Vann R. Newkirk II

Vann R. Newkirk II is a senior editor at The Atlantic and the host of the podcasts Floodlines and Holy Week.

Latest

  1. Solidarity and Gaza

    Black people see what is happening to Palestinians, and many feel the tug of the familiar in their heart.

    An illustrated portrait of W. E. B. Du Bois surrounded by multicolored figures and symbols
    Illustration by Diana Ejaita
  2. What America Owes the Planet

    Climate reparations would hold the globe’s biggest polluters—including the United States—responsible for their actions. They might also be the best hope those nations have for saving themselves.

    A bald eagle made out of black smog
    Illustration by Adam Maida
  3. Lost Photographs of Black America

    A trove of images from the 1960s and ’70s, discovered in a Swedish bank vault, offers new perspectives on the past—and the present.

    Black-and-white photograph of a couple holding each other on a crowded subway car
    Ernest Cole, Untitled, 1967–72, from "Ernest Cole: The True America" (Aperture, 2024). © 2024 Ernest Cole Family Trust.