The Messaging That Led To A Marine Killing A Homeless Man in the New York Subway

On May 1, 2023, a subway car in New York City suddenly became the center of American political discourse and division when former Marine Daniel Penny killed homeless Michael Jackson impersonator Jordan Neely. New York City was thrust into the spotlight overnight, exposing the deep political rifts and widespread anxieties gripping the nation as a whole. In his latest book, Man in the Mirror: Hope, Struggle, and Belonging in an American City, journalist and New York Times bestselling author Anand Giridharadas takes a deep dive into what exactly happened in that subway car and what it reveals about the greater character of American politics as we know it today. “We have lived in a climate over the last 11 years in which there’s a tremendous amount of messaging we are all absorbing creating a permission structure for DIY violence. So I wanted to understand what we could see about ourselves if we looked more closely in that subway car,” he tells Mehdi. While people from all walks of life were present in that subway car, Giridharadas points to a shared feeling of “abandonment,” which he calls “the defining political emotion of our time.” But how did we get here exactly? And why has this shared feeling of abandonment divided us more than united us? In this 38-minute conversation, Mehdi gets to the bottom of these pressing questions and what they mean for the midterms and the 2028 presidential election looming ahead. *This interview was originally published on October 13, 2026 on  zeteo.com. If you would like EARLY access to more exclusive content like this, then head over to Zeteo’s Substack and consider becoming a paid subscriber. Your support fuels our mission of bringing fearless, independent journalism to YOU our subscribers— so, what are you waiting for? Be sure to check out Giridharadas’s latest book, Man in the Mirror: Hope, Struggle, and Belonging in an American City: https://bookshop.org/p/books/man-in-t... Looking for more book recommendations? Visit the Zeteo book club for inspiration: https://zeteo.com/t/book-club CHAPTERS: 00:00 Intro 02:12  Motivation behind book 07:36 Jordan Neely 10:00 ‘Dehumanization’ 17:00 Daniel Penny 19:00 Race 27:30 Midterms 32:00 AOC Subscribe to Zeteo to support independent and unfiltered journalism: https://zeteo.com/subscribe Find Zeteo: Twitter:   / zeteo_news   Instagram:   / zeteonews   TikTok:   / zeteonews   Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/zeteo.com Find Mehdi: Substack: https://substack.com/@mehdirhasan Twitter:   / @mehdirhasan   Instagram:   / @mehdirhasan   Tik Tok:   / mehdirhasan   To advertise on the show, contact sales@advertisecast.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/networ...