Political cartoonist Ted Rall  talks about the besieged state of political cartooning in an America where the media landscape has evolved radically in a recent years leaving many artists, writers and cartoonists behind. It’s happenning at a time when reckless charges of ‘fake media’ are taking a toll on journalists.

But Rall is a highly original cartoonist thinker. He sees hope for political art in a democracy. He draws on his latest series of graphic biographies including Trump, Bernie, and Snowden as well as his most recent, Francis, the People’s Pope, presenting the ideas, and political impact of the most progressive spiritual leader in Roman Catholic church history to make the point.

Culminating his bestselling series of graphic biographies (Snowden, New York Times bestseller Bernie, and Trump), Ted Rall’s Pope Francis presents the life, ideas, and political impact of the most progressive spiritual leader the world’s Roman Catholics have had since Jesus Christ himself. And just in time too!

Can a reformer, working within an established, conservative, bureaucratic institution make real change? Usually, radical thinker and political cartoonist Ted Rall would be among the first to shout “hell no.” But Rall believes that Pope Francis may be the one notable exception. By expressing sympathy and outrage on behalf of the poor and hungry, solidarity with same-sex couples, and righteous anger against the world’s banks’ use of capital to gain profit at the expense of local communities and on the backs of the middle class, Pope Francis may have already changed the tone and substance of the conversation, Rail believes. As the world’s governments persist in ignoring global warming and exporting war and suffering, Rall considers Pope Francis to be the one world leader who might be able to encourage and inspire a new populism to turn the tide.