Katrina vanden Heuvel, publisher and part-owner of the progressive monthly magazine The Nation, shared a “fun fact” on social media today about Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic Socialist who just won the Democratic primary for Mayor of New York City.
Vanden Heuvel, a fellow New York City native, wrote: “Fun Fact: Zohran Mamdani applied to @thenation Internship program soon after he graduated from Bowdoin— and was rejected. He never re-applied —-but probably good that we didn’t steer him into journalism.”
Note: After graduating from the Bronx High School of Science, Mamdani (who was born in Uganda) earned a bachelor’s degree in Africana studies from Bowdoin College.
Fun Fact: Zohran Mamdani applied to @thenation Internship program soon after he graduated from Bowdoin— and was rejected. He never re-applied —-but probably good that we didn’t steer him into journalism.
— Katrina vandenHeuvel (@KatrinaNation) June 26, 2025
Like Mamdani’s election win, Vanden Heuvel’s post is generating mixed responses.
As one anti-Mamdani voter (and media skeptic) replied: “No kidding – he’s planning to do enough damage as mayor; imagine if he were a journalist,” while a Mamdani supporter, apparently hoping for a whole new wave of Democrats, wrote: “When can we get rid of Gillibrand??? She’s on Brian Lehrer saying she can’t endorse Zohran, despite his laser focus on affordability, because of… Israel.”
Note: The latter commenter is not alone. When actress and former Democratic New York gubernatorial candidate Cynthia Nixon — who lost to incumbent Governor Andrew Cuomo in 2018 — voiced her disappointment in Democratic New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (who when asked about Mamdani said, “I vote in Albany”), Vanden Heuvel responded, “Disappointing? Disqualifying.”
Disappointing? Disqualifying. https://t.co/bLX8Y5eli3
— Katrina vandenHeuvel (@KatrinaNation) June 26, 2025
Among the notable writers that have been published in The Nation, which was founded in 1865, are Henry James, Sinclair Lewis, Willa Cather, W.E.B. DuBois, Langston Hughes, Sylvia Plath, Arundhati Roy, and Jhumpa Lahiri.