You read a lot of nasty stuff about higher education and a lot of tragic things about the youth these days, but then there's this dang excellent writing from the youths still in higher education –– @alexbronzini.bsky.social & @tab-delete.bsky.social –– and the world gets a tad brighter.

I couldn’t help but wonder: is the “luxury fishing trip” industry entirely propped up by billionaire bribers and their dependents on the Court? newrepublic.com/article/2104...

Disgraced president of Honduras seems to have been pardoned by Trump so he can propagandize against the democratically elected presidents of Mexico and Colombia and undermine his own country's leftwing. @billscher.bsky.social on a story that nearly no U.S. media are writing. They should be.

My hot take is that a party shouldn't expect each of its millions of members to come to the same conclusion on complex issues, and that even if we did want total party-wide agreement, there's no way that's happening in the next 7 months. Reminder: the GOP isn't doing excellent on fundamental rights.

I am massively proud to work for a magazine without paywalls! Read the full spring issue here.

Featuring @garrettepps.bsky.social, @glastris.bsky.social, @nateweisberg.bsky.social, @alexbronzini.bsky.social, @kennethbaer.bsky.social, @gillenmartin.bsky.social, @stacyfmitchell.bsky.social, @thomastoch.bsky.social, and more. Explore the issue:

Inside the @washingtonmonthly.bsky.social Spring Issue Gavin Newsom’s tragic mistake, the new era of Trumpian DEI, Amazon’s AI pricing algorithms, and Alan Dershowitz’s case for a third term. Plus, the mystery of Judy Blume, one town’s fight against ICE, the trusty A-10 Warthog jet, and much more.

"He's been snowed by Putin all along." @washingtonmonthly.bsky.social Kyiv-based contributor Tamar Jacoby on Trump's stunning claim that Ukraine is "militarily defeated." The Gulf states are begging Ukraine for help defending against Iranian drones. Does that sound like a defeated military?

1. Amazon has built powerful pricing algorithms that have learned how to steer prices upward — not just on Amazon, but across the web. I have a new piece on how these algorithms work, and how they help sustain Amazon’s monopoly.

An honor to get a radio shoutout from the @washingtonmonthly.bsky.social's illustrious editor @glastris.bsky.social for a recent piece I wrote on Gavin Newsom, who I largely admire and deeply believe should not run for president.

David drops are the sweetest of treats “Recently, for example, he trimmed my toenails. I used to do it myself, but now I have arthritis in my back and can only reach my feet in Arizona.”

Uh, no yaledailynews.com/articles/has...

“What does 'importing a foreign labor class' mean? Which 'countries in history' have 'experimented' with the import of labor? It’s right there on the tip of my tongue—it’s—it’s—It’s my birthplace, Virginia...The foreign labor was African." Excellent, terrifying piece by @garrettepps.bsky.social.

Checking line times for an imminent flight and came across an extremely Brooklyn Chris.

Heart in the right place, Newsom bravely tried to do something big, to solve a crisis other politicians chose to ignore. Unfortunately, the governor likely doesn’t have enough to show for it. I wrote about CA's tragic hero for @washingtonmonthly.bsky.social

If California Governor Gavin Newsom makes a White House bid, his opponents will undoubtedly target his homelessness record, @gillenmartin.bsky.social writes.

"Turns out, if you’re an abusive, impulsive narcissist in your relations with women, you tend to be one in other areas of life, too. Who would’ve thought?" I had the honor of subbing in for @anne-s-kim.bsky.social on this weekend's @washingtonmonthly.bsky.social newsletter.

The president’s words on Cuba – "Think I could do anything I want with it" – sound all too familiar, @gillenmartin.bsky.social writes.

Limbless, Slippery RFK Jr.: ‘Becoming An Eel Is A Sign Of Good Health’ https://theonion.com/limbless-slippery-rfk-jr-becoming-an-eel-is-a-sign-of-good-health/

Can't algorithmically deprioritize a bus stop

"In repeating that colleges have 'gone soft,' pundits are, in some sense, telling universities what they want to hear. Schools would much rather wring their hands over vague cultural 'softness' than admit the obvious: that their revenue-maximizing logic is actively undermining educational quality."

"I never thought it would be our own government we had to protect the kids from." -Minneapolis elementary school teacher

"It’s easier to destroy than to build. But what Trump has not destroyed—because, again, he’s allergic to the legislative process—are the laws that established departments and agencies and programs." So long as they're on the books, new leadership can build back (better).

The solution to restoring patriotism in the U.S. isn’t “elevating what it means to be an American citizen,” as Senator Bernie Moreno repeatedly claims, but making the American government worthy of its people’s pride. Out in the @washingtonmonthly.com today.

"As a public high school teacher, I am dumbfounded by the lack of serious national discussion about public education."

