Podcast Summary: It Could Happen Here
Episode Title: Mamdani’s Victory: Winners, Losers, and Crashouts
Date: November 10, 2025
Hosts: Mia Wong & Garrison Davis
Podcast Network: Cool Zone Media & iHeartPodcasts
Episode Overview
In this lively and irreverent It Could Happen Here episode, hosts Mia Wong and Garrison Davis break down the aftermath of Zoran Mamdani's stunning New York City mayoral victory. Framed in the style of a "winners and losers" sports recap, Mia and Garrison explore the shockwaves across political, business, and media worlds. The episode revels in the collapse of establishment and right-wing narratives, highlights those energized or empowered by the result, and dissects the bizarre, sometimes hilarious, meltdown of Mamdani’s detractors.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
1. Setting the Tone: New Political Reality in New York
- Mia opens with a satirical "mandatory" greeting referencing New York’s new political culture:
“Eat your pheasants, drink your wine, your days are numbered, bourgeois swine.” (02:39)
- Brief comedic exchange about city identity and comparing New York nationalism to other cities, with implications of endurance beyond national collapse. (03:15-03:36)
2. Winners of Mamdani's Victory
● Survivors, Trailblazers, and Everyday People
- The first "winner": Lindsey Boylan, who courageously accused Andrew Cuomo of harassment. She is now exuberant in celebration.
“‘I hope every woman who has ever faced an abuser like Cuomo knows she doesn’t have to be ashamed… because we will beat these monsters. New Yorker said no more to Andrew Cuomo.’ This shit rocks. Fuck him.” – Mia Wong (06:49)
- Free childcare for parents: A signature Mamdani policy likely to go forward.
“Free childcare would be pretty cool. And it’s one of the few things on the Mamdani platform that like the governor herself is pretty set on helping to achieve.” – Garrison Davis (08:56)
- Renters and regular people: promise of stabilized rents, more affordable housing.
- “People who buy their own food”: Satire on upper-class detachment from regular life. Commentary on class divide in everyday tasks like grocery shopping. (09:14-10:08)
- Spike Lee “having a great time” partying, emblematic of progressive and artistic support. (09:06)
- Notably, Mia celebrates Mamdani publicly calling out Indian PM Modi as a “war criminal”—something major American politicians rarely do.
“I want to declare myself a winner because I fucking hate Modi. And Zoran called Modi a war criminal… Fuck him, he’s the butcher of Gujarat. Eat shit.” – Mia Wong (10:08)
3. Losers & Those Spiraling in Defeat
● The Right-Wing & Their Coping Mechanisms
- Laura Ingram and Ross Douthat spinning the loss (“Democrats are winning, actually losing”) and engaging in media cope.
“It’s the most… there’s a whole genre of this. If I wanted to, I literally could have just pulled things that were like, ‘the Democrats are winning, actually losing’…” – Mia Wong (11:47)
- Key right-wing influencers like Mike Cernovich acknowledging the left’s energy vs. conservative “joyless lecturing”:
“If you didn’t know anything about politics, you would say this is the side I want to be on. Conservative Inc. is joyless, it’s the house of scolding nags.” – Mike Cernovich, quoted by Mia Wong (14:16)
- Internal divisions exposed: Heritage Foundation infighting over the far-right, sectarian splits after the Fuentes-Tucker interview. (14:24-15:28)
- GOP politicians’ reactions:
- Governor Greg Abbott’s mock “moment of silence for New York City” (16:35)
- Senator Rick Scott offering to “welcome all freedom-loving New Yorkers” to Florida.
- Hosts point out the disconnect between GOP rhetoric and the reality that no one is actually fleeing NYC.
“Spoiler alert: not yet, but come on, there is still time.” – Mia Wong (17:05)
● Tech Billionaires in Meltdown
- Elon Musk warning of the “suicidal empathy” dooming Western civ in reaction to Mamdani’s win (22:33).
- Musk’s incoherence on Rogan’s podcast mocked:
“It’s just a minute straight of Elon Musk going ‘he has nothing.’” – Mia Wong (22:49)
- Segment on the right’s strange fixation on Mamdani’s looks and his wife, veering into psychosexual territory:
“It is kind of breaking these people’s brains that there’s just, like, a hot guy who beat the shit out of them.” – Mia Wong (23:49)
● Establishment Democrats & Business Elite
- NPR and business leaders enter the “acceptance phase” of grieving:
“I think it’s the stages of grief.” – Karen Wild, Partnership for NY (27:16)
- Mia & Garrison highlight how business leaders tried to negotiate with Mamdani, including Bloomberg’s behind-the-scenes attempts (27:48).
- Hedge fund manager Ken Griffin expresses public concern, wishing Mamdani governs differently than he campaigned (28:55).
● Israel Government & Islamophobia
- Israeli far-right officials decry Mamdani’s win as a triumph of "antisemitism"; Mia and Garrison note this strategy is falling flat with even mainstream US media.
