Kate Wagner

1 week ago | defector.com | Kate Wagner

In April, after months of tech-dipshit palace intrigue, photos of Mark Zuckerberg’s long-rumored D.C. mansion finally spread their way through social media. Because Zuckerberg is an immensely disliked figure for democracy-destroying and culture-annihilating reasons, mass architectural criticism was equally swift. To social media users, the house looked like everything from a dorm at a mid-sized state college to, well, a McMansion—which it is, in spirit.

2 weeks ago | thenation.com | Kate Wagner

World / April 28, 2025 Real Estate Is the Key to Trump’s WorldviewHis policies and behavior may often baffle, but he is a developer at heart. Ad Policy The future president in Trump Tower circa 1987. (Getty) Architecture may not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Donald Trump.

1 month ago | escapecollective.com | Kate Wagner

There's a scene in the first act of Richard Wagner's opera Siegfried in which the titular character stands before a flaming smithy and forges a great and magical sword from the shards left to him by his father. Destined to become one of mythology's legendary warriors, here Siegfried is young, supernaturally strong, and ebullient; the three qualities together breed a certain and deserved arrogance.

2 months ago | thenation.com | Kate Wagner

Razing Hell / March 12, 2025 Parts of LA Are Not Going to Be HabitableInsurers have figured out that risk is too high in parts of California. We need to re-conceive how people are housed, and fast.

Feb 12, 2025 | thenation.com | Kate Wagner

Razing Hell / February 12, 2025 The Real Problem With Trump’s Cheesy Neoclassical Building FetishSure, it’s a dog whistle for “retvrn” types and the results are tacky—but that’s not the worst part.