Matthew Yglesias Explained

Matthew Yglesias
Birth Date:18 May 1981
Birth Place:New York City, U.S.[1]
Education:Harvard University (BA)
Years Active:2002–present
Relatives:Rafael Yglesias (father)

Matthew Yglesias (; born May 18, 1981[2]) is an American blogger and journalist who writes about economics and politics.[3] [4] Yglesias has written columns and articles for publications such as The American Prospect, The Atlantic, and Slate. In 2014 he co-founded the news website Vox.

In November 2020,[5] he left his position as an editor and columnist at Vox to publish the Substack newsletter Slow Boring. In the same month, he joined the Niskanen Center as a Senior Fellow.[6] [7]

Early life and education

Yglesias is the son of Rafael Yglesias, a screenwriter and novelist. His paternal grandfather, novelist Jose Yglesias, was of Cuban and Spanish Galician descent, while his paternal grandmother, novelist Helen Yglesias (née Bassine) was the daughter of Yiddish-speaking immigrants from the Russian-controlled portion of Poland. His mother, Margaret Joskow, was the daughter of Jules Joskow, founder of National Economic Research Associates; economist Paul Joskow is Yglesias's uncle. His maternal grandparents were also of Eastern European Jewish descent.[8]

Yglesias went to high school at the Dalton School in New York City. He attended Harvard University, where he was editor in chief of The Harvard Independent and graduated in 2003 with a B.A. magna cum laude in philosophy.[9] [10]

Career

Early career

Yglesias started blogging in early 2002, while still in college, focusing mainly on American politics and public policy issues, often approached from an abstract, philosophical perspective.

Yglesias joined the American Prospect as a writing fellow upon his graduation in 2003, subsequently becoming a staff writer. His posts appeared regularly on the magazine's collaborative weblog TAPPED.[11]

From June 2007 until August 2008, he was a staff writer at The Atlantic Monthly, and his blog was hosted on the magazine's website, The Atlantic. In July 2008, he announced that he would leave The Atlantic Monthly for the Center for American Progress where he wrote for its blog, ThinkProgress, because he missed "the sense of collegiality that comes from working with like-minded colleagues on a shared enterprise" and thought he could "help advance their mission."[12] On November 21, 2011, he left ThinkProgress to work as a business and economics correspondent at Slate's Moneybox.[13] [14]

Vox

In February 2014, he left Slate and joined Vox Media to co-found Vox with Ezra Klein and Melissa Bell.[15] On November 13, 2020, Yglesias announced that he would no longer be writing for Vox.com.[16] Yglesias moved to Substack for editorial independence.[17]

Controversy

In 2013, Yglesias garnered controversy for his statements about the 2013 Dhaka garment factory collapse, with Yglesias arguing that the lower building standards that partially led to the factory's collapse make "economic sense"[18] in developing countries, later tweeting that "foreign factories should be more dangerous than American factories"[19] [20] and "the current system of letting different countries have different rules is working fine."[21] His comments were widely criticized in The Daily Beast,[22] Time[23] and other outlets,[24] [25] with The Guardian commenting that Yglesias is "confusing a person's human worth with their socio-economic status. That's wrong."[26] Yglesias later clarified some of his comments, but stood by his original position.[27]

Yglesias deleted his past Twitter feed in November 2018, after controversy over tweets which defended the motivation of protesters who gathered outside the house of Tucker Carlson. The tweets also expressed a lack of empathy for Carlson's wife, which caused outrage.[28]

Books

Yglesias authored the political nonfiction book One Billion Americans: The Case for Thinking Bigger, released on September 15, 2020.[29] It was inspired by Doug Saunders' Maximum Canada.[30] According to an analysis by British digital strategist Rob Blackie, Yglesias was one of the most commonly followed political writers among Biden administration staff on Twitter.[31]

Andrew Sullivan, a fellow blogger, takes nominations on his blog for the Yglesias Award, an honor "for writers, politicians, columnists or pundits who actually criticize their own side, make enemies among political allies, and generally risk something for the sake of saying what they believe."[32] [33]

Political views

In 2011, The Economist wrote that Yglesias espoused "left-leaning neoliberalism" in his writing.[34] In 2017, Vice listed Yglesias among a group of political writers who were labelled "neoliberal shills" in left-wing Twitter communities.[35] Yglesias himself embraced the "neoliberal shill" label in a 2019 podcast.

