October 19, 2020 • 8 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.
Thank you to our partners AXE, DoveMen+Care, Knorr®, Seventh Generation, Levi’s and Facebook
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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 luminaries,
(00:27):
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. Welcome to today's
episode of Why I'm Voting. I am super excited because
(00:49):
I am joined by the spectacularly talented Dasha Polanco. Dasha
is an actress who has been in a number of
film and television projects and gained wide recognition for her
work on Orange Is the New Black. She also appeared
in Russian Doll, among other things. I might be listing
my very favorites, and she is in the upcoming film
adaptation of In the Heights by Lin Manuel Miranda, which
(01:10):
is directed by John Chew. It's an exciting time She
also hosts a marvelous podcast that I hope everyone listens
to from Netflix and Contoto called Brown Love, which is
an absolute delight. I super loved the episode on the
fantasy of gender in particular. But they're all really, really good. Dasha,
thank you so much for spending time with me today.
Thank you, Thank you, Holly. I'm excited to be here,
(01:32):
and I appreciate you mentioning all my highlighting your favorites.
Thank you. I appreciate that. Oh yes, thank you for
making great entertainment. So the first thing I want to
ask you in relation to voting is when you learned
about voting. Well, I learned about voting, uh in in
my household because as an immigrant, it was coming from
(01:54):
the Dominican Republic, it was important to have these discussions. Well,
I was a little girl. I just heard my parents
discussed it all the time. You know. I became more
involved throughout college where I realized voting is huge and
it's important and it causes change. So did you register
to vote right away when you had the opportunity to you? Yeah? Actually,
it's interesting, you know, I think about it because I
(02:15):
was here at a very young age and I was
unable to vote because of my status. Once I became
a citizen, I was really excited to vote for the
first time. And I it's it's so interesting that you
feel so empowered and you feel part of the community,
you feel like you matter. So my first experience was
something that I celebrated. You know, I rocked my my sticker.
(02:37):
You know, I posted about it. I was very proud
of myself. It's it's a huge accomplishments, a huge achievement
for me. I love it. I am getta guess that
probably because you are so aware of politics and you
have causes that you're devoted to, that you also participate
in local elections and not just the big four year events.
Is that correct? Definitely, And it's something that I had
(02:57):
to learn about after I became a registered voter. It's
interesting the things you learn now versus what you're taught, right,
And this is why I decided to be part of
this huge initiative with nor and hashtag Feed the Vote.
It's important that we understand that this is the only
way we see change. By registering to vote, we have
to not only vote in the federal we have to
(03:19):
vote locally. So we have to encourage people, and we
have to educate people. And I had to do it
myself and now I'm spreading it on right, spreading the info.
So how do you generally start your research process for
local elections where it is a little bit harder to
find information? Usually information now is very accessible for those
that don't know that haven't registered nor dot com for
(03:41):
slash vote, it's a great way to start. They allow
you to register. But there's also plenty of websites right
if you want to support the government, if you want
to educate yourself one more on what every candidate should
know about what's important for you, especially with this initiative
about hunger, about food and security. I think it's important
that we know these websites. So if we go to
(04:03):
the nor dot com for stars vote, is a good
way to start and just be able to spread the
information and educate yourself and others around you. Now, I'm
glad you brought up this hashtag feed the Vote initiative
because you partnered with NOR for this. Will you just
tell us in really basic terms, what is that initiative
and how did it start? Well? The initiative of NOR
(04:23):
is to shine light on the issue of food and security.
Through hashtag feed the Vote, we have to elevate that
access to nutritious food is an issue that it's important
this election season and should always be important. Right. This
isn't just something aid right, This is just an aid issue.
This is a government issue. This is a voting issue.
And from a personal experience where food insecurity I witnessed
(04:46):
as a young girl and as a young parent I
had to worry about, is something very dear to my heart.
