In 2020, I wrote several pieces on the people President-elect Biden should appoint—and avoid. My piece in March, “The Biden Do Not Reappoint List,” flagged 12 senior Clinton and Obama alums who were corporate Democrats. The piece became a template for Prospect transition coverage throughout the year. Of the 12 I profiled, only two got (second-tier) jobs.
I also did investigative feature profiles of two key center-right people touted for top jobs, Larry Summers and Lael Brainard. The progressive movement swung into action, and both were persona non grata.
In addition, I wrote several deeply reported features on big topics. Three of my favorites were:
“Healing America,” on what Biden needs to do to bring the country together without giving in to the haters;
“Was Putin Inevitable,” on all the U.S. policy blunders of the 1990s pressing post-Soviet Russia toward premature free-market policies, which created suffering, backlash—and Putin; and
“The Rise of Neo-Feudalism,” on how entire areas of public life and public law were becoming private corporate fiefdoms.
The range of these pieces suggests the range of the Prospect—from political reporting to deep dives into history, the structure of the economy, and big ideas. It’s one of the many reasons why this magazine makes a difference.
