Founded in 1969 at a time of national turmoil, the Washington Monthly continues to follow a singular mission: to renew American liberalism with fresh thinking to meet the demands of a changing world and to counter the foolish ideas that would destroy it from within and without. That mission is more important than ever, with illiberalism on the march at home and abroad. To fight back, the Washington Monthly provides new ideas that average Americans can embrace, that politicians can advance, and that can work in practice.

The ideas we champion—on economics, education, social welfare, foreign affairs, and the like—are often hard to map on the standard left–right spectrum. That’s because our vision is rooted less in contemporary political ideology than in the American civic-republican tradition, as articulated by the Framers and updated by subsequent generations and leaders from Abraham Lincoln to Franklin D. Roosevelt to John F. Kennedy to Martin Luther King Jr. and beyond. We believe that preserving democracy and liberty requires checks and balances not just on government but on private economic power as well. We believe in the right of all citizens, regardless of race, creed, sexual orientation, or zip code, not just to vote but also to have the means to earn a respectable living so they can fully participate in public life and have a say and a stake in the existing order. And we believe that the failure of elites in both parties to govern based on these traditions, thereby consigning most Americans to economic stagnation and civic disempowerment, is the root cause of our current democratic crisis. 

Mainstream journalists often bravely report on the crisis itself, but they are uncomfortable offering solutions, lest they be accused of “bias.” The Washington Monthly has no such concerns. The same methods other journalists use to root out problems—fearless reporting, relentless questioning, listening to all sides—we apply to surfacing and articulating policy solutions. 

While traditional news outlets cover what everyone else is talking about, the Washington Monthly asks what everyone should be talking about—and then publishes groundbreaking stories that start conversations in the press and the halls of power. No wonder the magazine has been years ahead of the pack on everything from the collapse of the housing market to the monopolization of the economy to the growing elitism and unaffordability of the higher education system. Time and again, government leaders have adopted solutions we’ve advocated. 

We do all this with a modest budget and a small staff of brilliant young reporters and editors who typically go on to stellar careers in journalism and government. Those who got their start in national journalism working at or writing for the Washington Monthly include James Fallows, David Ignatius, Lina Khan, Ezra Klein, Jon Meacham, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Michelle Cottle, Nicholas Thompson, Taylor Branch, Nicholas Lemann, Katherine Boo, Eric Cortellessa, and Nicholas Confessore.

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Editor in Chief: Paul Glastris

Senior Editor(s): Phillip Longman,Anne Kim

Managing Editor: Amy M. Stackhouse

Executive Editor, Digital: Matthew Cooper

Legal Affairs Editor: Garrett Epps

Politics Editor: Bill Scher

Editor(s): Rob Wolfe,Nate Weisberg

Associate Editor: Gillen Tener Martin

Higher Education Editor: Kevin Carey

College Rankings Data Editor: Robert Kelchen

Art Director(s): Amy Swan, Hope Glastris

Intern(s): Samantha Power, Alex Bronzini-Vender

Contributing Writers: David Atkins, Shannon Brownlee, James Bruno, David Edward Burke, Margaret Carlson, Joshua Douglas, David Masciotra, Jeanne Lenzer, Chris Matthews, James North, Reginald Oh, Storer Rowley, Peter M. Shane, Robert Shapiro, David Shipler, Cliff Sloan, Jennifer Taub, Lauren Wolfe

Founding Editor:  Charles Peters(1926 – 2023)

Contributing Editors: Jonathan Alter, Steve Benen, James Bennet, Thomas N. Bethell, Tom Bethell (1936-2021), Mariah Blake, Daniel Block, Katherine Boo, Taylor Branch, Nicholas Confessore, Matt Connolly, Matthew Cooper, Eric Cortellessa, Michelle Cottle, Kevin Drum, Gregg Easterbrook, Gilad Edelman, Haley Sweetland Edwards, John Eisendrath, James Fallows, T. A. Frank, Daniel Franklin, Grace Gedye, Kukula Kapoor Glastris (1958–2017), John Gravois, Joshua Green, Charles Homans, David Ignatius, Mickey Kaus, Phil Keisling, Ed Kilgore, Anne Kim, Michael Kinsley, Christina Larson, Nicholas Lemann, Suzannah Lessard, Nancy LeTourneau, Arthur Levine, Martin Longman, Joshua Micah Marshall, Jon Meacham, Stephanie Mencimer, Matthew Miller, Rachel Morris, Timothy Noah, Joseph Nocera, Will Norris, John Rothchild (1949–2019), Jonathan Rowe (1946–2011), David Segal, Walter Shapiro (1947-2024), Joshua Wolf Shenk, Scott Shuger (1952–2002), Amy Sullivan, Nicholas Thompson, Amy Waldman, Steven Waldman, Benjamin Wallace-Wells, Robert Worth

Editorial Advisory Board: Nicholas Lemann, Chair; Clara Bingham, Debra Dickerson, James Fallows, J. J. Gould, Steven Teles

Strategic Advisory Board: Emanuel L. Rouvelas, Chair; Clara Bingham, Robert L. DeFer, William V. Glastris, Markos Kounalakis

Deputy Director: Alice J. Gallin-Dwyer

Board of Directors: Michelle Cottle, Terry Edmonds, Paul Glastris, Nicholas Lemann, Michael J. Sorrell, Steven Waldman

President and Publisher Emeritus: Markos Kounalakis

Director of Finance: Terri Wallace
Advertising Sales Manager: David Greene
Business Management Consultant: Claire Iseli
Editorial Projects Consultant: Dorian Friedman
Web Site Development: Newspack

Funders

The nonprofit Washington Monthly is grateful to the following foundations and donors for their generous recent support:

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