Progressive activist Ady Barkan says his ALS has increased his platform

https://www.npr.org/2022/01/30/ [login to see] /ady-barkan-not-going-quietly-als-gehrig
A new documentary is giving audiences an intimate view of the political and personal struggles of one of the country's best-known progressive activists.

Ady Barkan first came to national attention from a 2017 viral video where he confronted then-Sen. Jeff Flake about the Republican tax bill. The following year he was arrested in the Russell Senate Office Building while protesting Brett Kavanaugh's nomination to the Supreme Court. He interviewed Democratic presidential hopefuls on the 2020 campaign trail and went on to speak at the 2020 Democratic National Convention.

In 2016, Barkan was a young husband and father and a rising star among progressive activists when he was diagnosed with the neurological disease called amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS. It's also commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease and leads to the rapid loss of motor function and often early death.

Barkan has advocated for a number of progressive causes, but spends a lot of his time pushing for a single-payer, "Medicare for All" health care system. His group, Be a Hero, supports a single-payer bill in California. He also advocates for policies to help people with disabilities, including home care.