Profile

Zohran Mamdani


Listen Later

The new Mayor of New York and at just 34, the youngest since 1892, is sworn in. He is the first Muslim and Indian American to lead the nation's largest city. Zohran Mamdani was born in Uganda, Africa, to parents of Indian descent and it was a childhood filled with bird song and nature. He was seven years old when his family moved to New York, to Manhattan's Upper West Side and that's where Mamdani began to make his mark. He started making music as rapper, Mr Cardamom but after releasing only a few songs, it seemed politics was a better fit.

Zohran Mamdani ran an impressive campaign, recruiting an army of volunteers 100,000 strong to pound the pavements and knock on doors. His social media videos in multiple languages credited with vastly increasing voter turnout from a range of South Asian communities. A left-wing democratic socialist, his message was laser focused on affordability; he promised to freeze the rents and make buses free, all paid for by a tax on New Yorkers making over $1 million per year. But now he's won the election can he actually deliver on those promises? Mark Coles hears from Mamdani's mother the filmmaker Mira Nair, colleagues and journalists to find out what shaped the man making history.

Contributors

Mira Nair - film maker, mother
Hari Kondabolu - standup comedian, friend
Prof Brian Purnell - chair of the Africana Studies Department at Bowdoin College
Cassie Wilson - volunteer for Mamdani's campaign, content creator and comedian
Jagpreet Singh - political organiser for South Asian communities in New York, DRUM Beats
Nada Tawfiq - BBC Correspondent in New York

Production

Presenter: Mark Coles
Producers: Phoebe Keane, Ben Crighton, Natasha Fernandes and Tom Farmer
Production Coordinator: Maria Ogundele
Sound: Gareth Jones
Editor: Justine Lang

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

ProfileBy BBC Radio 4

  • 4.1
  • 4.1
  • 4.1
  • 4.1
  • 4.1

4.1

98 ratings


More shows like Profile

View all
Global News Podcast by BBC World Service

Global News Podcast

7,811 Listeners

From Our Own Correspondent by BBC Radio 4

From Our Own Correspondent

377 Listeners

More or Less by BBC Radio 4

More or Less

891 Listeners

Newshour by BBC World Service

Newshour

1,074 Listeners

In Our Time by BBC Radio 4

In Our Time

5,476 Listeners

The Documentary Podcast by BBC World Service

The Documentary Podcast

1,817 Listeners

6 Minute English by BBC Radio

6 Minute English

1,825 Listeners

Learning English Conversations by BBC Radio

Learning English Conversations

1,047 Listeners

The Infinite Monkey Cage by BBC Radio 4

The Infinite Monkey Cage

2,062 Listeners

Desert Island Discs by BBC Radio 4

Desert Island Discs

2,054 Listeners

Great Lives by BBC Radio 4

Great Lives

482 Listeners

Last Word by BBC Radio 4

Last Word

46 Listeners

The Week in Westminster by BBC Radio 4

The Week in Westminster

31 Listeners

The Media Show by BBC Radio 4

The Media Show

32 Listeners

Moral Maze by BBC Radio 4

Moral Maze

63 Listeners

Front Row by BBC Radio 4

Front Row

125 Listeners

Start the Week by BBC Radio 4

Start the Week

163 Listeners

Private Passions by BBC Radio 3

Private Passions

44 Listeners

The Briefing Room by BBC Radio 4

The Briefing Room

71 Listeners

Political Thinking with Nick Robinson by BBC Radio 4

Political Thinking with Nick Robinson

87 Listeners

You're Dead to Me by BBC Radio 4

You're Dead to Me

3,219 Listeners

Americast by BBC News

Americast

767 Listeners

Cyber Hack by BBC World Service

Cyber Hack

1,607 Listeners

This Cultural Life by BBC Radio 4

This Cultural Life

117 Listeners

Radical with Amol Rajan by BBC Radio 4

Radical with Amol Rajan

48 Listeners