Nathan J. Robinson | |
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 Robinson speaks at theAustinDemocratic Socialists of America chapter convention in 2020. | |
| Born | Nathan James Robinson (1989-08-23)23 August 1989 (age 36)[1] Stevenage, England |
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| Education | Brandeis University (BA,MA) Yale University (JD) Harvard University (PhD) |
| Occupation | Writer |
| Years active | 2015–present |
| Website | www |
Nathan James Robinson (born August 23, 1989) is an English-American writer, political commentator, andeditor-in-chief of theleft-wingprogressiveCurrent Affairs magazine, which he founded in 2015.
Born inStevenage,Hertfordshire, Robinson moved with his family toSarasota, Florida, at age five.[2][3][4] His father worked for an international corporate training firm in Britain before the move.[3] He became an American citizen, along with his family, in 2001. Robinson attendedPine View School[2] inOsprey, Florida, before attendingBrandeis University, graduating with both a bachelor's degree and master's degree in politics. Robinson received hisJ.D. degree fromYale Law School.[5] Afterwards he pursued a PhD in sociology and social policy atHarvard University. He took a leave of absence from the program after foundingCurrent Affairs,[6] eventually receiving his PhD in May 2022.[7] Robinson lives inNew Orleans, Louisiana.[8]
Robinson founded the left-wing andsocialist magazineCurrent Affairs in 2015 after aKickstarter campaign raised $16,000.[9]
On February 10, 2021, Robinson published an article alleging thatGuardian US editorJohn Mulholland fired him for tweeting criticism of U.S. military aid to Israel; Robinson had been aGuardian columnist.[10][11] 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.[12] 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.[12] A representative forGuardian 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.[11]
Robinson has published critiques ofJordan Peterson,Ben Shapiro,Pete Buttigieg,Donald Trump, and others.[13][14]
In August 2021, Robinson asked a number ofCurrent 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 aworker-owned co-op.[15][16] JournalistGlenn Greenwald called Robinson a "brazen hypocrite" onTwitter,[17] andNational Review writer Caroline Downey called Robinson's actions hypocritical.[18]
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Robinson is a proponent oflibertarian socialism, citingNoam Chomsky as his main political influence. He has criticized both totalitarianstate socialism and free-marketlibertarian capitalism.[19][20]
He supportsabortion rights,[21][22]animal rights,[23] andMedicare for All.[24] He supportsLGBTQ rights.[25]
Robinson has been critical ofAmerican foreign policy, including its military interventions inAfghanistan,Syria, andIraq.[26][27] He has remained critical ofIsrael and its human rights record. He has also criticized the United States' support for Israel and the United States' hostility towards critics of Israel.[28]
Robinson supportedBernie Sanders in the2016 United States presidential election.[29] After Sanders lost the Democratic nomination toHillary Clinton, Robinson voted for Clinton.[30] In the2020 United States presidential election he supported Sanders again.
According to reporter Alaric DeArment, writing inAbove the Law, when Tara Reade alleged thatJoe Biden had sexually assaulted her, Robinson published articles inCurrent Affairs "equating genuine skepticism with ad hominem attacks against Reade". One of the articles had the headline"Everything Has Changed Overnight" and he wrote another article supporting Reade's allegation.[31][32] As editor ofCurrent Affairs, he published a transcript of Reade's interview withKatie Halper.[33] DeArment wrote that Robinson's conversations with Reade and her brother Collin Moulton "amounted to PR consulting, while operating in a journalistic capacity. This creates a significant conflict of interest—something that journalists are taught early on to avoid".[34]
Robinson identifies as anatheist,[35] but has criticized prominent exponents ofNew Atheism, includingSam Harris,Christopher Hitchens, andRichard Dawkins, saying, "at their worst they were bigoted and ignorant, possessing the very qualities that they deplored in the religious".[35]
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—
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