September 21, 2020 • 9 mins
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
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
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 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
(00:26):
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 to vote, and if
you're not, I hope that their stories inspire you today
on when I'm voting. I have a particular treat because
(00:48):
I am joined by a super pro at talking to people,
Emmy Award winning journalist Carlos Watson. He is the founder
of Ozzie Media, which launched in He is also the
host of The Carlos Watson Show, which is a daily
talk show on the Ozzi YouTube channel and just a
really smart and delightful, personable gent So Carlos, thank you
(01:08):
so much for being here. It is a total pleasure.
I'm I'm smiling talking to you and being with you. Yay.
You are the progeny of two teachers, so I have
a feeling you got an education about how the government
and democracy works at home as well as possibly in school.
Do you remember when you first realized that you had
(01:30):
a part to play in the democratic process. Yea. You know,
it's interesting. I think as a young black kid growing
up in Miami and the seventies and eighties, we weren't
that far away from the sixties civil rights movement. My parents,
who had been young teachers and students, certainly were involved
and affected by My mom had grown up in the
segregated South, and so there was a real sense that
(01:50):
voting mattered, That voting mattered in terms of making sure
people at opportunities, Voting mattered in terms of making sure
that things were as fair as they could be. Voting
mattered in terms of hoping that your world could be
creative and better. So I would say probably an elementary school,
I started to hear more about it, and I think
my mom and dad would take me with him to
the polls on voting days. Believe it or not, No,
(02:12):
A lot of people have told me that, which I love.
Did you register right away when you were eighteen? Um? Not?
Only am I the son of two teachers, but I'm
the son of a political junkie. And my dad loved
politics growing up. And to his credit, he not only
made sports fund and he not only made you know,
comedy shows fun. But my dad made politics interesting, which
is a real art when you're trying to make it
(02:34):
interesting for six seven eight year old who just wants to,
you know, watch football and comedies. But but he really did. So. Yeah.
I was into it early and registered to vote as
soon as I turned eighteen. Do you remember the first
time you voted and what it felt like. I did.
It felt special, maybe a little surreal. It was a
presidential election, it was Papa Bush and Mike will do Cacus,
(03:01):
and it was exciting. I felt probably more than a
lot of other things I did. I all of a sudden,
felt like I was an adult, So it was special.
You are such an informed person as a journalist. You
are on top of all of the news, and I
am guessing that you probably actively participate in your local
elections as well as the regular four year big ones.
(03:21):
What is your research process like to make sure that
those candidates that are maybe smaller in scale in terms
of their reach for their campaign are matching what you
want in terms of your leadership. How do you do
that research and find those people in their platforms? You know,
when it comes to research, I do two things. One is,
here in California, we get a very cool voters pamphlet
(03:42):
where all the candidates have to write a little something
describing themselves, describing what they care about. And actually, as
a family we sit around and read it and trade
notes and kind of think about that. And then secondly,
I'm definitely someone who still goes online and love to
learn about someone who's running for the city council, who's
running for the State Assembly, which is our state house
here in California, or the state Senate, and just try
(04:05):
and get smart. And then lastly, I also tend to
care a lot about who else has endorsed them. So,
you know, your mom used to say to you, you know,
you can tell who you are by the company you keep.
You know. I also not that I'm not willing to
let someone ride on their own, but I'm also curious
about who they're riding with. Yeah, that's perfect. There is
this sort of problem in terms of voter apathy where
(04:26):
people tend to think like the elections already decided. I
don't have to go to the polls or mail in
my ballot. What are your thoughts on skipping an election
because you think it's a done deal? You know, I
bet you people don't believe that anymore. I mean, I
mean the goods is that that everybody knows that the
thinnest of margins can make a big, big difference, And
(04:47):
so I hope everyone goes out there. I know that
these days, with COVID and all the craziness, one of
the things that more and more people hopefully will do
is vote by mail, assuming that their state allows that.
I know other people, if they are going to have
to vote, are gonna one make sure or they're safe
and are going to try and have to figure out work.
