McKay Coppins

The First Couple of a Dysfunctional DHS A forthcoming book reveals new details about Kristi Noem and Corey Lewandowski.

New: I've obtained portions of a forthcoming book about the dysfunction inside the Department of Homeland Security. It contains damning details about the relationship between Secretary Kristi Noem and Corey Lewandowski—and how it's warping the agency. www.theatlantic.com/politics/202...

Jeff Flake on Trump and America's Global Reputation A conversation with the former Republican senator and U.S. ambassador on American decline, global instability, and the future of the GOP.

I had a great conversation with Jeff Flake about America’s evolving (eroding?) global reputation. At the end of the episode, we also get into a little debate about what will happen to the GOP after Trump. mckaycoppins.substack.com/p/jeff-flake...

Where did Stephen Miller's politics develop?

"The thing that most struck me in talking to him years ago when I was profiling him was how much of his political worldview was forged in opposition to his upbringing," said @mckaycoppins.bsky.social.

Trump's New ICE—and What It's Doing to America A conversation with Caitlin Dickerson, the Pulitzer-winning immigration reporter, about Minneapolis, the flood of Trump-era recruits to ICE, and what it's like to be an immigrant in America right now.

For this week's Deseret Voices podcast, I talked to my brilliant Atlantic colleague Caitlin Dickerson about Minneapolis, the flood of Trump-era recruits to ICE, and what it's like to be an immigrant in America right now. Highlights in my newsletter: mckaycoppins.substack.com/p/trumps-new...

Do we really need more "fighters" in politics? A conversation with Jon Ralston, the author of a new biography of former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

Reading the new biography of Harry Reid, I found a lot to admire about the late senator’s relentlessness. But the same thought kept occurring to me: Do we really want more of this in politics?

My conversation with author Jon Ralston on Deseret Voices: mckaycoppins.substack.com/p/do-we-real...

Now What? A conversation with foreign policy expert Richard Fontaine about the fall of Maduro, the future of Venezuela, and which regimes Trump might try to topple next.

Boots on the ground in Caracas? Regime-change operations in Cuba or Colombia? An invasion of Greenland?

For this week's episode of Deseret Voices, I talked to Richard Fontaine about the fall of Maduro, the future of Venezuela, and what Trump might do next. open.substack.com/pub/mckaycop...

From April 2017

If you’re looking for last-minute Christmas presents, I wrote in my newsletter about my favorite books that I read in 2025. mckaycoppins.substack.com/p/trump-feed...

Had a great time talking to @sarahlongwell25.bsky.social for this week’s episode of Deseret Voices—what worries her about America’s future, what gives her hope, and what we get wrong about Trump voters. mckaycoppins.substack.com/p/trump-feed...

The Rational Case for Being Religious A conversation with New York Times columnist Ross Douthat about atheism's failures, flying saints, why everyone should go to church, and what he thinks "God is up to" with the LDS story

For this week's episode of Deseret Voices, I had a great, delightfully weird conversation with Ross Douthat about flying saints, atheism's failures, and why he thinks "God is up to something interesting with the LDS story."

More in my newsletter: mckaycoppins.substack.com/p/the-ration...

How Spencer Cox was "radicalized" against social media companies A conversation with the Utah governor about why he thinks algorithms are "evil," his addiction to Twitter, and his state's legal fight with the big-tech companies he accuses of wrecking the country.

For this week's episode of Deseret Voices, I talked to Utah Gov. Spencer Cox about how he's been "radicalized" against social media companies, his own Twitter addiction, and the startling things he’s learned from Utah’s legal fight with big tech. mckaycoppins.substack.com/p/how-spence...

Inside The Meltdown At America’s Most Conservative, Most Christian Political Consulting Firm Rex Elsass built a Republican empire on his faith. But he found himself battling his closest allies over his immortal soul.

I assume you’ve read the seminal @mckaycoppins.bsky.social work from 2013: www.buzzfeednews.com/article/mcka...

The president continues to behave in ways that not a single parent I know would tolerate from their elementary-school-aged kids.

The violence that haunts American politics A conversation with Senator Mark Kelly about what's driving the rise in vigilante violence, how to stop it, and why he believes ICE agents should refuse to follow unlawful orders.

I also wrote a bit in my newsletter (subscribe below!) about why I wanted to talk to Sen. Kelly and what I found most notable from our conversation. mckaycoppins.substack.com/p/the-violen...

