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Dana Milbank

@danamilbank.bsky.social
14K followers 210 following 110 posts

Political writer. Author. Country Mouse. Columnist with @washingtonsun.bsky.social. Formerly with Washington Post. Sign up to receive my columns: washingtonsun.com/dana-milbank-news…

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Dana Milbank @danamilbank.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Coming to a national park near you: The Death Valley Developers, the Denali Data Centers, the Badlands Billionaires, the Canyonlands Cronies, the Grand Teton Tech Bros and the Crater Lake Cryptos compete in the Trump Corruption League. My latest column: www.washingtonsun.com/perspectives...
washingtonsun.com
Ballparks in Our National Parks? Trump’s Plundering Is in a League of Its Own.
Coming to a national park near you: The Denali Data Centers vs. the Crater Lake Cryptos.
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Reposted by Dana Milbank
Oriana González @oriana.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
SCOOP: White House officials, led by Susie Wiles, have told DOJ to delay any abortion-related action until after the midterms Wiles suggested to Todd Blanche that an aggressive approach on abortion would be negative for the GOP in November @washingtonsun.com www.washingtonsun.com/campaigns/ab...
washingtonsun.com
White House Officials Told the DOJ to Delay Action on Abortion Ahead of the Midterms
Attorney General Todd Blanche has moved slowly in abortion pill litigation and department officials have told advocates to wait until after the election.
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Dana Milbank @danamilbank.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Russell Brand goes on trial in London in two weeks for rape. But first he was invited to the MAHA Summit to vouch for the high character of RFK Jr. And the sleaziness was just beginning. My latest @washingtonsun.bsky.social column. www.washingtonsun.com/perspectives...
washingtonsun.com
RFK Jr. Just Exposed a Fraudster — And It Is Him
He said he would end “corporate capture.” Now his MAHA movement is for sale.
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Dana Milbank @danamilbank.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
The biggest threat to our national security right now is Donald J. Trump. My latest @washingtonsun.bsky.social column, on the press ban, snipers atop the Arc de Trump and his surrender to Xi. www.washingtonsun.com/perspectives...
washingtonsun.com
It Was Already a Pretty Bad Week. Then Trump Surrendered to China.
Xi came to town, and the American president became a supplicant.
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Dana Milbank @danamilbank.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
The AI industry sounded an existential alarm -- and the House went home. Hoping Washington will save us? Have a nice doomsday. My latest @washingtonsun.bsky.social column. www.washingtonsun.com/perspectives...
washingtonsun.com
Dana Milbank: Hoping Washington Will Save Us From AI? Have A Nice Doomsday!
The industry sounds an existential alarm — and the House goes home.
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Dana Milbank @danamilbank.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Sorry about the Kennedy Center, Mr. President. But there’s still the Donald J. Trump Bestiality Waiver. My @washingtonsun.bsky.social column on the remaining naming opportunities for a self-obsessed president: www.washingtonsun.com/perspectives...
washingtonsun.com
Dana Milbank: These Disasters Have Trump’s Name All Over Them
Herbert Hoover had his Hoovervilles. It’s no picnic in Trumptown, either.
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Dana Milbank @danamilbank.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
In Dallas, Republicans learn there’s no escaping an unpopular president. My @washingtonsun.bsky.social column from the (partially empty) convention arena. washingtonsun.com/perspectives...
washingtonsun.com
Dana Milbank: In Dallas, Trump’s Land of Make Believe Unravels
Republicans discover there is no escaping the unpopular president
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Dana Milbank @danamilbank.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
I’m one of at least 28 former Washington Post journalists who have joined the @washingtonsun, which launched this morning. Paul Kane, Jeff Stein, Tom Sietsema and many other names will be familiar to Post readers —and we’ve got the Capital Weather Gang. Join us! washingtonsun.com/perspectives...
washingtonsun.com
Dana Milbank: The Washington Sun Rises Today. I Hope You’ll Join Our Orbit.
My boss, Tim Grieve, posted a photo on X last week of a shipment of office chairs that had just arrived at the Arlington, Virginia, headquarters of our new publication, The Washington Sun. “It's fun t...
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Dana Milbank @danamilbank.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
The Washington Sun rises today. I hope you’ll join our orbit. The Sun aims to do nothing less than reinvent the newspaper for the digital age — and to prove that there is a market in the capital region for local news and sports coverage. washingtonsun.com/perspectives...
washingtonsun.com
Dana Milbank: The Washington Sun Rises Today. I Hope You’ll Join Our Orbit.
