Progressive Community Mourns Death of Michael Brooks, A 'Passionate Fighter for Justice'

The progressive community is mourning the sudden passing Monday of 36-year-old talk show host and author Michael Brooks, whose incisive political commentary, humor, and passionate commitment to building a more just and equal world through international solidarity made him a cherished voice of the left.

"It is with a heavy heart that we announce the unexpected passing of Michael Brooks: a son, brother, friend, and true comrade to so many, due to a sudden medical condition," The Majority Report, a daily progressive talk show that Brooks co-hosted, said in a statement posted to Twitter Monday evening. "Michael believed in bringing people together in the struggle for love and justice, fighting for all poor and working people, a struggle that he understood to be global."

"He knew the only way we could do this was by bringing people together and made his life's work bringing people from different backgrounds and countries together," Brooks said. "We hope you join us in honoring him by continuing that work."

In addition to co-hosting the Majority Report alongside Sam Seder, Brooks in 2017 launched "The Michael Brooks Show," a weekly program that quickly amassed a large following and featured illuminating interviews with leading left-wing figures like former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Cornel West, and many others.

"This year I met this young American, a journalist, who turned out to be a friend, who I thought that we would meet again. How is it possible?" Lula tweeted late Monday. "My heart and prayers go to his family and friends. May his passion for social justice be remembered and inspire people around the world."

News of Brooks' death was met with an outpouring of tributes from his close friends and countless others who were influenced by his historically-grounded and insightful analysis of U.S. and global affairs.

"Dude knew more about the politics of like, Ecuador, than the highest paid CNN analyst knows about the U.S.," tweeted Nando Vila, a friend of Brooks.

In a tribute to Brooks in Jacobin late Monday, Bhaskar Sunkara wrote that "Michael sought to make the world rather than be made by it, that much is true, but I'll remember more than his politics."

"I'll remember someone who was deeply human; someone who made an impact in those parts of life which politics never quite solves," Sunkara wrote. "He was all these things, and he was also an ambitious winner, someone who wanted to take on our callous rulers, and help build a just world, one where accidents of birth don't condemn millions to misery."

Correction: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated Brooks was 37 when he passed. He was 36.