Adam Zyglis is the editorial cartoonist for the Buffalo News. He won a Pulitzer Prize for his work in 2015. Over the last two decades, the number of cartoonists working in the US has shrunk remarkably and continues to dwindle.

Whether for budgetary reasons or fear of alienating readers, many newspapers no longer keep a cartoonist on staff, to the detriment of their audiences and our larger public discourse. Hear Adam discuss the pivotal role that editorial cartoonists play in our democracy, what we can learn by looking overseas, and why we must consider their work a vital act of engagement instead of a nostalgic tradition.

See more of Adam’s work on Instagram and Twitter @adamzyglis