My boss, Tim Grieve, posted a photo on X last week of a shipment of office chairs that had just arrived at the Arlington, Virginia, headquarters of our new publication, The Washington Sun. “It's fun t...
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Dana Milbank @danamilbank.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Launching tomorrow! Here comes “The Sun.” The Washington Sun, that is. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/08/b...
nytimes.com
Politics News Site NOTUS Rebrands as The Washington Sun
A trademark dispute scuttled its plans to relaunch as The Washington Star, so the site chose a different name.
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Dana Milbank @danamilbank.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
The only thing Mike Johnson's House is good at doing is wrongdoing. My latest column, on the grim consequences of eliminating almost all the competitive seats in Congress. www.notus.org/perspectives...
notus.org
Dana Milbank: The Only Thing Mike Johnson’s House Is Good at Doing Is Wrongdoing
This may be the do-nothingest Congress in generations. But it produced a bumper crop of scandals.
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Dana Milbank @danamilbank.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
Prices are high, Trump has hit a record low, and only 16 percent of Americans think the country is on the right track. So Republican candidates are approaching the midterm elections with an unorthodox message for voters: Quit your bellyaching. My latest column. www.notus.org/perspectives...
notus.org
Dana Milbank: The Republican Midterm Message on Inflation? Stop Whining!
Prices are climbing, President Donald Trump has hit a record low in polls, and only 16 percent of Americans think the country is going in the right direction. So several Republican candidates and offi...
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Dana Milbank @danamilbank.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
In Virginia, data centers are destroying the countryside — even in counties that have no data centers. It’s time for a moratorium. My latest column: www.notus.org/perspectives...
notus.org
Dana Milbank: Data Centers Are Destroying Virginia’s Countryside — Even in Places That Have No Data Centers
Why won’t Spanberger stop the madness?
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Dana Milbank @danamilbank.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
After El-Sayed's win, some Republicans immediately descended into bigotry, portraying him as a terrorist installed by the Muslim Brotherhood. Ted Cruz even made el-Sayed the focus of a Senate hearing -- but no other senator showed up. My latest column. www.notus.org/perspectives...
notus.org
Dana Milbank: Ted Cruz Threw an Islamophobic Party — And Nobody Showed Up
After Abdul El-Sayed’s win, Republicans got real ugly, real fast.
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Dana Milbank @danamilbank.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
If Abdul El-Sayed wins on Tuesday, it will be seen as a triumph of insurgents over the establishment, of the Democratic Socialists of America-inspired far left over the moderates. But the truth is far more complicated. My latest column, from Michigan. www.notus.org/perspectives...
notus.org
Dana Milbank: I Was Prepared to Dislike Abdul El-Sayed. Then I Came to Michigan and Spoke to Him.
He isn’t as scary as the party establishment thinks.
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Dana Milbank @danamilbank.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
The great @tomsietsema.bsky.social is back!
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Reposted by Dana Milbank
Sam Fortier @sam4tr.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
Was a national civics competition for high-school kids ... Rigged? Biased? Botched? I followed one family through Trump's patriotic contest and found a remarkable story about our age of suspicion. For @notus.com: www.notus.org/national/ame...
notus.org
Suspicion and Doubt at the National Civics Contest
America’s finest young scholars competed to mark their country's birthday. It led to a disputed finish in the age of mistrust.
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Dana Milbank @danamilbank.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
Maybe Pete Hegseth is the one with a testosterone problem. My latest on column, on how the Defense Secretary's poor form goes well beyond his bench press. www.notus.org/perspectives...
notus.org
Dana Milbank: Maybe Pete Hegseth Is the One With a Testosterone Problem
Hegseth's poor form isn't limited to his bench press.
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Dana Milbank @danamilbank.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
Noise pollution is pushing into rural areas, threatening human and animal health. On my farm, I took a loud stand for quiet. My latest @notus.com column: www.notus.org/perspectives...
notus.org
Dana Milbank: Noise Pollution Threatens the Countryside. I Fought Back — Loudly
I hope to be considered for the Pulitzer in Self-Interested Reporting.
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Dana Milbank @danamilbank.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
Trump's Great American State Fair is using our taxpayer dollars, our National Mall and our nation's 250th birthday to promote conspiracy theorists, Christian nationalists, Chinese technology -- and, mostly, Donald Trump. My latest column: www.notus.org/perspectives...
notus.org
Dana Milbank: Trump’s Nutty State Fair Hijacked the Fourth of July. And My Pen.
