For more than forty years, Robert Scheer has built a strong reputation for courageous and outspoken journalism through his coverage of some of the most important and divisive issues facing the nation.

His columns appear in newspapers across the country, and his in-depth interviews have made headlines. Scheer conducted the famous Playboy magazine interview in which Jimmy Carter confessed to the lust in his heart, and for the Los Angeles Times he interviewed Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, and other prominent political and cultural figures.

In May of 2012, we caught up with Mr. Scheer at the Truthdig Retreat in Santa Fe, New Mexico. In this fascinating talk Scheer examines with wit and humor, the myth and reality of America's free press, from Thomas Jefferson to his own experiences at Ramparts (the revolutionary political magazine which Scheer ran as editor-in-chief), and his present day online news site Truthdig.com.

It's a personal and political tale that reminds us that the role of journalism has never been more tenuous -- or more necessary.