Mark Engler

The website for the Whirlwind Institute is now live!! It’s been a long process but our new think tank is now fully up and running. We hope you will check out the work we are doing and the resources we have available. I’ll look forward to hearing your feedback! whirlwindinstitute.org

ICYMI--Here's my interview with Jeremy Varon on what anti-war movements can and have accomplished: "Even endless wars can end, when they lose legitimacy in the eyes of the nation waging them. That process begins at the grassroots." whirlwinddispatches.substack.com/p/25-years-a...

Excited that Progressive International is distributing our Whirlwind Institute dispatch on Belgium's "Medics for the People"--a case study in how to provide services in a way that also advances organizing. Check it out! progressive.international/wire/2026-08...

From families of 9/11 victims to Iraq veterans, some of the most powerful antiwar voices came from people directly affected. @markengler.bsky.social interviews Jeremy Varon about the movement’s history and what organizers can learn from it.

“Even endless wars can end, when they lose legitimacy in the eyes of the nation waging them.” In conversation with Mark Engler, Historian Jeremy Varon considers what sustained dissent can accomplish, even when its effects take years to become clear. inthesetimes.com/article/9-11...

“Even endless wars can end, when they lose legitimacy in the eyes of the nation waging them.” My convo with historian Jeremy Varon on the impact of anti-war organizing post-9/11. inthesetimes.com/article/9-11...

Twenty-five years after 9/11, Trump’s war in Iran faces broad public opposition. @markengler.bsky.social speaks with historian Jeremy Varon about what the movement against the Iraq War can teach organizers today.

Our latest: For the 25th anniversary of 9/11, I talk with historian Jeremy Varon, author of “Our Grief Is Not a Cry for War,” about the lessons we can learn from the anti-war activism that emerged after 9/11, esp. the movement against the War in Iraq. wagingnonviolence.org/2026/09/25-y...

Between Dolly Parton, Wendell Berry, and Gloria Steinem passing, it's been a tough week of losing elders. Earlier I sent out a profile of Berry. If you heard that he died, but you may not know a lot about him, this one's for you.. whirlwinddispatches.substack.com/p/rememberin...

Our latest from the Whirlwind Institute: @joetodd.bsky.social writes on how “Medics for the People” Turns Health Care Into Organizing. A key question for social movements is how to convert services into organizing. Joe’s profile provides a great case study to check out! jacobin.com/2026/07/belg...

“With the passage of time, successful movements are often celebrated as heroic and noble. But while they are still active, their tactics are never beloved by all.” @markengler.bsky.social & Paul Engler in This is an Uprising. Remember this as the anti-democratic forces villify today’s protestors.

Friends--I'll be passing through Vienna for a couple days in around June 6-8. I am looking to meet with activists and other people doing cool things. If you've got folks you can recommend, please send their info my way!!!

"Not only does an activated base make it possible to win more, it makes it more likely that those gains can be defended against future rollback." whirlwinddispatches.substack.com/p/can-mamdan...

The Mamdani administration is learning from past failures of progressive politicians. You can’t just deliver — you have to give the people a sense of their power in delivering. The Office of Mass Engagement seeks to do just that. My latest, w/ Miles Goodrich... dissentmagazine.org/online_artic...

Now up at Dissent! My latest, written with Whirlwind Institute senior research analyst Miles Goodrich, looks at Mamdani's Office of Mass Engagement and its plans to organize New Yorkers. Check it out... dissentmagazine.org/online_artic...

We formed the Whirlwind Institute to help seed new movements, grow existing ones, and create conditions in which different campaigns and organizations can work together. Excited that our new website is now up and running... Check it out!!! whirlwindinstitute.org

i think jesse jackson was one of the most important american political figures of the post-war era and i think that his 1984 and 1988 campaigns for the democratic nomination still have a great deal to teach about forging a path to a more egalitarian world. RIP.

Great @markengler.bsky.social article about one of my movement heroes: Highlander Center founder, Myles Horton.🤩 "It’s only in a movement that an idea is often made simple enough and direct enough that it can spread rapidly..." Check it out in @convergencemag.com #PeoplePower #ChangeTheStory

We are excited to announce the release of a new and expanded edition of our book on the power of mass mobilization! whirlwinddispatches.substack.com/p/tenth-anni...

"THIS IS AN UPRISING: How Nonviolent Revolt Is Shaping the Twenty-First Century," the modern classic of social movement organizing by @markengler.bsky.social and Paul Engler, is now available in a tenth-anniversary edition! Learn more: bit.ly/4c5agCE/

In our latest dispatch: a first-person account from the revolt against tyranny in Minnesota... whirlwinddispatches.substack.com/p/minnesota-...

Now up at Convergence Magazine: How Myles Horton Built a Social Movement Institution! convergencemag.com/articles/myl...

MLK Day provides an opportunity to reflect not only on the legacy of King himself, but also to hold up other heroes of the civil rights movement. In our latest, Whirlwind analyst Miles Goodrich reflects on two greats: Ella Baker and Fannie Lou Hamer. whirlwinddispatches.substack.com/p/celebratin...

In our latest dispatch, we recap work from Whirlwind Institute's 1st year! Links to some cool articles and podcasts you may have missed, from Paul and I talking Iowa upbringing to articles on Hillbilly Radicals, World's Poorest President & more... whirlwinddispatches.substack.com/p/from-no-ki...

"We Make the Road By Walking” is a fascinating dialogue between popular educators Myles Horton and Paulo Freire. Very fun to reflect on it: whirlwinddispatches.substack.com/p/learning-f...

My latest, now up at Waging Nonviolence: What we can learn from famed educator and Highlander Folk School founder Myles Horton about living through the ups and downs of social movements! wagingnonviolence.org/2025/12/myle...

In our latest post below, Paul writes about the need to incubate new experiments in progressive movements. Check it out! "Thinking through the innovator’s dilemma helps us to find new pathways for experimentation, escalation and risk." whirlwinddispatches.substack.com/p/what-socia...

Our latest dispatch: The Radical Legacy of the “Poorest President in the World.” Great stories from Uruguay's Pepe Mujica and lessons for US activists. Check it out! whirlwinddispatches.substack.com/p/the-radica...

The Radical Legacy of the “Poorest President in the World” In the latest from our new think tank, the Whirlwind Institute, Senior research associate Guille Bervejillo writes on what we can learn from the life of Pepe Mujica. Great lessons for inside-outside politics! jacobin.com/2025/10/pepe...

Happy to see that Jacobin has picked our story on Maximum Wages from Whirlwind research analyst Celeste Pepitone-Nahas! Check it out (reprinted from In These Times): jacobin.com/2025/10/maxi...

Our latest from the Whirlwind Institute, the new think tank that Paul and I are launching!... Could a “Maximum Wage” Combat Billionaire Power? whirlwinddispatches.substack.com/p/using-a-ma...

My friend @jwmason.bsky.social at Dissent Magazine on what Zohran can accomplish. www.dissentmagazine.org/online_artic...

My latest with brother Paul: "Politicians regularly partner with economic elites. What would it mean if elected officials actually governed hand-in-hand with social movements as partners instead?" wagingnonviolence.org/2025/06/is-t...

My latest post: On the scope of protests emerging against Trump. "All those who have been wondering when mass resistance to Trump 2.0 would materialize need wait no longer. It is here. It is happening. It is now." whirlwinddispatches.substack.com/p/trump-is-i...

My latest dispatch: Trump Is Inspiring a Historic Wave of Protests There's no need to wait for resistance. It is happening now. whirlwinddispatches.substack.com/p/trump-is-i...