And so sometimes the question is do I wait in line?
But the question is should you wait in line for
clean air? Should you wait in line for a job?
(05:09):
Should you wait in line to make sure the kids
have good schools? So if those mattered to you and more,
then I hope people you know, will invest a little
bit of time to do something that you know has
been around for a while. Now. You mentioned that this
is a strange year that hopefully most people will have
the opportunity to vote by mail. But if this were
(05:30):
a normal year where we are not trying to work
our way through a pandemic, would you normally prefer to
vote by mail, vote early, or do you like to
go day of? You know, these days, I like to
vote by mail, and I like to vote early because
I feel like so many things happen, you know, will
I have to travel out of town. I've got an
older dad who I take care of. Will he get sick?
And will something happen? So it won't be easy? And
(05:52):
so I like to vote early and hopefully make sure
things get properly counted and checked on. So I'm I'm
one of those vote by mail people. I love it.
Do you have any rituals around the way election day
plays out for you? It may be different because you're
a journalist and you kind of have to keep an
eye on it, But would you normally be watching the
(06:12):
returns all day long? Do you have a lucky garment
that you like to wear on that day? What do
you do? How does election day play out? So Election Day,
if I if I am in town, even if I
voted by mail, I still drive by my polling place
because I'm just curious to see, first thing in the morning,
are there are a lot of people A few people's
are a long line? Is there not? I'm one of
these weird people. I'm curious about who's volunteering, who's actually
(06:36):
making sure everything's happening fairly. So I just I want
to kind of eyeball that a little bit. I definitely
am checking online regularly throughout the day, and it's someone
who's helped co anchor an election night for CNN. I
did that a few presidential cycles ago. It's super exciting,
and it's something that I know lots of families are
sitting around and watching together, and so you know, when
(06:58):
I'm not anchoring or having to do something like that,
I love to be with my family and watching the
returns together. Now. I love that you brought up that
co anchor gig because I wonder if doing that and
realizing in real time, like how fast things are moving,
how important it is to share that information, if that
later just informed the way you look at the process
(07:19):
when you're not working that night and when you're just
watching it as a like a voter in a concerned citizen.
It definitely does I mean, well, I would say a
couple of things. One both understanding how much things can vary.
So I've seen elections where it looked like one person
was gonna win and then it swung the other way.
I've seen elections where someone has conceded and then all
of a sudden, hang on a second, it's closer than
(07:40):
you think. And I've just I've seen people get it
wrong dramatically. So I remember in several former presidential campaign
managers told me with a lot of confidence, just like
the New York Times told us all that one candidate,
Sectory Clinton, was gonna win, and she didn't. And it
was just a reminder that even the most informed among
(08:02):
us have to be humble and have to see it
play out. The last question is you encounter someone in
your day to day life who is a little cavalier
and they're like, ma, I could vote, but I'm not.
What is the one thing you tell them just to
try to make them understand how important it is to
get out there and do this thing, you know. I
think it depends on who it is, and I think
(08:23):
I probably think a lot about what people care about,
whether they're very self focused, whether they're very focused on
their kids, whether they focus on parents or community. But
if I'm really having a heart to heart, I say, look,
getting a chance to live in a democracy is not
something that many people around the world get to do.
And it's a privilege, it's an honor, it's special. It
(08:46):
can mean the difference between slavery and not. It could
mean the difference between war and not. It can mean
the difference between making sure that your grandpa and your
grandma have somewhere safe to live in their old age
or not. And so I I care a ton about that,
and I probably put a little, uh a little guilt
on them. I'd i'd say, I'd say, I'd say, you
(09:07):
owe it to this good society, that um that has
taken you in. You owe it to show up. It
doesn't take that much time, doesn't take that much energy,
and you owe it. You deserve the best, and we
all deserve the best. So you know, show up, vote,
Stop making excuses. Hey are you not registered to vote yet?
(09:27):
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 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,
(09:50):
or wherever it is you listen to your favorite shows.
