The People's Republic of Astoria

In 2018, ten strangers met in Astoria Park. Just seven years later, they’d elect the mayor. This is the story of a movement — from the inside. Winner of two Signal Awards. Before Zohran Mamdani was elected mayor, before the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) became a national force, there was a young bartender named Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez with a crazy idea: run for Congress. After Bernie Sanders lost the Democratic primary in 2016, a whole generation of young activists were newly trained in electoral organizing — people like AOC. Her upset victory in 2018 sparked a political revolution that would transform New York City’s politics. And a neighborhood in northwest Queens, a place called Astoria, would soon become this movement’s epicenter. It’s a community that Tim Donovan, the creator and host of the show, knows well. A 15-year resident and former bartender in the neighborhood, Tim started volunteering for his local State Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani in early 2025. By the time primary day arrived, June 24th, the movement had taken over his life. And a few weeks later, he set out to make this podcast documenting what he’d witnessed. A six-part documentary series that combines scripted narration, interview audio, archival tape, and embedded reporting, “The People’s Republic of Astoria” tells the story of how a neighborhood in Queens became a laboratory for a new kind of politics — and what happens to you when you decide to get off the sideline and get involved. All episodes out now.