We knew that our conversation with Dylan Ratigan would give us the opportunity to pick the brain of a prominent populist, someone who has used his platform on mainstream media to call out the corruption of a bought Congress and corporations with more political power than working-class people. Episode 9 of Krystal Kyle & Friends focuses on Dylan’s critiques of money in politics, but in order to understand how Dylan became a populist who “flew under the radar” at institutions like MSNBC, we were also eager to hear about his upbringing and political journey. He absolutely didn’t disappoint.
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At one point in our conversation, Dylan paints the picture of how the relationship between funding and political campaigns should be reformed, carving out a central role for citizen participation in deciding how our candidates access the resources to build their bids for office. Imagine the drastically different political landscape that these reforms would create. Instead of corporate ties leading to full coffers for political campaigns with no connection to the concerns of working-class people (think Hillary 2016), we could build a political system that offers resources to candidates who make meaningful appeals to their fellow citizens’ needs. We’re lucky to have Dylan Ratigan to remind us of this, and we hope you’ll enjoy the episode.
Episode 9 Audio: Dylan Ratigan