making New York City a more livable place for average residents, which—surprise!—went over well with average residents. Listening to constituents and trying to improve their lives doesn’t seem like a controversial stance, so why is it that the Democratic establishment seems almost as afraid of Mamdani as the Republicans? This week, Adam sits with Defector journalist and longtime NYC resident David Roth to talk about what it might mean for NYC to have a mayor who actually understands what NYC is, and what that might mean for the future of the left.