You know, fifty four million Americans right now experience hunger
across the country, and especially with this pandemic, it has
increased and it has pushed people that never faced food
and security right into it. So it all trickles down
(05:06):
to like the loss of jobs. No jobs means no food,
No food means no security. And so I worked with
nor to create a video and to educate Americans about
how important their vote, how powerful it is, and the
steps that they can take to become part of this
solution to end the food and security. Now, I know
(05:28):
you mentioned the website address before, but I want to
make sure we do again. It is nor k n
O r R dot com forward slash vote, and so
people can go there and get involved and get information
what else is available there for them. They can register
to vote perfect, they have all the information, they have
links to other ways of supportive. If you already registered,
(05:48):
you can support as I said before, the current government
food programs on the U s d A website. You
can educate yourself on what every candidate you know about
the hunger on fracts. It's a great main source for
you to register, but also it provides you with other
information that allow you to know what you can contribute right,
(06:10):
because we don't just want to stop there. We want
to continue to contribute as much as we can to
end food insecurity. I feel like food insecurity is one
of those issues that is a little bit swept under
the rug because it comes with a lot of shame
and like embarrassment. So I'm so glad that you are
elevating this issue. Thank you. It's something that we all
go through, but it shouldn't be something that we shouldn't
(06:30):
all work towards. Right. And my last question for you
is that if you could tell someone who is not
using their right to vote, either they're feeling apathetic or
they're just frustrated with politics in general, if you could
tell them one thing to make sure they understand how
important it is that they exercise this right. What would
that be? I would tell them that voting is the
(06:51):
only way that we will see change, and that this
is bipartisan issue. You have the right to support and
vote for whom you choose, but we believe right, I
believe your believes that this is consistent access to institious
food should be available and affordable to all its essentials,
(07:11):
necessity and whose issues have to be elevated, and so
we have to work together. So please registered, we haven't
listen or dot com bullet splash, vote and get as
much asformation as you can there and you're proudly voting
is something to feel constella. Hey, are you not registered
(07:34):
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 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
(07:55):
Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever it is you listen
to your favorite shows. Ray
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 luminaries,
(00:27):
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. Welcome to today's
episode of Why I'm Voting. I am super excited because
(00:49):
I am joined by the spectacularly talented Dasha Polanco. Dasha
is an actress who has been in a number of
film and television projects and gained wide recognition for her
work on Orange Is the New Black. She also appeared
in Russian Doll, among other things. I might be listing
my very favorites, and she is in the upcoming film
adaptation of In the Heights by Lin Manuel Miranda, which
(01:10):
is directed by John Chew. It's an exciting time She
also hosts a marvelous podcast that I hope everyone listens
to from Netflix and Contoto called Brown Love, which is
an absolute delight. I super loved the episode on the
fantasy of gender in particular. But they're all really, really good. Dasha,
thank you so much for spending time with me today.
Thank you, Thank you, Holly. I'm excited to be here,
(01:32):
and I appreciate you mentioning all my highlighting your favorites.
Thank you. I appreciate that. Oh yes, thank you for
making great entertainment. So the first thing I want to
ask you in relation to voting is when you learned
about voting. Well, I learned about voting, uh in in
my household because as an immigrant, it was coming from
(01:54):
the Dominican Republic, it was important to have these discussions. Well,
I was a little girl. I just heard my parents
discussed it all the time. You know. I became more
involved throughout college where I realized voting is huge and
it's important and it causes change. So did you register
to vote right away when you had the opportunity to you? Yeah? Actually,
it's interesting, you know, I think about it because I
(02:15):
was here at a very young age and I was
unable to vote because of my status. Once I became
a citizen, I was really excited to vote for the
first time. And I it's it's so interesting that you
feel so empowered and you feel part of the community,
you feel like you matter. So my first experience was
something that I celebrated. You know, I rocked my my sticker.
