Bernie Sanders now has a podcast. And many of you are saying that he “quietly” launched it, but it’s number 3 on the iTunes Top Charts. Number 3. That’s kinda big, don’t you think? Sure, maybe he wasn’t out broadcasting the podcast, but that doesn’t seem like the Bernie Sanders way. What can you expect? This will be like his Facebook Show “The Bernie Sanders Show”. Fittingly, they have the same name. In addition, you can expect to see leading activists, journalists, policy makers, artists, visionaries and revolutionaries talk about the resistance, the political revolution and moving forward on a progressive agenda.
Yes, that is directly from the Podcast itself. I am, admittedly, a bit of a political nerd. And for some reason I’m drawn to dry, public radio type podcasts. With that in mind, I should love this podcast of Bernie’s, but I’m not quite there. Don’t get me wrong. It is just as he has described. The episode I listened to was an interview with Bill Nye. Well, not really an interview. Nye talked about climate change and what actions we can take to transform our energy system. It was actually really interesting. Which is why I chose that particular episode. But what I didn’t like so much is that it feels like it’s “preaching to the choir”, as the saying goes. People who are going to tune in are going to be Sanders supporters.
But is that ok? I think it’s ok, but it could be better. While I am not a strategist by any stretch, I wonder if there’s something else he could do to “convert” people to his way of thinking. I’ve said this before, and it’s not a criticism, but American’s idea of “left” policies are very far to the right of what we consider “left” in Canada. But I wonder if Sanders aligns more with the Canadian political spectrum in terms of his views? Climate change is a huge topic. Some might even call an issue. So it only seems fitting that he has started down this path. In addition, Sanders decided to tackle civil rights. Another big issue in society today.
So why is Sanders doing this? He claims that we shouldn’t live and die by the electoral system, and specifically the elections themselves. But rather, as citizens, politicians and activists, we need to come together to make real change. And the only way to do that is by getting the message out there. Again, I agree with this statement in general. Knowledge is power. The more you know. But I still ask the question, how can Sanders make his views known to people who don’t want to hear it? Or who don’t care?
I guess this speaks to the larger issue of being engaged from a civics perspective. There are many podcasts out there that are politically driven. And I’d like to hope that people who don’t understand the system, at least take the time to figure it out. And further, if there are political issues that affect you, I would hope that you would be researching them. I think that about any issue or topic. My thought on Sanders is that he will slowly bring people over to his way of thinking. He’s a dynamic speaker. Well, his words are. And I’ll leave it at that as I don’t want to be accused of throwing shade. Either way, his message is impactful and I would encourage anyone who hasn’t to listen to some of his episodes. I also look forward to what else he has to talk about with his guests.