May 9, 2016 Josh Swartz

Bernie Sanders' first foray into elected politics was as mayor of Burlington, Vt. in the 1980s. One of the most infamous moments of his mayoral tenure occurred in 1986 when a masked vigilante took to the streets to protest the potholes. "The Pothole Bandit" is now a party of Burlington (and Bernie Sanders) history. We revisit this curious event 30 years later.

Tito Heiderer made our original song "The Ballad of the Pothole Bandit," which is featured in the episode. Listen to the full tune below:

The other music you hear in the episode is from Adrianna Krikl ("Wednesday") and Podington Bear ("Netherland" and "The Window")
Maddie Dai made the episode illustration
This episode was produced by Josh Swartz with help from Sophie McKibben
Thanks to the following people for their help with this story:
- Erik Esckilsen, Seven Days Newspaper (check out his essay about The Pothole Bandit here and his Pothole Bandit multimedia slideshow here)
- Jaime Fuller, MTV News (check out her story about The Pothole Bandit here)
- Kevin Scully, former Burlington Police Chief
- Louie Manno, former Burlington Radio DJ
- Jim Condon, former Burlington Radio DJ
- Steve Goodkind, former Burlington Director of Public Health & Safety and City Engineer
- Bruce Ploof, former Pothole Bandit

The Pothole Bandit and Bernie Sanders on the Winooski Bridge in 1986

Courtesy of Rob Swanson and Seven Days Newspaper

A policeman uprooting one of the trees the Bandit planted

Courtesy of Rob Swanson and Seven Days Newspaper

Bruce Ploof, aka The Pothole Bandit, in 1986

Courtesy of Rob Swanson and Seven Days Newspaper

Bruce Ploof and his grandkids, present day

Courtesy of Rob Swanson and Seven Days Newspaper

The story from the Burlington Free Press the day after the Bandit struck

Courtesy of The Burlington Free Press

February 9, 2016 Josh Swartz

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Bobby de la Rosa introduced Bernie Sanders at a rally in Tucson, Arizona. This is notable because Bobby is just 10 years old. Even at a young age, however, Bobby has become a powerful advocate for immigration reform, drawing on the experience of his mother getting deported.

Produced by Sophie McKibben with Josh Swartz
Sound design by Zubin Hensler
Episode illustration from Maddie Dai
Theme music from Podington Bear
Read Bernie Sanders' full immigration plan
Check out Arizona Public Media's multimedia portrait of the de la Rosa family

Bill de la Rosa (left) and Bobby de la Rosa (right)

Sophie interviewing Bill while Bobby takes a quick nap

Bobby de la Rosa (left) and his older brother Bill (right) during our interview

Gloria de la Rosa's neighborhood in Nogales, Mexico

A view of Nogales from Gloria de la Rosa's neighborhood

Driving through Nogales, Mexico

Approaching the U.S. border crossing from Nogales, Mexico

A view of the U.S./Mexico border fence in Nogales. Border security stands by. Snapped from the car right before crossing back into the U.S.

Cacti!

December 30, 2015 Josh Swartz

There's a growing contingent of Bernie Sanders supporters producing original music about their favorite candidate – but only one of them is 93 years old (as far as we can tell). Yet, after all those years, Ruth Witherspoon is in the midst of a political awakening.

October 27, 2015 Josh Swartz

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Tyson Manker fought in Iraq and he has struggled with the consequences of his military service ever since. Now, he's leading the charge of a growing contingent of veterans campaigning for Bernie Sanders. This is his journey.