October 25, 2020 • 12 mins
Hey, SYSK listeners! We wanted to make sure you heard Chuck on iHeartRadio’s Why I’m Voting podcast. Check it out and don’t forget to vote on November 3rd!
If you want to change, preserve, or build a better America, there’s one easy way to make your voice heard: Vote. This year, iHeartRadio is teaming up with over 20 incredible celebrities (plus a handful of our most popular podcasters) to get the country excited to go vote, broadcasting the personal, emotional and heartfelt stories behind why showing up to the ballot box means so much-- not just as individuals, but for our entire nation.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Whether you upgrade your car because you need to or
because you want to. eBay Motors has all the car
parts you need, over a hundred and two million of them,
from new rims to seed cushions, all at the right prices.
eBay motors dot com. Let's ride the moment you realized
you were mistaking your kids for co workers? Okay, team,
(00:22):
I'm What was the moment you knew it was time
to get back to work. Let's job it up at
career Builder. Are simple, customizable search tool lets you search
for part time, full time, and even work from home
jobs so you can find a job that fits your lifestyle.
Get started now at career builder dot com. This episode
(00:45):
is brought to you by Royal Caribbean, an award winning
global cruise line. A vacation is what you make it,
so are you ready to make the most of it.
A Royal Caribbean Adventure is the perfect opportunity to not
just take a vacation, but to take it for all
it's worth. We know you're eager to get back out there,
and with Royal Caribbean, you can own that moment and
(01:05):
rise to the vacation. This is not just a cruise,
This is the biggest, boldest vacation on land or at sea,
with over two hundred and seventy plus destinations from the Caribbean,
Alaska to Europe and the biggest ships in the world
to take you there. Each one of our cruises is
packed full of onboard features you won't find anywhere else.
(01:26):
A Royal Adventure is taking your vacation to the fullest.
Come seek the Royal Caribbean. Visit Royal Caribbean dot com
to learn more. Welcome to Why I'm Voting, a production
of I Heart Radio. Listen. You already know this, but
it's an election year. You might already be tired of
(01:48):
hearing about it. But here's the thing. Democracy doesn't work
without you. I'm Holly Frying, and I'm sitting down with
many of my fellow podcasters, from Will Ferrell to Stephanie Rule,
as well as other luminaries, to find out about their
relationships with the ballot box and ultimately just to find
out why they vote. I hope you're exercising your right
(02:10):
to vote, and if you're not, I hope that their
stories inspire you. So today on Why I Am Voting,
I am joined by the fabulous and delightful Chuck Bryant,
host of stuff you should know and also movie crush
in general, all around guy who has kindly agreed, Uh,
that should have been all around good guy, but whatever,
(02:33):
he's definitely an all around guy, all around good guy
to join us and talk about his relationship with voting
a little bit. So right out of the gate, do
you remember when you realized as a kid maybe the
voting was a thing and something that you could potentially
participate in one day. Well, Holly, here's my story. I
grew up in a house that did not really talk politics.
(02:55):
It was politics free zone except for the occasional grousing
of my dad. I guess about something, but it was
just not something that was very big in my family
for some reason. And you know, of course I learned
about all that kind of thing in Civics class and voting,
but it didn't really hit home. I kind of got
a late start as far as personally being involved politically.
(03:15):
That didn't come around until until later, like towards the
end of college. So you didn't register right away like
when you were eighteen. I didn't, And I may have
been completely wrong about this, but if I remember correctly,
I think I remember that, and it may have been true,
but uh that if you registered to vote, you are
also registered for the draft. And even though it's silly
(03:36):
to think that there would even be a draft anymore,
I think I remember at the time being like, I'm
not registered me for me, and and I don't even
know if that was true, So it was it was
very shameful looking back. But I also didn't know anything
about anything back then, so I don't know if I
would have been a responsible voter even Yeah, I think
there's no shame in acknowledging. Like when you're kind of
(03:58):
still a dumb kid, you're not really ready to make
decisions anyway, and maybe aren't ramping up to vote. Do
you remember what made you finally decide to register to vote? Yeah,
you know, in college, I think for a lot of
people is when a lot of that stuff becomes a
little more to the forefront, a little more spiritually awake
and politically awake and all that good stuff. And I
(04:21):
remember very distinctly, and I guess my sophomore year in college,
maybe my second or third year, when the first Gulf
War happened, and sitting around and watching that on CNN
and having a roommate who was now an attorney that
was pre law back then that was very political, and
his name was Rob Elz and Rob we're still friends.
