
Zohran Mamdani, the Socialist Who Could Be NYC's New Mayor
Listen to Odd Lots on Apple Podcasts
Listen to Odd Lots on Spotify
Subscribe to the newsletter
We're just a month away from the hotly-contested Democratic primary for New York City Mayor. And one of the candidates -- Queens assemblyman Zohran Mamdani -- is running on a somewhat unusual platform. Endorsed by the Democratic Socialists of America, he's proposing rent freezes, universal childcare, higher taxes on corporations and the wealthy, free buses, and city-run grocery stores. In this conversation, we talk to the would-be mayor about his socialist vision for New York, including how he plans to fund more public goods, what he would do to ensure that government-run services are up to standard, and why there should be Halal carts on every street corner.
Odd Lots Live is returning to New York City on June 26. Get your tickets here!
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Forbes
18 minutes ago
- Forbes
Forbes Daily: Supreme Court Gives A Boost To Oil And Gas Billionaires
J.K. Rowling brought magic to multiple generations with her wizarding world—and it's made her a billionaire, again, despite plenty of recent controversy. The Harry Potter author is now worth $1.2 billion, according to Forbes estimates, after previously falling off the Billionaires List in 2012 as a result of charitable giving. That's in spite of the fact that Rowling has placed herself at the center of a culture war, frequently posting anti-transgender rhetoric on social media. Since 2020, she has earned more than $80 million per year from the sales of her books and the vast litany of Potterverse brand extensions. The staying power of the franchise is only set to continue, with a new HBO Max series adaptation of the books going into production this summer. President Donald Trump's 'Liberation Day' tariffs will stay in effect for now, a federal appeals court ruled, despite a Wednesday ruling from the Court of International Trade that they were unlawful, plus a second, similar ruling from a federal court Thursday. But if an appeals court or the Supreme Court, where the case is likely to end up, ultimately sides with the international court and says they're unlawful, the Trump Administration will have to refund any tariffs collected. MORE: Nvidia briefly became the world's most valuable company again Thursday after its latest earnings report, surpassing Microsoft, before falling back into No. 2. The AI chip giant's stock surged post-earnings and after the international trade court's tariff ruling, helping lift the broader market, before indexes ended the day at more modest gains. Meanwhile, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said trade talks between China and the U.S. have stalled and a direct call between the two countries' presidents may be needed to close a deal, leading U.S. stock futures to drop slightly in early trading on Friday. After their meeting in Geneva earlier this month, U.S. and Chinese officials announced they would significantly cut back tariffs placed on each other's goods for at least 90 days, while both sides work on a trade agreement. Despite President Trump repeatedly attacking Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, the pair met Thursday at Trump's request—Powell's first meeting with a sitting president since May 2022. Trump has expressed frustration with the Fed's hesitation to lower interest rates, but Powell was insistent that the Fed would determine monetary policy based on economic data, according to a statement from the central bank. The SEC dropped a lawsuit against Binance on Thursday, days after the crypto exchange began listing a stablecoin created by World Liberty Financial, one of President Donald Trump's blockchain ventures. Binance admitted in a November 2023 plea deal to anti-money laundering and sanctions violations, agreeing to pay $4 billion, and it's not the only Trump crypto partner to have benefited personally from his administration. The Supreme Court gave a boost to oil and gas companies as it sided Thursday with a railway company that argued an environmental review of a planned construction project in Utah was too broad. Dozens of energy billionaires stand to benefit, like Anschutz Exploration Corporation leader Philip Anschutz and Energy Transfer LP founders Kelcy Warren and Ray Davis, who are worth $16.9 billion, $7.2 billion and $3.7 billion, respectively. As AI chatbots become more trusted with high-stakes jobs like helping to diagnose medical patients or screening loan applications, they're also making more mistakes,—which means assessing a model's performance is more crucial than ever. The once-buzzy data-labeling startup Snorkel AI is shifting gears to help enterprises create evaluation systems and datasets to test their AI models, raising $100 million at a $1.3 billion valuation. Despite repeated promises of an imminent launch, President Donald Trump's Gold Card visa—which would give wealthy investors U.S. residency and an expedited path to citizenship—would require Congress to change immigration laws, a process that could take months or years. And furthermore, while Trump has suggested the administration could raise trillions selling the cards, the math just doesn't add up, according to one expert: To afford the visa, someone would have to be worth over $100 million, and there are fewer than 30,000 centimillionaires in the entire world, more than a third of whom are American. A federal judge will indefinitely block the Trump Administration's ban on Harvard University's enrollment of foreign students, amid the ongoing feud between the university and federal government. In a shift from the Department of Homeland Security's initial announcement, which stated