Best of the Web
| Alternative News Sources | |
| Alternet | was launched in 1998 by the non-profit now known as the Independent Media Institute. In 2018, the website was acquired by owners of The Raw Story. Some AlterNet content is republished on Salon. Coverage is divided into several special sections related to progressive news and culture, including News & Politics, World, Economy, Civil Liberties, Immigration, Reproductive Justice, Economy, Environment, Animal Rights, Food, Water, Books, Media and Culture, Belief, Drugs, Personal Health, Sex and Relationships, Vision, and Investigations. |
| Adam Mockler | |
| AlJazeera | |
| American Prospect, The | is a political and public policy magazine that focuses on modern liberalism and progressivism. Based in Washington, D.C., it publishes daily online and bimonthly in print. The magazine promotes informed discussions on public policy from a progressive viewpoint, with the motto “Ideas, Politics, and Power.”
History: Founded in 1990 by Robert Kuttner, Robert Reich, and Paul Starr as a response to the rise of conservatism in the 1980s, The American Prospect originally launched as *The Liberal Prospect*. Kuttner and Starr are still co-editors, with David Dayen as the current executive editor. Contributors: The editorial team includes Managing Editor Ryan Cooper, Editor-at-Large Harold Meyerson, and Deputy Editor Gabrielle Gurley. The magazine has featured work from noted writers like EJ Dionne and Randall Kennedy. Programs: The Prospect has programs to develop young progressive writers, with alumni like Ezra Klein and Jamelle Bouie. It has partnered with other progressive outlets, including The Intercept and Dissent Magazine. Challenges and Achievements: Despite financial struggles in 2012, the magazine survived and has since won several journalism awards, including the Hillman Prize. |
| AP | |
| Axios | Axios (stylized as AXIOS) is an American news website founded in 2016 by former Politico staffers Jim VandeHei, Mike Allen, and Roy Schwartz. It officially launched in 2017. The site’s name is based on the Greek: ἄξιος (áxios), meaning “worthy” |
| Baffler, The | The Baffler is a left-wing magazine that offers off beat political criticism, cultural analysis, short stories, poems, and art. We publish five print issues each year, along with daily online content. Founded in 1988 by Thomas Frank, The Baffler is now edited by Matthew Shen Goodman and based in New York.
We feature both new and established voices, with regular contributors like Barbara Ehrenreich, Susan Faludi, and Evgeny Morozov. As a non-profit owned by the Baffler Foundation, our funding mostly comes from tax-deductible donations. Known for its unique analysis—savvy about pop culture yet skeptical of its political claims—The Baffler has inspired other journals like *n+1* and *Jacobin*. Critics have noted our commitment to counter-intuitive and often cranky perspectives, positioning us as an alternative to mainstream discourse. |
| Baltimore Beat | We publish thoughtful and unique arts coverage and community-minded, solutions-oriented journalism. |
| Beau of the Fifth Column | |
| Bellingcat.com | uses open source and social media investigation to investigate a variety of subjects. Bellingcat brings together contributors who specialize in open source and social media investigation, and creates guides and case studies so others may learn to do the same. They primarily cover Russian and Syrian stories. They source all of their information. |
| Black Agenda Report | As the site’s sub-title puts it, the Black Agenda Report consists of news, analysis, and commentary from the perspective of the Black political left. |
| Brian Tyler Cohen | |
| Briarpatch | Devoted to reporting on and building social movements. |
| Bulwark, The | |
| Center for Economic Policy and Research | (CEPR) Excellent resource bank of books, blogs, news, and economic calculators. Several academically-oriented writers and editors provide much basic progressive economics information. |
| Chalkbeat | |
| Common Dreams | Common Dreams NewsCenter, commonly known as Common Dreams, is a U.S.-based nonprofit news website dedicated to serving the progressive community. As a 501(c)(3) organization, it publishes news stories, editorials, and breaking news, often re-publishing content from sources like the Associated Press. Founded in 1996 by political consultant Craig Brown and launched in 1997, Common Dreams also features writings from prominent figures like Robert Reich and Molly Ivins.
