Michael Brooks, political commentator and podcast host, dies at 36

"It is with a heavy heart that we announce the unexpected passing of Michael Brooks: a son, brother, friend, and true comrade to so many," Brooks' colleagues tweeted. The statement didn't offer details about the medical condition.

Brooks was a regular co-host of the Majority Report with Sam Seder, and in 2017 he launched "The Michael Brooks Show" on YouTube. Jacobin, the liberal magazine where Brooks was also a contributor, described the show as a "radicalizing force for huge numbers of mostly young people who were rightly contemptuous of the political establishment but only beginning to discover alternatives."

His unexpected death shocked many in the political journalism sphere, where Brooks was a rising star known for his "mischievous humor," as journalist Max Blumenthal recalled.

Seder, host of the Majority Report, remembered Brooks in a statement to Jacobin:

"I have worked with a lot of great broadcast hosts and some of the most talented comedians in the country, and what was unique about Michael was not just his intelligence and insight into politics ... but his ability to do genuinely brilliant political comedy. I need less than one hand to count how many people I've come across who had Michael's skill in crafting a funny impression or character that was not only a vehicle for political satire but satirical in its essence."

Correction: An earlier version of this story misstated Michael Brooks' age. He was 36, not 37.