I had the pleasure of interviewing Democracy Now’s Amy Goodman, the subject of Steal This Story, Please! a gripping new documentary that focuses on Goodman’s unwavering commitment to truth-telling spanning three decades of turbulent history.

Listen to our recent interview from The Drive 95.5 FM or read the transcript below:

The film screens at 3:40 pm, Monday, April 20, at Rialto Cinemas, 6868 McKinley St., Sebastopol, CA, followed by a Q&A with Goodman and Academy Award-Nominated director Tia Lessin, which yours truly will moderate.

There are easier ways to spend a life than confronting evasive presidents, riot police, war crimes, billionaires and the occasional smug pundit before breakfast. Journalist Amy Goodman chose otherwise.

For three decades, Goodman has hosted Democracy Now!, the daily independent news program. Now she is the subject of a new documentary, Steal This Story Please, co-directed by Oscar-nominated filmmakers Tia Lessin and Carl Deal. The film argues that Goodman’s project is larger than one broadcaster. It is a model for independent journalism in precarious times. Goodman and Lessin bring the film to Rialto Cinemas this coming Monday, April 20, where it will screen twice and be followed by Q&As, the first of which will be hosted by yours truly.

I had the opportunity to speak with Goodman, and here is that conversation.

Daedalus Howell: Being the subject of a documentary is kind of a new thing for you, where the camera’s turned around and you’re being interviewed. What was that like?

Amy Goodman: Painful. But maybe it gave me a taste of my own medicine, considering I’ve been doing this for so many decades. Carl and Tia are masterful filmmakers. They’re Oscar-nominated filmmakers who deeply care about democracy. That’s why I felt it was critical to do this, to put out a model of independent media in the world. Because I really do think independent media will save us.

Howell: I think you’re right. Carl and Tia’s approach uses you as the lightning rod and the way into the stories, but it’s a bigger story than just you. It shows a broad range of how everyone works together in this context and all the people you’ve worked with over the years. It points to possibilities given the current cultural moment, the denigration of the media and the consolidation that has happened. How do you feel about the emergence of independent voices through newsletters, podcasts and similar platforms? Is there fertile ground for a revolution in journalism?

Goodman: Yes. I think a lot of the legacy media—we’re seeing what’s happening. It’s terribly frightening. These are extremely serious times, and I don’t know all the forms journalism will take, but they’re important. We just celebrated our 30th anniversary at Riverside Church, where Dr. King gave his famous address against the war in Vietnam. We interviewed Angela Davis. Bruce Springsteen came and sang “The Streets of Philadelphia.” Patti Smith was there and sang “Peaceable Kingdom.” Michael Stipe was there, and then they all sang together, “People Have the Power.”

I think that theme—people have the power—is so important for independent media, for Democracy Now!. We’re brought to listeners, viewers and readers by our audience, not by weapons manufacturers, not by oil, gas and coal companies, not by banks and financial institutions when we cover inequality. Independent media is essential to the functioning of a democratic society.

Howell: I agree, but we’re losing the infrastructure that contains independent media. We often have independent actors now who are not part of an organization or don’t have the structure that supports them. Is there a remedy for that? Do they organize, or can independent voices rise up on their own?

Goodman: Collaboration and cooperation are very important. Also, not having paywalls so that anyone, whether they can afford to pay or not, is able to access the information. Places like democracynow.org are great aggregators of trusted sources of news all over the world.

Howell: You’ve spent your career going where the silence is. I’m curious where the silence is right now.

Goodman: There’s no more serious act that a country can engage in than war. So often you have the media circling the wagons around the White House in a time of war, fearful they’ll be called unpatriotic if they raise questions. But I think there is nothing more patriotic than dissent. We hear very little about the human cost of war. These casualties, and the people who are terrorized, matter deeply. We have to be very careful what the United States represents in the world. The person who occupies the presidency of the United States holds the most powerful office on earth, but there is a force more powerful, and that’s everyone all over the country—Republican, Democrat, Independent, Green—people across the political spectrum who are deeply concerned about what’s happening now.

Howell: One of your superpowers is the ability to find stories and express them in a manner such that other outlets pick them up. That’s one of the themes of the film. You surface stories that then get amplified further. Have you ever been frustrated by that, in terms of others getting the big break, or is that simply part of the job?

Goodman: My philosophy is: steal the story, please. I consider it a failure if we’re the only ones who have a story, if no one else picks it up. We covered the historic gathering of Native Americans and their allies who took on the Dakota Access Pipeline in North Dakota. We were the only ones there as they made history. We covered security guards releasing dogs on protesters. In 24 hours, the video we posted received 14 million views. People care about these issues. Those who care about climate change, war and peace, inequality and LGBTQ issues are not a fringe minority, not even a silent majority, but the silenced majority—silenced by the corporate media. Which is why we have to take it back.

Howell: I love that. I also love how you create empathy in your stories. It was striking revisiting the greatest hits, as it were. I know that takes a toll on you. There’s a quiet scene where you’re recovering from a broadcast and ask the camera away for a moment. How do you take care of yourself and process all this? You see the worst of humanity and yet present the best way to help it.

Goodman: I am inspired by the people I interview. We don’t bring you know-nothing pundits explaining the world and getting it wrong. We bring you the people who are closest to the story. Maybe they lost someone. Maybe they are a whistleblower. Maybe their livelihood is threatened. We talk to people who are experts in their own lives, or real experts in a subject. Those authentic voices of people around the world are critical. When you hear someone speaking from their own experience, it changes you. It makes it much less likely that you’ll want to destroy them. I think the media can be the greatest force for peace on earth. Instead, all too often it’s used as a weapon of war, which is why we have to take the media back and keep it independent. Independent media is essential to the functioning of a democratic society.

Howell: In the ’90s, it seemed like you were often depicted as an activist more than a journalist. That was their framing. But I submit journalism is a kind of activism. Do you agree?

Goodman: We all have opinions. I know all the opinions of the mainstream media hosts because you hear them analyze issues. I don’t think it’s a matter of people not having opinions. I think you have to be fair and you have to be accurate. You want the best argument on both sides and let the audience—people listening, watching or reading—make up their own mind. That’s media serving a democratic society.

Howell: I hope someday somebody invites you to moderate a presidential debate. The job you did with Bill Clinton was inspiring.

Goodman: It was much longer than that. It was a half-hour, which is why they said they were going to ban me from the White House afterward. He came on to urge people to vote and was calling radio stations, so I used the opportunity to ask him a bunch of questions. When he finally left after a half-hour, they said they were going to ban me from the White House. I said, “What are you talking about? He called me. I didn’t call him.”

Howell: You’ve given me hope. The documentary also showed another side of you. You have a great sense of humor, and it was wonderful to see more of that. There was a scene involving Regis Philbin and Kelly Ripa that highlighted how differently media careers can unfold. It made clear that we often live in different worlds. How do you think your work has bridged that?

Goodman: I hope Democracy Now! is a bridge between generations. Grandparents, parents, children—some children are raised on this program. Every week classes come to Democracy Now! and watch the show. Across generations, people care about issues. They care when there are authentic voices they can identify with, even disagree with. I see the media as a huge kitchen table that stretches across the globe that we all sit around and debate and discuss the most important issues of the day. I don’t think you ever achieve democracy. I think you have to fight for it every single day.

Howell: Amy Goodman, complete pleasure. Thank you for taking the time.

Goodman: Thank you so much. It’s wonderful to be with you.