The name “Common Dreams” was inspired by Todd Gitlin’s book *The Twilight of Common Dreams: Why America Is Wracked by Culture Wars*. The site gained recognition during the Kosovo War for its anti-war stance and for hosting a site called “Drumbeats of War,” which provided a collection of diverse viewpoints on the conflict. Funded entirely by reader subscriptions and donations, Common Dreams operates without advertising, maintaining its independence and focus on progressive issues. |
| Consortium News | Robert Parry, a veteran journalist, founded Consortium News in 1995 as the first investigative news magazine based on the Internet, driven by concern over the decline in U.S. journalism. He observed that mainstream media increasingly adhered to groupthink, often ignoring important facts that didn’t align with accepted narratives. Parry, who had helped expose the Iran-Contra scandal in the 1980s, was troubled by the rise of propaganda and superficial reporting in American journalism.
Consortium News aimed to challenge these trends by producing well-reported stories on critical issues such as national security, foreign policy, and the environment. Parry and his team also revisited important events from the 1980s, like the “October Surprise” and contra-cocaine trafficking, which mainstream media had largely overlooked. Despite funding challenges, Consortium News persisted for over two decades, driven by a commitment to exposing government propaganda and the complicity of mainstream media in shaping false narratives. Parry lamented that instead of fostering diverse perspectives, major Western news outlets had become increasingly rigid, suppressing dissenting views and alternative analyses. He criticized the media’s role in promoting the groupthink that led to the Iraq War and the lack of accountability for the journalists involved. Parry emphasized the need for investigative journalism that seeks out the truth, often hidden beneath convenient explanations. Looking back, Parry expressed disappointment that the trend of media conformity he identified in the 1990s had only worsened, with responsible dissent being conflated with “fake news” and conspiracy theories. He highlighted the case of Seymour Hersh, an investigative journalist forced to publish his findings in a foreign outlet because U.S. media refused to run his exposé. Parry concluded that as the world faced renewed Cold War tensions, the role of Consortium News remained crucial in providing an independent voice amid a crisis in democracy. |
| Convergence Magazine | We work with activists on today’spressing struggles to produce articles, videos and podcasts. Our community of readers are united in our purpose of winning multi-racial democracy and a democratic economy. |
| Counterpunch | a left-wing online magazine. Content includes a free section published five days a week as well as a subscriber-only area called CounterPunch+, where original articles are published weekly. CounterPunch is based in the United States and covers politics in a manner its editors describe as “muckraking with a radical attitude”. |
| Courier Newsroom | Courier Newsroom, founded in 2019 by Tara McGowan, had a $11 million budget by May 2020 with 60 reporters and 12 editors, publishing around 300 articles and videos weekly. By mid-2022, it raised $15 million from donors like Reid Hoffman and George Soros, spending over $5 million on Facebook and Instagram ads to support Democratic candidates. Concerns from Mark Zuckerberg about its legitimacy led Facebook to restrict access and advertising for partisan sites. Originally owned by the liberal group ACRONYM, Courier Newsroom divested from ACRONYM in April 2021. The company owns local digital newspapers in eight battleground states and acquired the progressive site Iowa Starting Line in June 2021. |
| Current Affairs | Current Affairs Magazine is a recent addition to the lineup of progressive media. Launched by Nathan Robinson and Oren Nimni through Kickstarter in 2015, Current Affairs competes with Jacobin, The Economist, and Atlantic for an educated, left-leaning audience. Though pitched to intellectual elites, an amusing Victorian aesthetic decorates the interface and florid prose in the policy and administrative pages keep readers from taking the magazine’s braininess too seriously. The essays, especially those of Nathan Robinson, consistently open vistas of insight into politics, culture, and the arts. CA recently launched a podcast under the name “Current Affairs.” |
| Daily Kos | is a group blog and internet forum focused on the Democratic Party and liberal American politics. The site features a participatory political encyclopedia (“DKosopedia”), glossaries, and other content. It is sometimes considered an example of “netroots” activism. |
| David Pakman | |
| Democracy Docket | Democracy Docket is a progressive voting rights and media platform focused on tracking election litigation. Founded in 2020 by lawyer Marc Elias, it aims to educate the public on voting rights and redistricting issues. With over 175,000 newsletter subscribers as of June 2024, it also hosts a podcast, Defending Democracy, and a YouTube show. The platform was launched to provide reliable information on democracy-related court cases, particularly in response to Republican legal strategies and efforts to restrict voting rights. Democracy Docket advocates for more accessible absentee voting and has covered legal challenges related to voting rights and redistricting. |
| Democracy Now | Democracy Now! is a daily, independent news program hosted by award-winning journalists Amy Goodman and Juan González. It features breaking news and in-depth interviews on global issues, offering diverse and often provocative perspectives. Launched in 1996, Democracy Now! has grown from airing on nine radio stations to becoming one of the leading independent news broadcasts in the world.
