In October 2025, weeks before his historic election win, WIRED sat down with Mamdani for an interview at his campaign office. I remember, vividly, the energy that he carried into the room. This was a man, after all, who’d just pulled off a stunning political feat, rising from being an unknown to becoming the mayoral front-runner in a matter of months. In part, that was because of his message, which focused squarely on affordability and the working class.