After Abramoff…If you liked Jeffrey Birnbaum’s cover story in the most recent issue of The Washington Monthly on how the Abramoff case could revolutionize the campaign finance system — or if you didn’t read it yet, or even if, hard to imagine, you read it and didn’t like it — you’ll want to catch Birnbaum talking about the subject tomorrow morning at 8am on C-Span’s “Washington Journal.” Should be some good breakfast TV.
The Exiles Who Sold Trump’s Wars
Iranian and Venezuelan émigré networks made the case for U.S. intervention. Then the president cut them loose.
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The Iran War’s Biggest Loser? Definitely Netanyahu
The American president’s “Art of the Deal” reputation is in tatters. But the Israeli prime minister’s attempt to impose a military solution on the region makes him the war’s biggest loser—and Israel isolated and vulnerable.
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How Local News Reduces Loneliness
One more reason rebuilding local news is vital. Academic research suggests that whether it’s an obituary, a puff piece, or news of a sale on tuna at the grocery, local news makes us feel less alone.
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Trump’s Dangerous Litmus Test for NIH Grants
An absurd politicization of scientific research that will weaken America.
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The 2026 Kukula Award Winners
The Washington Monthly’s annual award celebrates the best in nonfiction book reviewing and honors the memory of Kukula Kapoor Glastris, the magazine’s beloved books editor.
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Are the Elderly Holding America Back?
A new book treats old age, or ‘gerontocracy,’ as the central crisis of modern politics. The framing obscures more than it explains.
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Remember When We Used to Take World War III Seriously?
In the 1980s, serious people feared World War III and acted to prevent it. Today, our slouch toward World War III is being orchestrated by egotistical sociopaths.
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