The program is broadcast across the U.S., Canada, and globally on Pacifica, NPR, community, college, and satellite radio stations, as well as on PBS and public TV. It is also widely viewed online. Headlines are available in Spanish across the Americas and Europe. Democracy Now! is entirely audience-supported, ensuring its editorial independence from corporate or government influence. The program has maintained its policy of not accepting government funding, corporate sponsorship, underwriting, or advertising revenue since its inception. |
| Dissent | Dissent is a magazine of politics and ideas published in print three times a year. Founded by Irving Howe and Lewis Coser in 1954, it quickly established itself as one of America’s leading intellectual journals and a mainstay of the democratic left. Dissent has published articles by Hannah Arendt, Richard Wright, Norman Mailer, A. Philip Randolph, Michael Harrington, Dorothy Day, Bayard Rustin, Czesław Miłosz, Barbara Ehrenreich, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, Chinua Achebe, Ellen Willis, Octavio Paz, Martha Nussbaum, Roxane Gay, and many others.
Dissent is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. We publish the very best in political argument, and take pride in cultivating the next generation of labor journalists, |
| Dissenter, The | |
| Economic Policy Institute | |
| Empire Files, The | |
| EuroNews | |
| Forge, The | Socialist, anti-imperialist and anti-colonial news for the Southern US and beyond |
| Grayzone, The | |
| Ground News | |
| Hammer and Hope | Black Politics and Culture |
| Hechinger Report | The Hechinger Report continues Fred Hechinger’s efforts to produce and promote high-quality education coverage. |
| Humanist News | |
| In These Times | According to its purpose statement, In These Times is an independent, nonprofit magazine dedicated to advancing democracy and economic justice, informing movements for a more humane world, and providing an accessible forum for debate about the policies that shape our future. Seeing itself as representing the struggle against corporate power, In These Times has adhered to the belief that to thrive, a progressive political movement needs its own media to inform, educate and orient itself. In These Times proudly lists former sponsors including Daniel Ellsberg, E.P. Thompson, Noam Chomsky, Barbara Ehrenreich, Julian Bond and Herbert Marcuse. |
| Indymedia | |
| Inequality.org | Inequality.org, an Institute for Policy Studies project, has been tracking inequality-related news and views for nearly two decades. The site collects information and resource lists. The staff of professional contributors comes from the United States and around the world. The site’s theme is, “What can we do to narrow the staggering economic inequality that so afflicts us in almost every aspect of our lives?” |
| Inquest | Inquest is a forum for advancing bold ideas to end mass incarceration in the United States. |
| Institute for Policy Studies | Dating from 1961 when Marcus Raskin and Richard Barnet of the Kennedy Administration struggled to influence change during the Cold War, the IPS is a progressive think tank dedicated to building a more equitable, ecologically sustainable, and peaceful society. In partnership with dynamic social movements, we turn transformative policy ideas into action. Foci include economics, race, gender, peace, and leadership. |
| Intercept, The | Left of center news and opinion and at one time featuring Glenn Greenwald, who has now left the publication. The Intercept is particularly critical of the Democratic Party, which is infected with neo-conservative ideology and which blends into the general conservatism of the American political landscape. |
| I’ve Had It | |
| Jacobin | a magazine aimed at the American Left based in New York. It offers socialist perspectives on politics, economics and culture. Jacobin as a radical publication being largely the product of a younger generation not quite as tied to the Cold War paradigms that sustained the old leftist intellectual milieux like Dissent or New Politics, but still eager to confront, rather than table, the questions that arose from the experience of the left in the 20th century. |
| Justice Matters | |
| Kansas City Defender | a Black-led, Abolitionist organization working to free the world ffrom imprisonment, policing, and warfare |
| Lever, The | The Lever is a reader-supported investigative news outlet founded by David Sirota, described by former CNN host Brian Stelter as a “small but mighty news start-up.” As of April 2024, it has over 112,000 subscribers and a staff of nineteen. The Lever’s mission is to “hold power accountable,” with a focus on exposing how corporate power negatively impacts society. Its investigative work is often cited by major news outlets like The New York Times and NPR, as well as by politicians such as Senator Sheldon Whitehouse and Congressman Ro Khanna. |
| Luke Beasley | |
| Majority Report with Sam Seder | |
| Mary Trump Media | |
| Meidas Touch | MeidasTouch is an independent media company with a YouTube channel boasting over 3 billion views and a network of 16 podcasts focused on pro-democracy journalism. It originally started as a liberal political action committee in March 2020 aimed at preventing Donald Trump’s reelection. The PAC, which supported Democratic candidates, was renamed Democracy Defense Action in 2023, while the MeidasTouch Network continues as a news organization. |
| MintPress News | |
| Mondoweiss | News and opinion about Palestine, Israel, and the United States |
