Richard Poplak

About

Richard Poplak is an award-winning author, journalist, and filmmaker from Johannesburg. He has become one of the most widely read and controversial political journalists in South Africa, editing at large for the country's premier investigative journalism outfit, Daily Maverick. With corruption and politics as his primary beats, Poplak has written five books and one graphic novel, and has reported from over 30 developing countries for news outlets across the world, including the Financial Times, the Guardian, Atlantic Monthly, the Globe and Mail, the Walrus and many others. In 2019 he was part of a team that won the Global Shining Light Award, the world's most prestigious accolade for investigative journalism. In 2020 he co-directed his first film, a feature documentary called “Influence”, which premiered in competition at the Sundance International Film Festival in Utah. Influence has screened at over 40 festivals to date and won several awards, including a nomination for Best Political Documentary at the Critics’ Choice Awards.