Alexander Cockburn

Columnist

Alexander Cockburn, The Nation's "Beat the Devil" columnist and one of America's best-known radical journalists, was born in Scotland and grew up in Ireland. He graduated from Oxford in 1963 with a degree in English literature and language.

After two years as an editor at the Times Literary Supplement, he worked at the New Left Review and The New Statesman, and co-edited two Penguin volumes, on trade unions and on the student movement.

A permanent resident of the United States since 1973, Cockburn wrote for many years for The Village Voice about the press and politics. Since then he has contributed to many publications including The New York Review of Books, Harper's Magazine, The Atlantic Monthly and the Wall Street Journal (where he had a regular column from 1980 to 1990), as well as alternative publications such as In These Times and the Anderson Valley Advertiser.

He has written "Beat the Devil" since 1984.

He is co-editor, with Jeffrey St Clair, of the newsletter and radical website CounterPunch(http://www.counterpunch.org) which have a substantial world audience. In 1987 he published a best-selling collection of essays, Corruptions of Empire, and two years later co-wrote, with Susanna Hecht, The Fate of the Forest: Developers, Destroyers, and Defenders of the Amazon (both Verso). In 1995 Verso also published his diary of the late 80s, early 90s and the fall of Communism, The Golden Age Is In Us. With Ken Silverstein he wrote Washington Babylon; with Jeffrey St. Clair he has written or coedited several books including: Whiteout, The CIA, Drugs and the Press; The Politics of Anti-Semitism; Imperial Crusades; Al Gore, A User's Manual; Five Days That Shook the World; and A Dime's Worth of Difference, about the two-party system in America.

 

 

Where Reaganism and Astrology Meet

Where Reaganism and Astrology Meet Where Reaganism and Astrology Meet

It is scarcely news that the President is in the mainstream of popular American credulity. He has been nurtured in the same rich loam of folk ignorance, historical figment and para...

Mar 23, 2015 / Books & the Arts / Alexander Cockburn

Alexander Cockburn on the Death of Gary Webb, ‘a Very Fine Journalist Who Deserved Better Than He Got’

Alexander Cockburn on the Death of Gary Webb, ‘a Very Fine Journalist Who Deserved Better Than He Got’ Alexander Cockburn on the Death of Gary Webb, ‘a Very Fine Journalist Who Deserved Better Than He Got’

With a new film out about Webb, Kill the Messenger, we look back at Cockburn’s testament to the investigative reporter.

Oct 14, 2014 / Back Issues / Alexander Cockburn and Back Issues

Redwood Summer and the Fate of the Panthers Redwood Summer and the Fate of the Panthers

Pose a political threat to Business As Usual and sooner or later, mostly sooner, someone will try to kill you.

Jul 24, 2012 / Alexander Cockburn

Alexander Cockburn: The Best of ‘Beat the Devil’ Alexander Cockburn: The Best of ‘Beat the Devil’

Some of our favorites from nearly thirty years of his Nation column.

Jul 23, 2012 / Alexander Cockburn

Barclays and the Limits of Financial Reform Barclays and the Limits of Financial Reform

Those demanding change in response to the Libor scandal forget how deeply the corruption is rooted.

Jul 11, 2012 / Beat the Devil / Alexander Cockburn

Obama Lights Up the War on Pot Obama Lights Up the War on Pot

The administration promised a sensible approach to drug policy. So why are the feds attacking the medical marijuana industry?

May 30, 2012 / Beat the Devil / Alexander Cockburn

Marine Le Pen and the False Specter of European Fascism

Marine Le Pen and the False Specter of European Fascism Marine Le Pen and the False Specter of European Fascism

Americans who worry about dangerous trends overseas should take a look at warning signs much closer to home.

May 2, 2012 / Beat the Devil / Alexander Cockburn

Why We Must Raise the Minimum Wage Why We Must Raise the Minimum Wage

Instead of making vague promises to create high-paying jobs, the government should increase wages for the jobs that actually exist.

Apr 3, 2012 / Beat the Devil / Alexander Cockburn

Lessons From Fukushima, One Year Later

Lessons From Fukushima, One Year Later Lessons From Fukushima, One Year Later

No matter how appalling the catastrophe, the nuclear industry will insist on the safety of nuclear power.

Mar 7, 2012 / Beat the Devil / Alexander Cockburn

Sure, Apple Could Build the iPhone Here

Sure, Apple Could Build the iPhone Here Sure, Apple Could Build the iPhone Here

Steve Jobs told Obama that Apple manufacturing jobs are never coming back to the US. Really?

Jan 31, 2012 / Beat the Devil / Alexander Cockburn

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