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Zohran Mamdami’s meteoric rise from a seemingly unknown state assemblyman to the next mayor of NYC signals a shift into a new era of politics. In this episode of The Deep, Erika breaks down how the age of social media is shaping the world of politics today. Is it dumbing down the electorate? Is it turning politicians into mere influencers whose success is based on their ability to go viral (instead of the quality of their policy ideas)? How should we respond to the "TikTok-ification” of politics?

Timestamps:

0:00 - Intro: The rise of Zohran Mamdani
1:31 - The Mamdani playbook
3:59 - A new era of politics
5:15 - How media shapes politics
8:05 - What has changed?
9:40 - Why Zohran’s strategy worked
12:08 - Has social media dumbed the electorate?
13:21 - Once you win, reality hits 
14:46 - Conclusion: how to respond to the age of “TikTok politics”

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Sources:

Dhanyamraju, Sandeep. “The Impact of Smartphone Addiction on Cognitive Function and Attention Span.” Lone Star Neurology, published April 9 2025; medically reviewed by Chaitanya Bonda. Accessed November 13 2025. https://lonestarneurology.net/others/the-impact-of-smartphone-addiction-on-cognitive-function-and-attention-span/. Lone Star Neurology

Schleffer, Guy, and Benjamin M. Miller. “The Political Effects of Social Media Platforms on Different Regime Types.” Texas National Security Review, Summer 2021, pp. 77–103. Accessed November 13 2025. https://tnsr.org/2021/07/the-political-effects-of-social-media-platforms-on-different-regime-types/#_ftn42. UT Austin Libraries+2Texas National Security Review+2

Silver, Laura, Janell Fetterolf, Christine Huang, Sarah Austin, Laura Clancy, Sneha Gubbala, and Richard Wike. “Social Media Seen as Mostly Good for Democracy Across Many Nations, But U.S. Is a Major Outlier.” Pew Research Center, December 6 2022. Accessed November 13 2025. https://www.pewresearch.org/global/2022/12/06/social-media-seen-as-mostly-good-for-democracy-across-many-nations-but-u-s-is-a-major-outlier/. Pew Research Center

Dunbar, Marina, and Andrew Witherspoon. “Where the Vote for Mamdani Was Strongest in New York City.” The Guardian, November 5 2025. Accessed November 13 2025. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/nov/05/mamdani-vote-new-york-city. The Guardian

“The Death of the Public Intellectual.” Substack, August 2 2025. Accessed November 13 2025. https://substack.com/home/post/p-158820994.