(04:44):
He really kind of brought politics to the apartment. And
my other roommate, Eddie Cooper, also we're both ahead of
me politically, and that's when I first started kind of
realizing that it's important to be involved and to be
aware and to know what the hell is going on.
Do you remember the for time that you actually voted, Like,
do you have any memories of that first ballot experience?
(05:04):
I do. The first election I participated in was my
final year in college because I spent six years. There
was the nineties six election, which I guess was Bill
Clinton Part two. I'm remembering, right, yeah, yeah, that track
and that wash. I think you know, Nader was involved
back then. I think Ross Perrot was having his second
(05:25):
go around, and that's when I cast my first vote,
as you know, as a Democrat, and I've been a
lifelong Democrat since then. What is your research process like
or do you research for elections? Like I know for me,
like some of the local politicians, like they're not getting ads,
I gotta do some some leg work to make sure
I know who I'm voting for. What is your process like? Well,
I mean you and I are both sort of professional researchers,
(05:48):
so we know our way around the internet when it
comes to finding the good research. I like to think,
you know, with with the presidential candidates and all, it's
the way it's constructed in this country. You kind of
have a choice of one or two things usually, and
that's always easy for me. But as you go down ticket,
I do research. I just try to you know, Facebook
a lot of times is where not what people are saying,
(06:08):
but people linking to some good information is a good
place to get stuff. I always try to read up
on the measures, the local measures that are going to
be on the ballot, whether it's can you drink on
Sundays in Georgia too, things that are a little more substantial.
But I try to kind of investigate and I ask
around to people that are smarter than me. I don't
(06:28):
think there's any shame in seeking out opinions of people
that really know their stuff. You know. Yeah, this kind
of brings up the things. So you do, obviously vote
down ticket, but do you make sure that you hit
like the local elections that maybe aren't part of a bigger,
you know, every four every two year situation. I do
now and for the past probably fifteen years or so.
(06:49):
Because I got a late start. I thought, you know,
you go in and you vote for the president, and
that's doing your civic duty. And then the more I
grew up and became a you know, a sentient, responsible adult,
you realize I think, like we all do, and like
you probably have, that a lot of those local elections
really really matter as far as what impacts you and
(07:10):
the people that you love and people in your community.
So that is definitely something that came on later in life,
but now those are very important elections for me. My
husband and I always make voting a date. Oh that's fine,
where we always like go to breakfast or we go
have lunch afterwards, whatever our schedule will permit. Do you
have any rituals around voting. Well, I try to vote early,
um in the pre voting, just because I don't like
(07:34):
standing in lines and stuff. Although I will say I've
had some great experiences standing along lines to vote, some
great feeling of community, because I think that's one of
the kind of the fun things about voting. Is you
vote in your district and you're voting with your neighbors.
And I live in a very mixed race neighborhood in Atlanta,
and going in to vote and standing in those lines
to vote for President Obama, it was a great feeling
(07:56):
and you could you could feel it in the air,
and there was just a good spear of community and friendliness.
And so I don't mind those lines because it can
make me feel closer to my my fellow person and
my neighbor. But um, I also do like to try
and early vote as well, just to get in and out.
It sort of depends if I missed my window. It's
(08:16):
not like, you know, I don't hang my head. I
just go like, all right, I'll go stand in line. Yeah.
I like the line too, because I feel like it
makes you remember that you're not just voting for yourself,
You're voting for the well being of everyone in your community. Totally.
That's a great way to look at it. Now. You,
like me, came to voting a little bit later. You
weren't right out of the gate at eighteen. But I
feel like kids today are better informed certainly than I
(08:37):
was at that age. So if there are any people
out there, whether they're young or even older, that maybe
aren't using their right to vote. If you could tell
them one thing, what would it be. Well, I feel
like subsequent generations behind us are more politically active than
we were maybe, But then I also sometimes see the
(08:59):
voting numbers and see things like, you know, the younger
generation isn't voting like they should. So I'm not quite
sure how to reckon that. I would say, you know,
take a look at the world around you, and if
you don't like what you see, it's kind of one
of the only things that we have. We can protest,
and we can petition, we can lobby and make calls
(09:20):
to congress people and senators, but your vote is really
the only thing where you know that you're on record
of having cast your official say on something. Uh, And
that's important, you know. I don't want to get sidetracked
about the electoral College and some states people might not
think they're vote counts, but it does, especially because of
the ballot measures and the local elections and council elections
(09:43):
and stuff like that. It always counts. It's your duty.
