Progressive Era Repression and persecution Anti-war and civil rights movements Contemporary Michael Jamal Brooks (August 13, 1983 – July 20, 2020) was an American talk show host, writer, left-wing political commentator, and comedian.

[8] He commented extensively on U.S. foreign policy, the Middle East, Latin America, capitalism, and the intellectual dark web.

[11] Brooks became involved in radical politics at a young age, joining the Northampton-based Revolutionary Anarchist Youth (RAY) at 11.

He also developed an interest in Buddhism, involving himself with the Insight Meditation Society and regularly participating in annual weeklong silent retreats.

[10] Brooks attended North Star Self-Directed Learning for Teens and the Pioneer Valley Performing Arts Charter Public School.

[13] Brooks began his career in comedy and meditation, founding the Valley Arts Project and coaching seminars at Sati Solutions.

[14] His early journalism and hosting work include his contributions to CivicActions, Talking Points Memo, and The David Pakman Show.

[20] In January 2020, he traveled to São Paulo to interview Lula alongside BrasilWire editors Daniel Hunt and Brian Mier.

[3] Brooks contributed to various publications, including HuffPost, The Washington Post, Al Jazeera, In These Times, Good Worldwide, Al-Monitor, openDemocracy, Jacobin and Jadaliyya.

[4][5] He appeared on various networks and shows around the world such as The Young Turks, HuffPost Live, Al Jazeera English, France 24, Novara Media, CCTV, Rising[24][25][26] and Hear the Bern, the Bernie Sanders 2020 presidential campaign's podcast.

It also argues that a focus on deplatforming has harmed the left's ability to organize, drawing upon Mark Fisher's essay "Exiting the Vampire Castle" (2013).

[9] In Jacobin, Luke Savage called the book a "model blueprint for countering the reactionary narratives ascendant in the smoldering ruins of the neoliberal order.

[50] Brooks was critical of the intellectual dark web and people associated with the group, including Sam Harris, Jordan Peterson, Dave Rubin, and Ben Shapiro.

He believed such people were "fixated on justifying hierarchies that are... socially, politically produced, and then not wanting to look at the reason why things have come in to play".

[55] In 2019, Brooks praised presidential candidate Bernie Sanders for saying on Pod Save America that he would use U.S. aid as leverage to get the Israeli government to act differently.

[55] Brooks argued that Turkey's response to the Syrian civil war under Recep Tayyip Erdogan was partly an effort to erase Kurdish culture in northern Syria.

[3][64][65] Former and future President of Brazil Lula da Silva, a personal hero of Brooks, expressed his condolences, writing on Twitter: "My heart and prayers go to his family and friends.