NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani launches Twitch show like FDR fireside chats
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani speaks alongside New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch (L) during a news conference at Gracie Mansion in New York City on March 9, 2026.
Leonardo Munoz | AFP | Getty Images
The fireside chat is getting a livestream reboot.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, whose meteoric rise to City Hall was powered in large part from his social media moxie, launched a recurring Twitch series Thursday called “Talk With the People,” where he will answer questions from New Yorkers in real time on a platform better known for gaming than government.
The show will also be simulcast across YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, X and a host of other social media platforms, the mayor’s office said.
“With the launch of ‘Talk with the People,’ we’re bringing City Hall directly to the platforms where New Yorkers already spend their time,” Mamdani said in a statement.
During Mamdani’s run for mayor, he leaned heavily on social media videos, online explainers and appearances outside traditional political media to reach younger voters and discuss issues such as affordability, housing and transit in a more conversational style.
“By hosting the country’s first recurring cross-platform stream led by an elected official, where New Yorkers can ask questions live on Twitch, we’re opening up a new conversation between government and the people it serves, especially younger generations who have too often been ignored,” Mamdani said in a statement.
Mamdani promoted the launch of “Talk with the People” on X, sharing an image of himself seated before microphones labeled with popular social media logos next to a photo of President Franklin D. Roosevelt Roosevelt delivering one of his famous radio addresses during the medium’s heyday.
“5.21.26. 4:10PM. Live,” Mamdani wrote.
The format also echoes an earlier era of politicians speaking directly to the public. Roosevelt used his fireside chats to address Americans over the radio, while former New York Mayor Fiorello La Guardia later hosted his own weekly radio program, “Talk to the People,” from 1942 to 1945, according to the U.S. Library of Congress.
Twitch first gained popularity as a livestreaming platform for video gamers, but it has since become a key part of a broader shift in how younger audiences consume political information, often through streamers, podcasts and social media personalities rather than traditional outlets.
In recent years, Twitch has become something of a Democratic counterweight to the right-wing podcast ecosystem.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., was among the first major elected officials to embrace the platform in 2020, when she appeared on “Among Us” livestreams aimed at encouraging young people to vote. Former Vice President Kamala Harris’ 2024 presidential campaign also leaned into Twitch as part of a broader effort to reach younger and harder-to-reach voters online.
Lately, political creators such as Hasan Piker have helped turn Twitch into a venue for live political commentary, often drawing audiences larger and more engaged than those tuning in to politicians themselves.
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