Karen Rothmyer

Karen Rothmyer is a former Nation managing editor. More recently she lived in Kenya, where she taught at the University of Nairobi and served as the country’s first public editor.

SocietyJanuary 1, 2020

Gun Basics—and Other Lessons

Getting along is a necessity when you know you’re likely to run into each other at the only gas station in town. But it’s also a frame of mind.

Karen Rothmyer
PoliticsDecember 30, 2019

Thank You, Comrade Greider

Bill Greider spared no one his incisive political criticism—on the left or the right. “I think this country needs to start over,” he once wrote me.

Karen Rothmyer
EconomyNovember 29, 2019

Rural America Has a Young People Problem

Democratic politics will lose all remaining connection with rural areas of the country if young people leave home and never come back.

Karen Rothmyer
TechnologyNovember 4, 2019

Where I Live You Can Break Your Neck Trying to Get Cell Service

And other tales from the Internet wilderness.

Karen Rothmyer
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PoliticsOctober 4, 2019

Searching for Common Ground on Impeachment in NY’s 19th

This is one of a year-long series of dispatches about life and politics in rural America, written by former Nation managing editor Karen Rothmyer.

Karen Rothmyer
Election 2020September 13, 2019

Notes From a Small Village: The Meet-and-Greet

This is the first of a year-long series of dispatches about life and politics in rural America, written by former Nation managing editor Karen Rothmyer.

Karen Rothmyer
AfricaFebruary 16, 2018

Is Kenya Sliding Toward Dictatorship?

Like Daniel arap Moi in 1982, Uhuru Kenyatta has embarked on a course of action that threatens hard-won democratic gains.

Karen Rothmyer
EconomicsJune 10, 2015

What Ten Years in Kenya Have Taught Me About the Perils of American Ignorance, ‘Aid,’ and Narcissism

Obama’s visit this summer will certainly be a big event, but Kenyans’ interests stretch well beyond the United States.

Karen Rothmyer
Foreign PolicyApril 3, 2015

Horrifying Blowback in Kenya

This is only the latest in a string of terror attacks since Kenya invaded Somalia in 2011.

Karen Rothmyer
National SecuritySeptember 23, 2013

Reflections on the Kenya Terror Attack

The reports I’ve seen describe Nairobi’s Westgate mall as upscale, but that’s not the whole story, and not how I remember it.

Karen Rothmyer

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Karen Rothmyer

SocietyJanuary 1, 2020

Getting along is a necessity when you know you’re likely to run into each other at the only gas station in town. But it’s also a frame of mind.

PoliticsDecember 30, 2019

Bill Greider spared no one his incisive political criticism—on the left or the right. “I think this country needs to start over,” he once wrote me.

EconomyNovember 29, 2019

Democratic politics will lose all remaining connection with rural areas of the country if young people leave home and never come back.

TechnologyNovember 4, 2019

And other tales from the Internet wilderness.

The stakes are higher now than ever. Get The Nation in your inbox.

PoliticsOctober 4, 2019

This is one of a year-long series of dispatches about life and politics in rural America, written by former Nation managing editor Karen Rothmyer.

Election 2020September 13, 2019

This is the first of a year-long series of dispatches about life and politics in rural America, written by former Nation managing editor Karen Rothmyer.

AfricaFebruary 16, 2018

Like Daniel arap Moi in 1982, Uhuru Kenyatta has embarked on a course of action that threatens hard-won democratic gains.

EconomicsJune 10, 2015

Obama’s visit this summer will certainly be a big event, but Kenyans’ interests stretch well beyond the United States.

Foreign PolicyApril 3, 2015

This is only the latest in a string of terror attacks since Kenya invaded Somalia in 2011.

National SecuritySeptember 23, 2013

The reports I’ve seen describe Nairobi’s Westgate mall as upscale, but that’s not the whole story, and not how I remember it.