After 50 years, the Monthly reflects on its greatest and worst hits.
November/December 2019
Pass. The. Damn. Bill.
How the Washington Monthly helped push Obamacare over the finish line.
How Trump Could Blow Up the Republican Lobbying Machine
The modern GOP shaped K Street. Trump’s presidency threatens to cause its unraveling.
Why We Started Paying Our Interns
It all began with a disastrous job interview.
The Washington Monthly’s Liberal Imagination
How I learned to recognize when the left had veered off course.
The False Promise of Reformish Conservatives
In 2012, I thought the GOP might ditch bigotry. Whoops.
How Congress Came to Pay Its Interns
It was one small step to make a big difference for Washington and American democracy.
The Story I Couldn’t Stop Writing
How I came to chronicle three generations of a single family—from a Manila shantytown to suburban Texas.
The Pundits Who Get It Wrong—and Pay No Price
In the 1980s, they predicted the end of natural gas. They were wrong. Now, they occupy powerful positions.
The Charlie Peters School of Journalism
Reporters often cover government’s failures. He taught me to also cover government’s successes.
If Only John McCain Had Run as a Democrat
In 2002, it wasn’t as implausible as it sounds today.
Why Music Videos Can Do Political Blogging A Little Bit of Good
My strange contribution to the Monthly’s Political Animal Blog.
Still Missing: The Women Wonks
Why are think tank panels are still dominated by men?
The Liberal Reagan You Never Hear About
He wasn’t the ideologically pure conservative Republicans make him out to be.
The Man Who Invented Celebrity Politics
How Walter Winchell created the media environment that enabled Trump’s rise.
Was I Too Hard on the Mormons? Nope.
In 2001, I argued they were a regressive force in American life. Despite their opposition to Donald Trump, they still are.
The Baby Boom Was a Bust
Unfortunately, the generation does not have a political legacy to be proud of.
The Washington Redskins: Even More Awful Than You Thought
How a professional football team started a trend that would genuinely harm America.
How the Democrats Got Their Faith Back
That time we said they should start courting religious voters—and they listened.
Donald Trump, the QVC President
He preys on the lonely and the alienated—and then scams them.
The Return of Tilting at Windmills
The Washington Monthly’s founding editor comes out of retirement to reprise his legendary column.
The Other Dreamers
They came here legally. Most are college bound. So why is the U.S. kicking them out?
When Foreign Meddling Backfires
Beijing and Moscow present dangers, but their style of autocratic interference has major weaknesses.
The Rise of Wall Street Thievery
How corporations and their apologists blew up the New Deal order and pillaged the middle class.
What Comes After Roe?
With abortion rights on the ropes, feminists can’t give up on the law.
The Gentrification Panic
The media’s obsession with a handful of trendy neighborhoods obscures the real story of urban America.
When Extremists Go Primetime
How did the far right get so mainstream?
