Zohran Mamdani is entering his streamer era. The NYC mayor launched a series on Twitch, titled Talk With the People, on May 21.
The series has Mamdani answering questions from New Yorkers live on the stream. He announced the series in an Instagram post this morning, featuring a photo of himself next to a photo of one of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s “Fireside Chats.”
Mamdani’s campaign was unique in its engaging deployment of social media, and he has continued to create shortform video content since taking office. So it comes as no real surprise that the 34-year-old mayor is utilizing another popular social platform to increase his direct access to constituents.
This is the first recurring cross-platform stream hosted by an elected official, but it has its roots in other political eras.
Perhaps the most famous example is President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s “Fireside Chats,” which were instituted during the Great Depression and World War II. The idea was that the President was almost sitting in Americans’ living rooms, speaking through their radio as a way to directly address the country—not filtered through the press.
But even closer to home for Mayor Mamdani—and the inspiration for the name of his series—is the 1940s radio show of Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia. The former NYC mayor ran his Sunday broadcast “Talk to the People” from January 1942 until the end of his term in December 1945.
Now, modern politicians are utilizing these types of shows on platforms like Twitch—which began as a gaming platform, but has recently shifted to include other types of content like politics.
IL-D9 Congressional candidate Kat Abughazaleh deployed Twitch during her campaign. She used her social media presence, in part, to mobilize a collective of young voters, many of whom are active on Instagram and Twitch.
The use of social media is a growing hallmark of the modern political campaign: Mamdani’s Instagram comment sections were often filled with viewers sharing how much they wished they lived in New York so they could vote for him. In a statement, the mayor described the move as “bringing City Hall directly to the platforms where New Yorkers already spend their time.”
Mamdani’s series will broadcast on Twitch, but also be available on YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok.