A veteran Times obituarist lifts the lid on the death desk. But in an age when anyone can publish a life, who still needs the Gray Lady’s last word?
book review
Posted inBooks
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.
Posted inFeatured
Honoring the Best of Nonfiction Book Reviewing
The Monthly’s Annual Kukula Award Returns.
Posted inMagazine
The Scandal About Scandals
A new book says polarization breeds impunity. But America’s worst injustices emerged when the parties got along too well.
Posted inNovember/December 2025
Hitting His Stride
Nick Thompson was an above-average runner who suddenly, in middle age, started breaking world records—a mysterious success inspired by a complicated relationship with his father.
Posted inMagazine
Justice Barrett’s Campaign Biography
By presenting judging as pure law untainted by politics, Amy Coney Barrett offers a picture so implausible it makes cynics of us all.
Posted inBooks
Hitting His Stride
Nick Thompson was an above-average runner who suddenly, in middle age, started breaking world records—a mysterious success inspired by a complicated relationship with his father.
Posted inBooks
The Eternal Social Justice Summer
A much-maligned new book asks a fair question: Why do the excesses of the left offend voters more than those of the right?