| More Perfect Union | More Perfect Union, a progressive non-profit news organization founded by Faiz Shakir in February 2021, focuses on video reporting and opinion coverage of the American labor movement, economic policy, and corporate accountability. The outlet, named after a phrase in the U.S. Constitution, won the Sidney Award for its investigative coverage of the Frito-Lay strike in August 2021. Their reporting was the first national coverage of the strike, generating over 4 million views and influencing other major media outlets. Also in August 2021, More Perfect Union broke the story of Danny DeVito losing his Twitter verification after supporting striking Nabisco workers, which became a viral labor meme. In November 2021, they launched “The Class Room,” a left-wing explainer series countering right-wing content like PragerU. The organization is funded by donors including George Soros’ Open Society Foundations but does not accept money from labor unions. In 2023, “The Class Room” received The Hillman Prize for Opinion and Analysis. |
| Mother Jones | |
| Movement Media, The | amplifies unheard voices, and influence social change. |
| N+1 | n+1 is a literary magazine founded in late 2004 by writers like Keith Gessen and Benjamin Kunkel. It was born out of dissatisfaction with the intellectual scene in the U.S., drawing inspiration from earlier publications like *The Baffler* and *Partisan Review*. The name *n+1* symbolizes the idea of always adding something new to the conversation. The magazine critiques the commercialization of culture and references thinkers like the Frankfurt School, while promoting authors like Don DeLillo.
Each issue opens with *The Intellectual Situation*, critiquing the current intellectual climate, followed by sections on politics, fiction, essays, and reviews. The magazine has targeted publications like *McSweeney’s* and *The New Republic*. Reception has been mixed; some criticize its elitism, while others praise its boldness and engagement. *n+1* has also published books and pamphlets on topics like the financial crisis and the Occupy movement, which have been praised for their timeliness, though some note a lack of depth due to quick publication. |
| Nation, The | |
| New Politics | …Dialogue and debate on the left. We support workers’ struggles, peace, eshew imperialism, defend women, people of color, lesbians, gay men, bisexuals and transgender people. We’ve begun engaging with climate change and don’t like it. Probably our rock bottom value is democracy. |
| New Republic, The | |
| Now This | |
| Occupy Democrats | Occupy Democrats is an American left-wing media outlet built around a Facebook page and corresponding website. Established in 2012, it publishes hyperpartisan content, clickbait, and false information. Posts originating from the Occupy Democrats Facebook page are among the most widely shared political content on Facebook. |
| OpEd News | |
| Palestine Square | the English blog of the Institute for Palestine Studies (IPS), founded in 2015. We feature news, analysis, narrative, and arts and culture pieces on Palestinian affairs. |
| Politics Girl | |
| Pondering Politics | |
| Prism | Prism is an independent and nonprofit news outlet led by journalists of color. We report from the ground up and at the intersections of injustice. Together, our journalists go where justice requires. |
| Pro Publica | a nonprofit organization based in New York City that aims to produce investigative journalism in the public interest. In 2010, it became the first online news source to win a Pulitzer Prize, for a piece written by one of its journalists and published in The New York Times Magazine, as well as on ProPublica.org. ProPublica has partnered with more than 90 different news organizations, and it has won six Pulitzer Prizes. |
| Progressive, The | Founded On January 9, 1909 by Senator Robert M. La Follette Sr. of Wisconsin founded, this publication aims to document the work of those resisting corruption and working to protect representative government. “The Progressive” seeks to amplify voices of dissent and those under-represented in the mainstream, with a goal of championing grassroots progressive politics. It’s bedrock values are nonviolence and freedom of speech. Additionally, it has spun off Public School Shakedown, which covers educational issues and the Progressive Media Project, which aims to diversify the nation’s op-ed pages. |
| Rational National | |
| Raw Story, The | |
| Real News Network | connecting you to the movements, people, and perspectives that are advancing the cause of a more just, equal, and livable planet. |
| Real News, The | |
| Redneck Revolt | |
| Reese Waters | |
| Reuters | Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was established in London in 1851 |
| Reveal News | |
| Right Wing Watch | is a project of People For the American Way (PFAW) dedicated to monitoring right-wing activists and organizations. Researchers keep track of of broadcasts, emails and websites, and use their expertise on right-wing movements to digest that information for media, allies, and the general public. |
| Salon | |
| Scalawag | Scalawag works in solidarity with oppressed communities in the South to disrupt and shift the narratives that keep power and wealth in the hands of the few. Collectively, we pursue a more liberated South. |
| Secular Talk | |
| Serf Times | |
| Sheerpost | With the collapse of the Truthdig site, most of that site’s lead writers have reestablished a platform to carry their progressive reporting and opinion. The site’s lead writer is Pulitzer Prize winner, Chris Hedges, and the posts are enhanced by the artwork of “Mr Fish.” |
| Socialist Alternative | |
| Status Coup News | We are completely funded by our viewers! We take $0 from corporate interests, millionaires or billionaires etc. By doing this, we maintain full editorial control both over what we put out, and also what we decide to cover. This way we have covered the plight of poor Americans in Flint, Chicago, East Palestine, New York City, Seattle, Kalamazoo, Jackson, and so much more!