Yglesias initially supported the US invasion of Iraq. He referred to Iraq, Iran, and North Korea as "evil" and argued that "we should take them all out", although he criticized the term "axis of evil".[36] [37] Reflecting on his support for the 2003 Iraq War in 2010, Yglesias identified several reasons for his "mistake" at the time. He cited his belief in a more assertive American foreign policy, shaped by the idea that the US should have intervened more decisively in conflicts such as those in Haiti, Rwanda, Bosnia, and Kosovo. This belief contributed to his predisposition toward military intervention. He was also influenced by the support of prominent political figures, including key Democratic leaders and Tony Blair, whose positions he largely deferred to. Additionally, Yglesias acknowledged that he had underestimated the political risk for the Bush administration, even in the absence of confirmed weapons of mass destruction.[38]

In or before 2010, Yglesias coined the term "pundit's fallacy" to denote "the belief that what a politician needs to do to improve his or her political standing is do what the pundit wants substantively."[39] [40] [41] In 2012, Yglesias stated that he voted for Mitt Romney when he won the office for governor of Massachusetts in 2002.[42]

Personal life

Yglesias is married to Kate Crawford. Yglesias and Crawford met in 2008, and have one son together. Crawford now serves as editor for his Slow Boring newsletter.[43]

Works

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Matthew Yglesias Profile and Activity . Vox . June 5, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240528164029/https://www.vox.com/authors/matthew-yglesias . May 28, 2024 . live.
  2. 1383417923927040006. They say the nanobots take two weeks to be fully operational. mattyglesias. Yglesias. Matthew. 2021-04-17. https://web.archive.org/web/20210417150043/https://twitter.com/mattyglesias/status/1383417923927040006. 2021-04-17. dead.
  3. News: Reeve. Elspeth. Matt Yglesias' $1.2 Million House Stokes Class Envy in Conservatives. November 8, 2014. The Atlantic. March 22, 2013. March 8, 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160308060749/http://www.thewire.com/politics/2013/03/matt-yglesias-12-million-house-stokes-class-envy-conservatives/63440/. dead.
  4. News: Avard. Christian. Matt Yglesias: A Case for Liberal Internationalism. October 3, 2016. The Huffington Post. July 22, 2008.
  5. mattyglesias . Yglesias. Matthew. 1327279949569536002 . November 13, 2020 . Hey folks, some personal news. Co-founding @voxdotcom with @ezraklein & @MelissaBell has been one of the great adventures of my life but after 6+ years on the job I've decided it's time for me to move on to something new that I'm really excited about.. https://web.archive.org/web/20201113161325/https://twitter.com/mattyglesias/status/1327279949569536002. 2020-11-13.
  6. Web site: Niskanen . . 7 April 2023.
  7. Web site: Yglesias . Matthew . 30 Nov 2022 . I'm a senior fellow at the Niskanen Center . 2024-02-24 . www.slowboring.com . en.
  8. News: The Myth of Majority-Minority America . Yglesias. Matthew. 2012-05-22 . . 2015-11-29.
  9. Web site: Matt Yglesias Bio. TheAtlantic.com. July 20, 2012. November 15, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201115173626/https://www.theatlantic.com/author/matthew-yglesias/#bio. live.
  10. Web site: About Matthew Yglesias. October 20, 2022.
  11. Book: Special Plans: The Blogs on Douglas Feith & the Faulty Intelligence That Led to War. Hantschel. Allison. Franklin, Beedle & Associates, Inc.. 2005. 978-1-59028-049-2.
  12. News: Matthew. Yglesias. 2008-07-16. Big Think Tank Matt. https://web.archive.org/web/20201115173615/https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2008/07/big-think-tank-matt/49318/ . November 15, 2020. live. The Atlantic.
  13. News: Matthew Yglesias Moves to Slate. Stoeffel. Kat. . November 10, 2011 . November 21, 2011. August 3, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200803220609/https://observer.com/2011/11/matthew-yglesias-moves-to-slate/. live.
  14. Web site: Matthew Yglesias. Slate. November 21, 2011. November 15, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201115173600/https://slate.com/author/matthew-yglesias. live.
  15. News: Vox is our next. The Verge. Ezra. Klein. January 26, 2014. February 25, 2017. February 20, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170220093756/http://www.theverge.com/2014/1/26/5348212/ezra-klein-vox-is-our-next. live.
  16. Web site: The Weeds Podcast. 2020-11-13. Vox. en. January 15, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200115220927/https://www.vox.com/the-weeds. live.
  17. Web site: The Atlantic . November 13, 2020 . Why Matthew Yglesias Left Vox . Conor . Friedersdorf . November 13, 2020 . November 15, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201115173602/https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/11/substack-and-medias-groupthink-problem/617102/ . live .
