Liberties Journal: Politics and the Literary Magazine

Join a panel of editors and contributors from Liberties Journal with former Washington Post opinion editor David Shipley on the intersection of political and literary culture in America — and how a small cadre of magazines are helping to rekindle the art of intelligent cultural discourse in the age of social media.

Arriving five years ago “like a meteor of intelligent substance” (Thomas Friedman), Liberties aims to offer intellectually adventurous content with a global perspective, in the spirit of the postwar New York Review of Books and Partisan Review. It has published contemporary voices like David Grossman and Mosab Abu Toha, as well as legal thinkers like Cass Sunstein alongside work by writers like Louise Glück and Helen Vendler. Liberties focuses on the belief that serious long-form journalism, cultural criticism, and emerging fiction and poetry continue to be vital forces in American society.

In an age of fractured attention and social media, how do magazines like Liberties help to shape our culture? In an evening of lively debate in celebration of the magazine’s first five years, hear David Shipley lead a roundtable discussion with editor Leon Wieseltier and managing editor Celeste Marcus — along with award-winning contributors like Sean Wilentz, Sheila O’Malley, Arash Azizi, and James Wolcott— about the art of the magazine journalism and intellectual discourse, the changing landscape of American media, and keeping the flame of intellectual discourse alive for a new generation.

“A murderer’s row of important, fortifying, and inspiring writers.” — Aaron Sorkin

“Liberties is THE place to be.” — Wynton Marsalis