Welcome everyone to The Run-Up, a brand new podcast from The Real News Network that's going to help you stay informed, engaged, and empowered as we all try to make our way through this fraught and fateful election season. My name is Maximilian Alvarez. I'm the editor-in-chief at The Real News, and I'm coming to you live from Baltimore, Charm City.
to give you the rundown on the run-up. If you're already familiar with the Real News Network, then you know what we're all about. You know that we're committed to bringing you the news, commentary, voices, and perspectives that are so often ignored or excluded from corporate media. You already know that we are not beholden to any corporate advertisers or political parties.
Our commitment is to you and to speaking the truth about power. And our mission is to show what news for the people can and should be. If you're just getting to know the real news, then this podcast is going to show you what we bring to the table. Like you, we are fed up with the reality that so much of what passes for news media today...
is basically just PR for the powerful, filled with partisan pandering, political doublespeak, and bullshit punditry from wealthy lobbyists who speak for the state agencies and private industries cutting their checks, not for working people. For years, our brilliant team has been cutting a different path to the truth.
Reporting on the issues that shape our lives from the vantage points of the people, not just the powerful. And providing a news platform where our coverage not only features, but is informed by the very community members, activists and organizers, writers, thinkers, workers, political figures, and sharp commentators we talk to.
And with the run-up, we're going to be bringing you more of the clear-eyed, thoughtful, fair, and fearless news and commentary that the real news is known for. Look, we understand that there's a lot of media out there for you to choose from right now. And we know that the next month is going to be a non-stop marathon of election coverage from all sides.
Add to that the monumental stakes of everything that is happening right now, and frankly, it's all pretty overwhelming, and it can make us just want to check out entirely. Or, you know, if we do stay plugged in, then it can feel like we are just watching, listening, or reading helplessly as history thrashes before us.
But this is exactly why we believe it is so vital to do the work that we do and to bring you the kind of media we know we deserve. Because the truth is that we are not helpless. We are not just spectators or consumers. Working people have a stake in this world and what happens to it. We deserve to have our voices heard, our concerns addressed,
and our communities informed. And, you know, if our media are not doing that, then frankly, they are part of the problem. And that's why this podcast, like everything we do with The Real News, is something different. So check us out. Subscribe to the show on your favorite podcast app, and stay tuned for upcoming episodes.
This isn't going to be the standard horse race politics coverage that's shoved in our faces day in and day out. This is election coverage from the street level. The voices you want to hear, the topics you want to hear discussed. Brought to you by our kick-ass team of journalists and producers. This is media by and for the rank and file. And this is election news that matters.
because we cover what matters to you. This is The Run-Up.