Ari Rabin-Havt assigns Bernie Sanders a distinctive place in modern American history, calling the maverick Vermont senator “probably the most important person not to win the presidency since William Jennings Bryan, or since TR (Teddy Roosevelt) in 1912.”

It’s hardly a neutral observation. Rabin-Havt was deputy campaign manager for Sanders’ presidential run in 2020 and serves today as his legislative director. But he’s not alone in his assessment of Sanders’ impact on today’s political landscape, in which even adversaries lend the impassioned progressive standard-bearer a grudging measure of respect.

In a discussion of his newly released book The Fighting Soul, Rabin-Havt offers an intimate, behind-the-scenes look at Sanders’ campaign – and with that a better understanding of the man whose calls for Medicare for All and other progressive measures have pushed the Democratic Party to the left. Joining the conversation is Tara Raghuveer, the director of KC Tenants and director of a campaign through the Chicago-based People’s Action for a national Homes Guarantee.

Rabin-Havt has served as a Sanders aide since 2017. He spent five previous years as host of a daily talk show, The Agenda, on SiriusXM radio, and also has worked as an advisor to former Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid, John Kerry, and former Vice President Al Gore, among others.