Doug Henwood (born December 7, 1952) is an American journalist, economic analyst, author, and financial trader who writes frequently about economic affairs. Until 2013 he published a newsletter, ''Left Business Observer'', that analyzes

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

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 ...

from a

left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...

perspective. He is also co-owner and co-editor with Phillipa Dunne of ''The Liscio Report'', a newsletter focusing on

macroeconomic Macroeconomics (from the Greek prefix ''makro-'' meaning "large" + ''economics'') is a branch of economics dealing with performance, structure, behavior, and decision-making of an economy as a whole. For example, using interest rates, taxes, and ...

analysis. Henwood is a contributing editor at ''

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 ...

''.

Early life and education

Henwood was born to Harold and Victorine Henwood in

Teaneck, New Jersey Teaneck () is a Township (New Jersey), township in Bergen County, New Jersey, Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is a bedroom community in the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2010 United States census, 2010 U.S. census, th ...

and grew up in Westwood, NJ. As a youth Henwood was acquainted with

Marxism Marxism is a Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a Materialism, materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand S ...

, but he briefly self-identified with

conservatism Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilizati ...

towards the end of high school. According to Henwood: "Sometime late in high school, I fell under the spell of

Milton Friedman Milton Friedman (; July 31, 1912 – November 16, 2006) was an American economist and statistician who received the 1976 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for his research on consumption analysis, monetary history and theory and the ...

and Bill Buckley, and about the first thing I did when I got to college was join the Party of the Right (POR). I got tired of all the pompous rituals, and political sanity returned, bringing me back to the left from which I’d started.” Henwood received a

B.A. 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 ...

in English from

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

in 1975. After college, Henwood worked as secretary to the chair of a small

Wall Street Wall Street is an eight-block-long street in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It runs between Broadway in the west to South Street and the East River in the east. The term "Wall Street" has become a metonym for t ...

brokerage firm headed by a former

Bell Labs Nokia Bell Labs, originally named Bell Telephone Laboratories (1925–1984), then AT&T Bell Laboratories (1984–1996) and Bell Labs Innovations (1996–2007), is an American industrial research and scientific development company owned by mult ...

physicist who used quantitative analysis techniques in the mid-1970s, predating the later widespread adoption of similar methods on Wall Street. From 1976 to 1979, Henwood pursued a doctorate in English with a focus on British and American poetry and

critical theory A critical theory is any approach to social philosophy that focuses on society and culture to reveal, critique and challenge power structures. With roots in sociology and literary criticism, it argues that social problems stem more from soci ...

at the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...

, but left before completing his dissertation. He then worked for two years as a

copywriter Copywriting is the act or occupation of writing text for the purpose of advertising or other forms of marketing. The product, called copy or sales copy, is written content that aims to increase brand awareness and ultimately persuade a person or ...

and assistant to a medical publisher in New York.

Career

Writing

In September 1986, Henwood launched ''Left Business Observer'' (LBO) (). Topics to which he has devoted coverage include: *

income distribution In economics, income distribution covers how a country's total GDP is distributed amongst its population. Economic theory and economic policy have long seen income and its distribution as a central concern. Unequal distribution of income causes eco ...

and poverty in the U.S. and elsewhere in the

First World The concept of First World originated during the Cold War and comprised countries that were under the influence of the United States and the rest of NATO and opposed the Soviet Union and/or communism during the Cold War. Since the collapse of ...

* the

globalization Globalization, or globalisation (Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), is the process of interaction and integration among people, companies, and governments worldwide. The term ''globalization'' first appeared in the early 20t ...

of finance and production * the worldwide attack on pensions *

Third World debt The debt of developing countries usually refers to the external debt incurred by governments of developing countries. There have been several historical episodes of governments of developing countries borrowing in quantities beyond their abilit ...

and development * the

International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution, headquartered in Washington, D.C., consisting of 190 countries. Its stated mission is "working to foster globa ...

(IMF) and

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Interna ...

* the media business and

media economics Media economics embodies economic theoretical and practical economic questions specific to media of all types. Of particular concern to media economics are the economic policies and practices of media companies and disciplines including journalism ...

