Archive

Ecdysis

COLLECTION V

Published April 20, 2026

The Right’s Caricature of the Neocons

Have neocons received their fair shake? Neoconservatism is increasingly dismissed by critics on the Right as insufficiently conservative, if not outright evil. However, many of these critiques rest on a fundamental misunderstanding of the movement and its intellectual history, writes Simon Maass.

Still Life

Her Plastic Heart

Disintegration

Thank You, Governor Murphy

Education professor Karen M. Prince draws attention to another urgent quality of life issue: the danger posed to pedestrians by reckless E-bike use. She praises officeholders in both New Jersey and Florida for their efforts on this issue—a policy matter that so far has been notably bipartisan.

Here’s to the Cardinal Puff

My wife and I put out seeds to feed the little critters in our courtyard: wrens and juncos, mourning doves, squirrels, chipmunks, now and then a rabbit. This morning a cardinal. That reminded me of Cardinal Puff, a drinking game we used to play on Okinawa back in 1968; I’

The Islamic Republic Cannot Be “Defanged”

The debate over how to “defang” the Islamic Republic of Iran presupposes that the regime’s conduct can be separated from its character. Pierre Rehov contends that the regime’s very nature precludes any effort to compel it toward a more moderate course.

Dinner

On the Death of Ali Khamenei

Muzainy Shahiefisally, a member of the Iranian diaspora, reflects on the death of Ali Khamenei at the hands of Israeli bombs and the brutal legacy of repression the late Supreme Leader leaves behind. But could this mark a new beginning for the Iranian people?

Desire in Ten Parts

Josh Hammer on the Civil War Inside the GOP

Last month, our publisher, Henri Mattila, was joined by Newsweek's senior editor-at-large, Josh Hammer. During the conversation, the lawyer-turned-pundit shares his characteristically pointed views on a range of topics, especially on the escalating feud over the future of the Republican Party.

Landscape

Why We Have Banned Social Media for Our Child

As debates swirl in legislatures around the world about restricting children's social media use, senior editor Jonathan Church offers his own experience raising a daughter while limiting screens.

There Is No Universal "We"

In an age shaped by humanitarian universalism, what are the philosophical roots of the modern Western “We”? Are they as inevitable—or defensible—as we assume? Benedict Beckeld examines the theological and philosophical foundations of this notion and asks whether they should be reconsidered.

Ben Sasse’s Dignity in the Face of Death

In December, former Senator Ben Sasse announced that he had been diagnosed with terminal cancer. In the months since, the courage and dignity with which he has faced his diagnosis have been deeply inspiring. In this essay, Erich J. Prince shares what he has learned from the father of three.

Allegiance or Accident? The Supreme Court and Birthright Citizenship

Legal scholar William J. Watkins, Jr. examines the constitutional history of birthright citizenship and offers his prediction for how the Supreme Court may rule on the challenge to Executive Order 14160.

Scattering, Over and Over Now

What Tennessee Williams Saw Before the Assisted Dying Trend

University of Rochester lecturer Robert Rich turns to Tennessee Williams’s final play to challenge a culture that regards the elderly as burdens—a view now finding expression in public policy.

A New Era in Science? An Interview with NIH Director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya

Once sidelined by the scientific establishment, the former Stanford professor now leads the world’s largest funding body for biomedical research. This month, Dheeraj Baji spoke with Dr. Bhattacharya about his philosophical beliefs and his ambition to spark a new scientific revolution.

The Poetry of Ma Dai

Gowpen & Undertow

Do We Need a New Deal for the Twenty-First Century?

Your eyes are not deceiving you: Life has gotten very expensive for most Americans. In an interview with Jonathan Church, law professor A. Mechele Dickerson looks to the mid-twentieth century for possible lessons on how to improve the lot of the middle class.

Paper Birds at the Crosswalk

Equilibrio Instabile

COLLECTION IV

Published February 3, 2026

Observance

Swimming

Leadore

The Word Made Flesh

With Every Classmate I’ve Lost, I Feel like I’ve Failed a Test

Inflection Point

Nigeria Needs to Heal Itself, but the United States Can Help

Tom McDonough, who has spent considerable time in Nigeria, contends that the country's problems go beyond the headlines regarding the persecution of Christians. Rather than American bombs, Nigeria needs American guidance on political reform.

