Nathan J. Robinson | |
|---|---|
 Robinson speaks at the Austin Democratic Socialists of America chapter convention in 2020 | |
| Born | Nathan James Robinson 1989 or 1990 (age 33–34)[1] Stevenage, England |
| Citizenship |
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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 is an English-American journalist, political commentator, and editor-in-chief of the left-wing progressive Current Affairs magazine, which he founded in 2015.
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]
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 has published critiques of Jordan Peterson, Ben Shapiro, Pete Buttigieg, Joe Biden, and others.[12][13]
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.[14][15] Journalist Glenn Greenwald called Robinson a "brazen hypocrite" on Twitter,[16] and National Review writer Caroline Downey called Robinson's actions hypocritical.[17] 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."[18][19]
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.[20][21]
He supports abortion rights,[22][23] animal rights,[24] and Medicare for All.[25] He supports LGBTQ rights.[26]
Robinson has been critical of American foreign policy, including its military interventions in Afghanistan, Syria, and Iraq.[27][28] He has remained critical of Israel and its human rights record. He has also criticized the United States' support for Israel and the United States' hostility towards critics of Israel.[29]
Robinson supported Bernie Sanders in the 2016 United States presidential election.[30] After Sanders lost the Democratic nomination to Hillary Clinton, Robinson voted for Clinton.[31] In the 2020 United States presidential election he supported Sanders again, and then Joe Biden after Biden won the Democratic nomination.[32] Despite being critical of Biden and Kamala Harris, he believed that Donald Trump was a greater threat.[31]
Robinson identifies as an atheist,[33] and he has criticized prominent exponents of New Atheism, such as Sam Harris, Christopher Hitchens, and Richard Dawkins, saying, "at their worst they were bigoted and ignorant, possessing the very qualities that they deplored in the religious".[33]
