David Pakman

Pakman was born in Buenos Aires; one side of his family emigrated from Ukraine to Argentina before World War I and the other from Poland just before World War II. He moved with his family to Western Massachusetts at age 5 when his father received a job offer there.⁠[1]

He recalls that after the family moved to the United States in the late 1980s, they were always talking about politics.⁠[2]

The show began as a radio program called Midweek Politics in the basement of community radio station WXOJ’s studio in Northampton, Massachusetts, and its first iteration launched in August 2005.⁠[3]

He started the program as an undergraduate at the University of Massachusetts Amherst at age 21 and was for a time the youngest nationally syndicated political host.⁠[4]

He said he had been interested in interviewing from an early age; memorable early interviews included John Kerry twice, Ralph Nader and Shirley Phelps-Roper.⁠[1]

After meeting The Young Turks host Cenk UygurCenk UygurCenk Uygur is an Istanbul-born American progressive political commentator who co-founded The Young Turks in 2002 and serves as its host and CEO; he has hosted programs on MSNBC and Current TV, and ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. House in 2020 and in the 2024 Democratic presidential primary.Open the full entry at a media conference, he was persuaded to try YouTube and launched his channel in September 2009.⁠[5]

Uygur and Ana Kasparian later officially welcomed him into The Young Turks’ YouTube network.⁠[6]

In late April 2010 he interviewed Frazier Glenn Miller, a former Ku Klux Klan leader then running for US Senate in Missouri as an independent; the interview drew attention after Miller later became the suspect in shootings at Jewish facilities in Kansas.⁠[7]

Pakman recalled that Miller told him in no uncertain terms that he did not like him merely because he was Jewish.⁠[8]

His first cable news appearance was on Fox News on April 4, 2014, discussing the resignation of Mozilla CEO Brendan EichBrendan EichBrendan Eich is a programmer and entrepreneur who created the JavaScript programming language at Netscape in 1995, co-founded the Mozilla project in 1998 and served as Mozilla’s CTO and then CEO, and in 2015 co-founded Brave, where he is CEO.Open the full entry; he has also appeared on CNNCNNCNN (Cable News Network) is an Atlanta-based news organization founded by Ted Turner on June 1, 1980, as the world’s first 24-hour television news channel. It has been owned in turn by Turner Broadcasting System, Time Warner, AT&T and Warner Bros. Discovery, became part of Skydance Corporation along with Warner Bros. Discovery in October 2026, and is one of the five networks that rotate in the White House television pool.Open the full entry and HLN programs, and his show also aired on Free Speech TV.⁠[4]

After YouTube tightened ad placement to protect advertisers, he said his ad revenue had fallen 96 percent by the end of March compared with the previous six-month average, recovering only to about a third of earlier levels; he set up a Patreon page so fans could pay a small monthly fee, which kept his staff and show afloat.⁠[9]

He said the show then relied mainly on memberships starting at $6 a month, arguing that paying directly for media is necessary if advertisers are not to influence coverage; he produces an hour-long show Monday through Friday that is cut into clips for YouTube.⁠[2]

Describing himself as a progressive social democrat, he is known for a calm style that avoids shouting matches and had at that point never appeared on MSNBCMS NOWMS NOW (My Source for News, Opinion and the World) is an American cable channel for political news and commentary. It was formerly MSNBC, launched in July 1996 as a joint venture of NBC and Microsoft, adopted its current name on November 15, 2025, as its business was spun off from Comcast, and since January 2026 has belonged to the independent public company Versant Media Group. It is known for its liberal-leaning commentary programs.Open the full entry, though he had appeared on Joe RoganJoe RoganJoe Rogan is an American podcaster, stand-up comedian and UFC commentator whose long-form interview podcast The Joe Rogan Experience, launched in 2009, is among the most listened-to podcasts in the world; he hosted the NBC reality show Fear Factor, and his show’s content and political statements have repeatedly drawn controversy.Open the full entry’s podcast, 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, Modern Wisdom and PBD Podcast; he said the show grew considerably during the pandemic, with income from direct ad sales, platform ads and website memberships.⁠[5]

On episode #375 he discussed political ideologies, the pros and cons of Biden and Trump, AOC, Bernie Sanders, RFK Jr, conspiracy theories, January 6, wokeism and censorship, Israel and Palestine and the war in Ukraine; the episode described him as a left-wing progressive political commentator.⁠[10]

Beacon Press published his book The Echo Machine: How Right-Wing Extremism Created a Post-Truth America.⁠[11]

The publisher said it became an instant New York Times and USA TodayUSA TODAYUSA TODAY is a national general-interest daily newspaper and news brand in the United States. Founded under the leadership of Allen Neuharth and first published on September 15, 1982, it is known for its color pages, short stories, and abundant graphics. It is now published by USA TODAY Co. (formerly Gannett) and is the national flagship brand of the USA TODAY Network, and its brands also include the sports brand USA TODAY Sports.Open the full entry bestseller; the book examines how right-wing extremism and disinformation have eroded critical thinking and proposes remedies such as better media literacy and public education.⁠[12]

He wrote that progressive media succeeds most when it clearly connects politics to people’s real lives and responds authentically to concerns about the economy, health care and education.⁠[13]

On his show he said the 2024 election showed that the Democratic Party does not understand new and independent media and still relies on little-watched Sunday shows and buttoned-up interviews, warning that this poses an existential threat to the party.⁠[14]

The White House website’s Media Offenders section named him and other commentators including Brian Tyler Cohen, accusing them of spreading false or misleading claims about Trump and his administration; California Gov. Gavin NewsomGavin NewsomGavin Newsom is an American Democratic politician who has served as the 40th governor of California since 2019; he previously served as mayor of San Francisco and lieutenant governor of California and founded the PlumpJack Group.Open the full entry’s press office criticized it as targeting independent journalists, and Pakman, who was traveling, did not respond at the time.⁠[15]

He has also published the children’s books Think Like a Voter, Think Like a Scientist and Think Like a Detective, and Pay Attention: How the Algorithms and Media Wars Are Suppressing Truth and Rewiring Your Brain, a follow-up to The Echo Machine.⁠[16]

Personal website: Public link: https://davidpakman.com/ (opens in a new window)⁠[10]

X: Public account: https://x.com/dpakman (opens in a new window)⁠[10]

YouTube: Public channel: https://www.youtube.com/@thedavidpakmanshow (opens in a new window)⁠[17]