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A grassroots movement, one staircase at a time.
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Six Chapters. One Story.
Ten Perfect Strangers
January, 2018. A young mother meets ten strangers in Astoria Park to canvass for a 29-year-old former bartender named Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Nobody thinks they can win.
But they won.
Over the next seven years, that same movement will grow to 100,000 strong — and eventually take the mayor’s office itself.
This is the story of what my community built — while I sat on the sideline, uninvolved.
It’s about the choices we make — and the ones that we don’t.
Twenty Years Apart
Just seven days after AOC is elected to Congress, the movement faces its first test: Amazon wants to move into their neighborhood. And in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, a 26-year-old campaign manager named Zohran Mamdani is about to lose an election.
Two campaigns separated by twelve miles and two months. One destined for victory — the other for defeat.
This is the story of what must be done before change is even possible.
Fifty-Five Votes
In 2019, the movement is growing. But can it win outside Astoria? A young public defender named Tiffany Cabán is willing to find out. In the last four days of her district attorney campaign, she’ll motivate activists to knock over a hundred thousand doors.
She’ll still lose, anyway — by just 55 votes out of 90,000 cast.
This is the story of how they got so close… and what you learn from defeat when you do almost everything right.
She’ll lose the election, but her ideas will win the race.
Four Hundred Pounds
In late 2019, a young organizer named Zohran Mamdani decides to run for local office in Astoria. He plans to use the grassroots model: knock hundreds of thousands of doors. But then a global pandemic arrives, and grinds his campaign to a halt.
Suddenly, canvassing is illegal. This is the story of a state assembly campaign. But it’s really about the ways that people come together — when everything around them is falling apart.
Soon, a humble campaign office transforms into a hub for mutual aid.
Twenty-Six Hours
June 24th, 2025. Primary day. In 103-degree heat, fifty thousand volunteers are spread across New York City. And now, after seven years on the sideline, I’m one of them.
A volunteer driver running water and Gatorade to poll sites from Canal Street to Inwood, I’ve become a part of a movement that stretches across the city. And then my body starts to shut down.
Come along and witness a political revolution — from the inside.
Three Million Doors
November 4th, 2025. Election day. Seven years ago, ten strangers met in Astoria Park to knock doors for a longshot. Tonight, the movement they started is on the verge of electing the mayor of New York City.
Among them: Asad Dandia, who was surveilled by undercover NYPD agents at nineteen — and is now an advisor to Zohran Mamdani’s campaign. And Shawna Morlock, who serves as a Democratic District Leader along with juggling a handful of different roles within the DSA.
And myself, too. By this point, I’m making this podcast documenting the movement while also knocking doors, volunteering.
This is the sound of a grassroots movement on the cusp of victory.
Meet the People
The organizers, canvassers, and neighbors who built something — in their own words.
If Not Us,
Who?
Join the Movement.
Knock doors. Pack bread. Show up. The people in this story all started with one shift — here’s where to find yours.
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