Krystal Kyle & Friends

From Roe v. Wade and its current peril to an inside retrospective on the Bernie 2020 campaign, we’ve got a lot to discuss this week, and we’re grateful to you for joining us. Our special guest is Ari Rabin-Havt, deputy campaign manager of Bernie 2020 and author of The Fighting Soul: On the Road with Bernie Sanders. In our conversation as well as in his book, Ari relates personal stories from the campaign trail to reveal new dimensions of a beloved public figure, one who’s made a truly unique commitment to the American working class. Watch below:

Our conversation with Ari captures what, for millions of Americans, sets Bernie apart from the Washington political establishment: he refuses to play the game, he refuses to put on an act, he refuses to bullshit. As Ari acknowledges, this can be to the Senator’s detriment, when it’s the sad reality of our political system that flattery and favors can get one’s agenda farther than straightforward political struggle. Those tuned into the 2020 election will remember the Bernie who, during interviews, pivoted effortlessly from questions about his personal life to compelling arguments for Medicare for All and debt cancellation. It’s a reminder that, as The Political Soul captures, Bernie isn’t in Washington to build a cult of personality; he’s there to get things done.

We cover everything from the foundations of Bernie’s socialism and his advocacy for democracy to the way that the Bernie 2020 team developed their strategies for the campaign. As Ari explains, Bernie himself built trust with his team to take on work when it became impossible for him to oversee everything. While the years after the 2020 primary have outlined political and creative differences within that campaign team, we think you’ll enjoy hearing about the process of building a campaign that mobilized people across the country, a process in which Ari was directly and closely involved.

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