Amy Goodman

How Mamdani Won: Field Director Tascha Van Auken on Grassroots Organizing Behind Historic Victory

by

Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani is less than two months away from taking office in New York City. Mamdani’s history-making campaign, grounded in community organizing, propelled the little-known Assembly-member to victory.

Candidate Mamdani famously began the campaign polling at just 1% and overcame the intense scrutiny, Islamaphobic attacks, criticism for his support for Palestinian rights, and more. By election day, more than 2 million New Yorkers had cast their votes, a turnout record that hasn’t been matched going back more than half a century. His success is in part due to massive on-the-ground organizing and an operation of more than 104,000 volunteers.

“We knew that we wanted it to be very big,” says Tascha Van Auken, field director for Zohran Mamdani’s mayoral campaign. “We prioritized developing leadership and bringing in as many volunteers as possible.” Democracy Now! is an independent global news hour that airs on over 1,500 TV and radio stations Monday through Friday. Watch our livestream at democracynow.org Mondays to Fridays 8-9 a.m. ET.

Sleepwalking into Autocracy? Trump Embraces Authoritarian Playbook of Hungary’s Orbán

by

Is Trump embracing the authoritarian playbook of far-right Hungarian dictator Viktor Orbán?

Princeton professor Kim Lane Scheppele walks us through Orbán’s sudden rise to power and how the Trump administration’s recent actions appear to follow his anti-democratic “blueprint,” with Trump “echoing a lot of Orbán’s rhetoric,” consolidating power in the executive branch and bypassing federal checks and balances.

“Trump is trying to break things quickly,” says Scheppele, a professor of sociology and international affairs at Princeton University.

She also notes Orbán’s involvement in the right-wing Project 2025 initiative and his adoption of the motto “Make Europe Great Again” during Hungary’s presidency of the Council of the European Union last year as further evidence of the close ties between the two leaders. As Orbán works to “consolidate this movement of anti-democratic far-right forces” in Europe, warns Scheppele, Trump is tightening his grasp on the other side of the Atlantic.

Democracy Now! is an independent global news hour that airs on over 1,500 TV and radio stations Monday through Friday.

Watch our livestream at democracynow.org Mondays to Fridays 8-9 a.m. ET. Subscribe to our Daily Email Digest: https://democracynow.org/subscribe

 

“The Myth of Normal”: Dr. Gabor Maté on Trauma, Illness and Healing in a Toxic Culture

by

In an extended interview, acclaimed physician and author Dr. Gabor Maté discusses his new book, just out, called “The Myth of Normal: Trauma, Illness, and Healing in a Toxic Culture.”

“The very values of a society are traumatizing for a lot of people,” says Maté, who argues in his book that “psychological trauma, woundedness, underlies much of what we call disease.” He says healing requires a reconnection between the mind and the body, which can be achieved through cultivating a sense of community, meaning, belonging and purpose.

Maté also discusses how the healthcare system has harmfully promoted the “mechanization of birth,” how the lack of social services for parents has led to “a massive abandonment of infants,” and how capitalism has fueled addiction and the rise of youth suicide rates.

Democracy Now! is an independent global news hour that airs on over 1,500 TV and radio stations Monday through Friday. Watch our livestream at https://democracynow.org Mondays to Fridays 8-9 a.m. ET. Support independent media: https://democracynow.org/donate