Dan Zak

Washington, D.C., United States

Journalist. Senior editor at The Atlantic. Author of ALMIGHTY, a book on the bomb: https://t.co/cd5rqM4hLV. "The circus is either in town, or it isn't."

Featured in: Favicon

washingtonpost.com Favicon

msn.com

theguardian.com Favicon

estadao.com.br Favicon

independent.co.uk Favicon

sfgate.com Favicon

smh.com.au Favicon

yahoo.com

chicagotribune.com Favicon

boston.com + 95 more

Articles

The Oscars are usually wrong. Here are the real best pictures.

Feb 25, 2025 | yahoo.com | Dan Zak |Amy Argetsinger

We first published this fine quarrel in 2016, but they just keep on handing out Oscars to the wrong movies. So we have updated it for 2025 (movie year 2024). Skip to the end for our feelings on this year’s nominees, or start with us in 1974 — and please argue with us in the comments section. “Chinatown” is a Top 10 film of all time: tight yet sumptuous, with a crackerjack script and legendary performances.
At the Paris Olympics, the second gentleman moves toward first place

Aug 11, 2024 | msn.com | Dan Zak

Continue reading More for You
Race walking endures at the Olympics, and it’s more hip than you think

Aug 7, 2024 | adn.com | Dan Zak

PARIS - The Olympics are still going. So is the race walk, it feels like. Walkers are soaked in sweat, hoofing it on a tight loop between the Trocadéro and a brasserie half a kilometer away, over the some 200-year-old Pont d’Iéna, with a dog leg at the Eiffel Tower and hairpin turns at either end. “These men are getting very, very tired,” an announcer says, unhelpfully, at minute 51, as judges with clipboards scrutinize knees and feet for infractions.
Race walking endures at the Olympics, and it’s more hip than you think

Aug 7, 2024 | msn.com | Dan Zak

Continue reading More for You
Is anybody having a better time at the Olympics than these two?

Aug 6, 2024 | yahoo.com | Dan Zak

PARIS - Tiff’s on her sixth Games. The love has only grown. “The Olympics!” she says. “What a joy.
How Flavor Flav and Maggie Steffens found a new kind of Olympic synergy

Jul 30, 2024 | nzherald.co.nz | Dan Zak

Flavor Flav, rapper and hype man for the US women’s water polo team. Photo / Jessica Koscielniak, The Washington PostTHREE KEY FACTS:Flavor Flav is an American rapper and founding member of the rap group Public Enemy. In May, US water polo captain Maggie Steffens posted a plea on Instagram, shedding light on the lack of funding for sportswomen and the reality of working two to three jobs to get to the Olympic stage.
In Paris, outré vibes as the Olympics begin

Jul 26, 2024 | msn.com | Dan Zak

Continue reading More for You Continue reading More for You
Oscars 2024 recap: ‘Oppenheimer’ wins best picture, Emma Stone, Cillian Murphy earn acting awards

Mar 10, 2024 | washingtonpost.com | Emily Yahr |Helena Andrews-Dyer |Sonia Rao |Anne Branigin |Jada Yuan |Herb Scribner | +17 more

“Oppenheimer” won best picture while Cillian Murphy, Robert Downey Jr., Emma Stone and Da’Vine Joy Randolph took home acting trophies at the 96th Academy Awards. See our live coverage below.
The Chicks mourn the loss of founding member Laura Lynch

Dec 24, 2023 | msn.com | Olivia McCormack |Dan Zak
Laura Lynch, founding member of the Dixie Chicks, dies in car crash

Dec 24, 2023 | washingtonpost.com | Olivia McCormack |Dan Zak

CommentSaveThe Chicks said goodbye to one of their own this weekend. “We are shocked and saddened to learn of the passing of Laura Lynch, a founding member of The Chicks,” wrote current band members Natalie Maines, Martie Maguire and Emily Strayer on Instagram and X on Saturday. “We hold a special place in our hearts for the time we spent playing music, laughing and traveling together.