Whither the American republic?

Based in Charlottesville, Virginia, Jamelle Bouie is a columnist for The New York Times, where he writes about history and politics. He also cohosts the Unclear and Present Danger podcast on the political and military thrillers of the 1990s. Before the Times, Bouie was chief political correspondent for Slate magazine. He began his career at The American Prospect magazine and also spent time as a writer for The Daily Beast. He has contributed essays to volumes such as Four Hundred Souls: A Community History of African America, 1619-2019 and The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story. Bouie is also a photographer, documenting his surroundings using digital and analog tools. He attended the University of Virginia, where he graduated in 2009 with degrees in political and social thought and government. He was also a Miller Center intern.

Laura K. Field is a nonresident fellow in the governance studies program at Brookings, a visiting scholar in residence at American University, and a senior advisor for the Illiberalism Studies Program at George Washington University. An expert on populist intellectualism and the American right, she is the author of Furious Minds: The Making of the MAGA New Right (Princeton University Press, 2025). She previously held faculty positions at Rhodes College, Georgetown University, and American University. Her academic work has been published widely, and she has also written for the New Republic, Politico, The Bulwark, and other publications. She holds a BA and MA in political science from the University of Alberta and a PhD in government from the University of Texas at Austin.

Sidney M. Milkis is the Miller Center’s White Burkett Miller Professor of Governance and Foreign Affairs and a UVA professor of politics. His research focuses on the American presidency, political parties and elections, social movements, and American political development. In addition to teaching undergraduate and graduate students, he regularly gives public lectures on American politics and participates in programs for international scholars and high school teachers that probe the deep historical roots of contemporary developments in the United States. His many books include the recently published Subverting the Republic: Donald J. Trump and the Perils of Presidentialism and What Happened to the Vital Center?: Presidentialism, Populist Revolt, and the Fracturing of America. He holds a BA from Muhlenberg College and a PhD in political science from the University of Pennsylvania.