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 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
(00:26):
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 to vote, and if
you're not, I hope that their stories inspire you today
on when I'm voting. I have a particular treat because
(00:48):
I am joined by a super pro at talking to people,
Emmy Award winning journalist Carlos Watson. He is the founder
of Ozzie Media, which launched in He is also the
host of The Carlos Watson Show, which is a daily
talk show on the Ozzi YouTube channel and just a
really smart and delightful, personable gent So Carlos, thank you
(01:08):
so much for being here. It is a total pleasure.
I'm I'm smiling talking to you and being with you. Yay.
You are the progeny of two teachers, so I have
a feeling you got an education about how the government
and democracy works at home as well as possibly in school.
Do you remember when you first realized that you had
(01:30):
a part to play in the democratic process. Yea. You know,
it's interesting. I think as a young black kid growing
up in Miami and the seventies and eighties, we weren't
that far away from the sixties civil rights movement. My parents,
who had been young teachers and students, certainly were involved
and affected by My mom had grown up in the
segregated South, and so there was a real sense that
(01:50):
voting mattered, That voting mattered in terms of making sure
people at opportunities, Voting mattered in terms of making sure
that things were as fair as they could be. Voting
mattered in terms of hoping that your world could be
creative and better. So I would say probably an elementary school,
I started to hear more about it, and I think
my mom and dad would take me with him to
the polls on voting days. Believe it or not, No,
(02:12):
A lot of people have told me that, which I love.
Did you register right away when you were eighteen? Um? Not?
Only am I the son of two teachers, but I'm
the son of a political junkie. And my dad loved
politics growing up. And to his credit, he not only
made sports fund and he not only made you know,
comedy shows fun. But my dad made politics interesting, which
is a real art when you're trying to make it
(02:34):
interesting for six seven eight year old who just wants to,
you know, watch football and comedies. But but he really did. So. Yeah.
I was into it early and registered to vote as
soon as I turned eighteen. Do you remember the first
time you voted and what it felt like. I did.
It felt special, maybe a little surreal. It was a
presidential election, it was Papa Bush and Mike will do Cacus,
(03:01):
and it was exciting. I felt probably more than a
lot of other things I did. I all of a sudden,
felt like I was an adult, So it was special.
You are such an informed person as a journalist. You
are on top of all of the news, and I
am guessing that you probably actively participate in your local
elections as well as the regular four year big ones.
(03:21):
What is your research process like to make sure that
those candidates that are maybe smaller in scale in terms
of their reach for their campaign are matching what you
want in terms of your leadership. How do you do
that research and find those people in their platforms? You know,
when it comes to research, I do two things. One is,
here in California, we get a very cool voters pamphlet
(03:42):
where all the candidates have to write a little something
describing themselves, describing what they care about. And actually, as
a family we sit around and read it and trade
notes and kind of think about that. And then secondly,
I'm definitely someone who still goes online and love to
learn about someone who's running for the city council, who's
running for the State Assembly, which is our state house
here in California, or the state Senate, and just try
(04:05):
and get smart. And then lastly, I also tend to
care a lot about who else has endorsed them. So,
you know, your mom used to say to you, you know,
you can tell who you are by the company you keep.
You know. I also not that I'm not willing to
let someone ride on their own, but I'm also curious
about who they're riding with. Yeah, that's perfect. There is
this sort of problem in terms of voter apathy where
(04:26):
people tend to think like the elections already decided. I
don't have to go to the polls or mail in
my ballot. What are your thoughts on skipping an election
because you think it's a done deal? You know, I
bet you people don't believe that anymore. I mean, I
mean the goods is that that everybody knows that the
thinnest of margins can make a big, big difference, And
(04:47):
so I hope everyone goes out there. I know that
these days, with COVID and all the craziness, one of
the things that more and more people hopefully will do
is vote by mail, assuming that their state allows that.
I know other people, if they are going to have
to vote, are gonna one make sure or they're safe
and are going to try and have to figure out work.