And lastly, you know, as we go forward and we're
getting older and maybe becoming jaded old hags at least.
I but I wonder what it is that keeps you
motivated to vote knowing that, like, it's not the same
as when you're a kid and you're predicting or or
determining your future for quite as long a run, Like,
(10:06):
what is it that keeps you mailing in that ballot
or going to the polls even when it's a pain
in the butt. I have a daughter now, a five
year old daughter, and that's a big part of it.
I want to ensure her rights to have control of
her own body. I would feel, you know, the same
way if I had a son, obviously, but it does
hit home a lot more when you have a daughter,
I think. So a lot of this is to set
(10:27):
an example for her, to take her with me if
you know, she's getting to the age where obviously not
during a pandemic, but she'll be going to vote with
me the next time it's safe to do so. And
I want to teach her about that kind of stuff
because I wasn't really taught that stuff. So I think
it's a very selfish thing to only think about while
I'm here. Let me vote for the things that are
important to me. It's it's about the future and making
(10:49):
sure the planet's taken care of and making sure that
everyone has their rights enshrined and into law. And uh,
to not vote is um, it's lazy, it's cynical, I think,
inc and I'm trying to rid myself of that cynicism,
which is tough as you get older. But it's set
an example for my daughter. I guess it is the
easiest answer, perfect one. In my opinion, You're continuing the
(11:09):
chain of voters. I love it. I'm trying to chuck.
Thank you so much for chatting on me today, but
also just thank you for voting. Thank you. And I
wear that sticker all day, I know. Uh, that's a
big part of it. That Georgia Peach it is. It's cute.
You got to post it on one of the social
meds as well. Yes, that's how people know. So thank you, Holly.
It was a pleasure to talk to you again. It's
(11:31):
always a delight for me. I feel spoiled I've gotten
to do to chat with you recently. Let's keep it
up and let's keep voting everybody. Yes please, Hey are
you not registered to vote yet? But you think it's
something you want to do, you may still have time.
Voter registration deadlines vary by state, so to find out
(11:52):
the scoop for where you are, check out a nonpartisan
registration voting site like head count dot org or fair
vote dot org. Why I'm Voting is an I Heart
Radio production. For more podcasts from I Heart Radio, visit
the i Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever it
is you listen to your favorite shows
Whether you upgrade your car because you need to or
because you want to. eBay Motors has all the car
parts you need, over a hundred and two million of them,
from new rims to seed cushions, all at the right prices.
eBay motors dot com. Let's ride the moment you realized
you were mistaking your kids for co workers? Okay, team,
(00:22):
I'm What was the moment you knew it was time
to get back to work. Let's job it up at
career Builder. Are simple, customizable search tool lets you search
for part time, full time, and even work from home
jobs so you can find a job that fits your lifestyle.
Get started now at career builder dot com. This episode
(00:45):
is brought to you by Royal Caribbean, an award winning
global cruise line. A vacation is what you make it,
so are you ready to make the most of it.
A Royal Caribbean Adventure is the perfect opportunity to not
just take a vacation, but to take it for all
it's worth. We know you're eager to get back out there,
and with Royal Caribbean, you can own that moment and
(01:05):
rise to the vacation. This is not just a cruise,
This is the biggest, boldest vacation on land or at sea,
with over two hundred and seventy plus destinations from the Caribbean,
Alaska to Europe and the biggest ships in the world
to take you there. Each one of our cruises is
packed full of onboard features you won't find anywhere else.
(01:26):
A Royal Adventure is taking your vacation to the fullest.
Come seek the Royal Caribbean. Visit Royal Caribbean dot com
to learn more. Welcome to Why I'm Voting, a production
of I Heart Radio. Listen. You already know this, but
it's an election year. You might already be tired of
(01:48):
hearing about it. But here's the thing. Democracy doesn't work
without you. I'm Holly Frying, and I'm sitting down with
many of my fellow podcasters, from Will Ferrell to Stephanie Rule,
as well as other luminaries, to find out about their
relationships with the ballot box and ultimately just to find
out why they vote. I hope you're exercising your right
(02:10):
to vote, and if you're not, I hope that their
stories inspire you. So today on Why I Am Voting,
I am joined by the fabulous and delightful Chuck Bryant,
host of stuff you should know and also movie crush
in general, all around guy who has kindly agreed, Uh,
that should have been all around good guy, but whatever,
(02:33):
he's definitely an all around guy, all around good guy
to join us and talk about his relationship with voting
a little bit. So right out of the gate, do
you remember when you realized as a kid maybe the
voting was a thing and something that you could potentially
participate in one day. Well, Holly, here's my story. I
grew up in a house that did not really talk politics.