Here To There

A Conversation with Salvator Rosa

Please Stop the Profanity

Education professor Karen M. Prince expresses her disenchantment with the pervasiveness of profanity in contemporary life. Sadly, even the presence of children is typically not enough to discourage swearing. She asks us to consider holding our tongues when tempted to let the expletives fly.

A Life Made Unlivable: Prejudice Takes on a New Meaning in Africa

The West has long abandoned draconian measures to enforce morality, guided by the belief that every individual—sinner and saint alike—has dignity. In this personal story, Tony Njoroge reminds us of the consequences of twisting moral concern into hatred, a cost still borne in parts of Africa.

The Poet as Thief

“Donc le poète est vraiment voleur de feu.” — Arthur Rimbaud Was Prometheus a poet? Rimbaud says he was, stealing fire from the gods: technology, knowledge, human arts and sciences. He paid a terrible price for his audacity. Whatever was he thinking? Look what we have done with what he gave

The Age of Self-Capital: Work, Identity, and Artificial Intelligence

As AI reshapes labor markets, the most valuable forms of work are no longer tasks but traits. Al Binns examines how AI accelerates a system in which personality and identity are increasingly monetized. The question is not whether work will disappear but what kind of human life will remain.

Wilfred McClay: The Civilizational Role of the Bible in the American Founding

As controversy swirls within the conservative movement regarding the role of Judaism and Jewish Americans in the history of the country, Wilfred McClay and Stuart Halpern's book makes clear that the Old Testament was one of the guiding lights of the early United States.

Three States Triptych

The 7th Burial Mound

Teaching Students to Think for Themselves Is Never Apolitical

Journalism professor Robert Jensen considers how educators should handle contentious politics in the classroom, from the Iraq War to more recent American actions in Venezuela. He argues that honest disclosure of one's interpretive framework is essential to teaching students to think critically.

How the High School Diploma Can Restore Its Credibility

Despite soaring education costs, literacy among young people is declining. Education expert Bruno V. Manno explains how diplomas became detached from actual skills while offering a practical blueprint—informed by encouraging stories from across the country—for reversing the decline.

The Forty-Ninth Year

Unraveling

Mi Vida Loca (My Crazy Life)

Live from the Hadal Zone

Are We Ready to Be Governed by Artificial Intelligence?

Experts Bruce Schneier and Nathan Sanders explore how Artificial Intelligence is already shaping the executive, judicial, and legislative branches, showing that we are already, at least in part, governed by AI—with more likely to come.

Reflecting on Tragedy: From Brown University to Bondi Beach

Senior editor Jonathan Church, writing in the wake of horrific shootings in Rhode Island and Australia, reflects on the death of his own mother, wringing meaning from tragedy, and what it is to live in a grief-laden world.

Grace

Reflection: My Interview of Ayaan Hirsi Ali

Then-contributing editor Vahaken Mouradian’s May, 2021 interview with Ayaan Hirsi Ali has taken on increasing urgency amid the growing number of reports of rape in Europe by migrants, especially as two Afghan asylum seekers were sentenced this week for the assault on a 15-year-old English girl.

Animal Instinct

Today a Cooper’s Hawk perched itself outside our bedroom window on a low branch of a small tree not twenty feet away. The courtyard of our condo complex. Frequented by all sorts of wildlife: sparrows and wrens, mourning doves, juncos, hummingbirds, now and then a cardinal, chipmunks, rabbits, lots

COLLECTION III

Published December 8, 2025

Can "Deliberative Polling" Solve Polarization?

As Washington emerges from a historic shutdown, Stanford’s James Fishkin outlines how Deliberative Polling offers a path toward rebuilding trust across the partisan divide. His decades of work suggest that genuine deliberation can still depolarize American politics.

Wonder Me

Orchard Season

Pray Silence (The Mind of the Meeting)

Three Elegies for the Everyday

Public Servant in Name Only: Rob Bresnahan Hardly Alone

A young congressman elected on promises of integrity has quickly become one of Washington’s most prolific stock traders, writes editor-in-chief Erich J. Prince. Is it any wonder why so many Americans feel nothing ever really changes at the Capitol?

Why We Should Return to Ivan Turgenev’s "Fathers and Sons"

In this essay, Sadhika Pant helps us to see why Turgenev’s fourth novel remains the most enduring portrait of Russia’s 19th-century ideological storm. More than a mere history, the novel continues to resonate as an antidote to the revolutionary spirits of today.

