By This article previously appeared on Crossfader
Look, we live in a hellscape where keeping up with the news is exhausting. Not only are the actual current events deeply troubling, but increasingly there is a sense that no single news source can be trusted to deliver your daily updates of information. The Washington Post is owned by Jeff Bezos and therefore doesn’t do a great job reporting on Amazon, The New York Times has a blind spot when it comes to reporting on war, and if you still watch cable news I really don’t know that there’s anything I can do for you. No single news source can bring you honest, totally unbiased reporting, especially when so much of our news media is owned by a handful of powerful conglomerates. So what is one to do, cross reference multiple news stories through multiple sources in order to suss out some semblance of truth? Do we all have an obligation to stay up to date by constantly feeding ourselves information throughout the day? Are we supposed to sleep at some point?
Personally, I take comfort in trying to seek out independent reporting, journalism that isn’t funded by private commercial interests. I try, as a responsible media consumer, to take in multiple perspectives on the news and current events, but in these turbulent times, that simply isn’t always possible. That’s why, more often than not, I spend at least 20 minutes a day listening to DEMOCRACY NOW! Hosted by Amy Goodman and Juan González, the show brings a daily, independent perspective on current events around the globe. The first 10-to-15 minutes of every episode are the most essential headlines from the past 24 hours, and not just in the United States, but around the entire planet. If you get exhausted spending too much time dwelling on the world’s miseries, just listening to the headlines is an excellent way to remain informed. Additionally, if you’re tired of feeling like the news is just all Trump all the time, DEMOCRACY NOW! is a welcome respite simply for reporting on more than our current White Supremacist-in-Chief.
All that being said, the in-depth reporting and interviews are what really make DEMOCRACY NOW! shine. In an era where broadcast TV refuses to cover climate change, the podcast will devote entire programs to covering the issue. As immigrants face a borderline ethnic cleansing, DEMOCRACY NOW! regularly interviews the activists fighting the deportation machine. Whatever issue feels underreported by commercial media to you, there’s a good chance you’ll find better reporting here. There is no getting around the fact that DEMOCRACY NOW! has a bias— they hold up the perspectives of activists and progressive political leaders over the perspectives of more conservative people—but if you take that readily into consideration, you still have a news source capable of giving you a complete account of world events, which is all any of us can ask for.
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