This is episode 167 with guest Cenk Uygur from "the Young Turks"

I want to apologize up front about the sound issues with this particular podcast. Covid have made it necessary to try and do these podcasts outdoors, and with the Santa Clarita weather being what it is, let's just say it's been difficult to find a regular safe place to record a podcast especially with wind. We do what we can under extreme circumstances.

Cenk Uygur is one of the founders of "The Young Turks" network. For those who don't know anything about him, Cenk is a very vocal and unapologetic progressive. He has done many things throughout his career and currently champions the green new deal, medicare for all and getting money out of politics completely. In 2019 Cenk announced his candidacy for the 25th congressional seat maintaining there was a progressive audience in the district who could carry him to victory. But the votes proved otherwise and he finished fourth in the race. As he says in this podcast with blatant honesty "I got killed"

Love him or hate him, I find Cenk fascinating to talk to. He has a confidence in what he believes and is never short of an opinion on a topic. He was kind enough to appear on this show twice before during the race. The first time was a bit awkward mostly on my part. The second time, was a much more friendly conversation which I jokingly called "Part 2: The Wrath of Cenk"

I thought it would be interesting to meet with Cenk again now that the race is over to get his viewpoints on his candidacy and the other people who ran in the race as well as politics in general these days. Considering he wasn't a candidate, I didn't expect him to say yes because I saw no reason for him to appear on my little dog and pony show but to my surprise he was more than willing to do the show.

We met a few weeks back, defying the wind and other weather conditions. Cenk was incredibly patient and kind considering the conditions we were doing the podcast under but as Cenk even said "We do what we can under Covid Conditions". I called this podcast "Part 3: The Search for Hope" because as Cenk and I discussed the state of politics and the media today, I found the cynicism rise in me again. In contrast Cenk continues to be an optimist about the future of this country and that is something I truly admire about him. I want to thank Cenk for finding the time to come up here and do the podcast. I hope to have him return again when he publishes his upcoming book.

Again apologies in advance for the sound issues with this particular podcast. Because you know, Cov-id