The Contrarian’s 1st Anniversary

Forging community, defending democracy

On the launch of The Contrarian, one year ago today, I wrote: “The Contrarian will be a central hub for unvarnished, unbowed, and uncompromising reported opinion and analysis that exists in opposition to the authoritarian threat.” We also pledged:

· We would not normalize Donald Trump, engage in false equivalence or excuse enablers in the media, government, or business

· We would not only call out vile, dangerous, and unconstitutional actions but put them in the context of American history and international authoritarian movements with the help of experts from a wide array of fields

· We would call on opponents of authoritarianism from all walks of life—the media, the arts, government, academia, business, sports, culture, labor and civil society—to join a grand coalition for freedom, decency, democracy, justice, self-determination, and diversity

· We would provide a platform with multi-generational, fresh, and diverse voices

So, how did we do?

We have never excused Trump’s cruelty, lawlessness, and madness nor pulled punches about legacy media, be it CBS or the Washington Post or any other enabler of Trump including law firms and universities. When feckless Democrats have not held the line (as in the shutdown cave), we have denounced them too.

In interviews and written pieces and at special events, we have engaged historians such as Heather Cox Richardson, Ruth Ben-Ghiat, and Jonathan Alter to explain the authoritarian threat. We have informed the discussion about democracy with experts in fields from civil rights (e.g., Sherrilyn Ifill, Juan Proaño, Maya Wiley), economics (e.g., Paul Krugman, Jared Bernstein, Justin Wolfers), foreign policy (e.g., Steve Cook, Susan Rice, Brian O’Neill, Jeremy Ben Ami, Tim Mak), political reform (e.g., Norm Ornstein), public health (e.g., Jeff Nesbit, Dara Kass, Neera Tanden), women’s rights (e.g., Jennifer Weiss-Wolf), labor (e.g., Liz Schuler, Michael Podhorzer), and violent extremism (PERIL). And we have brought you the very best legal scholars, practitioners, and litigators, including—of course—our publisher Norm Eisen, as well as experts like Andrew Weissmann, Mary McCord, Mike Zamore, Mimi Rocah, Steve Vladeck, Asha Rangappa, Harry Litman, and Joyce Vance to break down lawsuits and court decisions, explain Trump’s constitutional vandalism, and navigate through the harrowing collapse of the rule of law.

We brought into The Contrarian family our magnificent culture editor Meredith Blake, who has written on film, theater, music, fashion, and more. The brilliant White House correspondent April Ryan also joined The Contrarian and hosts spectacular guests on her weekly show, “The Tea.” Carron J. Phillips, Shalise Manza Young, Pablo Torre, and others have analyzed the intersection of sports, democracy, and race. Fresh voices ranging from Carlos Eduardo Espina to Eliza Orlins to Azza Cohen to Ben Sheehan have found a home with us. And we have drawn on contributors from every part of the country.

Crucially, we have become a news coverage operation. We have covered Resistance events (most recently this weekend), major Supreme Court cases, the ICE assaults on Portland, D.C., and Chicago, and the responses to the Trump regime’s violence. We gave ample attention to the Wisconsin and Pennsylvania Supreme Court races; special elections; and the November 2025 blue wave. Hopefully you agree that we have made a good start in our goal to be the place for Resistance coverage.

Thanks to Contrarians’ generosity, we were also able to send proceeds back into the hands of litigators to bring hundreds of cases against Trump and MAGA lawbreakers. That unprecedented synergy between independent media in the court of public opinion and litigation in the court of law has proved wildly successful, producing not only a record of success in court but a vibrant independent media community.

Friends, we vow to continue these efforts, keeping the spotlight on regime enablers in government and civil society. We will remain unrelenting in our defense of democracy. But there is much more work to do—and we would like to share our plans.

In 2026 we will:

· Provide more regional reporting (with senior political writer Tim Dickinson in Portland, Katie Phang in Miami, The Barbed Wire in Texas, and Lynn Sweet in Chicago)

· Increase the diversity of our authors, content creators, experts, and interviewees

· Bring on-the-ground coverage of key gubernatorial, House, Senate, and local races

· Provide weekly Contrarian Calls to Action geared to news developments (starting this Thursday)

· Appear at in-person events (mark your calendars: Norm and I will appear on Feb. 5 at Princeton University!)

· Expand our economics and foreign policy coverage as Trump continues to wreak havoc with Americans’ livelihoods and the international world order

· Offer more opportunities for subscribers to interact with Norm and me

We recognize that Trump has done far more damage far faster than many of us expected. Rogue, masked and unaccountable federal agents have gunned down innocent, unarmed Americans. Thousands upon thousands of our neighbors have been “disappeared,” abused, killed in custody, or deported. Trump and his lackeys have muzzled and corrupted media outlets, intimidated colleges, bullied law firms, concocted a massive disinformation machine, suppressed First Amendment Rights, and started an unconstitutional war (as well as engaged in extrajudicial killings on the high seas).

Millions will lose healthcare and SNAP benefits, while others are getting crushed under the weight of high prices from unilaterally illegal tariffs. The federal government and workforce has been hobbled. Meanwhile, the MAGA hacks on the Supreme Court have given up any pretense of impartial, nonpartisan justice. Some weeks, including last week (with the killing of Renee Nicole Good and shooting of two Portland residents) have been heartbreaking.

But with all of you, we have also experienced moments of triumph, vindication, and satisfaction; the feeling of empowerment that comes from moral clarity, communal action, engaged democratic activism, and political organization. Trump has suffered more setbacks, seen more defections, lost more ground in the polls, and suffered from more self-imposed catastrophes than we imagined, despite his flunkies’ majorities in Congress and on the Supreme Court.

We feel privileged to bring you independent, fierce, and insightful coverage every day. Most of all, we relish this community we have formed and continue to expand. We ask for your help in continuing to expand our reach with new subscribers.

To be alive at a time when we can get up every morning to fight for the principles we hold dear and the country we love is an unbelievable gift.

Humbled by the support you have given us, we look forward to the years ahead as we fight to recover pluralistic democracy, reclaim truth, hold the corrupt, the bullies, and the lawless autocrats accountable, and do the hard work of striving toward that more perfect nation.

Onward!