This month we are exploring an under-appreciated part of public history and culture—civic education and citizenship. This episode, episode two of this season, is all about voting and the importance of registration. History has the power to help up us understand who we are and how we got to our current moment, but that knowledge means nothing if we don’t engage as citizens. So this month we will be focusing on voting and elections—the core of any democracy and the heart of citizenship.

On part one of elections month, we are speaking with Andy Bernstein, the executive director of HeadCount. Andy Bernstein helped found HeadCount in 2004 and became its executive director in the spring of 2008. Under his stewardship, HeadCount has registered nearly 500,000 and become a leader in harnessing the power of music to drive social change. 

HeadCount is a non-partisan, non-profit organization that works to register voters and turn out the vote, especially among young voters. They partner with musicians, festivals, and artists all over the world to raise awareness about voting and making voting fun.