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 ''The Nation'' is an American liberal biweekly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper tha ...

''. She was the magazine's editor from 1995 to 2019, when she was succeeded by

D. D. Guttenplan Don David Guttenplan is editor of ''The Nation''. A former London correspondent of the magazine, he wrote ''The Holocaust on Trial'', a book about the ''Irving v Penguin Books and Lipstadt'' libel case while based in the UK's capital. Early life ...

. She is often a commentator on political television programs. Vanden Heuvel is a member of the

Council on Foreign Relations The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is an American think tank A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, mi ...

, a US nonprofit think tank. She is a recipient of the

Norman Mailer Prize The Norman Mailer Prize or Mailer Prize is an American literary award established in 2009 by The Norman Mailer Center and The Norman Mailer Writers Colony to celebrate writers and their works. Norman Mailer was a 20th-century American author. Prizes ...

Early life and education

Katrina vanden Heuvel was born in New York City, the daughter of

Jean Stein Jean Babette Stein (February 9, 1934 – April 30, 2017) was an American author and editor. Early life Stein was born to a Jewish family in Chicago. Her father was Jules C. Stein (1896–1981), co-founder of the Music Corporation of America (M ...

, an heiress, best-selling author, and editor of the

literary journal A literary magazine is a periodical devoted to literature in a broad sense. Literary magazines usually publish short stories, poetry, and essays, along with literary criticism, book reviews, biographical profiles of authors, interviews and letters ...

''Grand Street'', and

William vanden Heuvel William Jacobus vanden Heuvel (April 14, 1930 – June 15, 2021) was an American attorney, businessman, author and diplomat of Belgian descent. He was known for advising Robert F. Kennedy during the latter's campaigns for Senate in 1964 and Pres ...

, an attorney, former

US ambassador Ambassadors of the United States are persons nominated by the president to serve as the country's diplomatic representatives to foreign nations, international organizations, and as ambassadors-at-large. Under Article II, Section 2 of the U.S ...

, member of John F. Kennedy's administration, businessman, and author. She has one sister and two step-siblings. Her maternal grandparents were

Music Corporation of America MCA Inc. (originally an initialism for Music Corporation of America) was an American media conglomerate founded in 1924. Originally a talent agency with artists in the music business as clients, the company became a major force in the film ind ...

founder

Jules C. Stein Jules C. Stein (April 26, 1896 – April 29, 1981) was an American physician and businessman who co-founded Music Corporation of America (MCA). Early life and education Stein was born in South Bend, Indiana, to Lithuanian Jewish immigrants, one ...

and Doris Babbette Jones (originally Jonas). Through Doris, vanden Heuvel is a distant cousin of actor and comedian George Jessel. Her mother was from a Jewish family''The Last Mogul: Lew Wasserman, McA, and the Hidden History of Hollywood'' By Dennis McDougal
p 27 and her father was of

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

and

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

ancestry. Vanden Heuvel graduated from the Trinity School in 1977. She graduated ''

summa cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sou ...

'' with an A.B. in politics from

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

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 ''Nassau Weekly'' is a weekly student newspaper of Princeton University. Published every Sunday, the paper contains a blend of campus, local, and national news; reviews of films and bands; original art, fiction and poetry; and other college-orie ...

'', a school publication, and had an internship at '' National Lampoon'' magazine in 1978. She then worked as a production assistant at

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

for two years.

Career

At ''The Nation''

By the end of her junior year, vanden Heuvel had already worked for nine months as an intern at ''The Nation'', after taking the 'Politics and the Press' course taught by

Blair Clark Ledyard Blair Clark (August 22, 1917 – June 6, 2000) was an American liberal journalist and political activist who played key roles both as a journalist and a political operator. He was general manager and vice president of CBS News from 196 ...

