Emerald City Video

Zach D. Roberts, the photojournalist behind Visu.News and co-host of the Emerald City Video Podcast, is currently crowdfunding a new documentary film.

The movie, titled This is How It Ends* (If You Let It) centers on the rise of far-right extremism in the U.S. and serves as a call to action for everyday citizens to resist tyranny.

You can see it here, and back it if you can.

With 25 days left in its funding period, This Is How It Ends* has raised about $1,000 of its needed $13,000. That money will help Zach travel and pay his expenses while he edits the film — and also help him pay me, while I help him shape the script for the documentary.

Yes, documentaries use writers. It seems counterintuitive but it’s important. Kind of like why your favorite “casual” YouTuber also probably needs a script.

“If I had Ken Burns time and money I’d begin it with the Reconstruction, the original lie of the United State of America was the denial of the promises of 40 Acres and a mule – America’s closest version of restitution for America’s original sin, slavery,” Roberts wrote to the campaign page. “Or start it with Reagan, the man who truly started the destruction of the New Deal. But, I’m no Ken Burns and at least as of now I don’t have a multimillion dollar deal with PBS. So we’re going to begin this horror film at Roger Stone’s Brooks Brothers Riot, then hop to GamerGate, then run through the next decade, hitting key points as we go.”

Zach has been immersed in the world of conflict journalism for years now, with some of his photo and video helping to bring light to the insanity of the Charlottesville “Unite the Right” rally (where there were very good people on both sides, if you’ll recall).

In the film, he explains, “I’ll talk with activists and groups that work on the ground that have answers for how we survive the next 4 years and prevent it from happening again. I’ll be interviewing journalists, academics and activists delving into the history of how we got here. It didn’t start with Trump and it won’t end when he goes away.”

This is How It Ends* is expected to get a digital release in Spring 2026.