“Bah, but print magazines are full of unsightly ads and noxious corporate propaganda from blowhards who haven’t had an original thought in forty years,” you might reply. You are, as usual, correct about most print magazines, but we are pleased to inform you that Current Affairs is a peacock of a different series of colors.

Current Affairs is 100% free of any advertorials and infotainment (except of the satirical variety), and we publish clever, unique, well-researched stories that rags like the Economist and Time fear to cover. When you subscribe to the Current Affairs print magazine, not only are you supporting a left media institution with credibility and influence, but you’re also giving a cheerful middle finger to wealthy corporations, subservient state propagandists, and joyless buzzkills across the world! Best of all, a year-long subscription will cost far less than a standard pair of shoes.

Current Affairs was founded in 2016 with a simple mission: to render all other magazines both despised and obsolete and, in the process of doing so, to help usher in a glorious era of democratic socialism. In a few short years we have made tremendous progress in both regards.

Here’s how:

First, we write about serious things in serious detail. We do not feign “objectivity,” that mythic state in which journalists are not part of the world they write about, but neither would we argue that—for example—open borders are Obviously Good without providing substantial evidence to support our claims (turns out they are obviously good, and boy do we have evidence). We take our responsibility to enlighten and inform very seriously. We are the left magazine for people skeptical of leftism, and we cite our sources, show our work, and elaborately buttress our arguments.

But we try not to be tedious. Between the covers of Current Affairs you will also find musings on the weird and frivolous, beautifully absurd illustrations, and satire so astutely acidic that it has been known to wither its targets on sight. Our readers deserve not only the Bread of Wisdom, but also the Roses of Joy, and we are honored to provide both these things in ample quantities.

“Nathan Robinson’s articles, and Current Affairs generally, have been consistently challenging and thought-provoking, with incisive critique and informative discussion, lucid and provocative, and focused on well-chosen issues of major significance. I find myself regularly recommending Robinson’s articles to others, and re-reading them myself. Unusually valuable contributions.”

Noam Chomsky: Famous linguist and social critic

“My name is Ella and I am currently a senior in high school. I submitted my first college application last week and I wanted to let the CA team know that I wrote my personal essay about my journey of embracing socialism after discovering Current Affairs! I was raised in an Obama-loving household, and Current Affairs has played a transformative role in exposing me and drawing me to the left. Since I started reading Current Affairs in 2017, my understanding of the world and my vision for the future have radically changed. Love the magazine, podcast, everything!! Thank you for all that you do!”

Ella: Beloved subscriber

“Nathan J. Robinson and Current Affairs are consistently excellent, writing at a very high standard, and offering serious and compelling alternative perspectives. Very worth following and reading.”

Glenn Greenwald: Pulitzer-prize-winning journalist and co-founder of The Intercept

“Current Affairs is an important breath of fresh air. It stands out as by far the most intellectually sophisticated, thought-provoking, and politically astute among organs of left commentary directed toward a popular audience that have appeared in recent decades.”

Adolph Reed, Jr.: University of Pennsylvania

“This is one of the best magazines in this country, I encourage you to read it. I’m a big fan of it, I learn things I don’t know and I read their analysis and it’s very enlightening… I couldn’t believe it when I read the first issue of it, both the subjects that were being covered or being written about are being said in a very different way than what you’re used to… [N]ot only highly readable, it’s inspiring… I will continue to be a reader and a subscriber and I bought a subscription for all my crew on my last movie. It’s a real gift to have Current Affairs…”

Michael Moore: Filmmaker

“Current Affairs is a critical island of dissent from a left perspective in a sea of conformist mediocrity. This publication is an ally to the independent thinker, and a threat to the status quo.”

Krystal Ball: Host of “Rising” on The Hill

“In a difficult time for the digital media landscape and a dire one for print, Current Affairs has achieved things that seem all but unheard in the modern age. It balances take-no-prisoners leftist political writing with a whimsical, often militantly silly sensibility reminiscent of Dave Eggers’ Generation-X touchstone Might, Carter’s own ’80s satirical staple Spy, and every website you once loved that has gone out of business in the past five years. It has achieved this while exhibiting a Fugazi-level dedication to independence, as neither the magazine nor the website accepts advertising, though the magazine is littered with faux ads and public-service announcements, including pleas to not put an octopus on one’s head.”

The Daily Beast: “Not all ‘Bernie Bros’ are ‘angry young men.’ Meet Nathan J. Robinson.”

“As you probably know, we’re on opposite sides of the aisle.”

Dinesh D’Sousa: Author and racist

“Some magazine I never heard of.”

Ben Shapiro: Part-time radio host

“I guess I’m odious.”

Charles Murray: Pseudoscientist and eugenics enthusiast

When most magazines talk about policy, it’s either A) dull, B) condescending, or C) some combination of both. Not so at Current Affairs! We feature profiles and interviews with some of the brightest thinkers in the world—like Naomi Klein, Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, and Adolph Reed—and we also go to great lengths to show how the ideas they support (or oppose) affect the lives of ordinary people every single day.

Whether you’re looking for a clear explanation of why America’s border controls are inhumane, proof that capitalism’s goal “infinite growth” is impossible, or what really led to the rise of Trump, we have you covered!

Have you ever wondered why water is so expensive in some parts of the U.S., or why most modern buildings are so ugly, or how charter schools manage to use ever-greater sums of money to yield ever-poorer results? Every issue of Current Affairs contains many fascinating investigations into the factors that shape our daily lives. You are certain to be delighted and surprised! (Or perhaps infuriated, but satisfyingly so.)

Libertarian seasteaders? Sure, we’ll dive into that! The gamification of public schools by tech companies? We’ll tell you all about it! The merits of psychedelic drugs for various uses? Yes, and how!

Oddities & delights.

Death to minimalism, viva infinite delights! The Current Affairs print magazine gives a hearty “fuck off, chaps!” to the cookie-cutter principles of modern graphic design. Instead, we embrace the messiness and diversity of life—which is expressed perhaps most clearly in the “Front Matter” that welcomes you to every new issue, as well as “advertisements” for non-existent products, services, and General States of Mind that may hide benevolently in the pages that follow. Think of it as a tapas buffet for your eyes and brain!

Current Affairs is not only a magazine of politics, it is also a magazine of culture. Nowhere else can you find such charming and insightful discussions of Star Trek plotlines, investigations of various Proclivities of medieval-era Irish monks, or socialist travelogues from the world’s most far-flung destinations. And while other magazines’ culture content may tend toward the vapid or the aloof, you can trust that Current Affairs’ writers always have startling new insights and incredible jokes.

Join us as we explore the bucolic wastelands of Chernobyl, the fun-but-worryingly-blithe-about-Nazism work of P.G. Wodehouse, the deep neuroses of murder mysteries, and much much more!