(02:55):
It was politics free zone except for the occasional grousing
of my dad. I guess about something, but it was
just not something that was very big in my family
for some reason. And you know, of course I learned
about all that kind of thing in Civics class and voting,
but it didn't really hit home. I kind of got
a late start as far as personally being involved politically.
(03:15):
That didn't come around until until later, like towards the
end of college. So you didn't register right away like
when you were eighteen. I didn't, And I may have
been completely wrong about this, but if I remember correctly,
I think I remember that, and it may have been true,
but uh that if you registered to vote, you are
also registered for the draft. And even though it's silly
(03:36):
to think that there would even be a draft anymore,
I think I remember at the time being like, I'm
not registered me for me, and and I don't even
know if that was true, So it was it was
very shameful looking back. But I also didn't know anything
about anything back then, so I don't know if I
would have been a responsible voter even Yeah, I think
there's no shame in acknowledging. Like when you're kind of
(03:58):
still a dumb kid, you're not really ready to make
decisions anyway, and maybe aren't ramping up to vote. Do
you remember what made you finally decide to register to vote? Yeah,
you know, in college, I think for a lot of
people is when a lot of that stuff becomes a
little more to the forefront, a little more spiritually awake
and politically awake and all that good stuff. And I
(04:21):
remember very distinctly, and I guess my sophomore year in college,
maybe my second or third year, when the first Gulf
War happened, and sitting around and watching that on CNN
and having a roommate who was now an attorney that
was pre law back then that was very political, and
his name was Rob Elz and Rob we're still friends.
(04:44):
He really kind of brought politics to the apartment. And
my other roommate, Eddie Cooper, also we're both ahead of
me politically, and that's when I first started kind of
realizing that it's important to be involved and to be
aware and to know what the hell is going on.
Do you remember the for time that you actually voted, Like,
do you have any memories of that first ballot experience?
(05:04):
I do. The first election I participated in was my
final year in college because I spent six years. There
was the nineties six election, which I guess was Bill
Clinton Part two. I'm remembering, right, yeah, yeah, that track
and that wash. I think you know, Nader was involved
back then. I think Ross Perrot was having his second
(05:25):
go around, and that's when I cast my first vote,
as you know, as a Democrat, and I've been a
lifelong Democrat since then. What is your research process like
or do you research for elections? Like I know for me,
like some of the local politicians, like they're not getting ads,
I gotta do some some leg work to make sure
I know who I'm voting for. What is your process like? Well,
I mean you and I are both sort of professional researchers,
(05:48):
so we know our way around the internet when it
comes to finding the good research. I like to think,
you know, with with the presidential candidates and all, it's
the way it's constructed in this country. You kind of
have a choice of one or two things usually, and
that's always easy for me. But as you go down ticket,
I do research. I just try to you know, Facebook
a lot of times is where not what people are saying,
(06:08):
but people linking to some good information is a good
place to get stuff. I always try to read up
on the measures, the local measures that are going to
be on the ballot, whether it's can you drink on
Sundays in Georgia too, things that are a little more substantial.
But I try to kind of investigate and I ask
around to people that are smarter than me. I don't
(06:28):
think there's any shame in seeking out opinions of people
that really know their stuff. You know. Yeah, this kind
of brings up the things. So you do, obviously vote
down ticket, but do you make sure that you hit
like the local elections that maybe aren't part of a bigger,
you know, every four every two year situation. I do
now and for the past probably fifteen years or so.
(06:49):
Because I got a late start. I thought, you know,
you go in and you vote for the president, and
that's doing your civic duty. And then the more I
grew up and became a you know, a sentient, responsible adult,
you realize I think, like we all do, and like
you probably have, that a lot of those local elections
really really matter as far as what impacts you and
(07:10):
the people that you love and people in your community.
