In this episode, Callie, Cole and Mecca dive deep into all things voting. From early voting quirks to the pitfalls of political endorsements, they unravel the complexities of today’s election landscape while challenging each other on the nuances of civic duty and informed voting. Plus, they get a little “weird” with thoughts on how elections could look if designed more like a fantasy draft. Spoiler: it’s a riot!
10,000-Foot View of this Episode:
- Vivid Dreams and Early Morning Chats: Cole and Mecca share their bizarre recent dreams, sparking a funny yet surreal start to the conversation.
- Voting Habits and Realizations: Callie shares her surprise discovery about early voting, while Cole reflects on his structured Election Day ritual.
- The Two-Party Dilemma: The trio critiques the “lesser of two evils” mentality and debates the limits of the two-party system.
- Celebrity Endorsements & Influence: They discuss the impact of celebrities like Taylor Swift on political engagement and whether that’s beneficial or manipulative.
- The Elon Musk Controversy: In a hot topic discussion, they explore Musk’s incentivized voter registration campaign in swing states and whether this approach is ethical or harmful.
- Text Messages and Political Spam: Mecca’s aversion to political spam texts launches a broader conversation on predatory practices targeting vulnerable voters.
- Electoral College vs. Popular Vote: A breakdown of red mirage, blue shift and their impact on election results — with reflections on past elections.
- Weird Thoughts: Callie proposes a hilarious “what if” scenario where elections work like fantasy sports drafts — because, why not?
- Inspiring Stories of Resilience: Mecca shares two uplifting stories—a 108-year-old woman who took up sprinting at the age of 100 and a brave 12-year-old, Kendrick Cromer, who is overcoming sickle cell with new gene therapy. (We mispronounced his name in the episode. Sorry Kendrick! We're still rooting for you!)
Memorable Quotes:
- "In the grand scheme of things, yeah, you're just a tiny drop in the bucket, but you don't get a bucket full of water without a bunch of little drops." – Cole
- "Why can’t we just have candidates we actually believe in, instead of always settling for the lesser of two evils?" – Mecca
- "The part that I struggle is how and who is supposed to decipher what is a sound bite versus what is the platform?" – Callie
- "I did not sign up for you to send me political messages, not from any party and I should not be receiving them on my text messages! It's just the same thing as spam and it should be illegal." – Mecca
- "I am putting my vote right now on changing the landscape of how we look at politics, especially American politics, to it not being entertainment. These are our lives. These are the lives of too many people, whether we agree or disagree, to look at this as entertainment." – Callie
- "If you’re choosing who to vote for based on someone else’s endorsement, I think that’s lazy. Do your own homework!" – Cole
Resources Mentioned:
- Popular Vote vs Electoral College Wikipedia Article
- Statista's showcase of Popular Vote Results from 1860-2020
Call to Action:
Register to vote if you haven’t, do your research and most importantly, participate thoughtfully in future elections. Our future depends on it and EVERY voice matters!
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