We do something different than most outlets, we go ON-THE-GROUND to find out what is really happening in the world and GIVE THE MICROPHONE TO REAL PEOPLE. By doing this we not only showcase the reality that corporate media ignores, but we also uncover stories that would never have been found out without this specific line of work. |
| Straight Facts No Chaser | |
| Tennessee Brando | |
| The Roosevelt Institute | Founded in 1987, this NYC based think tank features the work of the US’s most prestigeous public intellectdual, notably Joseph Stiglets. |
| Think Progress | an American progressive news website founded by the Center for American Progress Action Fund (CAP Action). Judd Legum founded ThinkProgress in 2005. The site’s reports have been discussed by mainstream news outlets and peer-reviewed academic journals. ThinkProgress features a strong climate emphasis. |
| Tom Dispatch | The creation of Tom Englehardt, a Chinese History scholar turned journalist. Engelhardt created TomDispatch in November 2001, and in 2002, it received support from The Nation Institute. He has described the site as the “sideline that ate his life”. Contributors have included Rebecca Solnit, Bill McKibben, Jonathan Schell, Fatima Bhutto, Nick Turse, Pepe Escobar, Noam Chomsky, and Andrew Bacevich. |
| Truthdig | |
| Truthout | |
| Type Investigations | a magazine aimed at the American Left based in New York. It offers socialist perspectives on politics, economics and culture. Jacobin as a radical publication being largely the product of a younger generation not quite as tied to the Cold War paradigms that sustained the old leftist intellectual milieux like Dissent or New Politics, but still eager to confront, rather than table, the questions that arose from the experience of the left in the 20th century. |
| US Uncut | |
| Utne Reader | What is it? The Utne Reader is a digital digest of the ideas in arts, culture, politics, and spirituality. Its mission is to start meaningful conversations that go beyond labels. Utne Reader draws on various sources to inform readers what world leaders and common people are doing to address some of the biggest issues facing the planet, and how we as a society are reacting, or should be. Utne readers are interested agents of social change who want to make the world a better place. They want a well-rounded perspective on current events that goes beyond the headlines and sound bites—something Utne Reader has been providing since it was created by Eric Utne in 1984. |
| Vice News | |
| Vox | Ezra Klein’s data intense think tank. |
| Waging Non-Violence | Waging Nonviolence is a nonprofit media organization focused on reporting and analyzing global social movements. Founded in 2009, it highlights overlooked movements, especially in the Global South, and fosters knowledge sharing. It offers free, Creative Commons-licensed content and supports grassroots organizations through editorial assistance and a Community platform. |
| Workday Magazine | examining the conditions that workers face on a day-to-day basis |
| World Socialist Web Site | |
| Zeteo | |
| Znewwork | Dedicated to developing vision and strategic activism, resisting injustice, defending against repression, and fostering liberty |
| Parkrose Permaculture |
Theological
Political Theology Network: a hub for exploring the intersection of religious and political ideas and practices. The Network is interdisciplinary, publicly engaged, and committed to building links between theologians, practitioners, and humanities scholars.
