Washington Monthly

The ultra-right-wing Heritage Foundation blames "feminism" for falling fertility rates. Not surprisingly, its "solutions" are hostile to women. Host: Anne Kim, Washington MonthlyGuest: Varina Winder, Co-founder, Arch CollaborativeChapters00:00 Introduction to the Pronatalist Agenda02:57 The Heritage Foundation's Influence and Report05:50 Crisis Framing: Fertility Rates and...

Much like the economy at large, the system favors big players over independent creators . Online sensations like Mr. Beast —the YouTuber with nearly 500 million subscribers—have spurred countless imitators with dreams of online fame. Yet a vanishing few reach the stratospheric heights of Mr. Beast, who reportedly earns $700 million a year. Accordingto a 2025 survey by NeoReach, 70 percent of creat...

For several decades now, girls have been outperforming boysacademically.  They earn  higher grades , are  less likely  to drop out, and are significantly  more likely  to attend college. Women now earn themajority of professional degrees, according to the  Hechinger Report , including  60 percent  of master’s and doctorates.  More male teachers can help close gender gaps inachievement, argues Curt...

Billionaires are the apex predators of the modern economy. They tear up governments, buy politicians, and wreck the planet with carbon-spewing yachts. They control the news and what’s in our feeds. They spend $55 million on lavish weddings while the rest of us struggle to buy groceries and gas. That's why entrepreneur Nick Hanauer and Professor Eric Beinhocker argue for a new economic paradigm...

Risky financial maneuvers and mountains of debt mean the AI economy is in trouble, says Vanderbilt's Asad Ramzanali. America needs to get ready. Host: Anne Kim, Senior Editor, Washington MonthlyGuest: Asad Ramzanali, Director of AI and Technology Policy, Vanderbilt Policy Accelerator, Vanderbilt University

President Donald Trump recently unveiled his “Great Healthcare Plan,” vowing to bring down soaring premiums and “fix” the Affordable Care Act. But Trump’s single-page plan is likely to fall far short of his promises, says Edwin Park, a research professor at Georgetown University and a former health policy advisor to the National Economic Council under President Joe Biden. Host: Anne Kim, Senior Ed...

So-called “Constitution-First” Republicans are uncomfortable with Trump’s abuses of power. They could be the key to a pro-democracy coalition that cuts across party and ideology. President Donald Trump’s grip on the Republican party hasseemed absolute. But his consistent disregard for constitutional and societalnorms might be leading to genuine fissures within the GOP. A new report by the nonprofi...

In 2003, New Orleans public schools were among the worst in the country. Seventy percent of eighth-graders were not proficient in math, 74 percent weren’t proficient in English, and the graduation rate was barely over 50 percent. Moreover, the district was as corrupt as it was incompetent. FBI investigations led to the indictment of two dozen school officials; nearly $70 million in federal funding...

In the eyes of today’s teens, journalism and the media are doomed. In two major surveys of US teens conducted over the last two years, the nonprofit News Literacy Project found deep levels of mistrust and misunderstanding of the news: Only about half ofteens know that “branded content” is a form of advertising; Only 52 percent of teens understand that articleslabeled “commentary” are opinions; ·Te...

President Donald Trump won 93 percent of rural counties in 2024. Rural voters also made up 36 percent of the Trump vote, according to the Pew Research Center, compared to just 16 percent of voters for Harris. Political scientists Suzanne Mettler of Cornell University and Trevor Brown of Johns Hopkins argue that Democrats must work to bridge this urban-rural chasm, both for the sake of Democrats’ p...

In 2010, the Supreme Court opened the floodgates to money in politics with its decision in   Citizens United v. Federal Elections Commission . The Court struck down longstanding federal restrictions on “independent” political spending by corporations and outside groups, ruling that such expenditures were protected “speech” under the First Amendment. Since then, according to the Brennan Center , su...

Billionaires have become a uniquely destructive force to both democracy and the planet, says author Chuck Collins. Collins' new book, "Burned by Billionaires: How Concentrated Wealth and Power Are Ruining Our Lives and Planet," argues that the rise of the billionaire class has profoundly damaging impacts on ordinary Americans’ lives and on the functioning of democracy. Collins is a s...

It’s slow, inefficient and sclerotic. Here’s a progressive blueprint to fix it. President Donald Trump’s unrelenting assault on the federalworkforce has prompted many progressives to leap reflexively to government’s defense.   Some progressives, however, are acknowledging the need for reform. “The truth is, Trump and Elon Musk alone didn’t break our governing institutions,” write Hannah Garden-Mon...

