Jonathan Cohn
Encyclopedia
Jonathan Cohn is an American author and journalist who writes mainly on United States public policy and political issues. Formerly the executive editor of The American Prospect
, Cohn is currently a senior editor at The New Republic
magazine and a senior fellow at Demos.
. He has been recognized in the pages of the Washington Post as "one of the nation's leading experts on health care policy" and in The New York Times
as "one of the best health care writers out there".
From early 2009 through the spring of 2010, Cohn edited and was the primary writer for The Treatment, a blog about health care for The New Republic. In May, 2010, he started a new blog for "The New Republic" called Citizen Cohn. It focuses on domestic policy and politics.
Cohn is the author of a book, Sick: The Untold Story of America's Health Care Crisis - and the People Who Pay the Price (2007). In Sick, Cohn advocates for universal health insurance, financed by the government. It presents case studies that demonstrate how America's current system causes even many middle class Americans serious financial or medical hardship. It lays out a history of health insurance in America and points to the record of systems abroad, particularly in France, as proof that universal coverage works.
Cohn has also written extensively about the labor movement and the automobile industry.
Before joining The New Republic in 1997, Cohn served as executive editor at The American Prospect
. Cohn has also written for the Boston Globe, Mother Jones
, The New York Times
, Newsweek
, Rolling Stone, Slate
and the Washington Post. From 2002 to 2004, he was a media fellow at the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. He has appeared on many television and radio shows, including MSNBC
's "Countdown
," NPR
's "Fresh Air
," and "The Colbert Report".
Special Mention, Sidney Hillman Award (2009) for "Auto Destruct"
Co-winner, Harry Chapin Media Award (2008) for Sick
Finalist, Robert F. Kennedy Book Award and New York Public Library Helen Bernstein Award (2008) for Sick
where he attended Pine Crest School
. He went on to study at Harvard University
where he became President of The Harvard Crimson
. He lived for many years in the Boston area before moving to his present home, Ann Arbor, Michigan
with his wife Amy Cohn. She is a professor and researcher in Industrial and Operations Engineering at the University of Michigan.
Cohn was a member of JournoList
.
The American Prospect
The American Prospect is a monthly American political magazine dedicated to American liberalism. Based in Washington, DC, The American Prospect is a journal "of liberal ideas, committed to a just society, an enriched democracy, and effective liberal politics" which focuses on United States politics...
, Cohn is currently a senior editor at The New Republic
The New Republic
The magazine has also published two articles concerning income inequality, largely criticizing conservative economists for their attempts to deny the existence or negative effect increasing income inequality is having on the United States...
magazine and a senior fellow at Demos.
Works
Cohn's writings have especially focused on social welfare and health careHealth care
Health care is the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in humans. Health care is delivered by practitioners in medicine, chiropractic, dentistry, nursing, pharmacy, allied health, and other care providers...
. He has been recognized in the pages of the Washington Post as "one of the nation's leading experts on health care policy" and in The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
as "one of the best health care writers out there".
From early 2009 through the spring of 2010, Cohn edited and was the primary writer for The Treatment, a blog about health care for The New Republic. In May, 2010, he started a new blog for "The New Republic" called Citizen Cohn. It focuses on domestic policy and politics.
Cohn is the author of a book, Sick: The Untold Story of America's Health Care Crisis - and the People Who Pay the Price (2007). In Sick, Cohn advocates for universal health insurance, financed by the government. It presents case studies that demonstrate how America's current system causes even many middle class Americans serious financial or medical hardship. It lays out a history of health insurance in America and points to the record of systems abroad, particularly in France, as proof that universal coverage works.
Cohn has also written extensively about the labor movement and the automobile industry.
Before joining The New Republic in 1997, Cohn served as executive editor at The American Prospect
The American Prospect
The American Prospect is a monthly American political magazine dedicated to American liberalism. Based in Washington, DC, The American Prospect is a journal "of liberal ideas, committed to a just society, an enriched democracy, and effective liberal politics" which focuses on United States politics...
. Cohn has also written for the Boston Globe, Mother Jones
Mother Jones (magazine)
Mother Jones is an American independent news organization, featuring investigative and breaking news reporting on politics, the environment, human rights, and culture. Mother Jones has been nominated for 23 National Magazine Awards and has won six times, including for General Excellence in 2001,...
, The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, Newsweek
Newsweek
Newsweek is an American weekly news magazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second-largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence...
, Rolling Stone, Slate
Slate (magazine)
Slate is a US-based English language online current affairs and culture magazine created in 1996 by former New Republic editor Michael Kinsley, initially under the ownership of Microsoft as part of MSN. On 21 December 2004 it was purchased by the Washington Post Company...
and the Washington Post. From 2002 to 2004, he was a media fellow at the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. He has appeared on many television and radio shows, including MSNBC
MSNBC
MSNBC is a cable news channel based in the United States available in the US, Germany , South Africa, the Middle East and Canada...
's "Countdown
Countdown with Keith Olbermann
Countdown with Keith Olbermann is an hour-long weeknight news and political commentary program that airs on Current TV, where it began airing on June 20, 2011. The program was broadcast on MSNBC from March 31, 2003, to January 21, 2011. On MSNBC, the show presented five selected news stories of...
," NPR
NPR
NPR, formerly National Public Radio, is a privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization that serves as a national syndicator to a network of 900 public radio stations in the United States. NPR was created in 1970, following congressional passage of the Public Broadcasting...
's "Fresh Air
Fresh Air
Fresh Air is an American radio talk show broadcast on National Public Radio stations across the United States. The show is produced by WHYY-FM in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Its longtime host is Terry Gross. , the show was syndicated to 450 stations and claimed 4.5 million listeners. The show...
," and "The Colbert Report".
Awards
Co-winner, Sidney Hillman Award (2010) for "The Treatment"Special Mention, Sidney Hillman Award (2009) for "Auto Destruct"
Co-winner, Harry Chapin Media Award (2008) for Sick
Finalist, Robert F. Kennedy Book Award and New York Public Library Helen Bernstein Award (2008) for Sick
Personal life
Cohn was raised in Fort Lauderdale, FloridaFlorida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
where he attended Pine Crest School
Pine Crest School
Pine Crest School is a private college preparatory school with campuses in Boca Raton and Fort Lauderdale, Florida. It was founded in Fort Lauderdale in 1934 by Mae McMillan who began as a tutor to children of families spending the winter in South Florida, USA. In 1995, Dr. Lourdes Cowgill became...
. He went on to study at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
where he became President of The Harvard Crimson
The Harvard Crimson
The Harvard Crimson, the daily student newspaper of Harvard University, was founded in 1873. It is the only daily newspaper in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and is run entirely by Harvard College undergraduates...
. He lived for many years in the Boston area before moving to his present home, Ann Arbor, Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
with his wife Amy Cohn. She is a professor and researcher in Industrial and Operations Engineering at the University of Michigan.
Cohn was a member of JournoList
JournoList
JournoList was a private Google Groups forum for discussing politics and the news media with 400 "left-leaning"...
.
External links
- About Jonathan Cohn - Sickthebook.com
- Video (and audio) conversation with Cohn and Ezra KleinEzra KleinEzra Klein is a liberal American blogger and columnist for The Washington Post, columnist for Bloomberg, a columnist for Newsweek, and a contributor to MSNBC...
on Bloggingheads.tvBloggingheads.tvBloggingheads.tv is a political, world events, philosophy, and science video blog discussion site in which the participants take part in an active back and forth conversation via webcam which is then broadcast online to viewers... - Jonathan Cohn on The Colbert Report