I went through the magnetometer to enter the National Mall for President Trump’s Great American State Fair this week, putting my pens, notebook, phone and wallet on the table for inspection. “You have...
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Dana Milbank @danamilbank.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
My latest column: Israel will be holding elections no later than Oct. 27, and it’s time for American Jews to tell Israelis: We’re sick of Netanyahu. His regime has done more damage to the Jewish State than Hamas or Hezbollah could ever hope to do. www.notus.org/perspectives...
notus.org
Dana Milbank: Israelis Need to Understand that America Is About to File for Divorce
We know from the new Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan book that President Trump threatened Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu last year with “divorce.” “Everybody’s sick of you, Bibi,” Trump told the Israel...
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Dana Milbank @danamilbank.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
My latest column looks at how progressives and Democrats are drafting plans to to use the all-powerful, unitary executive that Trump has established (and the Roberts Court has blessed) to launch a new Progressive Era-- no legislation required. www.notus.org/perspectives...
notus.org
Dana Milbank: Democrats Are Drafting Plans to Govern Like Trump in 2029
He may have inadvertently sown the seeds of a new progressive age.
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Dana Milbank @danamilbank.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
Who are the SICK, DERANGED PEOPLE vandalizing our nation's capital? I think I found them. My latest column: www.notus.org/perspectives...
notus.org
Dana Milbank: Who Are the ‘SICK, DERANGED PEOPLE’ Vandalizing D.C.? I Think I Figured It Out!
President Trump is very concerned about vandalism in our nation’s capital, and I am here to help him. The president got increasingly agitated as his beloved Reflecting Pool, within days of reopening, ...
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Dana Milbank @danamilbank.bsky.social · 11/06/2026
On Capitol Hill, Republicans establish that Joe Biden caused the screwworm outbreak and that Democrats like to cut off penises. My latest: www.notus.org/perspectives...
notus.org
Dana Milbank: Who Caused the Screwworm Outbreak? Joe Biden, Of Course.
The screwworm has turned. Days after the Trump administration took office in 2025, it reopened livestock trade across the southern border, reversing a ban the Biden administration had put in place to ...
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Dana Milbank @danamilbank.bsky.social · 09/06/2026
War? Inflation? Relax. Trump did you a 'favor.' My column on Trump's Sulky Stage, in which he thanks himself because nobody else will. www.notus.org/perspectives...
notus.org
War and Inflation? Relax. Trump Did You a ‘Favor.’
They booed President Donald Trump’s motorcade as it made its way to Madison Square Garden for Game 3 of the NBA Finals on Monday night. They raised their middle fingers and lowered their thumbs. They ...
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Dana Milbank @danamilbank.bsky.social · 19/05/2026
The Star launches in two weeks. In the meantime, here’s an update from the farm, where I’ve lately made friends with a blue grosbeak, become landlord to a tree swallow and watched some spring treetop flashers put on a dazzling pyrotechnic display. www.notus.org/perspectives...
notus.org
Disease, Drought, Climate Change — And the Joy of Fighting Back
On my Virginia farm, I have a front-row seat to the grim consequences of a warming planet. But I’m not surrendering.
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Dana Milbank @danamilbank.bsky.social · 24/04/2026
My column in The Star begins in June, but in this @notus.com essay I look back on my 10-month exile from politics and ask: What did I miss? Donald Trump still governs with the same signature blend of bluster, grift and bumbling. But the country has changed. www.notus.org/perspectives...
notus.org
I Mostly Ignored Politics for 10 Months. What Did I Miss?
Trump hasn’t changed. But we have.
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Dana Milbank @danamilbank.bsky.social · 17/04/2026
“The newsroom, which had about 45 people at the beginning of the year, will probably more than double to 95 journalists by the end of the year.” I’m happy to be one of them. www.nytimes.com/2026/04/16/b...
nytimes.com
Politics News Site NOTUS to Become ‘The Star’
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Dana Milbank @danamilbank.bsky.social · 10/04/2026
As JD Vance arrives in Pakistan to take ownership of the Iran war, a refresher on what brought him to this place. www.nytimes.com/2026/04/07/o...
nytimes.com
Opinion | How Much Humiliation Can Vance Take?
