“Journalism is printing what someone else does not want printed; everything else is public relations”
- George Orwell
What people say about us:
“The Banter is very good. Progressive but iconoclastic. It doesn’t toe party lines which is why I and so many others like it.” - Nick Cohen, Guardian columnist
“Counterpoint to (and relief from) Matt Taibbi and his merry band of subscribers….also enjoy the fluid writing and quite often the original and nuanced point of view” - Lucrezia
As America splinters into ever more extreme ideological echo chambers, sane, high quality journalism is becoming an increasingly rare commodity.
That’s exactly what we do here at The Banter.
While we believe right wing extremism is a uniquely dangerous phenomenon, we take on extremists on both sides of the political aisle here at The Banter. We provide our readers with original reporting and commentary that takes apart ideology, confronts power, and offers relief in a time of great uncertainty. You can think of The Banter as a ‘reality lifeboat’ dedicated to keeping you sane. We write, we podcast, and we post on social media — but not on platforms owned by malevolent billionaires.
Do I need to pay to read you?
About 50% of what we publish is completely free. But good journalism costs money and we pay our writers at The Banter, so the other 50% is for members. If you can afford to subscribe we would greatly appreciate your support, and if you can’t, get in touch and we’ll work something out. You can get a 50% discount here:
“I appreciate how you call out the press and the bad guys in equal measure. Also the cussing. These days it’s warranted and provides exactly the amount of emphasis to get the point across. Just upgraded to paid for a daily dose.” - Banter reader
Meet the team