So that is definitely something that came on later in life,
but now those are very important elections for me. My
husband and I always make voting a date. Oh that's fine,
where we always like go to breakfast or we go
have lunch afterwards, whatever our schedule will permit. Do you
have any rituals around voting. Well, I try to vote early,
um in the pre voting, just because I don't like
(07:34):
standing in lines and stuff. Although I will say I've
had some great experiences standing along lines to vote, some
great feeling of community, because I think that's one of
the kind of the fun things about voting. Is you
vote in your district and you're voting with your neighbors.
And I live in a very mixed race neighborhood in Atlanta,
and going in to vote and standing in those lines
to vote for President Obama, it was a great feeling
(07:56):
and you could you could feel it in the air,
and there was just a good spear of community and friendliness.
And so I don't mind those lines because it can
make me feel closer to my my fellow person and
my neighbor. But um, I also do like to try
and early vote as well, just to get in and out.
It sort of depends if I missed my window. It's
(08:16):
not like, you know, I don't hang my head. I
just go like, all right, I'll go stand in line. Yeah.
I like the line too, because I feel like it
makes you remember that you're not just voting for yourself,
You're voting for the well being of everyone in your community. Totally.
That's a great way to look at it. Now. You,
like me, came to voting a little bit later. You
weren't right out of the gate at eighteen. But I
feel like kids today are better informed certainly than I
(08:37):
was at that age. So if there are any people
out there, whether they're young or even older, that maybe
aren't using their right to vote. If you could tell
them one thing, what would it be. Well, I feel
like subsequent generations behind us are more politically active than
we were maybe, But then I also sometimes see the
(08:59):
voting numbers and see things like, you know, the younger
generation isn't voting like they should. So I'm not quite
sure how to reckon that. I would say, you know,
take a look at the world around you, and if
you don't like what you see, it's kind of one
of the only things that we have. We can protest,
and we can petition, we can lobby and make calls
(09:20):
to congress people and senators, but your vote is really
the only thing where you know that you're on record
of having cast your official say on something. Uh, And
that's important, you know. I don't want to get sidetracked
about the electoral College and some states people might not
think they're vote counts, but it does, especially because of
the ballot measures and the local elections and council elections
(09:43):
and stuff like that. It always counts. It's your duty.
And lastly, you know, as we go forward and we're
getting older and maybe becoming jaded old hags at least.
I but I wonder what it is that keeps you
motivated to vote knowing that, like, it's not the same
as when you're a kid and you're predicting or or
determining your future for quite as long a run, Like,
(10:06):
what is it that keeps you mailing in that ballot
or going to the polls even when it's a pain
in the butt. I have a daughter now, a five
year old daughter, and that's a big part of it.
I want to ensure her rights to have control of
her own body. I would feel, you know, the same
way if I had a son, obviously, but it does
hit home a lot more when you have a daughter,
I think. So a lot of this is to set
(10:27):
an example for her, to take her with me if
you know, she's getting to the age where obviously not
during a pandemic, but she'll be going to vote with
me the next time it's safe to do so. And
I want to teach her about that kind of stuff
because I wasn't really taught that stuff. So I think
it's a very selfish thing to only think about while
I'm here. Let me vote for the things that are
important to me. It's it's about the future and making
(10:49):
sure the planet's taken care of and making sure that
everyone has their rights enshrined and into law. And uh,
to not vote is um, it's lazy, it's cynical, I think,
inc and I'm trying to rid myself of that cynicism,
which is tough as you get older. But it's set
an example for my daughter. I guess it is the
easiest answer, perfect one. In my opinion, You're continuing the
(11:09):
chain of voters. I love it. I'm trying to chuck.
Thank you so much for chatting on me today, but
also just thank you for voting. Thank you. And I
wear that sticker all day, I know. Uh, that's a
big part of it. That Georgia Peach it is. It's cute.
You got to post it on one of the social
meds as well. Yes, that's how people know. So thank you, Holly.
It was a pleasure to talk to you again. It's
(11:31):
always a delight for me. I feel spoiled I've gotten
to do to chat with you recently. Let's keep it
up and let's keep voting everybody. Yes please, Hey are
you not registered to vote yet? But you think it's
something you want to do, you may still have time.
Voter registration deadlines vary by state, so to find out
(11:52):
the scoop for where you are, check out a nonpartisan
registration voting site like head count dot org or fair
vote dot org. Why I'm Voting is an I Heart
Radio production. For more podcasts from I Heart Radio, visit
the i Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever it
is you listen to your favorite shows
Stuff You Should Know News
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Chuck Bryant
Josh Clark
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