Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jul 28, 2026

Jonathan V. Last

Jonathan Victor Last is an American journalist and author. He is the editor of the website The Bulwark, and he previously worked as a senior writer and digital editor at the magazine The Weekly Standard. He is the author of the book What to Expect When No One's Expecting (2013). He has also won a Webby Award for Best Email Newsletter.

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Jul 28, 2026
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Jonathan Last
Born (1974-05-06) May 6, 1974
Camden, New Jersey, U.S.
Other nameJVL
EducationJohns Hopkins University (BS)
OccupationJournalist

Jonathan Victor Last (born May 6, 1974)12 is an American journalist and author. He is the editor of the website The Bulwark,3 and he previously worked as a senior writer and digital editor4 at the magazine The Weekly Standard. He is the author of the book What to Expect When No One's Expecting (2013). He has also won a Webby Award for Best Email Newsletter.

Early life

Last was born in 1974 in Camden, New Jersey.5 He grew up in Woodbury and Moorestown Township, New Jersey.6 Last is a graduate of Johns Hopkins University, where he studied molecular biology.7

Career

Last currently writes and hosts podcasts for The Bulwark, a news and opinion website that describes itself as a "home for the politically homeless" and is primarily known for its "Never Trump" stance. Last wrote for The Weekly Standard for 21 years, and has also written for the Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, the New York Post, Salon, The Washington Times, Slate, the New York Press, First Things, the Claremont Review of Books, and other publications. He has appeared on several radio and television outlets.8910

Last writes analyses of demographic trends, including articles and blog posts on the American birth rate,11 the voting patterns of the rising number of single Americans,12 and the collapsing fertility rates in Korea.13 His first book, What to Expect When No One's Expecting, is a detailed examination of the origins and consequences of these and related trends. Last also frequently writes on politics and popular culture. He was an early skeptic about Mitt Romney's electoral prospects in the 2012 United States presidential election, drawing attention to the candidate's history of failing to make himself likeable to voters.14 Last, who has been described as the "Weekly Standard's resident geek",15 avidly collected comic books in his youth16 and often writes about them, most notably in an account of the death of Marvel Comics's Captain America.17 Last is also known for creating the Star Wars meme that the Galactic Empire was really a force for good.18

In 2026, Last came first and won a Webby Award for Best Email Newsletter: Business, News & Technology for his newsletter The Triad.19

Bibliography

Bibliography

References

References

  1. Date of birth of Jonathan V. Last, number.com. Accessed May 17, 2022.
  2. "'V' Is for 'Victor'". National Review. October 21, 2019. Retrieved April 22, 2026.
  3. "About Us". The Bulwark. Archived from the original on November 7, 2021. Retrieved January 16, 2019.
  4. "Jonathan V. Last". The Weekly Standard. Archived from the original on June 12, 2018. Retrieved January 16, 2019.
  5. "Great leap rightward? Nah, just finding balance", The Philadelphia Inquirer, January 15, 2006. Accessed March 2, 2011. "Folks meet Jonathan V. Last. He was born in Camden 31 years ago grew up in Woodbury and Moorestown and now works as online editor for the Weekly Standard."
  6. Last, Jonathan V. (July 5, 2005). "Because I grew up in [...] Moorestown, New Jersey". Galley Slaves. Retrieved February 4, 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  7. "'V' Is for 'Victor'". National Review. October 21, 2019. Retrieved January 5, 2020.
  8. "Columnists".
  9. "New York Post".
  10. "JVL at the Daily," http://jonathanlast.com/2011/09/21/jvl-at-the-daily/
  11. "Ross Is Right on Demography". The Weekly Standard Blog. Archived from the original on December 9, 2012. Retrieved December 6, 2012.
  12. "A Nation of Singles". The Weekly Standard. December 10, 2012. Archived from the original on December 3, 2012. Retrieved December 6, 2012.
  13. "Where Have All the Children Gone?". The Weekly Standard. November 12, 2012. Archived from the original on November 5, 2012. Retrieved December 6, 2012.
  14. "Overestimating Romney". The Weekly Standard. December 19, 2011. Archived from the original on January 4, 2012. Retrieved December 6, 2012.
  15. Mangu-Ward, Katherine (June 16, 2011). "The Comics Crash of 1993, Or Why Your House in Florida Won't Regain Its Value". Reason.com Hit & Run Blog. Retrieved December 6, 2012.
  16. "Comic Relief". The Weekly Standard. May 31, 2004. Archived from the original on December 8, 2004. Retrieved December 6, 2012.
  17. "Captain America, R.I.P." The Weekly Standard Blog. March 16, 2007. Archived from the original on October 29, 2013. Retrieved December 6, 2012.
  18. Last, Jonathan V. (May 16, 2002). "The Case for the Empire". The Daily Standard (blog of The Weekly Standard). Archived from the original on June 5, 2004.
  19. Nordyke, Kimberly (April 21, 2026). "Webby Awards Winners Include 'Heated Rivalry,' Bad Bunny, Timothée Chalamet, Sabrina Carpenter and The Hollywood Reporter". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 22, 2026.
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