Emily Tamkin

Hello! My name, as you can see in the very large block of text above, is Emily Tamkin.

I am a journalist and author in Washington, DC.

I write and report mostly on Jewish identities and politics, US foreign policy especially as it concerns Central and Eastern Europe, and illiberalism. My work has appeared in the Boston Globe, Columbia Journalism Review, the New Republic, Politico, Slate, and the Washington Post, among other publications. Previously, I covered foreign affairs as a staff writer at Foreign Policy and BuzzFeed News and US politics, foreign policy, and society at the New Statesman.

I am the co-host of The Political Cycle, a podcast on elections and politics in India, the United Kingdom, the United States—and the wider world

I am also the author of The Influence of Soros: Politics, Power, and the Struggle for an Open Society, published by Harper Books, an imprint of Harper Collins, in July 2020, and Bad Jews: A History of American Jewish Politics and Identities, published by Harper Books in October 2022. I am working on a new book on Holocaust consciousness and how remembrance manifests in pop culture, politics, and foreign policy for Bloomsbury Academic.

I also regularly give and participate in talks,

If any of that is of interest to you, please do get in touch.

I also have a Substack, which I update more regularly than I do this website.

I speak Russian, German, and some French, Czech, Georgian, and Yiddish.

The photo above is by Joy Asico. The dog is named Shiloh. She is a good girl.

Bad Jews

my new book is available now!

My new book, Bad Jews: A History of American Jewish Politics and Identities, is out now. It is an examination of the last 100 years of American Jewish history and a look at what it means to be Jewish in America. In a starred review, Publishers Weekly wrote, “Heartfelt, nuanced, and empathetic, this revelatory ethnography is a must-read.” Kirkus wrote, “the book ably reflects the author’s experience as a skilled journalist and storyteller” and said “an engaging gathering of voices demonstrate “the one truth of American Jewish identity: it can never be pinned down.” Haaretz said it looks “critically into the past, shattering myths about Jewish life in America and highlighting age-old issues still shaping Jewish identity.” If you’re interested in any of that — or in questions in the expansions and limits of identity more generally — I hope you’ll read it. It is now available wherever you get your books.

The Influence of Soros

My book is available now!

The Influence of Soros: Politics, Power, and the Struggle for an Open Society is now available for purchase from HarperCollins, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, and IndieBound. The book is, as the title suggests, about George Soros and his influence. It assesses what that influence is while disentangling it from rumor and conspiracy theory; examines why those looking for a bogeyman so often turn to Soros; and asks whether a society in which one person can be as influential as Soros can be an open society. Publishers Weekly calls it “an unconventional yet fair-minded biography” that “cuts through the fog of conspiracy theories.” Kirkus says it is “a welcome study of a man whose outsize power in the marketplace and public sphere fascinates.” In Haaretz, it was deemed “an original attempt to try to understand the 21st century phenomenon of the billionaire activist, and the effect capitalist philanthropists have on our age” that “ably demolishes the main conspiracy theories that have been constructed around Soros and his ‘Mephistophelian’ influence.” Hey Alma called it the best Jewish nonfiction book of the year (the year being 5780). You can, if you are so inclined, read an interview I did with JTA about the book here or listen to me talk about it on NPR/WAMU 88.5’s 1A here.