This was the correct path. Trump and the GOP abandoned it. America and the world will pay the price. washingtonmonthly.com/2021/04/04/h...

China’s predatory economy is the problem. Uniting with our allies to fight back is the only sensible response. Instead, Trump is undermining our allies, and hence we are losing. There was an alternative. /1 www.nytimes.com/2025/12/07/b...

"Group was — Group is — a gift they gave themselves." This excellent story made my heart ache for the lifelong friends I live across an ocean from.

America must adopt a single-pricing system under which each provider charges all payers the same amount for the same service or product. This will sharply lower prices for private plans, which paid on average 2.5x more than Medicare and Medicaid. washingtonmonthly.com/2025/12/02/a...

Social Security has historically been the "third rail" of American politics - but it doesn't have to be. My colleagues Phil Longman and @gillenmartin.bsky.social propose a potentially winning way to fix Social Security @washingtonmonthly.com: open.substack.com/pub/washingt...

Where Might Trump’s Attacks on Universities Lead? Just Look at Florida... washingtonmonthly.com/2025/11/13/n...

Once again, an opposition party instigated a shutdown but failed to win a big-time White House concession. Why did the "Invertebrate Eight" sacrifice leverage for a deal that forfeited their main demands? –– @billscher.bsky.social washingtonmonthly.com/2025/11/10/d...

Sign up for the Washington Monthly daily newsletter to get two new stories in your inbox every weekday, plus a best-of-the-week roundup on Sundays. Join on the right side of our home page, opt out any time: washingtonmonthly.com

Wrote about how Prop 50 reshapes representation in my lesser-known corner of the country for the @washingtonmonthly.com. "In these parts, timber and farming still reign supreme, locals help locals, and outsiders—especially city folk—face an uphill battle to become anything else."

@anne-s-kim.bsky.social and I spoke with @contrapoints.bsky.social on how conspiracism throws a wrench in the works of our political system, which requires reasonable public debate, deliberation, and compromise for the @washingtonmonthly.com podcast. washingtonmonthly.com/2025/11/05/n...

One of my favorite pieces from @washingtonmonthly.com Nov/Dec issue. "Zadie Smith, more than a decade ago, wrote that the technology shaping our lives is unworthy of us. We are more interesting than it. We deserve better. It’s time to build something different."

We are joined by @glastris.bsky.social to discuss how Democrats can win back voters by creating their own response to Project 2025. We discuss this new series at The Washington Monthly, including his article, “How the Democrats Can Play Offense” soundcloud.com/user-8304426...

"Choices are shaped by what’s available, what we know, and what we can afford—all of which are influenced by policy and profit, and little of which MAHA’s strategy proposes to change." washingtonmonthly.com/2025/10/29/s...

"The successful Democratic politicians don’t sound moderate because they’ve sanded off their edges. They sound moderate because they’ve rebuilt a moral vocabulary around work and place." This one hits home @nateweisberg.bsky.social !

"The bartender with a doctorate will always be good copy. But the degree remains the surest, sturdiest path to prosperity." Excellent piece by @nateweisberg.bsky.social out in the Monthly today @washingtonmonthly.com

“The U.S. and Europe Should Learn From Us” A Ukrainian air defense unit showcases what NATO should have done when the Kremlin sent drones into Poland: washingtonmonthly.com/2025/09/18/r...

The Court on affirmative action: "The way to stop discrimination on the basis of race is to stop discriminating on the basis of race." The Court on ICE stops: "Proceed detaining any brown-skinned, Spanish-speaking, low-wage worker in central California."

Twenty years ago, Hurricane Katrina showed the world what it looks like when unequal realities on the ground are not considered in emergency planning. A story I wrote about how Trump’s anti-DEI policies are doing away with the mechanisms of government designed address those realities is out today.

The Washington Monthly's 2025 College Guide – rating schools based on what they do for the country via access, affordability, outcomes, and national service metrics – is out this week! I highly encourage all of us U.S. taxpayers to check it out.

AmeriCorps brought broadband, disaster relief, and young talent to struggling towns. So of course, Trump gutted it.

In November 1944, as Soviet forces pushed into central Europe, Hitler declared Budapest a “fortress city,” meaning that its defenders would fight to the last man. Three months later, the former jewel of central Europe looked like Stalingrad. Around 40,000 German and Hungarian troops had been killed.

William F. Buckley Jr. spent a lifetime trying to make a coherent intellectual case for conservatism, but could never articulate what it was supposed to consist of apart from owning the libs. From @jacobheilbrunn.bsky.social: washingtonmonthly.com/2025/06/01/g...

The idea that the early United States was an unregulated libertarian utopia is a modern myth. In fact, Americans used government both to protect themselves from private corporate power and to create new wealth. washingtonmonthly.com/2025/06/01/r...