Elizabeth Bruenig (' Stoker; born December 6, 1990) is an American journalist working as an opinion writer for ''

The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...

''. She previously worked as an opinion writer for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

,'' and as an opinion writer and editor for ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'', where she wrote about

ethics Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that "involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior".''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' The field of ethics, along with aesthetics, concerns m ...

politics Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

, and

economics Economics () is the social science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and intera ...

, and where she was a finalist for the

Pulitzer Prize for Feature Writing The Pulitzer Prize for Feature Writing is one of the fourteen American Pulitzer Prizes that are annually awarded for Journalism. It has been awarded since 1979 for a distinguished example of feature writing giving prime consideration to high liter ...

in 2019.

Early life and education

Bruenig was born in

Arlington, Texas Arlington is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, located in Tarrant County. It forms part of the Mid-Cities region of the Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington metropolitan statistical area, and is a principal city of the metropolis and region. ...

. She attended Martin High School. She graduated from

Brandeis University , mottoeng = "Truth even unto its innermost parts" , established = , type = Private research university , accreditation = NECHE , president = Ronald D. Liebowitz , pro ...

in 2013 with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree with a

double major A double degree program, sometimes called a dual degree, combined degree, conjoint degree, joint degree or double graduation program, involves a student's working for two university degrees in parallel—either at the same institution or at diffe ...

in English and

sociology Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of Empirical ...

and a

minor Minor may refer to: * Minor (law), a person under the age of certain legal activities. ** A person who has not reached the age of majority * Academic minor, a secondary field of study in undergraduate education Music theory *Minor chord ** Barb ...

Near Eastern The ''Near East''; he, המזרח הקרוב; arc, ܕܢܚܐ ܩܪܒ; fa, خاور نزدیک, Xāvar-e nazdik; tr, Yakın Doğu is a geographical term which roughly encompasses a transcontinental region in Western Asia, that was once the hist ...

and

Judaic studies Jewish studies (or Judaic studies; he, מדעי היהדות, madey ha-yahadut, sciences of Judaism) is an academic discipline centered on the study of Jews and Judaism. Jewish studies is interdisciplinary and combines aspects of history (espe ...

. As a recipient of the

Marshall Scholarship The Marshall Scholarship is a postgraduate scholarship for "intellectually distinguished young Americans ndtheir country's future leaders" to study at any university in the United Kingdom. It is widely considered one of the most prestigious sc ...

, she studied at Jesus College at the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

, where she earned a

Master of Philosophy The Master of Philosophy (MPhil; Latin ' or ') is a postgraduate degree. In the United States, an MPhil typically includes a taught portion and a significant research portion, during which a thesis project is conducted under supervision. An MPhil m ...

degree in

Christian theology Christian theology is the theology of Christianity, Christian belief and practice. Such study concentrates primarily upon the texts of the Old Testament and of the New Testament, as well as on Christian tradition. Christian theology, theologian ...

under the supervision of John Hughes. She was named a 2014–2015 Presidential Fellow at

Brown University Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...

, where she was a doctoral student in religious studies, but left Brown without a degree in 2015.

Career

Bruenig was an opinion writer and editor for ''

'', ''

'', and now writes for ''

''. She writes about

, and

. Previously, she was a staff writer for ''

The New Republic ''The New Republic'' is an American magazine of commentary on politics, contemporary culture, and the arts. Founded in 1914 by several leaders of the progressive movement, it attempted to find a balance between "a liberalism centered in hum ...

''. With her husband Matt, Bruenig co-hosts a podcast ''The Bruenigs''. In the past, they have written together for ''The Atlantic''. She has also been a contributor to the '' Left, Right, & Center'' radio show. On May 12, 2021, it was announced that she would depart ''

'' for ''The Atlantic'' at the end of the month. Bruenig has been described as being on "the Catholic Left" by

Rod Dreher Raymond Oliver Dreher Jr. (born February 14, 1967), known as Rod Dreher, is an American writer and editor living in Budapest, Hungary. He is a senior editor and blogger at ''The American Conservative'' and author of several books, including ''H ...

in ''

The American Conservative ''The American Conservative'' (''TAC'') is a magazine published by the American Ideas Institute which was founded in 2002. Originally published twice a month, it was reduced to monthly publication in August 2009, and since February 2013, it has ...

