Soledad O'Brien's "Matter of Fact Listening Tour" Takes on the Hard Truth About Bias

soledad o'brien hosts a new matter of fact listening tour — (Image credit: Matter of Fact)

A contentious election, a brutal pandemic, and waves of protests condemning racism and police brutality have made 2020 a year like no other. While it's been challenging—to say the least—the year has also brought us unprecedented movement and motivation to create real change.

Bringing different voices together—and giving them the platforms and power to make a lasting impact—is crucial for helping society move forward, or so believes acclaimed journalist and philanthropist Soledad O'Brien. To extend one of the biggest conversations in America today, O'Brien is expanding her half-hour weekly talk show, Matter of Fact, to launch the Matter of Fact Listening Tour, an ongoing series of forums that dig into the most pervasive problems surrounding race and injustice in the United States. (You can read Marie Claire's interview with O'Brien about the tour here.)

Starting October 8, 2020, at 7 p.m. EST, O'Brien will lead four virtual broadcasts, each available to livestream at matteroffact.tv and below. Expect to see a number of familiar faces: The first episode, which will hone in on bias, will feature White Fragility author Robin DiAngelo, Stanford social psychologist Jennifer Ebarhardt, former NBA athlete Etan Thomas, sociologist Rashawn Ray, and journalist Jemele Hill. Subsequent episodes will include appearances from journalists Wes Lowery, Maria Hinajosa, and Joie Chen, as well as activists including Black Lives Matter co-founder Alicia Garza and Brenda White Bull, the great-great-granddaughter of Lakota leader Sitting Bull.

Bookmark this page and watch the broadcast below.

Lauren Puckett-Pope is an associate editor at ELLE, where she covers news and culture.