Alexander Cockburn

Columnist

Alexander Cockburn, The Nation's "Beat the Devil" columnist and one of America's best-known radical journalists, was born in Scotland and grew up in Ireland. He graduated from Oxford in 1963 with a degree in English literature and language.

After two years as an editor at the Times Literary Supplement, he worked at the New Left Review and The New Statesman, and co-edited two Penguin volumes, on trade unions and on the student movement.

A permanent resident of the United States since 1973, Cockburn wrote for many years for The Village Voice about the press and politics. Since then he has contributed to many publications including The New York Review of Books, Harper's Magazine, The Atlantic Monthly and the Wall Street Journal (where he had a regular column from 1980 to 1990), as well as alternative publications such as In These Times and the Anderson Valley Advertiser.

He has written "Beat the Devil" since 1984.

He is co-editor, with Jeffrey St Clair, of the newsletter and radical website CounterPunch(http://www.counterpunch.org) which have a substantial world audience. In 1987 he published a best-selling collection of essays, Corruptions of Empire, and two years later co-wrote, with Susanna Hecht, The Fate of the Forest: Developers, Destroyers, and Defenders of the Amazon (both Verso). In 1995 Verso also published his diary of the late 80s, early 90s and the fall of Communism, The Golden Age Is In Us. With Ken Silverstein he wrote Washington Babylon; with Jeffrey St. Clair he has written or coedited several books including: Whiteout, The CIA, Drugs and the Press; The Politics of Anti-Semitism; Imperial Crusades; Al Gore, A User's Manual; Five Days That Shook the World; and A Dime's Worth of Difference, about the two-party system in America.

 

 

Who Are the Merchants of Fear? Who Are the Merchants of Fear?

A contrarian view on climate change.

May 10, 2007 / Column / Alexander Cockburn

Is Global Warming a Sin? Is Global Warming a Sin?

Is global warming an unprecedented disaster, or just the earth recovering from the ice age?

Apr 26, 2007 / Column / Alexander Cockburn

The Ho Industry The Ho Industry

In the larger context, the flap over Don Imus's racial slur is only one tiny square in our dirty national quilt.

Apr 13, 2007 / Column / Alexander Cockburn

That Was an Antiwar Vote? That Was an Antiwar Vote?

The House Democratic leadership chooses merely to appear to oppose the war, while continuing to fund it.

Apr 2, 2007 / Column / Alexander Cockburn

Here Comes Another ‘Crime Wave’ Here Comes Another ‘Crime Wave’

Will any candidate have the fortitude to link America's crimes abroad with crime at home?

Mar 15, 2007 / Column / Alexander Cockburn

The Persecution of Sami Al-Arian The Persecution of Sami Al-Arian

A Palestinian professor caught in the US legal system needs all the support we can muster, as respect for constitutional freedoms sinks ever lower.

Mar 6, 2007 / Column / Alexander Cockburn

Sold to Mr. Gordon, Another Bridge! Sold to Mr. Gordon, Another Bridge!

The New York Times's credulous reporting of flimsy "evidence" regarding Iranian weapons in Iraq is enabling Bush's anti-Iran propaganda drive.

Feb 15, 2007 / Column / Alexander Cockburn

Who Can Stop the War? Who Can Stop the War?

The people don't like the war, but it will go on as long as there is money to fund it.

Feb 2, 2007 / Column / Alexander Cockburn

Get Carter! Iran, Too! Get Carter! Iran, Too!

The Israel lobby retains its grip inside the Beltway, but it's starting to lose its hold on the broader public debate.

Jan 18, 2007 / Column / Alexander Cockburn

Greater Than Warren Harding? Greater Than Warren Harding?

On Gerald Ford's greatness and the New York Times's ghastly coverage of Iraq.

Jan 4, 2007 / Books & the Arts / Alexander Cockburn

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