December 11, 2023

Reimagining The Nation in Print

Reimagining “The Nation” in Print

Each new monthly issue will be much longer—with more room for hard-hitting investigative pieces and reporting that challenges corporate power and conventional wisdom.

D.D. Guttenplan
Ludwig Hurtado

As the last few weeks have made brutally clear, the gap between what is actually happening in the world and the terms allowed for discussion in the corporate media has never been wider. It’s no accident that Edward Said first became visible outside the academy in our pages, or that James Baldwin’s “Report From Occupied Territory,” Toni Morrison’s reminder that in moments of crisis “there is no time for despair…no room for fear,” and Tony Kushner’s “Socialism of the Skin” first appeared in The Nation. Or that we’re the first—and sadly, so far the only—US magazine to have a Palestine correspondent, Mohammed El-Kurd. The need for a publication dedicated to the radical possibility of “what might happen if you tell people the truth” has never been more urgent.

But as this special issue underlines, the current moment holds unprecedented peril for independent media. With newsstand space relentlessly shrinking and the casualty list of extinct titles growing with every passing month, The Nation faces the same imperatives as anyone else in this business.

As a magazine in continuous existence since 1865, from the invention of the telegraph to the arrival of TikTok, we have a proud legacy of evolution and reinvention. Now is no different. That’s why, both to survive in this industry and to give the subscribers and donors who support us more of what they say they want, we are reimagining our print edition.

Each new issue will be much longer—with more room for hard-hitting investigative pieces, reporting that challenges corporate power and conventional wisdom, and reviews and commentary on culture that aim to provoke active thought rather than solicit passive agreement. Space for open, civil debate on the left. Delivered at a monthly frequency that allows readers more time to enjoy what we publish in print, while at TheNation.com we continue to post the same nimble, responsive, authoritative reporting and analysis we already provide to millions of readers each month.

This shift will allow us to be more journalistically ambitious, creating space for both longer reads and a wider range of voices. We’re excited about the changes—which will start with our January issue. We hope you are, too, and we’d love to hear from you! Please direct any questions or suggestions to feedback@thenation.com.

Hold the powerful to account by supporting The Nation

The chaos and cruelty of the Trump administration reaches new lows each week.

Trump’s catastrophic “Liberation Day” has wreaked havoc on the world economy and set up yet another constitutional crisis at home. Plainclothes officers continue to abduct university students off the streets. So-called “enemy aliens” are flown abroad to a mega prison against the orders of the courts. And Signalgate promises to be the first of many incompetence scandals that expose the brutal violence at the core of the American empire.

At a time when elite universities, powerful law firms, and influential media outlets are capitulating to Trump’s intimidation, The Nation is more determined than ever before to hold the powerful to account.

In just the last month, we’ve published reporting on how Trump outsources his mass deportation agenda to other countries, exposed the administration’s appeal to obscure laws to carry out its repressive agenda, and amplified the voices of brave student activists targeted by universities.

We also continue to tell the stories of those who fight back against Trump and Musk, whether on the streets in growing protest movements, in town halls across the country, or in critical state elections—like Wisconsin’s recent state Supreme Court race—that provide a model for resisting Trumpism and prove that Musk can’t buy our democracy.

This is the journalism that matters in 2025. But we can’t do this without you. As a reader-supported publication, we rely on the support of generous donors. Please, help make our essential independent journalism possible with a donation today.

In solidarity,

The Editors

The Nation

D.D. Guttenplan

D.D. Guttenplan is editor of The Nation.

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