Henry Olsen
Senior Fellow
Henry Olsen, a senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, studies and provides commentary on American politics. His work focuses on how America’s political order is being upended by populist challenges, from the left and the right. He also studies populism’s impact in other democracies in the developed world.
For media inquiries or to book Mr. Olsen for an interview, contact [email protected].
Click here to view the full archive of Mr. Olsen’s writings at The Washington Post.
Click here to view the full archive of Mr. Olsen’s writings at National Review Online.
Henry Olsen, a senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, studies and provides commentary on American politics. His work focuses on how America’s political order is being upended by populist challenges, from the left and the right. He also studies populism’s impact in other democracies in the developed world.
Mr. Olsen is an opinion columnist for The Washington Post, where he writes daily pieces focusing on politics, populism, foreign affairs and American conservative thought. He is also the author of The Working Class Republican: Ronald Reagan and the Return of Blue-Collar Conservatism and The Four Faces of the Republican Party, co-authored with Dante Scala.
Mr. Olsen is teaching as the Thomas W. Smith Distinguished Scholar-in-Residence at Arizona State University for the Winter/Spring 2023 semester.
Mr. Olsen was previously an editor at UnHerd.com and a regular contributor to American Greatness, City Journal, and World Magazine. Mr. Olsen’s work has been featured in many prominent publications, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, National Review, The Guardian, and The Weekly Standard.
His predictions of the 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016, and 2018 elections were particularly praised for their remarkable accuracy. In the 2016 campaign, he accurately identified the factors fueling the rise of Donald Trump early in the race, and his election-eve predictions were among the most accurate of any major analyst or commentator.
Mr. Olsen has worked in senior executive positions at many center-right think tanks. He most recently served from 2006 to 2013 as Vice President and Director, National Research Initiative, at the American Enterprise Institute. He previously worked as Vice President of Programs at the Manhattan Institute and President of the Commonwealth Foundation.
Mr. Olsen started his career as a political consultant at the California firm of Hoffenblum-Mollrich. He then worked with the California State Assembly Republican Caucus before attending law school. He served as a law clerk to the Honorable Danny J. Boggs on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and as an associate at Dechert, Price & Rhoads. He has a B.A. from Claremont McKenna College and a J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School, where he served as Comment Editor for the University of Chicago Law Review.
VIDEO: Henry Olsen at AEI Event on American Nationalism
May 8, 2019 | American Enterprise Institute
EPPC Senior Fellow Henry Olsen took part in an American Enterprise Institute discussion on the present and future of American nationalism.
AUDIO: Henry Olsen on the Mueller Report
April 24, 2019 | WORLD Radio
EPPC Senior Fellow Henry Olsen appeared on WORLD Radio’s The World and Everything in It to discuss the fallout from the release of the Mueller report.
Podcast: Henry Olsen on Demography and Coalitions
January 23, 2019 | Ricochet PoMoCon Podcast
EPPC Senior Fellow Henry Olsen appeared on the PoMoCon podcast with host Titus Techera to discuss recent elections and the major trends that have led to populism.
AUDIO: Henry Olsen Discusses Mattis’s Departure on KCRW
December 21, 2018 | KCRW - Left, Right & Center
EPPC Senior Fellow Henry Olsen appeared on KCRW radio’s Left, Right & Center to discuss the departure of Secretary of Defense James Mattis.
AUDIO: Henry Olsen on Election Takeaways
November 21, 2018 | World Radio - The World and Everything In It
EPPC Senior Fellow Henry Olsen appeared on World Radio’s “The World and Everything In It” to discuss takeaways from the 2018 midterm elections.
AUDIO: Henry Olsen On The Midterm Revenge Of The RINOS
November 19, 2018 | The Federalist Radio Hour
EPPC Senior Fellow Henry Olsen appeared on the Federalist Radio Hour with host Ben Domenech to recap the midterm elections to and to look ahead to key races in 2020.
VIDEO: Henry Olsen on 2018 and the Future of American Politics
November 15, 2018 | Hillsdale College
EPPC Senior Fellow Henry Olsen took part in a discussion hosted by Hillsdale College examining the 2018 midterms and looking ahead to the future.
AUDIO: Henry Olsen Recaps Midterms on Radio Free Hillsdale
November 9, 2018 | Radio Free Hillsdale - "American View"
EPPC Senior Fellow Henry Olsen appeared on Radio Free Hillsdale’s “American View” to analyze the results of the midterm elections.
VIDEO: Henry Olsen at “The Elections: What Happened?” Event
November 9, 2018 | Bipartisan Policy Center
EPPC Senior Fellow Henry Olsen appeared on a panel hosted by the Bipartisan Policy Center to analyze the midterm election results and what they mean for the country’s political future.
AUDIO: Henry Olsen Offers Instant Analysis of Midterm Results
November 7, 2018 | WORLD Radio - The World and Everything in It
EPPC Senior Fellow Henry Olsen appeared on WORLD Radio’s “The World and Everything in It” to discuss the results of the midterm elections.
AUDIO/VIDEO: Henry Olsen Recaps 2018 Elections at AEI Election Watch
November 8, 2018 | American Enterprise Institute
EPPC Senior Fellow Henry Olsen took part in the American Enterprise Institute’s Election Watch event to recap the midterms.
VIDEO: Henry Olsen Previews Must-Watch House Races
November 5, 2018 | NBCNews.com
EPPC Senior Fellow Henry Olsen appeared on NBCNews.com’s streaming program “218” with host Steve Kornacki to preview key House races in the midterms.
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