About Washington Monthly on the Radio

Washington Monthly on the Radio is a one-hour weekly talk radio show about politics, government and culture, hosted by Peter Laufer and Markos Kounalakis. The show gives a voice to the magazine it is named for by providing a lively forum for journalists, policy makers and newsmakers to discuss the pressing issues of the day. Peter Laufer and Markos Kounalakis have the kind of rapport that only a long-standing friendship such as theirs can produce. Having spent a lifetime as journalists covering everything from war to famine to political coups, their interviewing style can go from being conversational to investigative in a split second.

Peter delights in springing tough questions on guests both unexpectedly and in the best of fun; while Markos prefers to let his cool, calm and collected personality encourage guests to speak more openly than perhaps they might have wished to. No matter who’s asking the questions though, you can be sure of witty, intelligent and fun topical discussions in every interview, on every show!

Peter Laufer, winner of major awards for excellence in reporting, is an independent journalist, broadcaster and documentary filmmaker working in traditional and new media. While a globe-trotting correspondent for NBC News, he also reported, wrote, and produced several documentaries and special event broadcasts for the network that dealt in detail with crucial social issues, including the first nationwide live radio discussion of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Laufer’s books include The Question of Consent: Innocence and Complicity in the Glen Ridge Rape Case, Iron Curtain Rising, Inside Talk Radio: America's Voice Or Just Hot Air, and his most recent published work, Mission Rejected: Soldiers Who Say No To Iraq.

Markos Kounalakis is president and publisher of The Washington Monthly. Kounalakis took over The Washington Monthly four years ago, and maintains offices in both his native San Francisco and Washington. As a reporter, Kounalakis covered historical events including the fall of the Berlin Wall, revolutions in Eastern Europe, the fall of the Soviet Union and the war in Afghanistan. Kounalakis spent five years in Silicon Valley, and established himself as an author with the release of Defying Gravity: The Making of Newton. Kounalakis has written for The Wall Street Journal, The Los Angeles Times Magazine, The International Herald-Tribune, The San Francisco Chronicle, The Dallas Morning News, and many other regional and international newspapers and magazines.

Washington Monthly on the Radio can be heard on XM Satellite Radio's POTUS 08 channel and these stations:

WVOX-AM, New York, NY

WCPT-AM, Chicago, IL

WKVT-AM, Brattleboro, VT

KKGN-AM, San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose, CA

WWRC- AM, Washington DC

KTNF-AM, Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN

KABQ-AM, Albuquerque-Santa Fe, NM

WCMI-AM, Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY

KYNS-AM, San Luis Obispo, CA

KGAM-AM, Palm Springs, CA

KGOE-AM, Eureka, CA

Markos and Peter hard at work.

Co-Anchors: Peter Laufer & Markos Kounalakis
Producer: Katrina Rill • Technical Director: Jim McKee