Mamdani, Bi Tradwives, & DC Life
The Week in Review: December 8, 2025
Greetings from the nation’s capital, where I’ve been spending the last few days. While I’m enjoying the (slight) reprieve from the frigid temperatures of New York City, I truly miss the city’s cultural vibrancy. DC may be the hub for all things political, but my time down here has strengthened my [half-joking, half-serious] conviction that all culture is downstream from New York.
In all seriousness, much love to all of our DC supporters. Yet indeed, the “vibe shifts” alluded to in several Compact pieces this week can be felt more strongly in New York—though I can certainly see hints of it starting to trickle down into DC. Take Gregory Conti’s assertion that “we can expect Mamdani to play a larger role in our national politics than is usual even for the most prominent mayors.” The upwardly-mobile, college-educated twenty-somethings who were drawn to Mamdani’s “anti-market instincts and celebration of government action” are representative, according to Conti, of the future of the American Left.
On the culture war front, the “bisexual tradwives” I interviewed (several of whom live in New York City) are emblematic of the shift away from the deadlock between progressive identitarianism and reactionary traditionalism. Instead, these young women—who embrace their sexual fluidity while opting to prioritize childrearing over their careers—are driven more so by a desire to return to common sense than the need to champion an ideological cause.
Also in Compact this week:
Pablo Policzer on how the norms designed to protect civilians from harm are increasingly weaponized to endanger them
Matthew Burdette on the need for better housing policy
Nathan Pinkoski on the new National Security Strategy document issued by the Trump administration
Juan David Rojas on how the GOP lost Miami
And check out the team’s podcast discussion on the expiration of Obamacare subsidies, Paramount’s attempt to buy Warner Brothers, and a recent conference on the future of postliberalism.