Activist and author Naomi Klein, whose 2007 book The Shock Doctrine gave rise to the idea that politicians will exploit crises to further grab power and push forward a "radical pro-corporate agenda," as she put it, is now charged with monitoring the "shocks of the Trump era" from her new post with First Look Media's investigative outlet The Intercept.
"As one of the world's foremost journalists and thinkers about power and injustice, Klein is uniquely suited to the task of dissecting the extraordinary political moment ushered in by Donald Trump's election," wrote editor-in-chief Betsy Reed in Monday's announcement.
"Predatory capitalism thrives on crisis, and Trump's rule threatens to plunge the world into a seemingly endless series of political, environmental, and humanitarian disasters," Reed continued. "No one is better than Naomi Klein at exposing the hidden agendas of disaster capitalists and their agents in government."
President Donald Trump has already made clear that his version of governance includes slashing oversight and regulations while placing industry and Wall Street titans at the helm.
And as Klein explained in a late January column—which provided a glimpse into her new beat—it's an equation "that can be counted on to generate a tsunami of crises and shocks." What's worse, she argued, is that the "Trump administration can be counted on to exploit these shocks politically and economically."
On Twitter, Klein's new colleagues welcomed the new senior correspondent while she replied in kind, thanking Intercept co-founding editors Glenn Greenwald and Jeremy Scahill, as well as Field of Vision filmmaker Laura Poitras, for creating the platform.
So thrilled to have one of the best political writers on the planet joining @theintercept! Welcome, @NaomiAKlein!!! https://t.co/7BfZts5eKx
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) February 13, 2017
This is very exciting and urgently needed! https://t.co/8Dqk9o4dGg
— jeremy scahill (@jeremyscahill) February 13, 2017
It feels like the perfect time to be officially joining @theintercept, which embodies fearless investigative reporting + analysis every day. https://t.co/0WHKAtSz5W
— Naomi Klein (@NaomiAKlein) February 13, 2017