🎁 Forty-one days until Christmas. A perfect day to buy someone a gift subscription to The Atlantic: accounts.theatlantic.com/products/gif...

YouTube video by Deseret News Full Podcast: How to end the plague of political violence

For my first episode of Deseret Voices, I talked to @SenMarkKelly about the plague of political violence, how to stop it, and why he thinks ICE agents should stop following unlawful orders from the Trump Administration.

youtu.be/ExpTt31hfTI?...

Flying down to Austin this morning for the Texas Tribune Festival, where I’ll be interviewing former Sen. Joe Manchin and appearing onstage with several of my esteemed Atlantic colleagues. BBQ and taco recs welcome. Come say hi if you’re in town! festival.texastribune.org/event/c17d2d...

Meet McKay Coppins, the Trump-provoking journalist and podcaster whose observations are ‘minor’ no more Known for his work at BuzzFeed and The Atlantic, Coppins will be part of the new “Deseret Voices” podcast.

Grateful to the Deseret News for this profile, which covers my greatest professional achievement: my stewardship of the student newspaper at my kids' elementary school, The Sunshine Times.

(There's some other stuff in the story, too.)
www.deseret.com/politics/202...

Some exciting news A new podcast that brings together my reporting, my curiosity, and hope for better conversations.

Excited to share that I’ll be co-hosting a new interview podcast, Deseret Voices. I wrote on Substack about why I’m taking this on, and my goals for the show.

We’ve got some great guests lined up, but also taking suggestions—who should I interview?
mckaycoppins.substack.com/p/some-excit...

About - McKay’s Substack My personal Substack. Click to read McKay’s Substack, by McKay Coppins, a Substack publication with hundreds of subscribers.

I’ll have something cool to share soon. If you haven’t already, subscribe to my newsletter to get the announcement: mckaycoppins.substack.com/about

The Shooter and the Prophet Russell M. Nelson, the Latter-day Saint prophet who preached the need for peacemakers in an angry world, died over the weekend. Then a gunman opened fire on a church in Michigan.

On the death of a prophet, a church shooting in Michigan, and what I learned from President Russell M. Nelson. This was a difficult piece to write. www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...

I don’t even know which side you’re insisting with such certainty doesn’t participate in political violence. But whatever you’re arguing, just the last few years would strongly suggest you’re wrong.

Trump Has a Warning for Spencer Cox Utah’s grieving governor opens up about his state, the country’s dangerous spiral, and a haunting conversation with the president.

I spoke with Utah's grieving governor about his state, America's dangerous spiral, and what social media is doing to us. www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...

Trump Has a Warning for Spencer Cox Utah’s grieving governor opens up about his state, the country’s dangerous spiral, and a haunting conversation with the president.

Shortly after Utah Governor Spencer Cox's news conference yesterday, he got a call from the president. "You know, the type of person who would do something like that to Charlie Kirk would love to do it to us," Cox says Trump told him. www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...

Growing Up Murdoch James Murdoch on mind games, sibling rivalry, and the war for the family media empire

Today is a good day to read @mckaycoppins.bsky.social on the mind games, sibling rivalry, and war for power that culminated in Lachlan Murdoch winning his family’s succession fight:

www.theatlantic.com/magazine/arc...

Life is complicated, human experience is varied, some people shouldn't be parents, etc.—I understand the aversion to having kids. But it's kind of amazing that "parenthood is good and makes people happy" is considered such a counterintuitive take in 2025.

The Marriage Effect A common narrative has it that commitment and motherhood make women unhappy. New data suggest the opposite is true.

From a new survey of 3,000 American women ages 25 to 55, controlled for age, family income, and education:

"Married mothers are actually happier than unmarried women and married women without children."

www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...

Number of times I’ve heard a KPop Demon Hunters song in Mexico City this week: 3 (and counting)

Photos: Starvation and Chaos in Gaza Israel’s blockade of most food and aid, along with distribution difficulties inside the Gaza Strip, have driven many of Gaza’s 2 million Palestinians to the brink of starvation.

Photos: Starvation and Chaos in Gaza
www.theatlantic.com/photography/...

Jason Chaffetz: The Prince of Oversight The Utah Republican chairs the House’s watchdog committee. But critics charge he’d rather overlook the Trump administration’s infractions than look into them.

(Chaffetz, notably, resigned from Congress a month later, joined Fox News, and has enjoyed an apparently successful media career as a pro-Trump pundit/talking head/author.) Anyway, here's the link to that interview:
www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...