By Paul Bean
Last week, Tennessee comedian and podcaster Theo Von stopped in Burlington to interview Sen. Bernie Sanders for his podcast This Past Weekend. Von is known for his entertaining, downright strange, but funny behavior. Through his relationships with other comedians like Joe Rogan, Tim Dillon, John Mullaney, and Shane Gillis. Von has skyrocketed not only in the comedy world, but also as a voice for those struggling with mental health and substance abuse related issues.
As a fan of Von, I did not expect Bernie to guest on his show. After watching I understood why.
Bernie’s liveliness reminded me of a side of him we used to know, but maybe lost over the last 10 years.
Considering how the Democratic Party has operated in the past 10 years, especially this last presidential primary, Bernie’s experience and behavior make more sense after watching this interview. Not that I agree with Bernie’s policies or politics, but as we heard on Creemee Cast straight from National Security advisor to Trump, General Flynn, Bernie really is an independent.
Bernie talked about his experience as mayor of Burlington, as a US senator. And of course he spoke in depth about how the political arena in this country is dominated by corporations.
He spoke about how the Democratic establishment really did make a strong effort to stop him, twice. “Well what happened is, I won the popular vote in Iowa, I won the New Hampshire primary, I won the Nevada primary and those were the first three. Then front pages of the New York Times. Democratic establishment very nervous Bernie Sanders could win the whole thing,” said Sanders. “We were doing very well in the polls, and you know I think behind the scenes people thought there were like 15 different candidates, and they were splitting up the vote and that’s how I was I was not necessarily getting over the 50 percent. I was getting more than other people so I was on the way to victory. And they said, ‘Look, Bernie shouldn’t be the candidate for a variety of reasons.’”
Politics have changed so much since 2016, and listening to Bernie in Theo’s interview was refreshing and reminiscent of what I actually liked about Bernie as a young teenager. Let’s put it this way. There’s a Bernie I remember, and a Bernie that’s presented to us today – and he’s a lot sharper than I remember.
Then again, if you really do not like Bernie and you are not interested in this episode, immediately following Bernie’s conversation, Von traveled down to Mara Lago for a sit down with Donald Trump which was dropped on August 30. I watched these interviews one right after the other and I recommend doing so. You will be surprised to learn that Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders actually agree on what the major issues are – reducing health care costs, public safety, economic opportunity for all, and social mobility. However, they vastly disagree on how to solve those issues…
Trump talked about his brother Fred’s alcoholism and how that affected Donald. Despite his own addiction, he warned his little brother to abstain. “No smoking, no drinking, and no drugs, that’s what he told me… and I have never once smoked a cigarette or had a drink.”
Theo Von’s Podcast This Past Weekend has grown in popularity because of his willingness to have a variety of guests on his show. His guests range from people like “A Mall Cop & A School Lunch Lady,” musicians like Ed Sheeran, Luke Combs, and pro wrestler Hulk Hogan. His ability to get guests that transcend all political and social boundaries speaks to his ability as a relatable podcast guest that understands how nuanced this word really is.
Bringing together a variety of voices is how we truly get to the bottom of things. Ideas need to be aired out. Experiences shared. Stories told. For those of you who might be newer to the whole podcast world, this kind of open ended, long format conversation is the whole point – to see a side of someone we never knew.