Contact: Caitlin Graf, The Nation, press [at] thenation.com, 212-209-5400

New York, N.Y., August 25, 2022—The Nation, America’s leading source of progressive politics and culture, today named Chris Lehmann (@lehmannchris / Washington, D.C.) as D.C. bureau chief, covering politics and political economy from the nation’s capital. With an assault on US democracy openly waged from the streets to the Supreme Court, with the midterm elections fast approaching and the question of 2024 looming large, Lehmann joins at a pivotal and historic moment in US politics. He begins August 29.

“I’ve followed Chris Lehmann’s work since The Baffler—where he edited some close friends and a lot of other writers I admire, and who produced great pieces for him,” said Nation editor D.D. Guttenplan. “Having him at The New Republic kept all of us at The Nation on our toes, and the moment he left there I wrote to him about the possibility of joining us. So I’m thrilled that we’ve found a way to do that. His deep knowledge of Washington—where he’s worked as a reporter and editor for decades—combined with his stylish prose, clear left-populist politics. and brilliant record as a spotter of young reporting and writing talent all make me very excited to finally be working on the same team.”

“It’s an unbelievable honor to be joining the distinguished team at The Nation,” added Lehmann. “For more than a century and a half, the magazine has been an indispensable source of critical thinking, spirited polemic, and—not least by a long shot—democratic reclamation in the public and intellectual life of America. And the work of The Nation is, now more than ever, integral to the survival of the republic.”

“At a moment of tectonic political upheaval, I believe our readers will find his voice a thought-provoking and illuminating one,” added editorial director and publisher Katrina vanden Heuvel.

Lehmann, who has contributed to The Nation since 2008, is a contributing editor at The Baffler and The New Republic, and the former editor of both publications. He was previously co-editor of BookForum, D.C. correspondent for the New York Observer, senior editor at CQ Weekly, an erstwhile columnist for The Awl, and held positions at New York magazine, Washington Post Book World, and Newsday. Lehmann has published essays and reportage on politics and culture in a wide range of outlets and is the author of The Money Cult: Capitalism, Christianity, and the Unmaking of the American Dream (Melville House, 2016) and Rich People Things: Real-life Secrets of the Predator Class (Haymarket, 2012).

Facing a radically and rapidly changing political landscape, Lehmann will ground his reporting in the democracy crisis—an issue at the heart of The Nation’s mission since its founding by abolitionists in 1865. Moving beyond incremental horse-race coverage, Lehmann will treat national politics as a forum of ideas—as he puts it: “about how to resist the nation’s slide into white nationalist oligarchy, and about how to make our sclerotic, antidemocratic federal institutions responsive to the people’s real demands for representation and justice.” As D.C. bureau chief, Lehmann will both assign stories and offer original reportage on the most pressing news and under-covered stories of the day.

Bringing the acuity honed by decades of experience in Washington, Lehmann joins a growing concentration of talent on the left at The Nation: Jacobin founder and publisher Bhaskar Sunkara joined earlier this year to lead business development as president and contributes from time to time to the magazine. Helmed since 2019 by editor D.D. Guttenplan (who in 2016 led the magazine’s election coverage), The Nation’s political coverage is also shaped by national affairs correspondents Jeet Heer, John Nichols, and Joan Walsh; justice correspondent Elie Mystal; and columnists including Katha Pollitt, Kali Holloway, David Bromwich, and Alexis Grenell.

The Nation’s D.C. bureau—which by turns has featured I.F. Stone, Christopher Hitchens, David Corn, Chris Hayes, and, more recently, Ken Klippenstein and Aída Chávez—has long packed an outsized punch, exposing injustice, inspiring congressional inquiries, galvanizing legislation, and identifying up-and-coming political talent. Lehmann will continue that tradition of delivering impactful, accountability journalism focused both within and outside of the halls of power in Congress and the White House.

Lehmann and Guttenplan are available for select interviews. For further information, please see contact information above.

ABOUT: Founded by abolitionists in 1865, The Nation has chronicled the breadth and depth of political and cultural life, from the debut of the telegraph to the rise of Twitter, serving as a critical, independent, and progressive voice in American journalism.

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