Cenk Uygur

Uygur was born in Istanbul and immigrated to the United States from Turkey in 1978.⁠[1]

He graduated from the University of PennsylvaniaUniversity of PennsylvaniaThe University of Pennsylvania, commonly called Penn, is a private research university and Ivy League member in Philadelphia. It traces its origins to a 1740 charity-school project; Benjamin Franklin proposed his academy in 1749, classes began in 1751, and a 1791 merger established the institution under its present name. Penn has 12 schools, with undergraduate education concentrated in arts and sciences, engineering, nursing and Wharton. Enrollment totaled 29,384 in fall 2025, and the fiscal 2025 endowment was $24.81 billion. As of October 2026, J. Larry Jameson was president, with his term scheduled to end on June 30, 2027.Open the full entry’s Wharton School in 1992 and wrote a column for the student newspaper The Daily Pennsylvanian.⁠[2]

The Young Turks began as a radio program in 2002 and became a popular web series among progressives in 2005.⁠[3]

After Keith Olbermann’s departure from MSNBC in January 2011, he took over the network’s 6 p.m. slot; in July he left the show, saying MSNBC president Phil Griffin had told him people in Washington did not like his “tone” and had offered him a smaller contributor role for more money. Griffin said the accusations were false and that MSNBC had offered him his own weekend show.⁠[4]

In December 2011 his The Young Turks with Cenk Uygur debuted on Current TV as the lead-in to Countdown with Keith Olbermann; he said the show would focus on campaign finance and financial reform, and that he would continue hosting his online program during the day.⁠[5]

He founded Wolf PAC, which seeks a 28th Amendment to get money out of politics. In May 2014 Vermont became the first state to call for a convention to amend the Constitution to reverse the Citizens United decision, with Wolf PAC organizers waiting in the legislature’s gallery for the vote.⁠[6]

In August 2017 TYT Network, which he co-founded and leads as CEO, closed a $20 million funding round led by 3L Capital with Greycroft, e.ventures and Jeffrey Katzenberg’s WndrCo; the company then had 70 staff and 30 freelancers and planned to grow to about 200 employees.⁠[7]

In 2017 old blog posts of his surfaced, including a claim that women were genetically “flawed”; he apologized, saying they no longer reflected his views and were written when he was a conservative.⁠[8]

That December, Justice Democrats, which he co-founded, removed him from its board.⁠[3]

In 2018 TYT made further layoffs after several senior hosts left, with about 25 people let go since June, and ended its entertainment shows; the company said it was refocusing on news and politics as the “Home of Progressives.”⁠[8]

In December 2019 he ran in the special election for California’s 25th congressional district. Bernie Sanders endorsed him but retracted the endorsement the next day after supporters criticized his past demeaning comments about women, Muslims and African Americans; he had just announced he would accept no endorsements, saying he would not be beholden to corporations, lobbyists or special interest groups.⁠[9]

In the March 3, 2020, special primary for California’s 25th congressional district he received 10,699 votes, or 6.6 percent; Democrat Christy Smith (36.2 percent) and Republican Mike Garcia (25.4 percent) finished first and second.⁠[10]

After his defeat he congratulated Christy Smith on Twitter, called for Democratic unity and apologized to supporters for not doing better.⁠[2]

In October 2023 he entered the Democratic presidential primary against Biden, saying Biden would lose to Trump if he stayed in the race and backing a higher minimum wage, a health-care “public option” and paid family leave. He argued that the Constitution’s “natural born citizen” clause should not disqualify him and said the issue would end up at the Supreme Court.⁠[1]

New Hampshire’s secretary of state rejected his declaration of candidacy because he is a naturalized citizen and had struck the “natural born citizen” language from the form; after a hearing on November 2, 2023, the state Ballot Law Commission denied his appeal, finding the decision reasonable and legal.⁠[11]

On March 6, 2024, he ended his presidential campaign, acknowledging that his legal fight for ballot access had little success but saying it set the stage for future naturalized citizens to challenge the requirement; he had raised more than $425,000 and returned to full-time hosting at The Young Turks.⁠[12]

He appeared on episode 441 of the Lex FridmanLex FridmanLex Fridman is a Soviet-born, US-raised computer scientist and podcast host who works as an MIT research scientist on human-AI interaction and autonomous driving. His Lex Fridman Podcast is known for hours-long conversations with guests including heads of state and technology leaders.Open the full entry Podcast, whose description calls him a progressive political commentator and host of The Young Turks; topics included progressivism, communism and capitalism, money in politics, Trump, Biden, Bernie Sanders, Kamala Harris, RFK Jr., conspiracy theories and Israel-Palestine.⁠[13]

After Trump won the 2024 election he wrote on X that neither MAGA nor the far left was his enemy and that his “mortal enemy” was the establishment, which had been defeated; he said he disagreed with most of Trump’s agenda but endorsed his Labor secretary pick, Lori Chavez-DeRemer.⁠[14]

X: Public account: https://x.com/cenkuygur (opens in a new window)⁠[13]

The Young Turks: Official website: https://tyt.com/ (opens in a new window)⁠[13]

The Young Turks: YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is Google’s video-sharing and creator platform, founded in 2005 by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim and acquired by Google in 2006. Built around video uploading, viewing, and creator earnings, the platform has developed Shorts, YouTube Music, Premium, YouTube TV, and products for children, and is headquartered in San Bruno, California, United States.Open the full entry official account: https://www.youtube.com/TheYoungTurks (opens in a new window)⁠[13]

The Young Turks: X official account: https://x.com/TheYoungTurks (opens in a new window)⁠[13]