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Its taken me a while to figure out how to introduce today\\u2019s topic. Not because its totally radical - but rather, because my brain is freaking out that its something I have to introduce in the year 2017. So, I\\u2019ve decided the best approach is just to dive right in:

Today\\u2019s topic is, essentially, freedom of the press.

Now, while I don\\u2019t spend my day to day life in the United States, I\\u2019m definitely an American. And something that is just a part of who I am is an understanding that we need freedom of speech and freedom of the press to ensure human flourishing. I think there\\u2019s a fairly decent consensus on this around the world.

As I\\u2019ve watched events unfold over the past year related to US politics, and how it has impacted individuals\\u2019 ability to distinguish between fact and fiction and, more importantly, destroyed people\\u2019s ability to have even the simplest conversations, I\\u2019m left wondering if Mike Judge didn\\u2019t have an amazing crystal ball when he made Idiocracy.

Now, I personally remain optimistic we\\u2019ll all come out of this moment in time better for it. But the fact that it feels like we\\u2019ve stumbled backwards into the 1940s in so many ways is heartbreaking.

My guest for today\\u2019s 165th Terms of Reference Podcast is Harlan Mandel. He\\u2019s the CEO of the Media Development Investment Fund of MDIF. Their work focuses on supporting independent media around the world and they do this through a variety of investment vehicles.\\xa0

The work of MDIF has been transformative across the globe. I think today\\u2019s conversation is important because we talk about how an organization like MDIF supports freedom of the press, how they have evolved over the past 20 years - especially with the advent of digital everything, how events in the US are reverberating across the world, and much more.