Megan McArdle On DC Elites In A Failing Republic

Jul 31, 2026

Megan McArdle, journalist and author known for The Up Side of Down and long Washington career. She dissects DC’s cozy elite culture and media intimacy with figures like Fauci. They tackle pandemic messaging, the lab-leak debate, and worries about aging politicians and secrecy. Short, sharp takes on height, dating, and how institutions fail.

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ANECDOTE

Family Mix Of Small Town Grit And Academic Ambition

McArdle recounts her parents' backgrounds: a whip‑smart small‑town mother and a Boston Irish academic father who met when he was her TA at Syracuse.
The mix of cultures and ambition (PhDs, Gannett family ties) shaped her upbringing.

ANECDOTE

How Extreme Height Shaped Her Childhood

McArdle describes growing to six foot two by age 11, being skipped a grade for height, and feeling socially awkward as a tall child.
The height shaped identity, led to an eating disorder in high school, and influenced social treatment.

INSIGHT

How Washington's Structure Breeds Insularity

Washington D.C. is structurally insular because most college‑educated professionals center their lives around the federal government.
That creates intellectual homogeneity, easy conversation, and a parochial information ecosystem that narrows perspective.

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This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit andrewsullivan.substack.com

Megan is an old friend, a journalist, and an OG blogger — starting way back in 2001. We were bloggers at The Atlantic together, and she went on to write for Newsweek, The Daily Beast, and Bloomberg View. She’s now a WaPo columnist, a contributing writer at The Dispatch, and a co-host of the podcasts “Reasonably Optimistic” and “Central Air.” She’s also the author of The Up Side of Down: Why Failing Well Is the Key to Success.

For two clips of the episode — on the appeal of socialism to those under 30, and the secrecy of ailing politicians — head to our YouTube page.

Other topics: growing up on the UWS; her prof dad meeting her mom while she TA’d for him; Frank Gannett in her family; peaking at 6’2’’ in 7th grade; an eating disorder to try to counter her height; the heightism of women on dating apps; the coziness of elites in DC; Fauci worship by the Dems; his coziness with Jake Tapper and Hollywood celebs; his diary; Fauci’s lie over masks; masks at the Floyd protests; vaccine mandates; lab leak; Mitch McConnell MIA; Rep. Granger in memory care; Rep. Kean’s depression; Biden’s infirmity; age limits on the presidency; FDR’s overreach; post-Nixon reforms; the constitutional crisis over the Iran War; dwindling Tomahawks; Lindsey Graham’s closeness with Bibi; 9/11 and Islamofascism; nuclear proliferation and the Saudis; whether Vance or Rubio would make a better successor to Trump; Rubio’s designs on Cuba; Vance’s populism and lecturing the Pope; presentism; Jon Ossoff; Rahm Emanuel; the Stonewall myth; misusing rape stats and the UVA hoax; critical theory; the DSA, and its over-educated, downwardly mobile youth.

Browse the Dishcast archive for an episode you might enjoy. Coming up: Ross Barkan on the DSA and Mamdani, John O’Sullivan on conservatism, Emily Eakin on postmodernism, Arianna Huffington on AI, and Azam Ahmed on terrifying new drugs. Please send any guest recs, dissents, and other comments to [email protected].