“It is with a heavy heart that we announce the unexpected passing of Michael Brooks: a son, brother, friend, and true comrade to so many,” Brooks’ colleagues tweeted. The statement didn’t offer details about the medical condition.
Brooks was a regular co-host of the Majority Report with Sam Seder, and in 2017 he launched “The Michael Brooks Show” on YouTube. Jacobin, the liberal magazine where Brooks was also a contributor, described the show as a “radicalizing force for huge numbers of mostly young people who were rightly contemptuous of the political establishment but only beginning to discover alternatives.”
“I have worked with a lot of great broadcast hosts and some of the most talented comedians in the country, and what was unique about Michael was not just his intelligence and insight into politics … but his ability to do genuinely brilliant political comedy. I need less than one hand to count how many people I’ve come across who had Michael’s skill in crafting a funny impression or character that was not only a vehicle for political satire but satirical in its essence.”
Correction: An earlier version of this story misstated Michael Brooks’ age. He was 36, not 37.
Read More: Michael Brooks, progressive political commentator and podcast host, dies at 36