Clay Risen

Clay Risen is the author of the forthcoming Red Scare: Blacklists, McCarthyism, and the Making of Modern America.

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When America Persecutes Its Teachers
The Red Scare in schools
Clay Risen
March 4, 2025
Illustration by Ben Kothe / The Atlantic. Sources: Bettmann / Getty; Harold M. Lambert / Getty.
How America Learned to Love Whiskey
Attempts to control the fermentation and sale of alcohol are older than the republic itself.
Clay Risen
December 6, 2013
Library of Congress
The Rebirth of a Pre-Prohibition Liquor
Clay Risen
June 19, 2012
The Rise of Sake
Clay Risen
March 23, 2012
Drink Like Royalty: Berry Bros. & Rudd's King's Ginger Hits America
Clay Risen
January 27, 2012
The Entirely Defensible Fad for Limited-Edition, Barrel-Aged Gin
Clay Risen
January 12, 2012
The Problem With Guides to Beer Drinking: There Just Aren't Enough
Clay Risen
October 31, 2011
The Divisive Pumpkin Ale
Clay Risen
October 11, 2011
The World's Silliest Liquor: Fake Moonshine
Clay Risen
August 23, 2011
For American Distillers, a Whiskey Crisis Looms on the Horizon
Clay Risen
July 28, 2011