News & Politics Why Big Business Isn’t Backing Trump & the GOP For decades, the Republican Party and corporate America enjoyed a happy Washington marriage. Then came Donald Trump. Donald Trump, Republican Party, Big Tech | 1 week ago
News & Politics Meet the Smithsonian Bird Detectives Saving Lives When birds collide with airplanes, their remains are sent to a special lab in Washington, DC. There, an elite team of avian detectives works to identify the exact type of bird—the better to prevent future catastrophes. Features, Birds | 3 weeks ago
News & Politics Tom Blanton Wants to Know Our Government’s Secrets For decades, Blanton and other “document fetishists” at the nonprofit National Security Archive have been uncovering protected information the government doesn’t want the rest of us to know—all to help the public see the unredacted truth about our history. Features, CIA, Archives | 1 month ago
News & Politics The Local Girls Who Inspired the Hollywood Classic “Mean Girls” For decades, Jessica Jackson had a secret: Her high-school social life was an inspiration for the hit film “Mean Girls.” Film, Mean Girls | 2 months ago
Health | News & Politics Meet the NIH Detectives Cracking Medicine’s Toughest Cases When people suffering from mysterious afflictions have nowhere left to turn, they come to NIH’s Undiagnosed Diseases Program in Bethesda, where a team specializing in ultra-rare genetic disorders takes on cases that have stumped the medical world—and offers patients new hope. NIH, rare disease | 2 months ago
Food | News & Politics The Great Restaurant Fee Fiasco Surcharges are taking over Washington menus—creating confusion for diners, backlash for restaurants, and a fight over the future of eating out. Initiative 82, tipping, service fees | 3 months ago
Food | News & Politics Meet the DC Activist Behind the Alt-Meat Revolution Bruce Friedrich was responsible for some of the animal-rights movement’s most notorious stunts—but now he’s working to win over meat eaters one bite at a time. sustainability, alternative-meat | 4 months ago
News & Politics LGBTQ+ Gun Owners Are Breaching the Right-Wing Arms Bubble In a time of rising fear and polarization, liberals are increasingly taking up arms—and challenging a gun culture long dominated by conservatives. LGBTQ, Gun Control, gun violence | 4 months ago
News & Politics How #freetonylewis Became a Successful Movement At age 26, Tony Lewis Sr. was sentenced to life without parole for his leadership role in the signature drug empire of 1980s Washington. His son, Tony Lewis Jr., made it his mission to get his incarcerated father out of prison. Crime, DC History, Racism, Drugs | 5 months ago
News & Politics Restaurants vs. Diners, Psychedelic Therapy, and the Spy House Next Door: Washingtonian’s Best Longreads of 2023 Ten great feature stories we published this year. Longreads, Washingtonian Wrapped 2023 | 7 months ago