About The Progressive
On January 9, 1909, Senator Robert M. La Follette Sr. of Wisconsin founded La Follette’s Weekly to be “a magazine of progress, social, intellectual, institutional.” The goal, he wrote, was “winning back for the people the complete power over government —national, state, and municipal—which has been lost to them.” He attacked private greed in the form of corporate monopolies that hoarded power. He championed the public interest, campaigning for social and economic justice. And he urged the United States not to entangle itself in foreign wars.
In 1929, La Follette’s Weekly changed its name to The Progressive, but the views of the magazine have remained remarkably consistent over the years. The Progressive, a monthly since 1948, has steadfastly stood against militarism, the concentration of power in corporate hands, and the disenfranchisement of the citizenry. It has continued to champion peace, social and economic justice, civil rights, civil liberties, human rights, a preserved environment, and a reinvigorated democracy. Its bedrock values remain nonviolence and freedom of speech.
One of the first voices to speak out against McCarthyism in the 1950s, The Progressive continues to be among the staunchest defenders of the First Amendment, publishing regular McCarthyism Watch updates by Progressive editor, Matthew Rothschild. Now it is one of the few independent voices in the media reporting on Bush’s imperial designs, environmental degradation, and the resurgence in racism, particularly against Muslims and Arab-Americans.
Barbara Ehrenreich and Howard Zinn write regularly for The Progressive. And some of America’s leading poets—Adrienne Rich, Martín Espada, C.K. Williams, Wendell Berry, and Rita Dove—publish original work with us.
We interview the likes of Seymour Hersh, Maxine Hong Kingston, Kurt Vonnegut, Alice Walker, Barack Obama, Howard Dean, Helen Thomas, Ani DiFranco, Steve Earle, Margaret Cho, Janeane Garofalo, George Carlin, Studs Terkel, Sam Hamill, Danny Glover, Roger Ebert, Martin Sheen, and Terry Tempest Williams. Past contributors include: Jane Addams, Martin Luther King, Jr., Helen Keller, James Baldwin, Upton Sinclair, Clarence Darrow, Jack London, George Orwell, Carl Sandburg, Edward Said, John F. Kennedy, Hubert Humphrey, Tammy Baldwin, June Jordan, Kevin Phillips, and Paul Wellstone
The Progressive has been recognized by:
The George Polk Award for Magazine Reporting
The Utne Independent Press Award for Political Coverage
Print magazine, Communication Arts magazine, How magazine, and The Society of Publication Designers
Meet the Editors
Matt Rothschild
Tags: Civil Liberties Democracy/Activism Economic Justice Racism & Ethnic Rights Sustainability/Future
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