Biography:Nathan J. Robinson

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Short description: American writer and magazine editor
Nathan J. Robinson
Nathan J. Robinson at Austin DSA.jpg
Robinson speaks at the Austin Democratic Socialists of America chapter convention in 2020
Born1989/1990 (age 33–35)[1]
Stevenage, England, UK
Citizenship
  • United Kingdom
  • United States (since 2001)
EducationBrandeis University (BA, MA)
Yale University (JD)
Harvard University (PhD)
OccupationWriter
Years active2015–present
Website{{{1}}}

Nathan James Robinson (born c. 1989) is an English-American journalist, political commentator, and editor-in-chief of the left-wing progressive Current Affairs magazine, which he founded in 2015.

Early life and education

Born in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, Robinson moved with his family to Sarasota, Florida, at age five.[2][1][3] His father worked for an international corporate training firm in Britain before the move.[1] He became an American citizen, along with his family, in 2001. Robinson attended Pine View School[2] in Osprey, Florida, before attending Brandeis University, graduating with both a bachelor's degree and Master's degree in politics. Robinson received his J.D. degree from Yale Law School.[4] Afterwards he pursued a Ph.D. in sociology and social policy at Harvard University. He took a leave of absence from the program after founding Current Affairs,[5] eventually receiving his PhD in May 2022.[6] As of 2021, Robinson lives in New Orleans, Louisiana.[7]

Career

Robinson founded the left-wing progressive magazine Current Affairs in 2015 after a Kickstarter campaign raised $16,000.[8]

On February 10, 2021, Robinson published an article alleging that Guardian US editor John Mulholland fired him for tweeting criticism of U.S. military aid to Israel; Robinson had been a Guardian columnist.[9][10] Robinson wrote a pair of tweets: "Did you know that the US congress is not actually permitted to authorize any new spending unless a portion of it is directed toward buying weapons for Israel? It’s the law.", and "or if not actually the written law then so ingrained in political custom as to functionally be indistinguishable from law". In his article, he said the tweets were a joke.[11] In another tweet, Robinson shared an image of an email allegedly sent by Mulholland which said that since no such law exists, the tweet was "fake news"; noting the prevalence of antisemitic tropes regarding Jewish control of American public life, the email stated that Robinson's tweet was antisemitic.[11] A representative for Guardian US stated Robinson was "neither a staff employee nor on contract and so was not 'fired'". Reason magazine said the distinction is marginal for recurring columnists.[10]

Robinson is a proponent of libertarian socialism, citing Noam Chomsky as his main political influence. He has criticized both totalitarian state socialism and free market libertarian capitalism.[12][13] He has published critiques of Jordan Peterson, Ben Shapiro, Pete Buttigieg, Joe Biden, and others.[14][15]

In August 2021, Robinson asked a number of Current Affairs staff to resign after disagreements on how the company should be run. Some staffers accused Robinson of asking staffers to resign because they wanted the magazine to be a worker-owned co-op.[16][17] Journalist Glenn Greenwald called Robinson a "brazen hypocrite" on Twitter,[18] and National Review writer Caroline Downe described Robinson's actions as hypocritical.[19] In response, Robinson said that he did not oppose the magazine being a worker-owned co-op, and the calls for resignation were due to organizational "dysfunction" and concern that the magazine "seemed to be losing sight of its core political goals."[20][21]

Books

  • 2015 Blueprints for a Sparkling Tomorrow: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream. Demilune Press; ISBN:978-0-69247-981-0 (13).
  • 2016 Superpredator: Bill Clinton's Use and Abuse of Black America. Demilune Press; ISBN:978-0-69273-689-0 (13).
  • 2017 Trump: Anatomy of a Monstrosity. Demilune Press; ISBN:978-0-99784-477-1 (13).
  • 2017 The Current Affairs Mindset: Essays on People, Politics, and Culture. Demilune Press; ISBN:978-0-99784-472-6 (13).
  • 2018 Nocturnal Emissions: A Diary of Dreams. Demilune Press; ISBN:978-0-99784-471-9.
  • 2018 Interesting Times: Arguments & Observations. Demilune Press; ISBN:978-0-99784-479-5 (13).
  • 2018 The Current Affairs Rules For Life. Demilune Press; ISBN:978-0-99784-478-8 (13).
  • 2019 Why You Should Be a Socialist. All Points Books; ISBN:978-1-25020-086-0 (13).
  • 2019 My Affairs: A Memoir of the Magazine Industry (2016–2076). Independently published; ISBN:978-1-70729-563-0 (13).