Political
Alternet: was launched in 1998 by the non-profit now known as the Independent Media Institute. In 2018, the website was acquired by owners of The Raw Story. Some AlterNet content is republished on Salon. Coverage is divided into several special sections related to progressive news and culture, including News & Politics, World, Economy, Civil Liberties, Immigration, Reproductive Justice, Economy, Environment, Animal Rights, Food, Water, Books, Media and Culture, Belief, Drugs, Personal Health, Sex and Relationships, Vision, and Investigations.
Axios: Axios (stylized as AXIOS) is an American news website founded in 2016 by former Politico staffers Jim VandeHei, Mike Allen, and Roy Schwartz. It officially launched in 2017. The site’s name is based on the Greek: ἄξιος (áxios), meaning “worthy”
Bellingcat: uses open source and social media investigation to investigate a variety of subjects. Bellingcat brings together contributors who specialize in open source and social media investigation, and creates guides and case studies so others may learn to do the same. They primarily cover Russian and Syrian stories. They source all of their information.
Black Agenda Report As the site’s sub-title puts it, the Black Agenda Report consists of news, analysis, and commentary from the perspective of the Black political left.
Center for Economic Policy and Research (CEPR) Excellent resource bank of books, blogs, news, and economic calculators. Several academically-oriented writers and editors provide much basic progressive economics information.
Climate Nexus: A sophisticated resource of climate change information
Climate Now: Climate Now collects and categorizes all the vital climate change news from around the world daily. Climate Now collects and categorizes stories that are of interest to a wide range of viewpoints and don’t necessarily reflect the views of Climate Now. And while positive and hopeful stories are included whenever possible, those that feature pessimism are welcome too, since there is a divergence of views about which approach is best.
Climate One This is basically a long-running podcast that is one of the best sources of climate information on the web. The podcast can be found on Spotify and other podcast feeds. Several of the podcasts explore the intersection of race and climate change.
Common Dreams Common Dreams is a non-profit independent news center created in 1997. Like other sites on this list it is left leaning and independent. It is supported by thousands of donations by readers.
Covering Climate Now Covering Climate Now is a global journalism initiative committed to more and better coverage of the defining story of our time. Organized by journalists, for journalists, CCNow was co-founded in April 2019 by the Columbia Journalism Review, and The Nation, in association with The Guardian.
The Daily Beast: left of center slick website with emphasis on popular culture.
Daily Kos: is a group blog and internet forum focused on the Democratic Party and liberal American politics. The site features a participatory political encyclopedia (“DKosopedia”), glossaries, and other content. It is sometimes considered an example of “netroots” activism.
Economic Policy Institute: this left-leaning think tank focuses on a variety of labor and economic issues with the aim toward improving the lives of poor and moderate income workers. The EPI is famous for its periodic publication, “The State of Working America.
Grist written for liberal-minded 20- and 30-somethings”. Grist consists of several elements, including Main dish, which offers news and features, the Muckraker and Daily grist blogs, comment sections and interviews with “environmental footsoldiers”. Launched in 1999 as a charity, Grist looks great and is packed with regularly-updated stories and features on all things green.
Hechinger Report The Hechinger Report continues Fred Hechinger’s efforts to produce and promote high-quality education coverage.
In These Times: According to its purpose statement, In These Times is an independent, nonprofit magazine dedicated to advancing democracy and economic justice, informing movements for a more humane world, and providing an accessible forum for debate about the policies that shape our future. Seeing itself as representing the struggle against corporate power, In These Times has adhered to the belief that to thrive, a progressive political movement needs its own media to inform, educate and orient itself. In These Times proudly lists former sponsors including Daniel Ellsberg, E.P. Thompson, Noam Chomsky, Barbara Ehrenreich, Julian Bond and Herbert Marcuse.
Inequality.org: Inequality.org, an Institute for Policy Studies project, has been tracking inequality-related news and views for nearly two decades. The site collects information and resource lists. The staff of professional contributors comes from the United States and around the world. The site’s theme is, “What can we do to narrow the staggering economic inequality that so afflicts us in almost every aspect of our lives?”
The Institute for Policy Studies: Dating from 1961 when Marcus Raskin and Richard Barnet of the Kennedy Administration struggled to influence change during the Cold War, the IPS is a progressive think tank dedicated to building a more equitable, ecologically sustainable, and peaceful society. In partnership with dynamic social movements, we turn transformative policy ideas into action. Foci include economics, race, gender, peace, and leadership.
The Intercept: Left of center news and opinion and at one time featuring Glenn Greenwald, who has now left the publication. The Intercept is particularly critical of the Democratic Party, which is infected with neo-conservative ideology and which blends into the general conservatism of the American political landscape.