And so sometimes the question is do I wait in line?
But the question is should you wait in line for
clean air? Should you wait in line for a job?
(05:09):
Should you wait in line to make sure the kids
have good schools? So if those mattered to you and more,
then I hope people you know, will invest a little
bit of time to do something that you know has
been around for a while. Now. You mentioned that this
is a strange year that hopefully most people will have
the opportunity to vote by mail. But if this were
(05:30):
a normal year where we are not trying to work
our way through a pandemic, would you normally prefer to
vote by mail, vote early, or do you like to
go day of? You know, these days, I like to
vote by mail, and I like to vote early because
I feel like so many things happen, you know, will
I have to travel out of town. I've got an
older dad who I take care of. Will he get sick?
And will something happen? So it won't be easy? And
(05:52):
so I like to vote early and hopefully make sure
things get properly counted and checked on. So I'm I'm
one of those vote by mail people. I love it.
Do you have any rituals around the way election day
plays out for you? It may be different because you're
a journalist and you kind of have to keep an
eye on it, But would you normally be watching the
(06:12):
returns all day long? Do you have a lucky garment
that you like to wear on that day? What do
you do? How does election day play out? So Election Day,
if I if I am in town, even if I
voted by mail, I still drive by my polling place
because I'm just curious to see, first thing in the morning,
are there are a lot of people A few people's
are a long line? Is there not? I'm one of
these weird people. I'm curious about who's volunteering, who's actually
(06:36):
making sure everything's happening fairly. So I just I want
to kind of eyeball that a little bit. I definitely
am checking online regularly throughout the day, and it's someone
who's helped co anchor an election night for CNN. I
did that a few presidential cycles ago. It's super exciting,
and it's something that I know lots of families are
sitting around and watching together, and so you know, when
(06:58):
I'm not anchoring or having to do something like that,
I love to be with my family and watching the
returns together. Now. I love that you brought up that
co anchor gig because I wonder if doing that and
realizing in real time, like how fast things are moving,
how important it is to share that information, if that
later just informed the way you look at the process
(07:19):
when you're not working that night and when you're just
watching it as a like a voter in a concerned citizen.
It definitely does I mean, well, I would say a
couple of things. One both understanding how much things can vary.
So I've seen elections where it looked like one person
was gonna win and then it swung the other way.
I've seen elections where someone has conceded and then all
of a sudden, hang on a second, it's closer than
(07:40):
you think. And I've just I've seen people get it
wrong dramatically. So I remember in several former presidential campaign
managers told me with a lot of confidence, just like
the New York Times told us all that one candidate,
Sectory Clinton, was gonna win, and she didn't. And it
was just a reminder that even the most informed among
(08:02):
us have to be humble and have to see it
play out. The last question is you encounter someone in
your day to day life who is a little cavalier
and they're like, ma, I could vote, but I'm not.
What is the one thing you tell them just to
try to make them understand how important it is to
get out there and do this thing, you know. I
think it depends on who it is, and I think
(08:23):
I probably think a lot about what people care about,
whether they're very self focused, whether they're very focused on
their kids, whether they focus on parents or community. But
if I'm really having a heart to heart, I say, look,
getting a chance to live in a democracy is not
something that many people around the world get to do.
And it's a privilege, it's an honor, it's special. It
(08:46):
can mean the difference between slavery and not. It could
mean the difference between war and not. It can mean
the difference between making sure that your grandpa and your
grandma have somewhere safe to live in their old age
or not. And so I I care a ton about that,
and I probably put a little, uh a little guilt
on them. I'd i'd say, I'd say, I'd say, you
(09:07):
owe it to this good society, that um that has
taken you in. You owe it to show up. It
doesn't take that much time, doesn't take that much energy,
and you owe it. You deserve the best, and we
all deserve the best. So you know, show up, vote,
Stop making excuses. Hey are you not registered to vote yet?
(09:27):
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 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,
(09:50):
or wherever it is you listen to your favorite shows.
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