* the influence of foundations on politics and culture * "what it means to be a leftist in a world that seems to have forgotten what that means" In 1992, Henwood worked with

John Liscio John Liscio (1949 – November 29, 2000) was an American journalist covering finance and the economy as well as an independent financial analyst. He was the founder of the influential bond market newsletter, ''The Liscio Report''. Liscio was b ...

on ''The Liscio Report on the Economy'', a financial advisory agency that publishes proprietary research. The newsletter is widely followed in the investment community. In 2000, after Liscio's death, Henwood and Phillipa Dunne, a business partner, inherited ''The Liscio Report'' and continue to publish the newsletter using the research techniques pioneered by their mentor. Henwood has written four books. His first, ''The State of the USA Atlas'' (1994), is a social atlas of the U.S. in the

Pluto Press Pluto Press is a British independent book publisher based in London, founded in 1969. Originally, it was the publishing arm of the International Socialists (today known as the Socialist Workers Party), until it changed hands and was replaced ...

atlas series. This was followed in 1997 by ''Wall Street'' (

Verso Books Verso Books (formerly New Left Books) is a left-wing publishing house based in London and New York City, founded in 1970 by the staff of ''New Left Review''. Renaming, new brand and logo Verso Books was originally known as New Left Books. The ...

), in which Henwood described the workings of high finance, and then by ''After the New Economy'' (

The New Press The New Press is an independent non-profit public-interest book publisher established in 1992 by André Schiffrin Seven Stories Press Seven Stories Press is an independent American publishing company. Based in New York City, the company was founded by Dan Simon in 1995, after establishing Four Walls Eight Windows in 1984 as an imprint at Writers and Readers, and then incorpora ...

, 2016). His articles have appeared in ''

'', ''

Harper's Magazine ''Harper's Magazine'' is a monthly magazine of literature, politics, culture, finance, and the arts. Launched in New York City in June 1850, it is the oldest continuously published monthly magazine in the U.S. (''Scientific American'' is older, b ...

'', '' Grand Street'', ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the crea ...

'', ''

Newsday ''Newsday'' is an American daily newspaper that primarily serves Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island, although it is also sold throughout the New York metropolitan area. The slogan of the newspaper is "Newsday, Your Eye on LI", and f ...

'', the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'', ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', and ''

Extra! ''Extra!'' is a monthly magazine of media criticism published by the media watch group FAIR. First published in 1987, its first full-time editor was Martin A. Lee. Since 1990, it has been edited by Jim Naureckas. The magazine covers a wide vari ...

''. He is a contributing editor at ''The Nation''.

Radio and other media

Henwood began hosting ''Behind the News'' in 1996. It is a weekly radio show and podcast produced at

KPFA KPFA (94.1 FM) is an American listener-funded talk radio and music radio station located in Berkeley, California, broadcasting to the San Francisco Bay Area. KPFA airs public news, public affairs, talk, and music programming. The station sign ...

and, formerly,

WBAI WBAI (99.5 FM) is a non-commercial, listener-supported radio station licensed to New York, New York. Its programming is a mixture of political news, talk and opinion from a left-leaning, liberal or progressive viewpoint, and eclectic music. ...

. Henwood had been a regular contributor to Samori Marksman's show, starting in 1989. ''Behind the News'' features interviews with activists, intellectuals, and academics, preceded by a summary of recent economic headlines. Notable guests include

Noam Chomsky Avram Noam Chomsky (born December 7, 1928) is an American public intellectual: a linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, historian, social critic, and political activist. Sometimes called "the father of modern linguistics", Chomsky is ...

James K. Galbraith James Kenneth Galbraith (born January 29, 1952) is an American economist. He is currently a professor at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs and at the Department of Government, University of Texas at Austin. He is also a Senior Schola ...

Christopher Hitchens Christopher Eric Hitchens (13 April 1949 – 15 December 2011) was a British-American author and journalist who wrote or edited over 30 books (including five essay collections) on culture, politics, and literature. Born and educated in England, ...

Lewis H. Lapham Lewis Henry Lapham (; born January 8, 1935) is an American writer. He was the editor of the American monthly ''Harper's Magazine'' from 1976 until 1981, and from 1983 until 2006. He is the founder of ''Lapham's Quarterly'', a quarterly publicat ...

