Jon Lee Anderson, a staff writer for The Recent Yorker and Andy Kroll, a reporter at ProPublica, have been named recipients of the 2025 Sidney Schanberg and Political Reporting Polk Awards, respectively, for work that illuminates both protracted international conflict and the internal dismantling of American democratic institutions.
Anderson’s award recognizes his reporting on the decades-long conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, a crisis that has claimed an estimated six million lives through violence, displacement, disease, and famine. His reporting, which involved two trips to Congo and neighboring Rwanda, underscores the often-ignored scale of the humanitarian disaster. Despite the immense loss of life, Anderson notes the fighting “seldom makes the international news.” The article, according to the Polk Awards announcement, contextualizes the conflict through the legacies of colonialism and slavery, alongside contemporary factors like ethnic rivalries and competition for resources. He interviewed a wide range of Congolese citizens, from rebel leaders to medical personnel, and even a regional king and an elderly woman, to provide a ground-level perspective on the ongoing violence. Anderson’s reporting directly challenges former President Trump’s claim to have “stopped” the conflict, a statement made without demonstrable effect on the ground.
Kroll’s award acknowledges his profile of Russell Vought, currently the director of the White House Office of Management and Budget and a key architect of Project 2025, a conservative plan to reshape the federal government. The profile, co-published by ProPublica, details Vought’s ascent from a relatively unknown figure to a position of immense power within the Trump administration. Kroll’s reporting portrays Vought as a strategist adept at navigating the complexities of legislative procedure, enabling him to implement changes that eluded the administration during its first term. These changes, the award citation states, have altered the country’s legal landscape and redefined the relationship between citizens and their government.
The Polk Awards, established in 1949, commemorate CBS journalist George Polk, who was killed while reporting on a civil war in Greece. The New Yorker has a long history with the awards; James Baldwin won the inaugural Polk Award for his 1962 essay, “Letter from a Region in My Mind.” With this year’s awards, the magazine’s writers and editors have received a total of thirty Polk Awards.
Vought’s influence extends beyond budgetary control. As detailed in Kroll’s reporting, he has actively sought to dismantle federal agencies and reduce the size of the federal workforce, actions critics argue undermine the government’s ability to serve the public. His efforts align with the broader goals of Project 2025, which aims to fundamentally restructure the executive branch to prioritize conservative policies. The long-term consequences of these changes, and the extent to which Vought’s actions may challenge constitutional norms, remain subjects of ongoing debate and legal scrutiny.
The Polk Awards will be presented at a ceremony on April 10th. The future of the Congo, and the implications of Vought’s policies for the American government, remain unresolved.