, the magazine's editor from 1976 to 1978, returning to the magazine in 1984 to serve as the

foreign affairs ''Foreign Affairs'' is an American magazine of international relations and U.S. foreign policy published by the Council on Foreign Relations, a nonprofit, nonpartisan, membership organization and think tank specializing in U.S. foreign policy and ...

assistant editor. In 1989, vanden Heuvel was promoted to ''The Nation''s editor-at-large position, responsible for its coverage of the

USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

. In 1995, vanden Heuvel was named chief editor of ''The Nation''. By 1995, ''The Nation'' was losing $500,000 a year, and its editor

Victor Navasky Victor Saul Navasky (born July 5, 1932) is an American journalist, editor and academic. He is publisher emeritus of ''The Nation'' and George T. Delacorte Professor Emeritus of Professional Practice in Magazine Journalism at Columbia University. H ...

brought vanden Heuvel together with other investors in a for-profit partnership to buy the magazine from investment banker

Arthur L. Carter Arthur L. Carter (born December 24, 1931) is an American investment banker, publisher, and artist. Biography Born to a American Jews, Jewish family, Carter graduated from Brown University in 1953 with a degree in French literature. He served i ...

. The investors included vanden Heuvel,

Paul Newman Paul Leonard Newman (January 26, 1925 – September 26, 2008) was an American actor, film director, race car driver, philanthropist, and entrepreneur. He was the recipient of numerous awards, including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, three ...

E.L. Doctorow Edgar Lawrence Doctorow (January 6, 1931 – July 21, 2015) was an American novelist, editor, and professor, best known for his works of historical fiction. He wrote twelve novels, three volumes of short fiction and a stage drama. They included ...

Alan Sagner Alan Louis Sagner (September 13, 1920 – January 3, 2018) was an American Democratic Party politician, businessman and philanthropist who served as New Jersey Commissioner of Transportation, as Chairman of the Port Authority of New York and New ...

(former

Corporation for Public Broadcasting The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) is an American publicly funded non-profit corporation, created in 1967 to promote and help support public broadcasting. The corporation's mission is to ensure universal access to non-commercial, ...

chairman),

Peter Norton Peter Norton (born November 14, 1943) is an American programmer, software publisher, author, and philanthropist. He is best known for the computer programs and books that bear his name and portrait. Norton sold his software business to Syman ...

(

Norton Utilities Norton Utilities is a utility software suite designed to help analyze, configure, optimize and maintain a computer. The latest version of the original series of Norton Utilities is Norton Utilities 16 for Windows XP/Vista/7/8 was released 26 Oc ...

software creator) and others. In a 2005 interview with

Theodore Hamm Theodore Hamm (born September 14, 1966, in Chicago) is an American author, writer and the founding editor of the New York City-based literary and culture tabloid '' The Brooklyn Rail''. Hamm currently serves as the director of the Journalism and N ...

in ''

The Brooklyn Rail ''The Brooklyn Rail'' is a publication and platform for the arts, culture, humanities, and politics. The ''Rail'' is based out of Brooklyn, New York. It features in-depth critical essays, fiction, poetry, as well as interviews with artists, criti ...

'', vanden Heuvel describes 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

taking her place.

Other activities

With her husband, Stephen F. Cohen, vanden Heuvel edited ''Voices of Glasnost: Interviews with Gorbachev's Reformers'' (Norton, 1989). She also edited the compilation volume, ''The Nation: 1865–1990'' (Pluto Press, 1987). In 1990, vanden Heuvel co-founded ''Vy i My'' (''You and We''), a quarterly

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

journal linking American and Russian women, and elsewhere described as a Russian-language feminist newsletter. She was editor for the collection, ''A Just Response: The Nation on Terrorism, Democracy and September 11, 2001'' (New York : Thunder's Mouth Press/Nation Books, 2002) and co-edited ''Taking Back America And Taking Down the Radical Right'' (Nation Books, 2004), and, more recently edited ''The Dictionary of Republicanisms'' (Nation Books, 2005). As of April 2021, she continues to write an op-ed column 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 ...

''.

Boards and other memberships

Vanden Heuvel is a member of the

. She also serves on the board of the

Institute for Policy Studies The Institute for Policy Studies (IPS) is an American progressive think tank started in 1963 that is based in Washington, D.C. It was directed by John Cavanagh from 1998 to 2021. In 2021 Tope Folarin was announced as new Executive Director. ...

