Wen Stephenson

Contributing Writer

Wen Stephenson is the climate-justice correspondent for The Nation. An independent journalist, essayist, and activist, he is the author of, most recently, Learning to Live in the Dark: Essays in a Time of Catastrophe (Haymarket, 2025). His previous book, What We're Fighting for Now Is Each Other (Beacon, 2015), is a personal account of the pivotal early years of the US climate-justice movement.

Bulldozers demolish shelters in Kathmandu, part of a nationwide drive to remove informal settlements built on public land.

A Reckoning Comes for Nepal A Reckoning Comes for Nepal

A year after its Gen Z uprising, Nepal faces a struggle not only for democracy and human rights but for climate survival.

Sep 8, 2026 / Feature / Wen Stephenson

A man surveys the debris of a collapsed building at a town along the Trishuli River, in Devighat, Nuwakot, Nepal, on August 31, 2026.

How Will Nepal Pay for the Latest Climate Disaster? How Will Nepal Pay for the Latest Climate Disaster?

An interview with Nepali UN climate expert Manjeet Dhakal on what the massive Himalayan flood will cost Nepal.

Sep 1, 2026 / Wen Stephenson

Nepali Rastriya Swatantra Party prime ministerial candidate Balendra Shah waves to supporters during a campaign roadshow in the district of Jhapa on March 1, 2026, in Bidhabare, Nepal.

A Sweeping Victory for Gen Z in Nepal—but Not Yet a “Revolution” A Sweeping Victory for Gen Z in Nepal—but Not Yet a “Revolution”

Nepal’s “Gen Z revolution” achieved historic and unexpected electoral success—but transformational change remains elusive.

Mar 13, 2026 / Wen Stephenson

The Park Fire burns through the night on July 30, 2024, near Chico, California.

What Justice on a Burning Planet? What Justice on a Burning Planet?

Andreas Malm and Thea Riofrancos joined The Nation’s Wen Stephenson in an urgent conversation about the left and the climate emergency.

Jan 5, 2026 / Q&A / Wen Stephenson, Andreas Malm, and Thea Riofrancos

Protesters stage a “die-in” during a rally for Climate Justice in Seoul on September 27, 2025.

There’s No Quitting the Climate Fight There’s No Quitting the Climate Fight

This is the worst-ever year for climate politics—but the struggle is far from over.

Nov 12, 2025 / Wen Stephenson

People celebrate and take pictures after occupying Nepal’s Parliament building in Kathmandu on September 9, 2025.

Did Nepal Just Have a Revolution? Did Nepal Just Have a Revolution?

Kunda Dixit, one of Nepal’s top journalists, talks about the stunning turn of events in the South Asian nation and how its society reached the boiling point.

Sep 16, 2025 / Q&A / Wen Stephenson

Children and women run among a cloud of dust at the village of El Gel, eight kilometres from the town of K’elafo, Ethiopia, on January 12, 2023. The last five rainy seasons since the end of 2020 have failed, triggering the worst drought in four decades in Ethiopia, Somalia, and Kenya. According to the UN, drought has plunged 12 million people into “acute food insecurity” in Ethiopia alone.

Thinking Like an Ancestor on a Burning Planet Thinking Like an Ancestor on a Burning Planet

A conversation with Olúfémi Táíwò about the struggle for racial and climate justice in the face of catastrophe.

May 5, 2025 / Q&A / Wen Stephenson

A blue Volkswagen van sits intact on a street amid homes destroyed by the Palisades Fire in Malibu, California, on January 15, 2025.

In Our New Climate Reality, There Is No Getting Back to Normal In Our New Climate Reality, There Is No Getting Back to Normal

The media is failing to warn us about the scale of the disasters that lie ahead. In Los Angeles, as everywhere, we need more than liberal technocratic tweaks.

Jan 21, 2025 / Wen Stephenson

Climate Realism (Still) Means Climate Justice

Climate Realism (Still) Means Climate Justice Climate Realism (Still) Means Climate Justice

An interview with Tom Athanasiou on where climate geopolitics goes from here, and why unlocking trillions in climate finance is an “existential necessity.”

Nov 15, 2024 / Q&A / Wen Stephenson

Alice Hu of the Summer of Heat campaign speaks to the camera as she is arrested at Citigroup's Manhattan headquarters on July 22, 2024, in a Stop the Money Pipeline video on Instagram.

Climate Justice Organizer to Citi CEO: “Talk Is Cheap” Climate Justice Organizer to Citi CEO: “Talk Is Cheap”

An interview with Alice Hu, one of the lead organizers of the “Summer of Heat” campaign targeting Wall Street fossil fuel financiers.

Aug 8, 2024 / Wen Stephenson

x