Adam Harris is an author and journalist based in Virginia.
He is the author of The State Must Provide: Why America’s Colleges Have Always Been Unequal—and How to Set Them Right. His next book, Is This America?, a narrative history of the South’s influence on American politics, will be published by Pantheon.
Adam is currently a senior fellow at New America’s Education Policy program. He is also a keynote speaker with The Lavin Agency and has spoken at universities across the country.
He contributes to The Atlantic and The Argument. His essays and reporting have also appeared in The New York Times, The Guardian, BBC, and EBONY. Earlier in his career, he covered education, the American South, and national politics as a staff writer at The Atlantic, reported for The Chronicle of Higher Education, and worked at ProPublica.
He makes regular media appearances, on PBS, CNN, MSNBC, CBS News, C-SPAN, and NPR programs such as Fresh Air, All Things Considered, and Marketplace.
Taken together, his work examines how history, power, and place continue to shape American life. If you want the full version, click here.
“The State Must Provide is a book that both taught me so much and also kept me on the edge of my seat. It is an invaluable text from a supremely talented writer.”
— Clint Smith, author of #1 New York Times Bestseller How the Word is Passed
“‘The State Must Provide’ is a must-read, detailing the complex dynamics that both reflect our nation’s dark history and show us the way toward a more equitable future.”
— The New York Times Book Review
Recent work:
Pandemonium at Progressive (Substack, Sept. 2025)
“I don’t know how much magic is left in this year, and if I’m honest, I don’t care. I’m going to ride the highs and lows with the knowledge that there’s always a chance that the alchemy will be right and the sparks will fly.”
The Rev William Barber’s ‘moral movement’ confronts Trump’s America. Can it work? (The Guardian, July 2025)
“Barber’s battle is both a moral rebellion against Trump’s America and against the deeper architecture of inequality that has survived every administration”
American Corporations Didn’t Want to Diversify, Anyway (The Guardian, April 2025)
“Values are only as good as their durability under pressure; and many of America’s largest companies proved an equitable, inclusive workplace was never one of their core values to begin with.”
When Trump is Done, What Will Remain of Public Education (New York Times, April 2025)
”America’s story is one of progress, which has rarely been obtained simply through good will. It has to be enforced.”