, the World Policy Institute, the Correctional Association of New York, and the

Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute The Roosevelt Institute is a liberal American think tank. According to the organization, it exists "to carry forward the legacy and values of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt by developing progressive ideas and bold leadership in the service of res ...

and previously served on the board of the

Institute for Women's Policy Research The Institute for Women's Policy Research (IWPR) is a non-profit research organization based in Washington, D.C.. Founded in 1987 by Heidi Hartmann, IWPR works to increase public understanding of how social and government policies impede gender ...

Awards

In June 1987, vanden Heuvel edited a special edition of ''The Nation'', "

Gorbachev Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev (2 March 1931 – 30 August 2022) was a Soviet politician who served as the 8th and final leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 to the country's dissolution in 1991. He served as General Secretary of the Comm ...

's Soviet Union", which was awarded the New York University Olive Branch Award. Vanden Heuvel was awarded

Planned Parenthood The Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. (PPFA), or simply Planned Parenthood, is a nonprofit organization that provides reproductive health care in the United States and globally. It is a tax-exempt corporation under Internal Reve ...

's Maggie Award for her 2003 article "Right-to-Lifers Hit Russia", a report on the

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 ...

movement in that country. She won the

NYCLU The New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) is a civil rights organization in the United States. Founded in November 1951 as the New York affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union, it is a not-for-profit, nonpartisan organization with nearly ...

's Callaway Prize for the Defense of the Right of Privacy and the

American-Arab Anti-discrimination Committee The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) states that it is "the largest Arab American grassroots civil rights organization in the United States." According to its webpage it is open to people of all backgrounds, faiths and ethnicities ...

's "Voices of Peace" award in 2003. Vanden Heuvel has also been recognized and granted awards by the

Liberty Hill Foundation The Liberty Hill Foundation is a non-profit organization founded by Sarah Pillsbury, heir to the Minnesota Pillsbury baking fortune, along with Anne Mendel, Larry Janss and Win McCormack, in 1976. Its motto is "Change. Not Charity." The name of th ...

, the Correctional Association, and the Association for American-Russian Women.

Personal life

In 1988, vanden Heuvel married Stephen F. Cohen, a professor of

Russian studies Russian studies is an interdisciplinary field crossing politics, history, culture, economics, and languages of Russia and its neighborhood, often grouped under Soviet and Communist studies. Russian studies should not be confused with the study of ...

and later

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

. They were married by

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

minister and peace activist

William Sloane Coffin William Sloane Coffin Jr. (June 1, 1924 – April 12, 2006) was an American Christian clergyman and long-time peace activist. He was ordained in the Presbyterian Church, and later received ministerial standing in the United Church of Christ. In h ...

in a

non-denominational A non-denominational person or organization is one that does not follow (or is not restricted to) any particular or specific religious denomination. Overview The term has been used in the context of various faiths including Jainism, Baháʼí Fait ...

ceremony. The couple had one daughter, Nicola, born in 1991. The family made their residence on the

Upper West Side The Upper West Side (UWS) is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It is bounded by Central Park on the east, the Hudson River on the west, West 59th Street to the south, and West 110th Street to the north. The Upper West ...

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

. Cohen died in September 2020. In the 2016 presidential election, vanden Heuvel praised Senator

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 ...

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 ()

References

External links

Katrina vanden Heuvel's campaign contributions

"Tomdispatch Interview: Katrina vanden Heuvel, the Media on Speed"

Vanden Heuvel's blog
at ''

The Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...

''
Katrina vanden Heuvel's blog, "Editor's Cut"
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Vanden Heuvel, Katrina 1959 births 20th-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American women writers Activists from New York (state) American book editors American magazine editors American magazine publishers (people) American newspaper editors American people of Belgian descent American people of Dutch descent American people of Lithuanian-Jewish descent American political writers American social activists American women non-fiction writers Journalists from New York City Living people People from the Upper West Side Princeton University alumni Stein family (MCA) The Nation editors Trinity School (New York City) alumni Women magazine editors Women newspaper editors Writers from Manhattan