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Francesca Fiorentini
American, journalist, progressive activist and comedian (born 1983) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Francesca Kate Fiorentini (born September 10, 1983)[1] is an American journalist, progressive political activist and comedian.[2]
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Early life and education
Fiorentini is a second-generation American daughter of immigrants. Her mother is Chinese and her father is Italian. She grew up in Palo Alto, California, and graduated from Menlo-Atherton High School in 2001.[3][4]
From 2001 to 2005, Fiorentini studied feminist theory and colonial studies at New York University. Her baccalaureate thesis was entitled Ideas for Action: Postcolonial Feminism. [5]
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Career
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Fiorentini began her journalism work in 2004 with War Resisters League and Left Turn.[6]
From 2013 to 2019, Fiorentini was a host and senior producer at AJ+, the digital media outlet of Al Jazeera. She was the host of AJ+ show Newsbroke.[7] The channel presented comedic spins on current events, with a focus on outreach to younger audiences.[8] The program covered both current events, as well as larger issues such as white fragility,[9] labor unionism,[10] toxic masculinity, George Soros, and gun control. Newsbroke was shortlisted for an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Short-Form Variety Series in 2018.[11][12] The program was discontinued during June 2018.
From 2016 to 2025, Fiorentini appeared on network The Young Turks as a guest and contributor. She was one of the hosts of The Young Turks show The Damage Report hosted by John Iadarola.[13] On March 26, 2025, her former boss, Cenk Uygur, released a video where he explained why he was firing Fiorentini.[14]
Since 2018, she has hosted her own podcast, The Bitchuation Room.
In December 2019, Fiorentini hosted the special Red, White & Who on MSNBC discussing the state of healthcare in the United States and the importance of healthcare to American voters beyond the partisan divide. The program traveled to the states of New York, Texas and Utah to talk to voters and featured interviews with political figures such as Senator Bernie Sanders.[15] Fiorentini concluded in the program that "healthcare in America is often overpriced and even dysfunctional, but it’s the lack of transparency that can be the most insidious".[16]
Since January 2025, Fiorentini has co-hosted the YouTube show America Unhinged with Wajahat Ali on the Zeteo network, which is run by Mehdi Hasan.[17]
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Personal life
She lives in Los Angeles[18] with her husband Matt Lieb[19] who also started out as a stand up comedian before becoming an activist.[20] They have a daughter.[18]
References
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