How Is Mamdani Doing?
Former Nation editor Don Guttenplan on how Mamdani is balancing pragmatism and principles as he deals with policing,
Donald Trump and a tough budget.

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Former Nation editor Don Guttenplan is now bringing municipal politics to the magazine
with a weekly column tracking the progress of Mayor Zohran Mamdani. I spoke to Don
about how Mamdani is balancing pragmatism and principles as he deals with policing,
Donald Trump and a tough budget.
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New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani speaks at a “Rental Ripoff” hearing at Fordham University in the Bronx borough of New York on March 11, 2026.
(Spencer Platt / Getty Images)Former Nation editor Don Guttenplan is now bringing municipal politics to the magazine with a weekly column tracking the progress of mayor Zohran Mamdani. I spoke to Don about how Mamdani is balancing pragmatism and principles as he deals with policing, Donald Trump and a tough budget.
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.
Journalist Eoin Higgins was recently sued for defamation by a fellow journalist Matt Taibbi, who is subject on criticism in Higgins’ book Owned: How Tech Billionaires on the Right Bought the Loudest Voices on the Left. The case was briskly dismissed by a judge and is now on appeal. The lawsuit was manifestly frivolous and is filled with irony, since Taibbi likes to present himself as a free speech champion. I spoke to Higgins about it and the larger tendency of wealthy right-wing figures, including Donald Trump, to use lawsuits to intimidate critics.
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