Zohran Mamdani's swift victory in New York City's Democratic primary has led to a wave of momentum for progressive candidates in other cities, and the trend has now reached the other side of the country. Seattle's upcoming mayoral race has been whittled down to two candidates, one of whom, Katie Wilson, shares a similar platform and template to Mamdani's. And while Seattle won't head to the polls until November, experts are pointing to Wilson's candidacy as an example of the progressive "Mamdani effect" taking hold.

Who are the candidates?
Wilson is the co-founder and head of the Transit Riders Union, a group working to improve public transportation in Seattle. Her mayoral campaign is her first foray into electoral politics, and she has campaigned on a strongly progressive platform, including her "involvement in past efforts to raise the minimum wage, tax large corporations, improve public transit and provide stronger protections for renters," said Bloomberg. 

She has also campaigned heavily on progressive solutions for homelessness, which remains pervasive in Seattle. Homelessness here is caused by a "severe shortage of affordable housing, the result of neoliberal underinvestment in subsidized housing, and a long history of exclusionary zoning," Wilson said in an op-ed for Seattle newspaper The Stranger. 

Her opponent, incumbent Mayor Bruce Harrell, is a more moderate Democrat. He was originally "viewed as the overwhelming favorite," said The Seattle Times. But he came in second place to Wilson in the primary, even as he has "made the pitch to voters that he's the best" against President Donald Trump, "touting a recent lawsuit against the administration."

What's the bigger picture? 
No matter what happens, Wilson's popularity in Seattle "shows Zohran Mamdani is not alone" in a wave of progressivism, said The Nation. And like everything else in American politics, Trump may be playing an outsize role in voters' minds. Many of Seattle's numerous tech businesses have "lost trust among local voters as they take a more conciliatory approach to Trump in his second term," said Heather Weiner, a consultant with PowerHouse Strategic, to The Seattle Times.

Progressive candidates "across the board" have "moved away from some of the harder-edge messages that turned off a lot of middle-of-the-road voters," Sandeep Kaushik, a political strategist, said to Bloomberg. The "affordability message is something that people feel broadly."

Since its launch in 2011, the U.K.'s Polari Prize has become one of the most prestigious LGBTQ+ literary awards in the world, amplifying and celebrating a generation of queer literature and authors. However, as the awards prepare for their 15th anniversary, the Polari Prize has been rocked by an unfolding controversy over nominee John Boyne, a self-described TERF, or trans-exclusionary radical feminist, who celebrated author J.K. Rowling's history of anti-trans bigotry in an essay for her birthday last month. In response to Boyne and his novel "Earth" being longlisted for this year's Polari, multiple nominees and judges have withdrawn their participation in the event.

'Radically different positions'
Boyne's inclusion attracted "negative attention" after the awards longlist was published on Aug. 1, said Assigned Media. And while the prize committee "addressed the controversy" in a statement acknowledging Boyne's anti-trans history, the group ultimately "fueled the flames" by defending his nomination. "We can at times hold radically different positions on substantive issues," the committee said in a statement, calling the ongoing controversy "one of those times."

While the prize committee "might believe" that by maintaining Boyne's nomination it's being "inclusive of authors with differing beliefs," the transgender exclusionary movement is not a "healthy philosophical questioning of what gender means," said fellow Polari nominee Avi Ben-Zeev on Instagram. Still, while Ben-Zeev can "appreciate" other authors who have withdrawn themselves from the running, to do so himself "would mean erasing my trans story, my voice," he said. That, ultimately, would mean "letting transphobic ideologues win."

'Rising anti-trans hatred'
In addition to the 12 authors and two judges who have publicly withdrawn from participating in Polari, more than 800 authors and publishing industry figures have signed an open letter calling for Boyne's removal from the awards longlist. While his inclusion would have been "inappropriate and hurtful to the wider community of LGBTQ+ readers and writers" at any time, the letter's authors said, the fact that it's happening in the "context of rising anti-trans hatred and systematic exclusion of trans people from public life in the U.K. and across the world" is "inexcusable."

The Sturgeon Moon, the traditional name for the full Moon in August, rises over Istanbul's Galata Tower. At this time of year, when the orb is low on the horizon, it looks much bigger than usual.
Yasin Akgul / AFP / Getty Images

Successful simplicity in preparing food demands either minimal or standout ingredients, as well as precise technique and resourcefulness. Marco Canora's "Salt to Taste: The Keys to Confident, Delicious Cooking" (2009) traces the ways such simplicity materializes in Italian-inspired cooking.

Generational wealth
Canora is the chef-owner of New York City's Hearth restaurant, but his family hails from Tuscany, so "Salt to Taste" is riddled with the flavors of that central Italian region. Cacciucco is a seafood stew teeming with squid, clams, mussels and shrimp, its base piquant with tomato puree, white wine and dried oregano. 

Tuscan kale, aka dinosaur or lacinato kale, also steps into the spotlight across the book. Its appearance predates the wrinkly vegetable's ubiquity so much so that Canora calls it "black cabbage."

Comfort food
Little in "Salt to Taste" exemplifies Canora's proficiency in showing you how to build flavor like his pasta e fagioli. You first warm pieces of bacon and either prosciutto or pancetta in olive oil, then when the meaty bits have rendered their fat, you add diced onions. Cook down, add chopped garlic, cook down, add fresh rosemary and sage, cook down, then add tomato paste and, yes, cook down more. 

Tier upon tier of compounding flavor is established before broth and beans are added. Right before serving, you boil short pasta like ditalini or elbow macaroni and mix it into the soup. Finish with a nub of butter and a dusting of Parmigiano, giving you bowls of deep-seated comfort.