In light of recent news (Trump bombing Iran) and the general state of the news industry / media consumption habits post-social media, I wanted to share some outlets, podcasts, and people churning out reliable, pro-democracy news. I plan on updating this list later next week, before I share on other socials.
News and podcasts***
my top sources/podcasts
ProPublica: award-winning, independent, nonprofit newsroom whose mission is "to expose abuses of power and betrayals of the public trust by government, business, and other institutions, using the moral force of investigative journalism to spur reform through the sustained spotlighting of wrongdoing." https://www.propublica.org/
Mother Jones: a nonprofit newsroom founded in 1976 and produced by the Center for Investigative reporting. Supported by readers like you. And if you love print, consider subscribing to their magazine! https://www.motherjones.com/
Democracy Now!: Pro-democracy news within and beyond our borders. The 1-hr radio show has been airing since 1996, and is packed with high quality reporting, investigative journalism, and interviews. Hosted by Amy Goodman, Juan González, and Nermeen Shaikh and funded by viewers like you, available wherever you get your podcasts and on their website. https://www.democracynow.org/
Citations Needed: Develop your media literacy skills with this podcast "about the intersection of politics, power, and PR," hosted by Nima Shirazi and Adam Johnson. In other words, they blend history, humor, and data to call out media for relying on/regurgitating false and destructive narratives, tropes and stereotypes. https://citationsneeded.libsyn.com/
other good outlets:
Zeteo News: founded by British-American journalist Mehdi Hasan after MSNBC cancelled his show, the Mehdi Hasan Show at the start of the Gaza genocide. Zeteo is "where independent and unfiltered journalism is making its comeback." High profile contributors and columnists, including Greta Thunberg and Bassem Youssef, who co-hosts Zeteo's podcast We're Not Kidding. Substack, youtube, podcasts, and more: https://zeteo.com/
Media Matters for America: MMFA watches Fox news (and CNN) so you don’t have to. They're a progressive media watchdog tracking and correcting conservative dis/misinformation across social media, broadcast, and cable. They produce high quality data studies, qualitative research, and analysis across the political spectrum. https://www.mediamatters.org/
The Intercept: The Intercept, founded 2014, "[sees] journalism as an instrument of civic action." They produce great investigative journalism, and are currently focusing on Politics, Justice, the War on Gaza, Technology, Immigration, and Chilling Dissent. Their founder is a weirdo, but he's not connected to the publication at this point. https://theintercept.com/
The Nation: The Nation was founded by abolitionists in 1865, and believes "independent journalism has the capacity to bring about a more democratic and equitable world." https://www.thenation.com/
Issue specific outlets/podcasts
BellingCat: an "independent investigative collective of researchers, investigators and citizen journalists," which primarily focuses on digital-based research. They also do OSINT training workshops! https://www.bellingcat.com/
404 media: A "journalist-founded digital media company exploring the ways technology is shaping–and is shaped by–our world". great reporting on tech, ai, and the many influencers and oligarchs shaping our media and political attitudes. https://www.404media.co/
Wired (specifically the politics section): Wired is a bi-monthly magazine that's been churning out fantastic articles about DOGE, Musk, and the tech oligarchs and online influencers influencing US politics and culture. https://www.wired.com/
Qanon Anonymous: An entertaining podcast about the many extremists and conspiracies influencing us podcasts and culture, including but not limited to qanon, like: What's with the rise of anti-trans bigotry? Why are people drinking raw milk? Why is RFK jr like that? https://www.qanonanonymous.com/
The Present Age by Parker Molloy: criticism, culture, and politics newsletter run by ex-MMFA researcher Parker Malloy. Effective and digestible media analysis and diligent fact checking. https://www.readtpa.com/
Abortion Everyday by Jessica Valenti: Jessica Valenti runs this popular reproductive freedom/justice substack. Abortion Everyday will give you a better grasp on how lawmakers are restricting reproductive rights and how people are fighting back at the local, state, and national level. https://jessica.substack.com/
The Flashpoint by Eoin Higgins: Eoin Higgins is an author whose work has appeared in The Intercept, New York Times, and other outlets. He recently published "Owned," a book about tech billionaires, the media, and the right. The Flashpoint is his substack, which he wants to keep as free as possible. https://eoinhiggins.substack.com/
People
Some people to follow, in addition to the people mentioned above, in no particular order:
Hasan Piker: May as well kick this off with the most well-known progressive activist and twitch streamer. Most accounts under @/ hasanabi or @ HasanTheHun. https://www.twitch.tv/hasanabi
Nikki McCann-Ramirez: Former MMFA Tucker Carlson watcher turned Rolling Stone politics reporter. Also hosts the American Friction podcast about US politics. for social media, check https://linktr.ee/Nikkimcr
Jamelle Bouie: NYT opinion columnist, focusing on history/politics, who you may have seen on TikTok. @/jamellebouie on tiktok, @/ jbouienyt on twitch, and @/jbouie on bluesky. more on https://jamellebouie.net/
Jordan Uhl: Independent news, politics, and analysis-- including for TikTok/Reels. Uhl's worked with The Intercept, MoveOn, and more. Social media links here: https://solo.to/jordanuhl
Justin Baragona: Senior reporter at the Independent who has worked with Zeteo News and The Daily Beast. @/justinbaragona on most socials.
Ken Klippenstein: Journalist who worked at The Intercept, now publishes a substack about national security state and politics. @/kenklippenstein or @/kenklipp on most social media.
Ta-Nehisi Coates: Journalist and author. May recognize him from "between the world and me" or "the Message". more here: https://ta-nehisicoates.com/
Amanda Moore: a freelance journalist who went undercover on the right. Writing can be found on substack at the https://www.turtlediaries.net/ . Social media here: https://linktr.ee/noturtlesoup17
Hannah Gais: Extremism researcher currently working for the SPLC. Free newsletter at posts from the underground. Find her at @/ hannahgais or on https://postsfromunderground.ghost.io/
Prem Thakker: Zeteo journalist, great reporting on immigration, gaza, and crackdowns on dissent in America. find his socials here: https://linktr.ee/premthakker
Ari Drennan: Research director for MMFA's LGBTQ program. @/AriDrennen on most socials. Also runs a substack: https://aridrennen.substack.com/
----
***note: I chose news based on how reliable and biased I view these outlets or podcasts after professionally watching and researching the news and politics for 5+ years. I chose outlets that are generally reliable, unbiased, or had a pro-democracy bias. Podcasts were given more leeway since most podcasts are entertainment AND news.
By reliable, I considered whether reports are factual and whether the writing was high quality (generally free from typos/grammatical errors, not written by AI, etc). I also considered their reputation among journalists (have they won awards, which awards, do I see reputable journalists linking to their reports, etc). For bias, I considered whether outlets have a tendency to a) editorialize reports and b) privilege anti-democratic perspectives. I also considered global and historical contexts. While "ranking" sites like allsides or ground news may say x outlet is very left wing, how would x outlet compare to y outlet in a comparable democracy? Are there any scandals that might question x‘s reliability, and what accountability measures did they take after the scandal?