Type Investigations: Formally “The Investigative Fund” and parented by The Nation Institute, “Type Investigations” features a team of left-leaning talented writers who work to bring to the public under-reported stories in what they consider a traditional journalistic ethos. The organization works also to promote diversity in its staff of investigative reporters. Topics include immigration, labor, environment, corporate and government malfeasance, and civil and human rights. Favoring “deep investigative” reporting, Type Investigations is filled with long-read articles. I feel especially aligned with writer, Sarah Posner’s work.
Jacobin a magazine aimed at the American Left based in New York. It offers socialist perspectives on politics, economics and culture. Jacobin as a radical publication being largely the product of a younger generation not quite as tied to the Cold War paradigms that sustained the old leftist intellectual milieux like Dissent or New Politics, but still eager to confront, rather than table, the questions that arose from the experience of the left in the 20th century.
The Progressive Founded On January 9, 1909 by Senator Robert M. La Follette Sr. of Wisconsin founded, this publication aims to document the work of those resisting corruption and working to protect representative government. “The Progressive” seeks to amplify voices of dissent and those under-represented in the mainstream, with a goal of championing grassroots progressive politics. It’s bedrock values are nonviolence and freedom of speech. Additionally, it has spun off Public School Shakedown, which covers educational issues and the Progressive Media Project, which aims to diversify the nation’s op-ed pages.
ProPublica a nonprofit organization based in New York City that aims to produce investigative journalism in the public interest. In 2010, it became the first online news source to win a Pulitzer Prize, for a piece written by one of its journalists and published in The New York Times Magazine, as well as on ProPublica.org. ProPublica has partnered with more than 90 different news organizations, and it has won six Pulitzer Prizes.
RealClimate: Top rated climate change blog written by and for climate scientists.
Right Wing Watch: is a project of People For the American Way (PFAW) dedicated to monitoring right-wing activists and organizations. Researchers keep track of of broadcasts, emails and websites, and use their expertise on right-wing movements to digest that information for media, allies, and the general public.
Sheerpost: With the collapse of the Truthdig site, most of that site’s lead writers have reestablished a platform to carry their progressive reporting and opinion. The site’s lead writer is Pulitzer Prize winner, Chris Hedges, and the posts are enhanced by the artwork of “Mr Fish.”
Tax Policy Center This site features top national experts in tax, expenditure, budget policy, and microsimulation modeling to concentrate on overarching areas of tax policy that are critical to future debate. Articles are data rich and feature sound analysis.
ThinkProgress: an American progressive news website founded by the Center for American Progress Action Fund (CAP Action). Judd Legum founded ThinkProgress in 2005. The site’s reports have been discussed by mainstream news outlets and peer-reviewed academic journals. ThinkProgress features a strong climate emphasis.
Tomdispatch.com The creation of Tom Englehardt, a Chinese History scholar turned journalist. Engelhardt created TomDispatch in November 2001, and in 2002, it received support from The Nation Institute. He has described the site as the “sideline that ate his life”. Contributors have included Rebecca Solnit, Bill McKibben, Jonathan Schell, Fatima Bhutto, Nick Turse, Pepe Escobar, Noam Chomsky, and Andrew Bacevich.
The Roosevelt Institute Left-leaning think tank associated with the FDR Presidential Library. This group emphasizes economic justice and works to maintain ties with college-age participants.
Vox Ezra Klein’s data intense think tank.
Yale Program on Climate Change Communications : Conducts scientific research on public climate change knowledge, attitudes, policy preferences, and behavior, and the underlying psychological, cultural, and political factors that influence them. Yale Program on Climate Change Communications also engages the public in climate change science and solutions, in partnership with governments, media organizations, companies, and civil society, and with a daily, national radio program, Yale Climate Connections.
Political–Right Wing
Ars Politica Podcast–This is the podcast which makes public Stephen Wolfe’s thinking. Wolfe is the author of the just-published The Case for Christian Nationalism. Wolfe’s thinking is a feast of faulty thinking, both politically, but especially theologically.
The Manhattan Institute for Policy Research: An influential conservative think tank specializing in urban affairs, environment, energy, race, legal reform, economics, public sector and the like.
