Zohran Mamdani, the democratic socialist currently polling a fighting second in the Democratic primary for mayor of New York City, and the only candidate who appears to be having any fun on the campaign trail, is tight on time these days. Running for mayor is an all-consuming task, after all, and despite carving out space in his schedule to appear on the leftist Hasan Piker’s popular Twitch stream, Mamdani doesn’t have much opportunity to even listen to a podcast or take in much social-media scrolling. (Music, though, fits in naturally.) Still, a compact social-media intake is a little surprising given his prowess in utilizing the platforms to reach voters and draw attention; a few weeks ago, Politico singled out the 33-year-old New York state representative as a model for the Democratic Party to emulate if it wanted to match up against the Republican Party’s outright dominance of the internet.

Then again, Mamdani doesn’t have to look too deep to find good models. When we spoke by phone last Friday afternoon, he swiftly cited his congresswoman, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and City Councilmember Chi Ossé as major influences; both are New Media phenoms in their own right. “They showed me the power of communication without an intermediary, because ultimately our campaign is about having a politics of no translation and a politics that’s direct about centering working people in a city that they built but are being priced out of,” he said. “So much of our charge as politicians is to explain the relevance of our work to everyday New Yorkers because they are busy. They are tired. They don’t have time to investigate that which should be made as accessible as possible, and social media is a critical tool in taking out the middleman and saying ‘This is what’s going on, this is what impacts you, this is how you can get involved.’” You don’t have to pay much closer attention to detect that there’s more than a little Bernie Sanders in the overarching shape of his communications style; that’s how he’s able to cultivate reliable call-and-response loops with supporters: “We’re running to freeze the —” “Rent!” “To make buses fast and —” “Free!”

When we spoke, Mamdani was in the scrum of yet another busy day. He had called me from the Union Square subway station, en route from Friday prayers to another meeting. The day before, his campaign announced its first broadcast ad that would air during the Knicks’ playoff game against the Pistons that night — “Knicks in five” — and it would introduce the candidate to more people and attack former governor Andrew Cuomo, who became the front-runner after joining the race in March despite the historical baggage that led to his resignation from the governorship. The ad buy was a show of strength, underscoring Mamdani’s success in raising funds. It signaled a campaign kicking things up a notch.

I went into the conversation expecting to hear about chat podcasts he’s into, but as I found out, his media habits tend to veer elsewhere. Here’s what Mamdani told us he’s been listening to these days.

Song: “Tu Jhoom,” by Abida Parveen and Naseebo Lai

There are a few constants that I have, and one is the music I listen to every morning. There’s a playlist I put on that has [this] song in particular by these two incredible Pakistani artists who I was actually introduced to by my election lawyer, Ali Najmi, of all people. [Laughs] It’s a song that just transports me not only to another place but a whole different set of emotions. It’s important, especially when you’re in the those of a campaign, to be able to step out of it even if it’s just for five or six minutes, and that’s what this song does every morning for me.

Podcast: Arseblog Arsecast

I’m more of a podcast person when I have a little bit more time. Before the race, when I get a few minutes here and there, I’d listen to this podcast about Arsenal. I’m a big Arsenal fan, and it’s an incredible podcast that brings you into the depths of fan culture in recent years. Since I’m running to be the next mayor of this city, I haven’t been able to watch many games, but we are currently in the midst of one of the most exciting European seasons we’ve had in a long time. We’re in the semifinals of the Champions League!

I came up as a fan in the early 2000s, and it was my uncle who introduced me to the team. I was born in Kampala, Uganda, in East Africa, and my dad’s family is from East Africa, and Arsenal was one of the first teams to have a number of African players: Lauren, Kolo Toure, Nwankwo Kanu, Emmanuel Eboue, Alex Song. Over the years, [then-manager] Arsene Wenger really transformed what English soccer looked like. As a Ugandan kid looking at this team, I was just so proud. I really got in during the good years — the “Invincible” years, the years of success. Then I grew up in the years after that, which were years of infinite hope and very few results, and now we’re in a place where we’re actually competing. I can’t watch the games, but I’m reduced to watching a minute-by-minute update that I sneak an eye on.

Comedian: Sophie Buddle

I sneak maybe 15 or 20 minutes [of social media] at the end of the day, and there’s this one comedian whose bits I try to catch. Her name is Sophie Buddle; I really enjoy the absurdities that she points out about politics. So much of the struggle in speaking about politics is that we’ve all accepted some completely ludicrous premises of what’s normal, what’s acceptable, what’s rational. Sometimes, it takes a comedian to force you to question that which you had held as innate, and she has this unique ability to make you laugh about something you were previously just defending.

As a millennial, I watch her off Instagram. I’ll show my wife a Reel, and she’ll say, “I saw this two months ago on TikTok.” I’m just on a perpetual digital tape delay. That’s just my life.

Song: “I Like The Way You Are,” by Joseline Hernandez

Do you mind if I tell you about a couple other songs? The reason I bring them up is because it’s much harder to find time to sit in one place and watch one thing, and the beauty of music in the midst of running to be mayor is that you can listen to it as you’re sitting on the train and prepping for the next forum. So, one is “I Like the Way You Are,” by Joseline Hernandez, which I would describe more as disco. I first heard the song when the DJ played it during one of the last nights I got to go out and dance with friends. It’s just such fun. You know, when you’re in politics, so much of the language of politics — and of our present and our future — is that of darkness, and it’s important to bring some light and humor back in. This is one of those songs that snaps me out of the dour nature of this work.

Song: The One-Hour AutoTuned Version of “One Pound Fish,” by One Pound Fish Man

I have one final song to give you … It’s on YouTube. So this is a man who was selling fish in England, and someone took a video of him because he would sing about the fish itself. He’s saying “It’s very, very good, it’s very nice, it’s one pound fish, very good, very nice, very sweet.” This video went viral many years ago, and he actually recorded an official song that’s received millions of streams. But real heads know — it’s the AutoTuned one-hour version you should be listening to. Every now and then, when I’m grocery shopping, I just put in my headphones and put on the one-hour loop and I go from aisle to aisle listening to this man trying to sell me fish in 45-second intervals. I just love it. It’s the beauty of the everyday, you know? This man brought art into an interaction that most people think of as, You just gotta get through it, you gotta just buy the thing you need. And here’s this guy who brings real beauty to it. But what I love about the AutoTuned version specifically is that there’s a portion of the song that’s a little bit reflective and a little bit sad. It’s the same lyrics! [Laughs] But the way they tuned it … Man, it brings me up and then it makes me think about the day as it brings me back down.

And I gotta say I only put things on my platform that I believe we can actually achieve, which is why I haven’t put that I would get Spotify to add the one-hour loop up on Spotify, because I don’t know if that can get cleared. That would be a dream of mine if anyone reading this can make that happen.

TV: Temptation Island USA

One last pitch for you. Every now and then, when I get home, my wife and I watch 15 minutes — because I usually fall asleep after 15 minutes — of Temptation Island USA. We’re on season five, because for some reason we skipped seasons one through four. Thank you to the makers of Temptation Island. 

I’m not sure there’s anyone to root for, to be honest with you. [Laughs] But I am bearing witness. And I would say the advice the host gives is more thoughtful than typical hosts of reality-television shows. I think his name is Mark Walberg, which always struck me as odd. But that’s his name.

 “I’m just on a perpetual digital tape delay,” the New York mayoral candidate says. “That’s just my life.”