The Qualification Gap
What JD Vance Reveals About Who Governs Now
Mr. Dunneagin Speaks — An independent journal of politics, history & satire
Mr. Dunneagin Speaks
An independent journal of politics, history & satire.
The Weekly Lead Dispatch
Mr. Dunneagin Speaks
The Generals You Don't Need—Until You Do
On the dangerous confusion between authority and judgment in military command.
Essential Reading
Curated entry points to the journal — a place to start.
01 02 03 04 05
The President Who Monetizes the Presidency
On the constitutional hazards of executive enterprise, and what happens when the chief magistrate's office is valued by the yield.
When Congress Stopped Saying No
The Presidency Teddy Roosevelt Would Not Recognize
On stewardship, spectacle, and the direction of executive power.
The Quiet Erosion of Public Trust
Institutions can be rebuilt by statute, but trust cannot be legislated. What the post-Watergate era proved about the quiet decay of public authority.
Recent Dispatches
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The End of Trying
On the intellectual hubris of the post-Cold War consensus and the gradual decline of active democratic stewardship.
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The Presidency Reimagined
TR believed executive power was public before it was presidential. What happens to constitutional guardrails when the steward thinks he's the owner?
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The Quiet Erosion of Public Trust
Institutions can be rebuilt by statute, but trust cannot be legislated. What the post-Watergate era proved about the quiet decay of public authority.
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The Truths Presidents Hear—or Don't
How organizational culture determines what truths reach the Oval Office—and which never do.
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The Presidency Teddy Roosevelt Would Not Recognize
On stewardship, spectacle, and the direction of executive power.
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When Congress Stopped Saying No
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The President Who Monetizes the Presidency
On the constitutional hazards of executive enterprise, and what happens when the chief magistrate's office is valued by the yield.
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At What Point Does Surprise Cease to Be a Surprise?
On the Curious Habit of Being Surprised by the Predictable
Departments
The journal's standing editorial desks.
History's Verdict The presidency measured against the office as it was understood before — Washington, Roosevelt, and the long record. Notes & Observations From the Notebook — shorter reflections and marginalia between the Tuesday dispatches. The Satirical Review The set pieces — satire in the full register, where the ridicule does the arguing.
Permanent Collection
Restored Editions
Foundational essays inducted into the journal's standing archive, preserved with their original date and voice.
Audio Edition
Spoken Dispatches
The audio edition of the journal — dispatches read aloud, on the Substack podcast archive.
Listen to the Audio Archive →Dunneagin Press
Collected Volumes
Reader editions and collected volumes—including Volumes 1, 2, 3, and The Liar’s Guide to Autocracy.
Browse the Bookshelf →Browse the Archives
The full catalog, indexed by subject.
Trump-Era Governance How the machinery of the state is being rewired, one norm at a time. Democratic Norms The unwritten rules that held the republic together, and what their erosion costs. Trump's Second Term Field notes from the operating system, now that the circus has become the government. Foreign Policy America's standing abroad, read as a disclosure about its character at home. Sovereignty Who decides, who belongs, and who gets to draw the line. Trade & Tariffs Economics as theater, and the bill that comes due after the curtain falls. Corruption & Patronage Loyalty and access where competence used to stand. The Loyalty Economy When fealty becomes the currency and merit becomes the markup. Civil Service The career workforce that runs the government, and the campaign to make it personal.
Read every Tuesday
Each new dispatch, delivered by email the day it publishes.