Democratic Socialism’s Rise (feat. Reihan Salam)
City Journal Audio
Manhattan Institute
4.8 • 615 Ratings
🗓️ 11 July 2025
⏱️ 38 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
As Zohran Mamdani’s rise reshapes New York politics, is democratic socialism becoming the Democratic Party’s new base? Host Charles Fain Lehman sits down with Reihan Salam, Judge Glock, and John Ketcham to dissect the political and cultural currents pushing the party left—from Instagram primaries and “free stuff” populism to the ideological split between AOC and the Ezra Klein crowd. Along the way, they dig into anti-institutionalism, social media as a news engine, and the strange allure of David Goggins.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Welcome back to the City Journal podcast. I'm your host, Charles Finn Lehmann, a fellow at the Manhattan |
| 0:14.3 | Institute and senior editor of City Journal. Joining me on the panel today are invented panel members, John Ketchum and Judge Glock. |
| 0:23.7 | And also, we're very pleased to have a special guest, Rajan Salam, primarily known for his work on the editors at National Review, but also incidentally president of the Manhattan Institute. |
| 0:34.3 | Ryan, thank you so much for joining us. |
| 0:35.8 | It is my great honor, privilege, and joy to be with these three very special Manhattan |
| 0:42.2 | Institute team members. |
| 0:44.6 | We're hoping you'll bring your podcast magic to us. |
| 0:47.5 | We're recording live from an undisclosed location in the Pacific Northwest. |
| 0:52.0 | I want to take us right into the news of the 10. |
| 0:54.3 | I'm deep in an Antifa layer. |
| 0:56.0 | I can't comment on who's holding a gun to us off stage. |
| 1:00.8 | It's fine. |
| 1:01.7 | Our producer, Isabella, has signed off on any physical threats we may face, so it's okay. |
| 1:08.1 | Yes, I want to take us right into the news. |
| 1:10.0 | Recent reporting indicates that after their victory in the New York City mayoral primary, |
| 1:17.1 | members of the Democratic Socialists of America have aimed their sites higher with CNN reporting |
| 1:22.2 | that they're looking to primary among other Democrats, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, which to me raises the |
| 1:29.6 | interesting question that I want to kick to the panel, are they going to be successful? |
| 1:33.4 | Is democratic socialism the future of the Democratic Party? |
| 1:36.9 | You know, I think we've seen in the rise of Zoroamandani a renewed energy around this |
| 1:42.9 | as sort of an alternative model for the Democrats. |
| 1:45.4 | Do they have the chance to take power? |
... |
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