“Even hosts of Good Morning America were like, come on, man. That’s not—he’s not—he’s not an antisemite.” – Garrison Davis (30:35)
- They describe the defeat of Islamophobic smear campaigns by the Cuomo camp.
“This was one of the most racist campaigns I have ever seen… and they got their ass handed to them.” – Mia Wong (31:23)
● Threats to Flee… Not Fulfilled
- Right-wing celebrities and influencers who claimed they’d leave NYC aren’t going anywhere.
“None of them were actually leaving. It’s really sad.” – Mia Wong (32:44)
4. Baffling & Notable Reactions
- Obama offers generic praise for “forward-looking leaders,” despite history of undermining the left in Democratic primaries.
“Brother, you spent so much time trying to make sure this wouldn’t happen and you have failed.” – Mia Wong (38:00)
- Jamie Dimon’s patronizing yet pragmatic acceptance:
“He’s a young man. Will he get good at it? I’ve seen a lot of people, they kind of swell into the job. They get worse… I’m hoping he’s the good one…” – Jamie Dimon (39:01)
- Even Trump is reported to privately respect Mamdani’s skills:
“In private, Trump has called Mr. Mamdani a slick and good talker and a talented politician... and that he wants New York to succeed.” – Garrison Davis (39:46)
5. Broader Political Implications
- Garrison notes the GOP narrative that Mamdani only won because of “foreigners” and the implication of restricting voting rights—racist “great replacement” rhetoric.
“If this election was done by ‘true New Yorkers’ then Cuomo would’ve won.” (41:25)
- Discussion of the right’s false comfort that young men favor the GOP, disproved by election results.
“You have a guy show you what kind of policies, what kind of messaging works exceedingly well…” – Garrison Davis (43:10)
- Final reflection: optimism about “enemy” misery and how a real tangible left program can win, though caution that institutional antagonists (like Trump, the establishment, and right-wingers) will persist.
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
- “If there was someone who was only half as good as Mamdani who destroyed Cuomo, it would still be fun to laugh at Cuomo.” – Garrison Davis (06:21)
- “Cernovich posts… ‘Conservative Inc. is joyless. It’s the house of scolding nags. It offers young men nothing beyond moralizing and hypocritical lecture.’” – Mia Wong quoting Mike Cernovich (14:16)
- “There’s a very, very public level of acceptance for Islamophobia… People don’t fucking like that shit. It sucks.” – Mia Wong (31:46)
- “The biggest mistake the Democrats made last time… is not completely destroying Trump’s ability to exist in public life.” – Garrison Davis (43:52)
- “Our Nuremberg is going to have to make the original Nuremberg look like paperclip.” – Mia Wong (44:36)
- “Well, this has been a rare, upbeat episode where all of our enemies are having a very bad time.” – Mia Wong (45:25)
Timestamps of Important Segments
- 02:39 – Satirical “mandatory” New York greeting; lens for episode
- 05:45–06:49 – Lindsey Boylan’s vindication and the emotional weight of Cuomo’s defeat
- 08:56 – Childcare as policy; signature Mamdani promise
- 10:08 – Mia’s personal “winner” moment: Mamdani calling out Modi
- 11:28–12:50 – Right-wing cope, especially Fox News and New York Times reactions
- 13:01–14:50 – Cernovich’s public meltdown and commentary on right-wing malaise
- 16:35–17:05 – Abbott, Rick Scott, and “fleeing” New Yorkers
- 22:33–23:40 – Elon Musk’s incoherence; Rogan segment; right’s fixation on charisma
- 25:41–26:12 – Speaker Mike Johnson and recycled “dangerous Democrat” rhetoric
- 27:16–28:36 – Business class stages of grief; Bloomberg’s failed strategies
- 30:12–31:13 – Israeli politicians’ rage; failed Islamophobia
- 32:44 – No one actually leaves NYC; right-wing bluster exposed
- 37:57–38:00 – Obama’s awkward post hoc blessing
- 39:01–39:46 – Jamie Dimon & Trump acknowledge Mamdani’s political ability
- 41:25–43:10 – GOP “replacement” theory and the realignment of young male voters
- 45:25–45:33 – Hosts sum up: “rare upbeat episode… all our enemies are having a very bad time.”
Final Thoughts
This episode offers a cathartic, celebratory—a bit chaotic—recap of one of the most unexpected victories in recent American electoral history. Mia and Garrison openly enjoy the discomfort of the establishment and right-wing critics, but consistently return to sober analysis: the cracks in old coalitions, the importance of real policy, and the continued challenge of building an equitable future.
The hosts don’t shy from their own biases, swirling giddy glee with deadpan analysis and sardonic humor. Listeners come away with a layered understanding of the stakes, personalities, and narratives that made Mamdani’s victory so momentous—and why, according to It Could Happen Here, the future just got more interesting, and maybe a bit brighter.