On Start Making Sense: Katrina vanden Heuvel and John Nichols break down their exclusive chat, and David Cole talks about the president's lawfare tactics.
Zohran Mamdani in Brooklyn on August 17, 2025.(Michael Nigro / Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Here's where to find podcasts from The Nation. Political talk without the boring parts, featuring the writers, activists and artists who shape the news, from a progressive perspective.
In The Nation’s interview with Zohran Mamdani, he talks how he won the New York City Democratic primary for mayor, by addressing the city’s affordability crisis—and what the Democrats can learn from his victory. Katrina vanden Heuvel and John Nichols, who conducted the interview, introduce our excerpts and set the stage.
Also: It’s time to take a step back from the daily barrage of bad news to look at the big picture of the strategy Trump has been following: David Cole explains how he’s exploited the power of the federal government, not just to attack his political opponents – the Democratic Party – but to weaken the institutions of civil society, which form the bedrock of democracy.
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In The Nation’s interview with Zohran Mamdani, he talks about how he won the New York City Democratic primary for mayor by addressing the city’s affordability crisis—and what the Democrats can learn from his victory. Katrina vanden Heuvel and John Nichols, who conducted the interview, introduce excerpts and set the stage.
Also: It’s time to take a step back from the daily barrage of bad news to look at the big picture of the strategy Trump has been following. David Cole explains how he’s exploited the power of the federal government, to not just attack his political opponents in the Democratic Party but also weaken the institutions of civil society that form the bedrock of democracy.
Subscribe to The Nation to support all of our podcasts: thenation.com/podcastsubscribe.
Here's where to find podcasts from The Nation. Political talk without the boring parts, featuring the writers, activists and artists who shape the news, from a progressive perspective.
The Michigan Democratic senate primary provided a test of the power of AIPAC and big money. John Nichols has our analysis.
Also: a rehearsal for the election protection groups: the California sherriff who seized 650,000 ballots from November’s referendum, claiming he needed to recount them. Zach Roth of Democracy Docket will explain how the Chad Bianco case provides a test of one key Republican strategy for holding on to the House after the midterms.
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Jon WienerTwitterJon Wiener is a contributing editor of The Nation and co-author (with Mike Davis) of Set the Night on Fire: L.A. in the Sixties.