The Epoch Times is a far-right international, multi-language newspaper and media company widely read by Trump constituents. The Epoch Times is affiliated with the Falun Gong new religious movement, based in Midtown Manhattan. The newspaper is part of the Epoch Media Group, which also operates New Tang Dynasty (NTD) Television. The Epoch Times has websites accessible from 35 countries but is blocked in mainland China.
Religious Education
Education and Ministries: A massive, but ageing site of links to dozens of web resources of interest to teachers of adults in church context. These are grouped into the categories.
The Thoughtful Christian: An extensive resource for adult education in Mainstream Christian congregations.
Tyndale University Reading Room: This is a thorough catalog of the most important books and resources for theology, arranged by category. Users can use these lists to go immediately to the most influencial, if traditional theological works. No longer being maintained.
Think Tanks
Media
Columbia Journalism Review is a high end journal dedicated to general media criticism and comment, with a clear commitment to enhance reporting on climate change. Articles are pitched to media professionals and others whose professional interest encompasses media and media products. The CJR opens windows to the movement in the thought life of Americans with particular focus on journalism. The CJR aspires to be the leading voice in its field.
Media Bias/Fact Check rates, with minimal scientific credibility, factual accuracy and political bias in news media. The site classifies media sources on a political bias spectrum, as well as on the accuracy of their factual reporting
Blogs and Podcasts
Angry White Men: dedicated to tracking the adherents of the new white supremacy: the Alt-Right movement, neo-reactionaries, Red Pillers, Identitarians, and Dark Enlightenment thinkers.
Homebrewed Christianity Podcast: Hosted by Tripp Fuller, this is a fun interview-oriented site that features leading theologians. Fuller manages to book top drawer theologians for lengthy and informal conversations. I would call Homebrewed Christianity is a cross between Christian Century magazine and Theology Today, all in an chatty podcast format. I would recommend Homebrewed Christianity to laypeople who might wish to sample academic theology. Fuller is a process theologian with a killer black book of phone numbers.
Grace Saves All Podcast: Hosted by David Artman, this website and podcast is oriented around Universalism and a recovery of a hopeful Christianity.
The Bias Magazine: speaks to the intersections of Christianity and the politics of the Left, better represents the church within the politics of the Left, and help nurture new social formations within the church and society at large.
Crackers and Grape Juice: Four podcasts bundled together. Coming from a United Methodist perspective this podcast provides ample lectionary reflection.
The Magnificast: a podcast exploring Christianity and the political left. A lot of people around the world are looking for ways to resist growing reactionary trends, but don’t know where to start. We think the Christian tradition and the tradition of leftist politics provide unique resources, historical examples, and theoretical tools for engaging these problems in ways that go beyond the usual conservative/liberal divide that characterizes a lot of Christian and political discourse.
Faith and Capital: A podcast on the merger of Christian Faith and Economics.
Postbarthian: Hosted by former pastor and theologian, Wyatt Houtz
Climate One: Long-running podcast that is one of the best sources of climate information on the web. The podcast can be found on Spotify and other podcast feeds. Several of the episodes explore the intersection of race and climate change.
New Evangelicals: This site, launched in 2021, is a high quality gathering place for displaced evangelicals who discuss their personal deconstruction experiences.
Queer Theology: Weekly comment on biblical passages from an LBGTQ perspective.
Straight White American Jesus: Hosted by Dan Miller and Bradley Onishi, these two former evangelical academics teach at San Franciscon University and Landmark College respectively. They are robust podcasters, posting 3 episodes weekly in addition to their teaching and publishing work. This is a premier resource for keeping track of the politicized church world and Christian nationalism.
Data Over Dogma: Granular Bible study from outside the church. Hosted by Bible scholar Dr. Dan McClellan and atheist podcaster Dan Beecher.
Bible/Faith for Normal People: Excellent scholarship with a good dose of very dry humor. Hosted by Pete Enns and Jared Bayas. Pete holds a Ph.D. from Harvard University and is Abram S. Clemens professor of biblical studies at Eastern University in St. Davids, Pennsylvania. Jared is As a former pastor and professor of both philosophy and biblical studies and has published several books. This site as much as any other makes me wonder if seminary-level education is now widely available outside both the church and the academy.
Progressive Book Publishers
Web Development and Graphics
Creative Bloq: Large resource of professional-level design insights, tutorials, and ideas. Pitched towards professional graphic designers and web developers. Accessible to non-professionals.
Creative Market: A graphics resource site including fonts, backgrounds, and pictures of various types. Each Monday, Creative Market offers five free graphics assets, many of which are quite useful for graphic design.
