Katrina vanden Heuvel ( ; born October 7, 1959) is an American editor and publisher. She is the publisher, part-owner, and former editor of the progressive magazine The Nation. She was the magazine's editor from 1995 to 2019, when she was succeeded by D. D. Guttenplan. She has frequently appeared as a commentator on political television programs. Vanden Heuvel is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, a US nonprofit think tank. She is a recipient of the Norman Mailer Prize.

Early life and education

Katrina vanden Heuvel was born in New York City, the daughter of Jean Stein, an heiress, best-selling author, and editor of the literary journal Grand Street, and William vanden Heuvel, an attorney, former US ambassador, member of John F. Kennedy's administration, businessman, and author. Her mother was from a Jewish family and her father was of Dutch and Belgian ancestry.

Vanden Heuvel graduated from the Trinity School in 1977. She graduated summa cum laude with an A.B. in politics from Princeton University in 1981 after completing a senior thesis titled "American Victims: A Study of the Anti-Communist Crusade." While at Princeton, she served as an editor and eventually as editor-in-chief of the Nassau Weekly, a school publication, and had an internship at National Lampoon magazine in 1978.

In a 2005 interview with Theodore Hamm in The Brooklyn Rail, vanden Heuvel described the contents of The Nation and its larger role in news media:

In April 2019, vanden Heuvel announced that she would step down on June 15, 2019, with D. D. Guttenplan taking her place.

Washington Post

Katrina Vanden Heuvel has written more than 140 articles for The Washington Posts Opinion Pieces section, from 2011 to as recently as 2022. She received criticism from fellow journalist Wendy Kaminer in 2019 based on the reporting standards of her article "Citizens United".

In her several opinion pieces in the Washington Post after the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, she advocated avoiding enlarging NATO and consequently starting a Second Cold War with Russia and China, and also advised to "sit down and talk" to end the war in Ukraine immediately. She also warned about war hawks who might impede the peace process.

Vanden Heuvel criticized Kamala Harris' campaigning with figures in "the establishment" including Liz Cheney.

Boards and other memberships

Vanden Heuvel is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

She also serves on the board of the Institute for Policy Studies, the World Policy Institute, the Correctional Association of New York, and the Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute and previously served on the board of the Institute for Women's Policy Research.

Awards

In June 1987, vanden Heuvel edited a special edition of The Nation, "Gorbachev's Soviet Union", which was awarded the New York University Olive Branch Award.

Vanden Heuvel was awarded Planned Parenthood's Maggie Award for her 2003 article "Right-to-Lifers Hit Russia", a report on the anti-abortion movement in that country. She won the NYCLU's Callaway Prize for the Defense of the Right of Privacy and the American-Arab Anti-discrimination Committee's "Voices of Peace" award in 2003. They were married by Congregationalist minister and peace activist William Sloane Coffin in a non-denominational ceremony. Cohen died in September 2020.

In the 2016 presidential election, vanden Heuvel praised Senator Bernie Sanders as "the realist we should elect".

Bibliography

Authored

Edited

  • A Just Response: The Nation on Terrorism, Democracy, and September 11, 2001 (2002), edited by Katrina vanden Heuvel ()
  • Taking Back America And Taking Down the Radical Right (2004), edited by Katrina vanden Heuvel and Robert Borosage ()

See also

  • Members of the Council on Foreign Relations

References

  • Katrina vanden Heuvel's campaign contributions
  • "Tomdispatch Interview: Katrina vanden Heuvel, the Media on Speed"
  • Vanden Heuvel's blog at The Huffington Post
  • Katrina vanden Heuvel's blog, "Editor's Cut"