This is a Word, a podcast from Slate.

I'm your host, Jason Johnson.

Journalists are under fire like never before, targeted for hatred and violence by politicians

who don't like the way they report the facts.

The veteran journalist Ali Velshi, who was shot while doing his job, a free press is something

we're fighting for.

Being a citizen and a journalist means I have work to do to let my fellow Americans know more about what's going on in the streets of America and how we can fix it.

Ali Velci on his memoir, Small Acts of Courage, a legacy of endurance and the fight for democracy coming up on a Word with me, Jason Johnson.

Stay with us.

Welcome to a Word, a podcast about race and politics and everything else.

I'm your host, Jason Johnson.

The idea of journalism as heroic and the celebration of the immigrant success story both kind of feel like

relics of an America that no longer exists, but there are still reporters who embrace their work

as vital to upholding democracy. And there are still immigrants who come to the United

States, eager to build new lives and make the American dream a reality for their families.

Both of these ideas are at the heart of the new book, Small Acts of Courage, a legacy of

endurance and the fight for democracy. It's a memoir written by veteran journalist Ali Velci,

who traces his passion

for social justice and fearless truth-telling back generations and across three continents. After

years of success in Canada, Velshi began his American journalism career in New York on 9-11. Since then,

he's risen through the ranks of political and business reporting and is the host of his own self-title show on MSNBC.

I am so happy to have him here.

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