George McGovern George Stanley McGovern (July 19, 1922 – October 21, 2012) was an American historian and South Dakota politician who was a U.S. representative and three-term U.S. senator, and the Democratic Party presidential nominee in the 1972 pres ...

Joseph Stiglitz Joseph Eugene Stiglitz (; born February 9, 1943) is an American New Keynesian economist, a public policy analyst, and a full professor at Columbia University. He is a recipient of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences (2001) and the Joh ...

Gore Vidal Eugene Luther Gore Vidal (; born Eugene Louis Vidal, October 3, 1925 – July 31, 2012) was an American writer and public intellectual known for his epigrammatic wit, erudition, and patrician manner. Vidal was bisexual, and in his novels and ...

Yanis Varoufakis Ioannis "Yanis" Varoufakis ( el, Ιωάννης Γεωργίου "Γιάνης" Βαρουφάκης, Ioánnis Georgíou "Giánis" Varoufákis, ; born 24 March 1961) is a Greek economist and politician. A former academic, he served as the Gree ...

, and

Slavoj Žižek Slavoj Žižek (, ; ; born 21 March 1949) is a Slovenian philosopher, cultural theorist and public intellectual. He is international director of the Birkbeck Institute for the Humanities at the University of London, visiting professor at New Y ...

. On November 11, 2010 Henwood announced that he would be retiring ''Behind the News'' in its current form, instead broadcasting from another venue and on his website. This change arose from an interim producer's decision to reschedule Henwood's show to Saturdays and reduce its airtime to twice a month despite Henwood's having raised substantial funds during the network's previous fund drive, conditions that the host found unacceptable. Henwood occasionally interviews on other radio and television programs. He appeared in Lewis H. Lapham's dramatic documentary film, ''

The American Ruling Class ''The American Ruling Class'' is a 2005 dramatic documentary film written by Lewis H. Lapham and directed by John Kirby that "explores our country’s most taboo topic: class, power and privilege in our nominally democratic republic." It seeks t ...

''.

Personal life

He is married to journalist

Liza Featherstone Liza Featherstone (born April 21, 1969) is an American journalist and journalism professor who writes frequently on labor and student activism for ''The Nation'' and '' Jacobin''. Early life and education Featherstone was born in Washington, D ...

; they live in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

with their son Ivan.

Books

Henwood authored four books and is working on a fifth. * ''State of the U.S.A. Atlas'' (1994),
''Wall Street''
(1997), * ''After the New Economy'' (2003),
''My Turn: Hillary Clinton Targets the Presidency''
(2015),

References

External links

Twitter account

''Left Business Observer''
(LBO)
LBO News (blog)

free downloadable version of ''Wall Street''
* *
"Unconventional Wisdom: An Interview with Doug Henwood"
by Bhaskar Sunkara (''The Activist'', 21 February 2010)
"Ka-Pow! Bang! Crash! Down Goes Another Bubble!: Doug Henwood in Conversation with Christian Parenti"
''

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 ...

'', (July–August 2009)
"Economic Unorthodoxy: An Interview with Doug Henwood"
(24 April 2004)

(''

Monthly Review The ''Monthly Review'', established in 1949, is an independent socialist magazine published monthly in New York City. The publication is the longest continuously published socialist magazine in the United States. History Establishment Following ...

'', April 2001)
"The Marxist Wall Street Couldn't Ignore"
by

Annalee Newitz Annalee Newitz (born May 7, 1969) is an American journalist, editor, and author of both fiction and nonfiction, who has written for the periodicals ''Popular Science'' and ''Wired''. From 1999 to 2008 Newitz wrote a syndicated weekly column call ...

Salon.com ''Salon'' is an American politically progressive/liberal news and opinion website created in 1995. It publishes articles on U.S. politics, culture, and current events. Content and coverage ''Salon'' covers a variety of topics, including re ...

, December 1998
The Liscio Report on the Economy
by Doug Henwood and Phillipa Dunne
blog
{{DEFAULTSORT:Henwood, Doug American economics writers American business and financial journalists American alternative journalists 20th-century American journalists 21st-century American journalists American print editors Newsletter publishers (people) The Nation (U.S. magazine) people Pacifica Foundation people American male journalists Yale University alumni People from Teaneck, New Jersey People from Westwood, New Jersey 1952 births Living people