Celebrating Our 2026 Honorees

Katrina vanden Heuvel is editor and publisher of The Nation.

A frequent commentator on U.S. and international politics for ABC, MSNBC, CNN, and Democracy Now!, her articles have appeared in The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, and The Boston Globe, and she wrote a weekly column for The Washington Post from 2013 to 2022. Vanden Heuvel is also the author of several books, including The Change I Believe In: Fighting for Progress in The Age of Obama, and co-author (with Stephen F. Cohen) of Voices of Glasnost: Interviews with Gorbachev’s Reformers.

Vanden Heuvel has been recognized for her journalism and public service by organizations such as Planned Parenthood, the New York Civil Liberties Union, the Center for Community Change, the Norman Mailer Center, the Eleanor Roosevelt Center at Val-Kill, Progressive Congress, and more. During her tenure, The Nation’s journalism has been recognized for excellence by the National Magazine Awards, the Society of Professional Journalists, the Maggie Awards, GLAAD, and the National Association of Black Journalists, among others.

Vanden Heuvel serves on the boards of The Quincy Institute, The Progressive Caucus Center, The Institute for Policy Studies, The Sidney Hillman Media Foundation, Inequality Media, The Osborne Association, The Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute, and The Four Freedoms Park Conservancy. She is President of The American Committee for US-Russian Accord (ACURA), and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Annie Jacobsen is a Pulitzer Prize finalist and New York Times bestselling author. Her books include: AREA 51; OPERATION PAPERCLIP; THE PENTAGON’S BRAIN; PHENOMENA; SURPRISE, KILL, VANISH; and FIRST PLATOON. Her 2024 book, NUCLEAR WAR: A SCENARIO, is an international bestseller which reawakened the public to the precarious and dangerous nature of nuclear war.

Jacobsen’s books have been named Best of the Year and Most Anticipated by outlets including The Washington Post, USA Today, The Boston Globe, Vanity Fair, Apple, and Amazon. She has appeared on countless TV programs and media platforms—from PBS Newshour to Joe Rogan—discussing war, weapons, government secrecy, and national security. Audiences have ranged from The Vatican to The United Nations.

Her upcoming book, BIOLOGICAL WAR: A SCENARIO will be available on July 28th, 2026.