  18. Web site: Yglesias. Matthew. 2013-04-24. Foreign Factories Should Be More Dangerous. 2021-10-30. Slate. en-US.
  19. Web site: No, Matt Yglesias, Bangladeshi Workers Didn't Choose To Be Crushed To Death. 2021-10-30. In These Times. Lindsay. Beyerstein. 2013-04-13. en-US.
  20. Foreign factories should be more dangerous than American factories. mattyglesias. Yglesias. Matthew. 327530993240121345. 2021-10-30. en-US.
  21. Web site: Robin. Corey. Would It Not Be Easier for Matt Yglesias to Dissolve the Bangladeshi People and Elect Another?. 2013-04-25. 2021-10-30. en-US.
  22. News: McArdle. Megan. 2013-04-30. 2017-04-21. Should We Force Other Countries to Be Safe?. en-US. The Daily Beast. 2021-10-30. https://web.archive.org/web/20200921041849/https://www.thedailybeast.com/should-we-force-other-countries-to-be-safe. 2020-09-21. live.
  23. Walsh. Bryan. 2013-04-29. Fast, Cheap, Dead: Shopping and the Bangladesh Factory Collapse. en-US. Time. 2021-10-30. 0040-781X.
  24. Web site: Different Places Have Different Safety Rules So It's Okay If Poor, Brown People Die. 2021-10-30. 2013-04-25. The Aerogram.
  25. Web site: Fast, Cheap, Dead: Shopping and the Bangladesh Factory Collapse (Time). 2013-05-06. 2021-10-30. Center For Global Development. en-US.
  26. Web site: 2013-04-29. The Bangladesh factory tragedy and the moralists of sweatshop economics . Maha Rafi Atal. 2021-10-30. The Guardian. en.
  27. Web site: Yglesias. Matthew. 2013-04-26. Some Further Thoughts on Bangladesh. 2021-10-30. Slate. en.
  28. News: Prengel. Kate. 8 November 2018. Matty Yglesias Has Deleted His Entire Twitter Feed. Heavy.com. live. April 29, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20201115173600/https://heavy.com/news/2018/11/matty-yglesias-has-deleted-his-entire-twitter-feed/. November 15, 2020.
  29. Web site: 2020-07-19. One Billion Americans. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20201115173601/https://www.1billionamericans.com/about/. November 15, 2020. 2020-08-20. One Billion Americans. en.
  30. News: Saunders. Doug. 11 September 2020. Imagine a world with a billion Americans in it. No, really. The Globe and Mail. live. 21 September 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201115173601/https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-imagine-a-world-with-a-billion-americans-in-it-no-really/. November 15, 2020.
  31. Web site: Thompson. Alex. Meyer. Theodoric. Biden 'is planning to run again' in 2024. 2021-01-20. 2021-11-22. POLITICO. en.
  32. Web site: Sullivan. Andrew. The Daily Dish Awards. https://web.archive.org/web/20070211223443/http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/awards.html. February 11, 2007. March 20, 2017. The Daily Dish. The Atlantic.
  33. Web site: Sullivan. Andrew. Biden's Culture War Aggression. 1 March 2021. The Weekly Dish. January 22, 2021 . Substack.
  34. News: W. . W. . 2011-07-18 . Everything falls apart . Iowa City. The Economist . 2022-03-15 . 0013-0613.
  35. Web site: Peyser . Eve . July 20, 2017 . Everyone Hates Neoliberals, So We Talked to Some . 2022-03-15 . Vice . en-US.
  36. Web site: MATTHEW YGLESIAS. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20201115173620/http://yglesias.blogspot.com/search?q=iraq. November 15, 2020. August 19, 2020.
  37. Web site: HYPER-HAWKISH TNR EDITORIAL. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20201115173556/http://yglesias.blogspot.com/2002_01_27_archive.html#9239310. November 15, 2020. June 4, 2016. Blogspot.
  38. News: Yglesias. Matthew. August 19, 2010. Four Reasons for a Mistake. ThinkProgress. December 4, 2020.
  39. News: Yglesias. Matthew. August 2, 2010. The Pundit's Fallacy. ThinkProgress (blog). live. January 23, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20201115173627/https://thinkprogress.org/the-pundits-fallacy-9ee33c511a40/. November 15, 2020.
  40. News: May 1, 2012. W.. W.. Iowa City. This week in the pundit's fallacy . The Economist. live. January 23, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20201115173624/https://www.economist.com/democracy-in-america/2012/05/01/this-week-in-the-pundits-fallacy. November 15, 2020.
  41. News: Krugman. Paul. May 24, 2012. How to End This Depression. The New York Review of Books. live. January 23, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20201115173602/https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2012/05/24/how-end-depression/. November 15, 2020.
  42. Mattyglesias . Yglesias. Matthew. My recollection is that pre-Romney MA was pretty good, and I voted for him to maintain the status quo. Which he did! . 241343504045973504. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20130718171430/https://twitter.com/mattyglesias/statuses/241343504045973504. July 18, 2013. September 1, 2012.
  43. News: Zak . Dan . The Boring Journey of Matt Yglesias . 12 January 2023 . Washington Post . 11 January 2023.
  44. http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-047008622X.html Wiley product page

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