Particularly Useful Journalism About DSA

Recently, during a podcast interview, Ta-Nehisi Coates mentioned that he hasn't run across reporting that actually explains what the Democratic Socialists of America is: its structure, how it functions, etc. In my opinion, Coates is right that a ton of the mainstream, big-audience reporting on DSA is, as his interviewer says, "scene reports" of social events, and not explanations of the structure and history of the organization. "I have not quite read the piece of journalism that's done it for me", he said.

Watching especially the rise of New York City's DSA chapter, I've collected a bit of a bibliography to share. I especially recommend these:

• Grossmann, Matt. “Inside the Democratic Socialist Uprising.”: "Candidates affiliated with (or sympathetic to) the Democratic Socialists of America (the DSA) have recently won several Democratic primaries. Although this rise of the left takes a different form, it draws from prior social movements and Bernie Sanders’ presidential candidacies. David Purucker has been both a close observer and a participant. He studied how the DSA makes decisions and organizes. Its electoral role draws from its relationship with the labor movement and other liberal causes. He says this year will raise a lot of questions about how the group responds to electoral success and failure." Podcast transcript from Niskanen Center, July 22, 2026. https://www.niskanencenter.org/inside-the-democratic-socialist-uprising/.
• French, Piper. “Socialists in Office”: "NYC-DSA Is Put to the Test". The Drift, August 25, 2026. https://www.thedriftmag.com/socialists-in-office
• Sterne, Peter. “DSA for Dummies” series: "Your guide to the organization that – for better or for worse – is trying to take over New York City politics". City & State NY, January 2026. Series overview at https://www.cityandstateny.com/politics/2026/01/dsa-dummies/410907/. Articles:
  • Get to know DSA’s internal caucuses
  • Here are the NYC seats DSA is eyeing in 2026
  • What’s a Socialist in Office?
  • The NYC-DSA’s biggest elections since 2017
  • Bernie Sanders spawned unnumbered socialists. NYC-DSA co-chair Gustavo Gordillo was one of them.
  • NYC-DSA co-Chair Grace Mausser: This is the most important moment for U.S. socialists in a century
  • DSA members in their own words
  • How to talk like a socialist
• Prokop, Andrew. “The DSA Has Had Unprecedented Success. It Also Has Serious Internal Divisions”: "Elections vs. revolution, pragmatism vs. purity, pro-AOC vs. anti — a journalist who knows DSA well walks us through them." Vox, July 31, 2026. https://www.vox.com/politics/497411/dsa-democratic-socialists-ocasio-cortez-2028.

I also learned from reading these:

• Newman, Nathan. “The Sane NYC DSA vs the Crazy National DSA- A Guide for the Perplexed.”: "If you are confused about what DSA is, the answer is that it is two very different organizations that I don't think can coexist for much longer". Substack newsletter Left Future, July 2, 2026. https://nathannewman.substack.com/p/the-sane-nyc-dsa-vs-the-crazy-national.
• Griffith, Mark Winston. "The Battle for Black Brooklyn." The Nation, June 19, 2026. https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/dsa-black-brooklyn-democrats/.

If you happen to know Coates, please feel free to pass this along; his website's contact information (understandably) doesn't include a "follow up on a remark I made on a podcast" address.