the ban would take effect immediately, the administration told Harvard ahead of the court hearing that it had 30 days to show why the school should not be barred from enrolling international students. Real Madrid forward Vinícius Forbes' latest ranking of the World's Most Valuable Soccer Teams, Spain's Real Madrid once again takes the crown, worth an estimated $6.75 billion after becoming the first soccer team to cross $1 billion in annual revenue during the 2023-24 season. Together, the 30 most valuable soccer teams are worth more than $72 billion, or an average of $2.4 billion, up 5% from last year. Michigan Potash & Salt founder Ted Pagano jamel toppin for forbes Michigan is sitting on a motherlode of potash, a mineral which is the main ingredient in agricultural fertilizer. The U.S. uses 5.3 million tons annually and imports 95% of it, mostly from Canada. Ted Pagano's Michigan Potash & Salt Company is on the cusp of closing on $1.8 billion of financing for a new mine, including a $1.3 billion loan from the Department of Energy and $500 million in equity being arranged by JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs. If all goes well, the mine will be churning out 1 million tons per year of potash (worth $350 million) and 1.3 million tons of salt (worth $80 million) by the end of the decade. With a resource base proven to be 130 million tons, the company could keep that up for a century or more—and make Pagano, who owns 65%, very rich. Even now his stake is worth at least $300 million. To extract the potash, Pagano will use a form of 'in-situ,' or solution mining. He'll drill 8,000-foot-deep wells in pairs. One is the injection well, down which Michigan Potash will send hot water to dissolve potash and salt in place. The second is the production well; the solution travels up that well to the processing plant for separation and drying. The water is reclaimed, heated and sent back down the hole. From the surface the mine will hardly be noticeable and should be eligible for green tax credits. 'There's no hair on this project that we're ashamed of,' says chief operating officer Aric Glasser. In all, Forbes estimates that costs should come to about $140 per ton; potash sells for about $350 a ton today. And agricultural giant ADM has already agreed to buy nearly all of Pagano's yearly potash production. WHY IT MATTERS 'This story shows how even in a giant, oligopoly-controlled industry like fertilizer, an individual entrepreneur like Ted Pagano—in the right place at the right time—can generate huge value for himself and for the country,' says Forbes senior editor Christopher Helman. 'This matters now because there are many other critical minerals of which the U.S. needs to develop secure domestic supplies. Hopefully Pagano's story can inspire more entrepreneurs to take on the challenge.' MORE The $800 Million Rare Earths Portfolio Of Australia's Richest Woman References to DEI in the corporate reports of top companies took a sharp dive this year, according to analysis by Gravity Research. As President Donald Trump has waged a war on DEI, many companies have dropped or reframed their diversity initiatives: 72%: The drop in references to diversity, including 'DEI' and 'racial diversity,' in the reports of major corporations between 2024 and 2025, per the study 87%: The increase in usage of the word 'belonging' between 2023 and 2024 as a 'safer' alternative to DEI, though mentions of the word then declined 47% between 2024 and 2025 'Speaks volumes to the current political environment': said Joanna Piacenza, vice president of thought leadership at Gravity Research No matter the reason, if you were seeking a promotion that didn't pan out, you can still create your own opportunities for leadership development in your current role. Look at previous performance reviews to figure out what skills you need to work on, and collaborate with your manager to restructure your role for stretch assignments. And if you're looking for an opportunity to manage people, start by managing a project or asking your boss if you can take something off their plate. Scientists have created a 'smart' dental floss that doesn't just clean your teeth, but also gauges what about your health? A. Blood pressure B. Presence of cavities C. Stress levels D. Recent drug use Check your answer. Thanks for reading! This edition of Forbes Daily was edited by Sarah Whitmire and Chris Dobstaff.

Washington Post
22 minutes ago
- Washington Post
Diddy trial live updates: Ex-assistant Mia continues testimony in Sean Combs's sex-trafficking case
Sean 'Diddy' Combs could be sent to prison for life if convicted at his trial on federal sex-trafficking and racketeering charges, which started May 5 in New York. You might remember Sean Combs's effort to make voting 'sexy' in 2004. This was back when the Iraq War was raging, John F. Kerry was challenging incumbent George W. Bush for the presidency, and people still called Combs 'P. Diddy.' His 'Vote or Die!' campaign was billed as a historic project to increase the hip-hop-adjacent youth vote, pulling in the likes of Russell Simmons, 50 Cent and MTV in various capacities. 'I'm trying to light the spark and start the flame,' Combs was quoted as saying.


Bloomberg
24 minutes ago
- Bloomberg
Tariff Ruling Threatens a $2 Trillion Fiscal Hole in Trump Plan
The court ruling that blocked much of President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs threatens to blow what some economists estimate as a $2 trillion hole into the US fiscal outlook over the coming decade, should the judgment stay in place. The ruling could also present a new obstacle for Republicans who are relying on the revenue to help offset the cost of a roughly $4 trillion tax cut moving through Congress.