Our Parasocial Relationship with Politicians

When Zohran Mamdani appeared on comedian Kareem Rahma’s popular internet talk show Subway Takes during his successful run for New York City mayor last year, the interview was a sensation, garnering nearly three million likes across Instagram, TikTok and YouTube.

The subway interview marked yet another jewel in the crown of a formidable new media strategy that helped the 34-year-old democratic socialist win the November 2025 New York City mayoral election with 50.78 per cent of the vote. Mamdani’s short-form vertical campaign videos endeared him to younger and newcomer voters who supported him at the ballot box. His campaign became an object lesson for political strategists.

Like other progressive politicos across North America, BC NDP insiders seem to be inspired by Mamdani’s breezy, big-tent approach to viral content creation with a political edge. They also seem to have studied the subtle genius of Subway Takes , where comedian Rahma interviews guests on the New York City subway, speaking into a microphone affixed to a MetroCard regional transit pass.

Each episode of Subway Takes follows the same structure. Rahma opens by asking, “So what’s your take?” His guests, who have recently included children’s entertainer and human rights advocate Rachel Accurso , comedian Dan Yang , novelist Mary H.K. Choi and actor Andrew Garfield , respond to the question by sharing a point of view.

“Some nursery rhymes and kids’ songs need to be retired,” Accurso declared.

By engaging interviewees and audiences in a way that follows a consistent, seemingly low-stakes format, Subway Takes is a master class in effective content creation at a time when the media ecosystem and its audience are undergoing rapid transformation.

Two weeks after Premier David Eby announced a snap provincial election during the lead-up to the 2026 B.C. municipal elections, his team launched a vertical video series called “Bus Takes.”

Each episode begins with Eby, 50, seated on his campaign bus with a guest interviewee. He adapts Rahma’s famous opening line: “What’s your take?”

Eby’s videos mimic the popular internet talk show for good reason. Millennial and gen-Z fans of Subway Takes in B.C. will be primed to recognize what “Bus Takes” is referring to, and their social media feeds may be algorithmically positioned to push similar content their way.

Eby interviews his wife, Cailey Lynch , fellow BC NDP candidates Brittny Anderson and Richard Zussman and some unnamed younger people extolling the virtues of work experience in the service industry and Big Way Hot Pot .

They’re relatable slice-of-life snippets with a Sisyphean task: to make the premier seem appealing to an increasingly skeptical electorate. From the beginning of the election, polls have consistently shown that voters are not impressed with Eby’s decision to call a snap election, timing the provincial campaign to happen at the same time as municipal races.

An Oct. 14 poll from Leger finds the Conservative Party of BC holding a two-point lead among decided voters. The poll suggests that 42 per cent of decided voters support the Conservatives, and 40 per cent support the BC NDP.