(02:37):
You know, I posted about it. I was very proud
of myself. It's it's a huge accomplishments, a huge achievement
for me. I love it. I am getta guess that
probably because you are so aware of politics and you
have causes that you're devoted to, that you also participate
in local elections and not just the big four year events.
Is that correct? Definitely, And it's something that I had
(02:57):
to learn about after I became a registered voter. It's
interesting the things you learn now versus what you're taught, right,
And this is why I decided to be part of
this huge initiative with nor and hashtag Feed the Vote.
It's important that we understand that this is the only
way we see change. By registering to vote, we have
to not only vote in the federal we have to
(03:19):
vote locally. So we have to encourage people, and we
have to educate people. And I had to do it
myself and now I'm spreading it on right, spreading the info.
So how do you generally start your research process for
local elections where it is a little bit harder to
find information? Usually information now is very accessible for those
that don't know that haven't registered nor dot com for
(03:41):
slash vote, it's a great way to start. They allow
you to register. But there's also plenty of websites right
if you want to support the government, if you want
to educate yourself one more on what every candidate should
know about what's important for you, especially with this initiative
about hunger, about food and security. I think it's important
that we know these websites. So if we go to
(04:03):
the nor dot com for stars vote, is a good
way to start and just be able to spread the
information and educate yourself and others around you. Now, I'm
glad you brought up this hashtag feed the Vote initiative
because you partnered with NOR for this. Will you just
tell us in really basic terms, what is that initiative
and how did it start? Well? The initiative of NOR
(04:23):
is to shine light on the issue of food and security.
Through hashtag feed the Vote, we have to elevate that
access to nutritious food is an issue that it's important
this election season and should always be important. Right. This
isn't just something aid right, This is just an aid issue.
This is a government issue. This is a voting issue.
And from a personal experience where food insecurity I witnessed
(04:46):
as a young girl and as a young parent I
had to worry about, is something very dear to my heart.
You know, fifty four million Americans right now experience hunger
across the country, and especially with this pandemic, it has
increased and it has pushed people that never faced food
and security right into it. So it all trickles down
(05:06):
to like the loss of jobs. No jobs means no food,
No food means no security. And so I worked with
nor to create a video and to educate Americans about
how important their vote, how powerful it is, and the
steps that they can take to become part of this
solution to end the food and security. Now, I know
(05:28):
you mentioned the website address before, but I want to
make sure we do again. It is nor k n
O r R dot com forward slash vote, and so
people can go there and get involved and get information
what else is available there for them. They can register
to vote perfect, they have all the information, they have
links to other ways of supportive. If you already registered,
(05:48):
you can support as I said before, the current government
food programs on the U s d A website. You
can educate yourself on what every candidate you know about
the hunger on fracts. It's a great main source for
you to register, but also it provides you with other
information that allow you to know what you can contribute right,
(06:10):
because we don't just want to stop there. We want
to continue to contribute as much as we can to
end food insecurity. I feel like food insecurity is one
of those issues that is a little bit swept under
the rug because it comes with a lot of shame
and like embarrassment. So I'm so glad that you are
elevating this issue. Thank you. It's something that we all
go through, but it shouldn't be something that we shouldn't
(06:30):
all work towards. Right. And my last question for you
is that if you could tell someone who is not
using their right to vote, either they're feeling apathetic or
they're just frustrated with politics in general, if you could
tell them one thing to make sure they understand how
important it is that they exercise this right. What would
that be? I would tell them that voting is the
(06:51):
only way that we will see change, and that this
is bipartisan issue. You have the right to support and
vote for whom you choose, but we believe right, I
believe your believes that this is consistent access to institious
food should be available and affordable to all its essentials,
(07:11):
necessity and whose issues have to be elevated, and so
we have to work together. So please registered, we haven't
listen or dot com bullet splash, vote and get as
much asformation as you can there and you're proudly voting
is something to feel constella. Hey, are you not registered
(07:34):
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 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
(07:55):
Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever it is you listen
to your favorite shows. Ray
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