Jan 30 Gwen’s Take: When movies are more than reality By Gwen Ifill Documentaries about "real" reality, not “inspired by” reality, remind us that the most compelling and important stories we can tell play out in complicated, many-hued shades of gray. Continue reading
Jan 16 Gwen’s Take: 3,2,1 … The 2016 presidential campaign starts now By Gwen Ifill Now it’s time to start paying attention to the 2016 race for president. The field basically breaks down into two categories -- the familiar names who have Been Here Before; and the new faces who could become the Next New… Continue reading
Jan 09 Gwen’s Take: Ping-pong politics By Gwen Ifill So here we are. No matter how trivial or horrific, it seems we have reached a stage in our national and international debates where no event is allowed to rise or fall on its own merit anymore. Continue reading
Dec 12 Gwen’s Take: Selma — then and now By Gwen Ifill There is a shock of recognition in the scenes that begin and end “Selma,” the elegiac new work by filmmaker Ava DuVernay. Even if you know only a little about your history, the events surrounding the 1965 Selma to Montgomery,… Continue reading
Dec 05 My Kingdom for a Magic Wand By Gwen Ifill I sympathize with your confusion. If cameras pinned to officers’ lapels are the solution, then why didn’t a video of a man being choked to death sway a New York grand jury? If a government shutdown was such a costly… Continue reading
Nov 28 Gwen’s Take: Why I hate roller coasters By Gwen Ifill Roller coasters were the worst. It took me some years to realize what I dreaded was not the steep drops and the sudden turns. It was the inevitability -- the slow chug-a-lug to the top of the ride, knowing all… Continue reading
Nov 21 Gwen’s Take: When a lame duck … just isn’t By Gwen Ifill I’ve spent so many years talking about lame ducks in the White House and Congress, and it’s never occurred to me to find out what the heck it means. Continue reading
Nov 07 Gwen’s Take: The midterms’ message By Gwen Ifill I went back and re-watched our analysis of the 2010 midterm elections and was reminded that even political waves eventually crash on the shore. It’s a huge deal, until it’s not. Continue reading
Oct 31 Gwen’s Take: The Year of the Woman Redux By Gwen Ifill On back-to-back days this weekend, I found myself covering a woman candidate who was furiously peddling herself — to women voters. Continue reading
Oct 24 Gwen’s Take: Remembering Ben Bradlee By Gwen Ifill I am one of the hundreds, if not thousands, of journalists able to say with satisfaction and no small amount of pride: “I worked for Ben Bradlee.”… Continue reading