NOBEL LAUREATE MARIA RESSA TO JOIN NYPR FOR DEMOCRACY DIALOGUES OCTOBER 15, HONORED AT ANNUAL GALA NOVEMBER 17
The Nobel Peace Prize Winner and Bestselling Author is on the Frontlines of Defending and Rebuilding Democracy in the Age of AI
New York, NY – August 24, 2026 Maria Ressa, the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize winner and one of the world’s most prominent advocates for journalism as a bulwark of democracy, will be the featured guest for two New York Public Radio (NYPR) events this fall. Ressa will be the featured guest for NYPR’s second Democracy Dialogues conversation on October 15 and will be honored at NYPR’s annual gala on November 17.
Ressa, co-founder and CEO of Rappler, the Philippines’ independent news organization targeted by the government for its investigative reporting, is the author of the new book The Fight Back: A Citizen’s Guide to Standing Up to Dictators.
“This moment demands we act. That begins with facts anchoring a shared reality. I’m honored to stand with New York Public Radio, a trusted source of journalism and culture that holds the line for truth, democracy, and for the public’s right to know,” said Maria Ressa.
“There is no one who speaks with more experience and conviction about authoritarianism and its impact on democracy than Maria Ressa,” said Christy Tanner, President and CEO of NYPR. “We’re proud to collaborate with her as NYPR shapes a new era of democracy in which journalism and culture thrive, facts unite us, and power answers to the people.”
Ressa will discuss understanding, defending and rebuilding democracy in the age of AI on October 15 at the second event in NYPR’s live conversation series, Democracy Dialogues, which examines the state of democracy and the essential role journalism, free expression and an informed public play in sustaining it. The event will take place at The Jerome L. Greene Performance Space (“The Greene Space”), NYPR’s street-level event space and broadcast studio in Lower Manhattan, and will be live-streamed on YouTube and available as video on demand.
The Gala, which takes place November 17 at The Glasshouse in New York, is NYPR’s largest fundraising event of the year, honoring leaders whose values align with the organization’s vital work, its impact across its many communities, and the generous supporters who make it all possible.
ABOUT MARIA RESSA:
Maria Ressa grew up in America and studied at Princeton University before working as a journalist in Asia for over 40 years. As a reporter from CNN, she transformed news coverage in the region, which led her in 2012 to create a new and innovative news organization, Rappler, in her native country of The Philippines. From this time to after the election of now-detained former president Rodrigo Duterte, she challenged corruption and malfeasance at the hands of his administration, enduring multiple arrests in attempts to silence her. Ressa won the UNESCO World Press Freedom Prize 2021 and was TIME Person of the Year in 2018, and was named by TIME as one of the most inspiring and influential women of the century. She has received countless awards for her work, including the Golden Pen of Freedom Awards from the World Association of News Publishers. In addition to her latest book The Fight Back, Ressa has also authored Seeds of Terror (2003), From Bin Laden to Facebook (2012), and her memoir, a New York Times bestseller, How to Stand Up to a Dictator: The Fight for Our Future (2022).
Currently, Ressa remains active as the CEO of Rappler, while serving as a professor at Columbia University and co-chairing the UN panel on AI. She continues her global advocacy against online disinformation, digital authoritarianism and the erosion of press freedom.
ABOUT NEW YORK PUBLIC RADIO:
With an urban vibrancy and a global perspective, New York Public Radio (NYPR) produces innovative, critically acclaimed programming for local and national broadcast, on-demand and live-streaming audiences. NYPR’s brands include WNYC, WQXR, WNYC Studios, Gothamist, New Jersey Public Radio and The Jerome L. Greene Performance Space. The WNYC newsroom and Gothamist produce award-winning local journalism for New York City, New Jersey and the surrounding region. WQXR, the city’s only all-classical radio station, broadcasts new and archival classical recordings and makes live performances from New York City’s esteemed performance venues available to all. WNYC Studios is a premier producer of on-demand and national broadcast audio and home to some of the industry’s most impactful award-winning podcasts and national radio shows, including “Radiolab,” “On the Media” and “The New Yorker Radio Hour,” among others. The Jerome L. Greene Performance Space is NYPR’s intimate street-level broadcast studio and live event space. Further information about programs, podcasts and stations may be found at www.nypublicradio.org.