My conversation with Susan begins at 42 minutes

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Lincoln Square CEO Susan Demos

I am a writer, editor, ghostwriter, speechwriter and researcher. I'm also an avid hiker, a mom of two, and a lifelong Midwest resident. While working as a journalist for the last 25 years, I've gone through a lot of upheavals in the industry. But I learned that always means new opportunities — if you're willing to assume some risk. That's never been a problem for me.

As the CEO and Executive Editor of Lincoln Square, I run one of the fastest-growing independent political publications in the nation. Each week, I host two shows, The Weekly Assignment, where we discuss the latest headlines and what we can do to fight back against authoritarianism, and First Draft, where I talk to journalists and authors about their important work and the stories behind them. As an expert on Michigan and national politics, I've also appeared on C-SPAN, MSNBC, CNN, NPR, NewsNation, the Australian Broadcast Corporation, Sky News, Jyllands-Posten (Danish TV), WKAR-TV's Off the Record and more.

Previously, I was the founding Editor-in-Chief of the nonprofit Michigan Advance for over six years. I also served for five years as the Editor and Publisher of Inside Michigan Politics, the most-cited political newsletter in the state. And in a past life, I worked as a Democratic campaign strategist during the 2018 campaign cycle (which was a pretty darn good year for the party).

My award-winning political analysis has run in more than 150 national, international and regional media outlets, including the Guardian U.K., NBC News, The New York Times, The Washington Post, RealClearPolitics, Salon, HuffPost, and The Detroit News.

And you'll find me trekking in the mountains whenever I can break away.

Why I Write

Writer. Entrepreneur. Mother. Public Speaker. Political Analyst. Those are all just words to describe me. What you need to know, most of all, is what drives me to fulfill those roles. I've wanted to be a writer since I was seven, scribbling down observations about people and events in ratty spiral notebooks. My mother always told me that my unique ability to understand people and feel what they were going through was both a gift and a curse.

I struggled for many years to make ends meet, especially before my first child was born. I wondered if I'd ever be able to contribute anything of value, something to make the world a better place. I found my calling in journalism, honing my craft for the last 25 years. Being a writer has always been who I am. But now it's also what I do.

I have an insatiable curiosity to investigate what's going on in America and the world. I believe in speaking truth to power and following Mencken's rule to "comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable." I've taken on the Old Boys Club in politics (and political journalism) and won, always preserving my integrity. All this has given me a distinctive voice and fearless style to communicate with people why things are happening and what can be done.