''. In a profile published by ''

Washington Monthly ''Washington Monthly'' is a bimonthly, nonprofit magazine of United States politics and government that is based in Washington, D.C. The magazine is known for its annual ranking of American colleges and universities, which serves as an alternat ...

'', she is described as "the most prominently placed of a small but increasingly visible group of young writers unabashedly advocating for

democratic socialism Democratic socialism is a Left-wing politics, left-wing political philosophy that supports political democracy and some form of a socially owned economy, with a particular emphasis on economic democracy, workplace democracy, and workers' self- ...

." In an article in ''

Deseret News The ''Deseret News'' () is the oldest continuously operating publication in the American west. Its multi-platform products feature journalism and commentary across the fields of politics, culture, family life, faith, sports, and entertainment. Th ...

'', Lois Collins described Bruenig as "just left of

Bernie Sanders Bernard Sanders (born September8, 1941) is an American politician who has served as the junior United States senator from Vermont since 2007. He was the U.S. representative for the state's at-large congressional district from 1991 to 2007 ...

on economics, openly religious and quietly

anti-abortion Anti-abortion movements, also self-styled as pro-life or abolitionist movements, are involved in the abortion debate advocating against the practice of abortion and its legality. Many anti-abortion movements began as countermovements in respons ...

." In September 2018, Bruenig described a 2006

sexual assault Sexual assault is an act in which one intentionally sexually touches another person without that person's consent, or coerces or physically forces a person to engage in a sexual act against their will. It is a form of sexual violence, which ...

on a woman by the name of Amber Wyatt at Martin High School in Arlington, Bruenig's own alma mater, in a story for the ''Post'', describing the assault's repercussions. She started tracking the details of Wyatt's story in 2015. In 2019, Bruenig was named a

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...

finalist in Feature Writing, for one of her pieces covering Wyatt's sexual assault, "What Do We Owe Her Now?" The citation read: "For eloquent reflections on the exile of a teen sexual assault victim in the author's Texas hometown, delving with moral authority into why the crime remained unpunished." Bruenig was named in the 2019 edition of ''Forbes'' magazine's 30 Under 30 list.

Personal life

Bruenig was raised

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...

, but converted to

Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

after studying Christian theology and the work of St. Augustine of Hippo in university, becoming confirmed into the Catholic church in 2014. Bruenig married Matt Bruenig, whom she met in their high school debate team in Arlington, in 2014. They have two daughters together.

Published works

* "Taking Augustine as Guide". In Schwindt, Daniel (ed.). ''Radically Catholic in the Age of Francis: An Anthology of Visions for the Future''. Valparaiso, Indiana: Solidarity Hall Press. 2015. . * "Church". In McElwee, Joshua J.; Wooden, Cindy (eds.). ''A Pope Francis Lexicon''. Collegeville, Minnesota: Liturgical Press. 2018. pp. 15–17. .

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bruenig, Elizabeth 1990 births Living people 21st-century American newspaper editors 21st-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American women writers 21st-century Roman Catholics Alumni of Jesus College, Cambridge American Christian socialists American democratic socialists American podcasters American political commentators American political writers American social commentators American women columnists American women podcasters The Atlantic (magazine) people Brandeis University alumni Catholic socialists Catholics from Texas Converts to Roman Catholicism from Methodism Editors of Washington, D.C., newspapers Journalists from Texas Marshall Scholars Martin High School (Arlington, Texas) alumni The New Republic people The New York Times columnists People from Arlington, Texas Religion journalists Roman Catholic writers The Washington Post people Women newspaper editors Writers from Texas Texas socialists