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Dana Milbank @danamilbank.bsky.social · 07/04/2026
As JD Vance debases himself -- yet again -- by campaigning in Hungary today for its white-nationalist, authoritarian ruler, I have a cameo in @nytopinion.nytimes.com noting that Vance's many deals with the devil aren't paying off. www.nytimes.com/2026/04/07/o...
nytimes.com
Opinion | How Much Humiliation Can JD Vance Take?
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Dana Milbank @danamilbank.bsky.social · 20/03/2026
In my final column for the Post, an interfaith movement to celebrate America's "sacred texts" shows that our 250th birthday doesn't have to be an Ultimate Fighting match. Gift link: wapo.st/40EBHwr
wapo.st
Column | We came from different parties and faiths. We left as compatriots.
On America’s 250th birthday, how discussions of the Declaration of Independence and other documents are bridging religious and political divisions.
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Dana Milbank @danamilbank.bsky.social · 16/03/2026
I am leaving the Washington Post to join a new journalistic venture backed by Politico founder Robert Allbritton that will be both the hometown publication the D.C. region sorely needs and a scrappy and fearless national news organization. I hope you'll join us.
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Dana Milbank @danamilbank.bsky.social · 13/03/2026
The Earth has been talking to us for millions of years. For the first time, we can hear it. This week's column: A multimedia collaboration with audio of sounds made by everything from glaciers to jumping spiders. Gift link: wapo.st/3PkLsgJ
wapo.st
Column | For eons, the earth has been talking to us. New technology allows us to listen.
New technology enables us to perceive sounds beyond human hearing range, allowing a new perspective on our place on the planet.
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Dana Milbank @danamilbank.bsky.social · 13/03/2026
The Earth has been talking to us for millions of years. For the first time, we can hear it. This week's column: A multimedia collaboration with audio of sounds made by everything from glaciers to jumping spiders. Gift link: wapo.st/3PkLsgJ
wapo.st
Column | For eons, the earth has been talking to us. New technology allows us to listen.
New technology enables us to perceive sounds beyond human hearing range, allowing a new perspective on our place on the planet.
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Dana Milbank @danamilbank.bsky.social · 27/02/2026
Goodnight, stars. My latest column, on plans to put a million data centers into orbit and use satellites to turn night into day -- and what this means for us as humans. Gift link. wapo.st/4cdyP0s
wapo.st
Column | We’re about to turn night into day. Is that a good idea?
Proposals before the FCC involve mirrors that could bathe entire cities in sunlight and, from SpaceX, a million satellites to serve as data centers.
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Dana Milbank @danamilbank.bsky.social · 25/02/2026
I asked readers to share winter photos that stir their emotions. Here are the scenes that give them hope. wapo.st/4s8Fg9N
wapo.st
Column | These winter images gave readers hope
From the mountains of New England to the redwoods of California, these scenes have the power to inspire and console.
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Dana Milbank @danamilbank.bsky.social · 20/02/2026
One path to a happier life: thinking about death. My latest column, on a group of women who learned that talking about their mortality has improved their remaining days. Gift link: wapo.st/472Eh2H
wapo.st
Column | One path to a happier life: Thinking more about death
When we learn to talk about our mortality, our remaining years of life can become more meaningful.
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Dana Milbank @danamilbank.bsky.social · 13/02/2026
I went into phone-free silence. What happened was disturbing. My latest column, on our addiction to distraction. Gift link. wapo.st/40aadyg
wapo.st
Column | I went into phone-free silence. Something disturbing happened.
Suddenly shutting off external signals and focusing inward can demand a startling amount of energy.
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Dana Milbank @danamilbank.bsky.social · 06/02/2026
Good news: We saved the bees. Bad news: We saved the wrong ones. My latest column, on how our well-intended plans to heal nature sometimes go awry. Gift link: wapo.st/3ZhkdWf
wapo.st
Column | Good news: We saved the bees. Bad news: We saved the wrong ones.
Honeybees have never been in danger of extinction. But scientists are finding that they can accelerate the demise of native bee populations.
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Dana Milbank @danamilbank.bsky.social · 30/01/2026
For this week's column, I hung out with members of the rescue squad and other retired super-volunteers. Turns out they are not only enhancing their wellbeing -- they are extending their lives by slowing aging. Gift link. wapo.st/4t9F8rK
wapo.st
Column | Here’s a proven way to slow aging. Any volunteers?
New research shows that you can lengthen your own life by improving someone else’s.
