Francesca Fiorentini

Journalist, activist and stand up comedian

Los Angeles

Francesca Fiorentini has spent most of her life comforting the afflicted and afflicting the comfortable -- from the streets to the screen to the stage. As a host and producer, Francesca helped Al Jazeera Media Network successfully launch the online news channel AJ+ in 2013. She has captured online audiences with viral hits like "The Real Deal with the U.S. Mexico Border"and "How America is Already Socialist."

In the Spring of 2016 Francesca launched Al Jazeera's first comedy show (That's right, the BBC of the Middle East does comedy), Newsbroke, a weekly scripted deep-dive into nuclear power, the war in Afghanistan, immigration policy and other totally non serious topics. Francesca has also been a correspondent with Explorer on the National Geographic Channel since 2016. She has played matchmaker in Japan, toured a cadaver farm in Texas, and met Oklahomans demanding accountability for fracking-induced earthquakes. For her NatGeo work on draconian abortion laws in El Salvador she won a Media Excellence award from Planned Parenthood in 2018.

Francesca is also a regular contributor to the progressive news network The Young Turks.