Amy Goodman

Who better to profile political dissidents and victims of an overzealous government than journalists who report about such awful things every single day? Siblings Amy and David Goodman scoured the country for their latest book, Standing Up to the Madness: Ordinary Heroes in Extraordinary Times. The Goodmans never claim to be unbiased newshounds. They avoid hypocrisies such as branding themselves "fair and balanced." They are anti-establishment liberals who have made a career of pointing out misuses of power, threats to civil liberties, and lies from the top of government. Each chapter of the book, Team Goodman's third, highlights an American who has fought the government's ineptness or overreaching power. Then, just as the reader is feeling all warm and fuzzy, the authors lower the boom and remind us that government corruption and failures are still rampant, and these individuals are the exception to the reality. Amy is the host of Democracy Now!, a TV and radio show that broadcasts nationwide on PBS stations, cable access, and community and college radio stations so small and weak that her show often sounds like a underground station broadcasting under a dictator. And she's pretty comfortable in that role.
Mon., April 28, 6:30 p.m., 2008