This week on the program, we celebrate Independent Media and press freedom with Izzy Fest 2026 and the 18th annual Izzy Award named after the legendary muckraker, I.F. Stone.
First up, we have documentary filmmaker Abby Martin of Empire Files who is sharing the Izzy Award this year for her documentary Earths Greatest Enemy about how the Pentagon is the worlds greatest polluter and why we must all act to reverse the global damage caused by US military.
Next up Izzy judge and professor Victor Pickard discusses the state of our free press, the challenges journalists face from the current administration, and how independent media can light the way to a more informed and just world.
Abby Martin is an independent journalist, filmmaker, and host of The Empire Files. She is the director of the 2019 documentary Gaza Fights for Freedom and the 2026 documentary Earths Greatest Enemy.
Victor Pickard is the C. Edwin Baker Professor of Media Policy and Political Economy at the Annenberg School for Communication, where he co-directs the Media, Inequality & Change (MIC) Center.
The News That Didn’t Make the News. Each week, co-hosts Mickey Huff and Eleanor Goldfield conduct in depth interviews with their guests and offer hard hitting commentary on the key political, social, and economic issues of the day with an emphasis on critical media literacy.