Democrats are riding high after this year’s special elections,but that still doesn’t mean they’re popular with voters. Strategist Simon Bazelon has advice on what to fix. Less than a year into his second term, President DonaldTrump is already hobbling toward lame duck status. His approval rating has plummeted to 36 percent , according to Gallup’s latest survey, including just a 25 percent thumbs-u...

We go behind the scenes with Angela Kuefler, the pollsterwho helped engineer the historic victories of governors-elect Abigail Spanberger and Mikie Sherrill. Earlier this month, Democratic gubernatorial candidates AbigailSpanberger and Mikie Sherrill notched blockbuster victories in Virginia and New Jersey.  Spanberger trounced her Republican opponent, Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears by a 15-point ma...

The Trump administration’s policies have damaged the economies of both countries, says former U.S. Ambassador to Canada James Blanchard. A month after President Donald Trump abruptly ended trade talks with Canada over an anti-tariff ad featuring former President Ronald Reagan, the two countries have yet to resume negotiations. The rift between America and its ally to the north is in fact “the wors...

The erosion—and deliberate erasure—of government data bythe Trump Administration threaten both public safety and the US economy, says former US chief data scientist Denice Ross. Federal data are more than jobs numbers and the Census Bureau's tallies of Americans. Government data undergird everyday essentials like the weather forecasts Americans rely on, including tornado and hurricane warnings...

A pending decision could gut the Voting Rights Act andencourage states to disenfranchise minority voters. Last month, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in  Louisiana v. Callais— a case that could spell the end of  Section2  of the Voting Rights Act, the bedrock federal law that bars racial discrimination in voting. As voting rights expert Joshua Douglas explains, the Courtis unlikely to strik...

Reckless tax and budget policies have stifled upwardmobility for young and working class Americans, says budget expert Eugene Steuerle. Bipartisan dysfunction is to blame. The federal government spends the equivalent of about $90,000 per U.S. household per year—yet many Americans don’t see the benefits. Medicare and Medicaid, Social Security and tax subsidies (primarily for wealthy households) swa...

YouTuber Natalie Wynn (aka "ContraPoints") spent a year immersing herself in the conspiracy theories wreckingour politics. Now, she’s sharing what she’s learned. Wynn's latest video, “ CONSPIRACY ,” has racked up more than 4 million views with a deep dive into the history anddynamics of conspiracist thinking in America, and how conspiracism undermines democracy. The success of her ap...

Nearly 1 in 6 Americans lives in a “distressed” community. Where these Americans live and what they experience could explain alot about the rise of Trump. As the architect of the Economic Innovation Group’s DistressedCommunities Index , Senior Fellow Kenan Fikri has spent the better part of the last decade discovering who is prospering in America—and where. The maldistribution of American opportun...

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Ian Johnson discusses thelife of Liu Xiaobo, China’s sole laureate of the Nobel Peace Prize. Though Liu is hardly a household name in America, he is a pivotal figure for understanding modern China, Johnson argues. Johnson's recent ⁠review⁠ of I Have No Enemies, by Perry Link and Wu Dazhi (Columbia University Press), won the Washington Monthly’s ⁠2025 Kukula Aw...

The pending sale of an historic federal building by Trump could mean the wrecking ball for the “Sistine Chapel of New Deal Art.”   Journalist Timothy Noah discusses the masterpieces of New Deal Art housed at the Wilbur Cohen Building in Washington, D.C. that Americans should fight to save. Hosts: Anne Kim and Garrett Epps Guest: Timothy Noah Chapters 00:00 The Hidden Treasures of American Art 03:4...

2025 Kukula Award winner Christoph Irmscher discusses hisreview of Arlie Russell Hochschild’s book, Stolen Pride: Loss, Shame, and the Rise of the Right , and the vital role of criticism in civil society. Host: Anne Kim Guest: Christoph Irmscher, Distinguished Professor of English, Indiana University Chapters 04:56 Insights from 'Stolen Pride' and Empathy Bridge 09:43 The Concept of Stolen...

Virginia’s upcoming gubernatorial election will be a trialrun for next year’s midterms and an early referendum on Trump. Pollster Pete Brodnitz, founder of Expeditioin Strategies, critiques the strategies emerging from these campaigns. Host: Anne Kim Guest: Pete Brodnitz, Founder, Expedition Strategies Chapters: 00:00 Virginia's Upcoming Elections: A Bellwether for the Nation? 06:08 Candidate...