Nicholas Lemann
Nicholas Lemann joined The New Yorker as a staff writer in 1999, and has written the Letter from Washington and the Wayward Press columns for the magazine. He came to The New Yorker from The Atlantic, where, beginning in 1983, he was a national correspondent, writing about politics, education, business, social policy, and other topics. Previously, he was a writer and editor at Washington Monthly, Texas Monthly, and the Washington Post. From 2003 to 2013, he served as the dean of Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism, where he is now a faculty member, and since 2015 he has directed the publishing imprint Columbia Global Reports. He is the author of “The Promised Land: The Great Black Migration and How It Changed America,” “The Big Test: The Secret History of the American Meritocracy,” and “Redemption: The Last Battle of the Civil War.” His most recent book is “Transaction Man: The Rise of the Deal and the Decline of the American Dream.”
Why Israel’s Government Is Attacking Its Public-Broadcasting System
Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition is going after élite institutions, and that’s not good for democracy.
The Democrats’ Midterm Challenge
In competitive races across the country, candidates are downplaying ideology in favor of kitchen-table issues.
Would the World Be Better Off Without Philanthropists?
Critics say that big-time donors wield too much power over their fellow-citizens and perpetuate social inequality. But don’t cancel Lady Bountiful just yet.
The Supreme Court Appears Ready, Finally, to Defeat Affirmative Action
Moderate conservative Justices voted with liberals to protect the program in the past, but there are no such Justices now.
George W. Bush Is Right About Trump, but Still Wrong About the World
It’s not useful to understand global affairs in the broadest possible terms, as a struggle between good and evil.
Bob Moses’s Pioneering Fight for Voting and Education Rights
Both battles had the goal of enabling ordinary people to exercise more power, over their own lives and in society more broadly.
Can Affirmative Action Survive?
The policy has made diversity possible. Now, after decades of debate, the Supreme Court is poised to decide its fate.
The Last Battle Over Big Business
Ralph Nader, General Motors, and what we get wrong about regulation.
The Larger Lesson of Liz Cheney’s Ouster
It is to her credit that she stood up to Trump, but, with the Middle East erupting again, let’s be careful that we don’t also embrace her bellicose foreign-policy views.
The Stimulus Bill Is the Most Economically Liberal Legislation in Decades
Biden’s bill is a sign that our democracy isn’t completely broken, and may convince Americans that government can solve problems.
The Republicans Without Trump
Don’t be so sure that the G.O.P. is unhappy about losing the Presidential election.
The Republican Identity Crisis After Trump
This Presidency poses stark questions about the ideological future of both parties.
Why Hurricane Katrina Was Not a Natural Disaster
Fifteen years ago, New Orleans was nearly destroyed. A new book suggests that the cause was decades of bad policy—and that nothing has changed.
J.F.K.’s “Profiles in Courage” Has a Racism Problem. What Should We Do About It?
Kennedy defined courage in a U.S. senator as a willingness to take an unpopular stand in service of a larger, higher cause. But what cause?
Is Capitalism Racist?
A scholar depicts white supremacy as the economic engine of American history.
A Civil-Rights Challenge to Testing Joins the College-Admissions Battle
A threatened lawsuit in California points the way to a stark solution for achieving racial diversity at universities: a ban on the consideration of test scores.
Jefferson, Adams, and the SAT’s New Adversity Factor
Most discussions of admissions to élite colleges are built around the idea that, somewhere around the next bend and soon to make itself apparent, is the right way to do it.
John Hersey and the Art of Fact
Hersey pioneered a radically new form of journalism. But he grew convinced that his higher calling was fiction, and nobody could persuade him otherwise.
Want to Fix College? Admissions Aren’t the Biggest Problem
Busting the admissions cheaters is the right thing to do, but it won’t change America much—the right cause to take up is raising graduation rates.
“Vice” vs. the Real Dick Cheney
“Vice” treats conservatism as resistance to the civil-rights movement, eagerness to reduce taxes and regulations, and pure opportunism. But Cheney’s conservatism, at heart, is none of these.
Why Israel’s Government Is Attacking Its Public-Broadcasting System
Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition is going after élite institutions, and that’s not good for democracy.
The Democrats’ Midterm Challenge
In competitive races across the country, candidates are downplaying ideology in favor of kitchen-table issues.
Would the World Be Better Off Without Philanthropists?
Critics say that big-time donors wield too much power over their fellow-citizens and perpetuate social inequality. But don’t cancel Lady Bountiful just yet.
The Supreme Court Appears Ready, Finally, to Defeat Affirmative Action
Moderate conservative Justices voted with liberals to protect the program in the past, but there are no such Justices now.
George W. Bush Is Right About Trump, but Still Wrong About the World
It’s not useful to understand global affairs in the broadest possible terms, as a struggle between good and evil.
Bob Moses’s Pioneering Fight for Voting and Education Rights
Both battles had the goal of enabling ordinary people to exercise more power, over their own lives and in society more broadly.
Can Affirmative Action Survive?
The policy has made diversity possible. Now, after decades of debate, the Supreme Court is poised to decide its fate.
The Last Battle Over Big Business
Ralph Nader, General Motors, and what we get wrong about regulation.
The Larger Lesson of Liz Cheney’s Ouster
It is to her credit that she stood up to Trump, but, with the Middle East erupting again, let’s be careful that we don’t also embrace her bellicose foreign-policy views.
The Stimulus Bill Is the Most Economically Liberal Legislation in Decades
Biden’s bill is a sign that our democracy isn’t completely broken, and may convince Americans that government can solve problems.
The Republicans Without Trump
Don’t be so sure that the G.O.P. is unhappy about losing the Presidential election.
The Republican Identity Crisis After Trump
This Presidency poses stark questions about the ideological future of both parties.
Why Hurricane Katrina Was Not a Natural Disaster
Fifteen years ago, New Orleans was nearly destroyed. A new book suggests that the cause was decades of bad policy—and that nothing has changed.
J.F.K.’s “Profiles in Courage” Has a Racism Problem. What Should We Do About It?
Kennedy defined courage in a U.S. senator as a willingness to take an unpopular stand in service of a larger, higher cause. But what cause?
Is Capitalism Racist?
A scholar depicts white supremacy as the economic engine of American history.
A Civil-Rights Challenge to Testing Joins the College-Admissions Battle
A threatened lawsuit in California points the way to a stark solution for achieving racial diversity at universities: a ban on the consideration of test scores.
Jefferson, Adams, and the SAT’s New Adversity Factor
Most discussions of admissions to élite colleges are built around the idea that, somewhere around the next bend and soon to make itself apparent, is the right way to do it.
John Hersey and the Art of Fact
Hersey pioneered a radically new form of journalism. But he grew convinced that his higher calling was fiction, and nobody could persuade him otherwise.
Want to Fix College? Admissions Aren’t the Biggest Problem
Busting the admissions cheaters is the right thing to do, but it won’t change America much—the right cause to take up is raising graduation rates.
“Vice” vs. the Real Dick Cheney
“Vice” treats conservatism as resistance to the civil-rights movement, eagerness to reduce taxes and regulations, and pure opportunism. But Cheney’s conservatism, at heart, is none of these.