The official portrait of founding father and Supreme Court Justice James Wilson. Review of The Lost Founder: James Wilson and the Forgotten Fight for a People’s Constitution. By Jesse Wegman. Celedon Books. 384 pp.

Newsletter

Get Smart: Our Summer Reading Roundup

by Anne Kim August 2, 2026August 10, 2026

Here are some of our editors’ and reviewers’ top picks so far this year for policy and political nonfiction.

Evan Barker talks to Bernie Sanders, who ran for the Democratic Party’s nomination in 2016.

Books

Evan Barker’s Magical Mystery Tour

by Nate Weisberg July 28, 2026August 10, 2026

Books

Blood on the U.S. Senate Floor

by Paul Finkelman July 21, 2026July 23, 2026

A new book traces American anti-egalitarianism thinking from slavery’s defenders to Silicon Valley’s would-be philosopher-kings.

Books

The UFC Cage Match Theory of Democracy

by Christoph Irmscher July 14, 2026July 14, 2026

Books

Cory Doctorow Is Making Peace with AI

by Anita Jain July 14, 2026July 13, 2026

Review: Revenge for the Sixties: Sam Alito and the Triumph of the Conservative Legal Movement by Peter S. Cannellos. Simon & Schuster, 384 pp.

Books

What Makes Sam Alito So Angry?

by Rodger D. Citron July 7, 2026July 8, 2026

Books

The Most Important Founder You’ve Never Heard Of

by George Thomas June 23, 2026June 23, 2026

Several hundred people demonstrate outside the Hamilton Country courthouse in downtown Cincinnati, April 6, 1990, against a scheduled exhibit of photographs by the late Robert Mapplethorpe.

Books

When America’s Culture Wars Were Fought in Art Galleries

by David Masciotra June 23, 2026June 22, 2026

The Washington Monthly’s annual Kukula Award celebrates the best in nonfiction book reviewing and honors the memory of Kukula Kapoor Glastris, the magazine’s beloved books editor.

Books

The 2026 Kukula Award Winners

by The Editors June 15, 2026June 12, 2026

Gerontocracy in America: How the Old Are Hoarding Power and Wealth—and What to Do About It by Samuel Moyn, Macmillan, 288 pp.

Books

Are the Elderly Holding America Back?

by Noah Berlatsky June 12, 2026June 12, 2026

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Books

Evan Barker’s Magical Mystery Tour

Blood on the U.S. Senate Floor

The UFC Cage Match Theory of Democracy

Cory Doctorow Is Making Peace with AI

What Makes Sam Alito So Angry?

The Most Important Founder You’ve Never Heard Of

When America’s Culture Wars Were Fought in Art Galleries

The 2026 Kukula Award Winners

Are the Elderly Holding America Back?

The Housing Bill Trump Shrugged Off Is Only Half the Answer

Booming Oil Profits Show Why Policymakers Can’t “Wait and See” on Gas Prices

Should We Ever Trust Polls Again?

Call Them ‘Common Sense Democrats’

Congress Should Stop Russ Vought’s Latest Power Grab

One Internal Pollster Saw the Primary Results Coming

Hey Industry, Stop Sponging Off, and Start Contributing to, the Colleges That Train Your Employees

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