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Dana Milbank @danamilbank.bsky.social · 23/01/2026
Neuroscience is finding that even the smallest amount of time noticing nature -- 10 observations over 14 days -- significantly improves our sense of hope. In this dark winter for our nation and for our planet, we need that. Gift link to my latest column. wapo.st/3NsnT4T
wapo.st
Column | Try this 14-day exercise to strengthen hope, even in darkest winter
This intervention is straightforward, but its results might surprise you.
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Dana Milbank @danamilbank.bsky.social · 16/01/2026
What does not kill us really does make us stronger. My latest @washingtonpost.com column, about how I set my farm on fire and did other questionable things. Now with $4 day pass for non-subscribers. www.washingtonpost.com/climate-envi...
washingtonpost.com
Column | I just set my farm on fire. It was thrilling.
This has been my winter of living dangerously, and my experiences have boosted my sense of well-being.
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Dana Milbank @danamilbank.bsky.social · 09/01/2026
Humans since Socrates have been asking how to live the good life. Now AI is trying to answer the question. My latest column, on a startup by chastened founders of Twitter and Pinterest. Gift link. wapo.st/3Yw7yyk
wapo.st
Column | A new approach to living a good life comes from a most unlikely place
A group of unexpected guides is asking whether digital life has pulled us off course—and whether there’s a way back
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Dana Milbank @danamilbank.bsky.social · 19/12/2025
The National Gallery of Art worked with UC Berkeley psychologists to help people find more awe and wonder in their lives. Try some of these prompts. Gift link: wapo.st/49kHrQT
wapo.st
Tips for finding awe from the National of Gallery of Art
Prompts paired with paintings are designed to spur a sense of wonder.
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Dana Milbank @danamilbank.bsky.social · 19/12/2025
Daily experiences of wonder improve your health -- and it isn't hard to achieve this state. My latest column, from the National Gallery of Art, explains how. Link with $4 day pass offer for nonsubscribers. www.washingtonpost.com/climate-envi...
washingtonpost.com
Column | Feeling wonder every day improves our health. Here’s how to do it.
Research has established the power of awe. I experienced it myself in a way I never thought I could.
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Dana Milbank @danamilbank.bsky.social · 12/12/2025
How has the Mormon church produced so many conservative political leaders who defy Trump on matters of decency and compromise? The answer points to a way out of our political crisis. Link to my latest column includes a $4 day-pass offer for nonsubscribers. www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...
washingtonpost.com
Column | Why Mormonism may have an answer for our toxic politics
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox draws on teachings from his Mormon faith to ‘disagree better.’ Studies show his approach could change public attitudes.
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Dana Milbank @danamilbank.bsky.social · 05/12/2025
Would having a full-body MRI cure my medical worries -- or make them a whole lot worse? Here's what I found. Includes a $4 day pass offer for non-subscribers. www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...
washingtonpost.com
Column | A full-body MRI can reveal hidden killers. Do we want to know?
Like many emerging technologies, this one can improve our lives, make us miserable or both. Nobody knows yet which it will be.
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Dana Milbank @danamilbank.bsky.social · 21/11/2025
Politics has frozen our brains. Here's a way to reboot. My latest column, with new research on how we can use curiosity to defang political foes and detoxify the discourse. Link includes $4 day-pass offer for non-subscribers. www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...
washingtonpost.com
Column | Defuse political tension in your family with one simple question
This research-backed technique can increase open-mindedness and reduce political polarization, improving conversations at family gatherings and in daily life.
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Dana Milbank @danamilbank.bsky.social · 17/11/2025
Scientists have found 2,000-year-old plant communities that offer answers to the biodiversity crisis and climate change. If you're not a subscriber, use this link for a $4 day pass to read the column. www.washingtonpost.com/climate-envi...
washingtonpost.com
Column | Scientists discover an ancient landscape – in our own backyard
Newly recognized patches of undeveloped grassland are accidental time travelers from a distant past, and they offer answers for our 21st century problems.
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Dana Milbank @danamilbank.bsky.social · 14/11/2025
These ancient time travelers have answers to our 21st century problems. Newly discovered landscapes that are thousands of years old offer remedies to climate change and Earth's shrinking biodiversity. Gift link to my latest @washingtonpost.com column. wapo.st/49Rtfzu
wapo.st
These ancient time travelers have answers to our 21st century problems
Newly discovered patches of ancient landscape have somehow managed to survive without being turned into a farm, forest or subdivision.
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