How One of Nixon’s Greatest Critics Changed Journalism

Mary McGrory Opened the Door for Women in the Political Newsroom—and Angered Plenty of People in the Process

In 1973, when the Watergate hearings were at full pitch, word leaked to reporters that Richard Nixon’s White House counsel was going to release the president’s now-infamous “Enemies List”—an index of his 20 greatest political opponents.

Barry Kalb, who was covering the hearings for the Washington Star, contacted the lawyer representing the White House counsel. “I will never tell anybody where I got it,” Kalb pestered, “Have we got anybody on the list?”

The lawyer’s response was brief: “Mary McGrory.” Her name was last, highlighted with two stars and an asterisk.

The only …

By John Norris | December 8, 2015

The Woman Who Built the Waldorf of the Catskills

Despite Her Humble Origins, Jennie Grossinger Learned to Play the Role of Hostess

By Stephen M. Silverman | October 22, 2015

Just as in Casablanca everybody came to Rick’s, so in the Catskill Mountains of New York everybody aspired to go to Jennie’s.

In its storied 1914-to-1986 existence, Jennie Grossinger’s family boarding …

300 Million Women and Girls in India Don’t Have Access to Toilets

Relieving Themselves Outside Leaves Them Vulnerable to Disease and Rape. But a New Movement Has Started to Demand Better Sanitation

by Rose George | July 30, 2015

I remember the women so clearly. They were sitting cross-legged, and they were making bricks. Because I was there in their small hamlet somewhere in India’s western Orissa state to …

It’s Not Women’s Soccer—It’s Just Soccer

The World Cup Shouldn’t Be the Only Time My Son Roots for Female Sports Stars

by Tanya Wheeless | June 18, 2015

He sat on the edge of his seat, tense, cheering and simultaneously yelling at the refs, shifting from side to side with each movement of the ball. No, my 9-year-old …

Why Can’t We Accept That Some Women Don’t Want Kids?

There Is No ‘Normal’ American Family Anymore. But Heads Still Shake When It Comes to Women’s Reproductive Choices.

April 13, 2015

It used to be that the Cleavers—dad working an office job, mom raising two boys full-time—were the model American family. But the past several decades have seen dramatic changes—recent studies …

The Women of the American West Don’t Take No for an Answer

Justice Sandra Day O’Connor and Girl Scouts USA CEO Anna Maria Chávez on Being Historic ‘Firsts’—and Native Arizonans

by Sarah Rothbard | January 15, 2015

Justice Sandra Day O’Connor and Girl Scouts USA CEO Anna Maria Chávez both grew up in rural Arizona. Both went on to become lawyers. And both were historic “firsts.” O’Connor …

Get More Zócalo