Illustrated books

  • 2013 The Man Who Accidentally Wore His Cravat to a Gymnasium. Demilune Press; ISBN:978-0-61580-093-6 (13).
  • 2014 Don't Let The Pigeon Question The Rules! Demilune Press; ISBN:978-0-69231-906-2.
  • 2014 California Sojourn: An Illustrated Diary of Los Angeles. Demilune Press; ISBN:978-0-69230-393-1.
  • 2018 The Current Affairs Big Book of Amusements, with Lyta Gold. Current Affairs Press; ISBN:978-0-99784-473-3.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Chayka, Kyle (23 March 2017). "The Rise of the Hard Left". The Ringer. https://www.theringer.com/2017/3/23/16044958/new-left-media-current-affairs-chapo-trap-house-crooked-media-9cb016070532. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Robinson, Nathan (21 September 2018). "Liberty, Security, and Iron Cages". Current Affairs. https://www.currentaffairs.org/2018/09/liberty-security-and-iron-cages. Retrieved 3 January 2020. 
  3. ↑ Ricks, Markeshia (20 July 2006). "Practice makes perfect score". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. https://www.heraldtribune.com/article/LK/20060720/News/605227944/SH. 
  4. ↑ "About This Author: Nathan J. Robinson". https://bostonreview.net/author/nathan-j-robinson. 
  5. ↑ Robinson, Nathan J. (17 February 2021). "Thomas Frank on Populism, Cool Brands, and the Problem With the Democratic Party". Current Affairs. https://www.currentaffairs.org/2021/02/thomas-frank-on-populism-cool-brands-and-the-problem-with-the-democratic-party. ""Yeah. I’ll tell you, because I was in grad school at Harvard, and I’m still in it, technically, but I don’t show up really anymore. But—"" 
  6. ↑ "Nathan James Robinson" (in en). https://sociology.fas.harvard.edu/people/nathan-robinson. 
  7. ↑ Weiss, Philip (11 February 2021). "'Guardian' columnist says he got canned as antisemitic for one tweet satirizing U.S. aid to Israel". Mondoweiss. https://mondoweiss.net/2021/02/guardian-columnist-says-he-got-canned-as-antisemitic-for-one-tweet-satirizing-u-s-aid-to-israel/. 
  8. ↑ "Current Affairs: A Colorful Political Magazine". https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/804992239/current-affairs-a-colorful-political-magazine?ref=user_menu. 
  9. ↑ Robinson, Nathan J. (10 February 2021). "How the Media Cracks Down on Critics of Israel". Current Affairs. https://www.currentaffairs.org/2021/02/how-the-media-cracks-down-on-critics-of-israel. 
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Soave, Robby (10 February 2021). "The Guardian Fired Columnist Nathan Robinson After a Joke Tweet About Military Aid to Israel". Reason. https://reason.com/2021/02/10/nathan-robinson-the-guardian-israel-tweet-joke-column/. 
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Siegal, Tobias (11 February 2021). "Guardian Columnist Fired After Controversial Tweet About Israel". Jerusalem Post. https://www.jpost.com/international/guardian-columnist-loses-job-following-controversial-tweet-about-israel-658577. 
  12. ↑ Robinson, Nathan J. (2019). Why You Should be a Socialist. All Points Books. ISBN 978-1-25020-086-0. 
  13. ↑ Klein, Ezra (7 January 2020). "Nathan Robinson's case for socialism". Vox. https://www.vox.com/podcasts/2020/1/7/21055676/nathan-robinson-ezra-klein-socialism-bernie-sanders. 
  14. ↑ Gallagher, Brenden (30 April 2018). "Who is Jordan Peterson, the 'alt-right' darling of YouTube?". The Daily Dot. https://www.dailydot.com/debug/jordan-peterson/. 
  15. ↑ Ostrow, Teddy (6 December 2019). "Nathan J. Robinson Wants You to Be a Socialist". The Nation. https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/nathan-j-robinson-wants-you-to-be-a-socialist/. 
  16. ↑ Gurley, Lauren Kaori (August 18, 2021). "Socialist Publication Current Affairs Fires Staff for Doing Socialism". Vice News. New York City. https://www.vice.com/en/article/n7bmd7/socialist-publication-current-affairs-fires-staff-for-doing-socialism. 
  17. ↑ Best, Paul (18 August 2021). "Socialist magazine Current Affairs staff 'effectively fired' for trying to organize worker co-op". Fox Business. https://www.foxbusiness.com/media/socialist-magazine-current-affairs-staff-effectively-fired-for-trying-to-organize-worker-co-op. 
  18. ↑ Wulfsohn, Joseph (2021-08-18). "Critics mock left-wing Current Affairs mag after boss fires staffers for attempting to form worker co-op" (in en-US). https://www.foxnews.com/media/current-affairs-magazine-worker-co-op. 
  19. ↑ "Socialist Editor Crushes Labor Organizing Effort at Leftist Magazine" (in en-US). 2021-08-18. https://www.nationalreview.com/news/socialist-editor-crushes-labor-organizing-effort-at-leftist-magazine/. 
  20. ↑ @nathanjrobinson (2021-08-20). "Here is my statement on recent events at Current Affairs.". https://twitter.com/nathanjrobinson/status/1428722480567435272. 
  21. ↑ "Statement on Current Affairs" (in en). https://docs.google.com/document/d/1HmsRdH7L_Y4oU8XhwmV8jd61n_rVl8ShIgStgKjEIAA/edit?usp=embed_facebook. 

External links




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