FLATLAND

In the Valles Caldera

If Being Virtuous Feels Easy, It Could Be Junk

Although no one likes to admit to doing it, virtue signaling is a practice that is a natural part of being a human. Yet, in this essay, philosopher Jimmy Alfonso Licon advises caution by comparing the practice to the culinary equivalent of junk food–tempting but counterproductive.

Bubble of Loneliness

Agnosticism Is Not Reasonable

Refusal to make a choice is a choice of its own. Although often presented as the intellectually humble third option between belief and atheism, Stuart Doyle argues that agnosticism presents a false middle path that is neither coherent nor practical.

Ancient Cooperation

Easter Plum

Pistachios

The Conservatism of Russian-Speaking Jews

Simon Maass, a German writer of Soviet Jewish descent, contends that Jews who left the Soviet Union often hold distinctly conservative views—and are steadily shaping politics in their new homes.

Ars Poetica: or, Benzaitan’s Rules for Poems (That She Told Me In A Dream)

The Oldest Hatred, the West’s Latest Test

Following the October 2nd terrorist attack in Manchester, England, Gerfried Ambrosch examines the ideological convergence between the Western left and Islamist movements—and calls for renewed resolve in confronting anti-Semitism in all of its forms.

Why We Need Better College Rankings

As the saying goes, what gets measured gets managed. In this interview, Washington Monthly’s editor argues we should stop equating a college’s worth with its U.S. News & World Report ranking and instead use a ranking system that holds schools accountable for real-world outcomes.

Is the Current Era of Free Speech Over?

Considering the rest of the developed world, it is a miracle that the First Amendment continues to reign in the United States. Tracing the precarious history of free speech in the country, legal scholar Eric Heinze writes that shifting bipartisan attitudes are placing it under threat.

COLLECTION II

Published October 3, 2025

Dream Person

The Morning News

Heat of a Bayou

Interview: The Man Who Dared to Imagine If God Were an Investor

At the height of the financial crisis in 2008, a pair of believers envisioned an investing firm whose goal was not limited to maximizing returns, but to make the world better. Founded before ESG came into vogue on Wall Street, the company manages billions today and shows no signs of slowing down.

Caste Remains the True Test of Inclusion in Corporate India

Across boardrooms from Bangalore to Delhi and inside Western corporations staffed by an increasing number of Indian employees, caste continues to influence who advances and who does not. Ignoring this reality, writes Indian scholar Disha, makes all other efforts at fostering inclusivity ring hollow.

The State Sovereignty Question Again Rears Its Head

Tom McDonough argues that Governor JB Pritzker’s recent appeal to “state sovereignty” misreads the Constitution. Revisiting the works of Orestes Brownson, McDonough warns that treating the Constitution as a tool of convenience risks reviving old errors about sovereignty and federal authority.

Dämmerschlaf, or, Twilight Sleep

What You Could Not Spare

Let's Teach Young People Hope—Not Doom

Education expert Bruno Manno argues that when educators present social and ecological problems as intractable, this can foster hopelessness in students. This school year, he urges, we should teach students that problems can be solved, not merely bemoaned.

The Perennial Allure of Political Violence

Writing from across the Atlantic, Gerfried Ambrosch condemns both the assassination of Charlie Kirk and the disturbing celebrations that followed, ending with a forceful defense of free expression.

Why Today’s Atheism Requires a Leap of Faith

Who commands intellectual authority between believers and secularists? Rather than dismissing faith as irrational, Michel-Yves Bolloré and Olivier Bonnassies invite readers to consider whether atheism itself withstands logical scrutiny.

Alan Dershowitz: On His Magnum Opus, The Preventive State

In this, his 57th book, the legendary law professor presents a framework he's been working on since his 20s that grapples with the trade-off between infringing liberty and preventing harm.

Emergency Room

We Ought Not Tolerate Reckless Driving

Our editor-in-chief argues that reckless driving must be treated as the urgent social ill that it is. Driving is dangerous enough already, and those who wantonly flout traffic safety need to be consistently held accountable.

From Austerity to Arms: Europe’s Recurring Escape from Deflationary Paralysis

Europe’s turn from austerity to rearmament recalls an older pattern: economic stagnation broken by military spending. This essay traces the parallels—and the risks—for the European Union’s future.

Not Quite Touching Sestos

Why We Should Reacquaint Ourselves with William Blake

Mark Vernon, the author of a recent book on William Blake, urges us to rediscover the wisdom contained in the writings and artwork of the great British polymath.