The magazine was founded on February 19, 1969, by Charles Peters, who wrote the "Tilting at Windmills" column in each issue until 2014.[1]Paul Glastris, former speechwriter for Bill Clinton, has been Washington Monthly's editor-in-chief since 2001. In 2008, the magazine switched from a monthly to a bimonthly publication schedule, citing high publication costs.
The politics of Washington Monthly are often considered center-left.[5][6][7] Founder Charles Peters, who had long referred to himself as a New Deal Democrat, redefined himself as a neoliberal in the 1980s, becoming an early proponent of market-based reforms among Democrats.[8] His columns also frequently emphasized the importance of a vigilant "fourth estate" in keeping government honest.
Washington Monthly features a continuing blog; "Political Animal" was written principally by Kevin Drum for several years, with frequent guest contributions by Washington Monthly's current and alumni editors. In 2008, Steve Benen took over as lead blogger; in 2012, he was succeeded by Ed Kilgore.[9] Kilgore left the magazine in 2015.[10]
In addition to "Political Animal," the magazine's website also hosts "Ten Miles Square," a general blog featuring posts from staff and political scientists, which debuted in 2011,[11] and "College Guide," a blog about higher education, which the magazine began offering in 2009.[12]
Washington Monthly's annual college and university rankings,[13] a deliberate alternative college guide to U.S. News & World Report and Forbes College Rankings among domestic publications, began as a research report in 2005. It was introduced as an official set of rankings in the September 2006 issue.[14]
Its "National Universities Rankings", most recently published in 2023, began as a research report in 2005 with its first rankings appearing in the September 2006 issue. Washington Monthly rates schools "based on their contribution to the public good in three broad categories: Social Mobility (recruiting and graduating low-income students), Research (producing cutting-edge scholarship and PhDs), and Service (encouraging students to give something back to their country)."[15]
