Out in front on underreported issues for 10 years and counting

Ten years ago, we published our first book, Bethany McLean’s Shaky Ground. Since then, we’ve published more than 60 works of original thinking and on-site reporting from all over the world, on a wide range of topics that look beyond the headlines and identify the issues that are just about to be on everyone’s mind.

Our books have:

• Predicted phenomena including the rise of populism worldwide and the fall of Hong Kong
• Impacted policy in areas such as antitrust and regulation of private equity
• Illuminated major world stories such as the Uyghur ethnic cleansing in China and MS-13’s rise in El Salvador with insightful scholarship and reporting
• Warned about deep flaws in the institutions such as the Supreme Court and the Federal Reserve
• Sought out the cutting edge of culture in Nigeria, Egypt, China, and South Korea

In our next ten years, we look forward to continuing our mission to publish highly-focused, compelling nonfiction books about not-yet-explored topics in underserved places.

Learn more about our mission & history

CGR Forerunners

Celebrating a decade of Columbia Global Reports, the Forerunners series revives groundbreaking works of investigative journalism and incisive analysis published a century before CGR’s founding. These texts, once forgotten or underexplored, reflect CGR’s core mission: fearless reporting, global perspective, and intellectual rigor. Each selection remains strikingly relevant today, offering historical insights that challenge contemporary perspectives and reaffirm the power of journalism to shape the world.

Campaigns of Curiosity: Journalistic Adventures of an American Girl in London (1894)

by Elizabeth L. Banks, with an introduction by Brooke Kroeger

A nineteenth-century Barbara Ehrenreich, Elizabeth Banks went undercover in England’s working world, taking on low-wage jobs to expose the realities of women’s labor. From domestic service to factory floors, her bold and witty writing stands as an early feminist statement, confronting rigid societal norms and advocating for women’s rights in Victorian Britain.    Learn more

Cuba in War Time (1897)

by Richard Harding Davis with an introduction by Peter Maass

A pioneering foreign correspondent, Richard Harding Davis delivers a gripping eyewitness account of Cuba’s fight for independence from Spain. With vivid battlefield reporting and a sharp eye for the human cost of war, Davis captures the brutal conditions of guerrilla warfare and the resilience of those caught in the conflict, offering an unfiltered look at a pivotal moment in global history.    Learn more

Race Adjustment: A Selection (1908)

by Kelly Miller, with an introduction by Jonathan Scott Holloway

Mathematician, sociologist, and leading Black intellectual Kelly Miller presents a compelling series of essays addressing the systemic racial injustices of his time. Advocating for self-empowerment and strategic advancement, Miller’s work offers prescient critiques of inequality and forward-thinking solutions that remain deeply resonant in ongoing conversations about race and justice.    Learn more

Drift and Mastery: An Attempt to Diagnose the Current Unrest (1914)

A landmark of progressive social thought, Walter Lippmann’s Drift and Mastery argues for a rational, scientific approach to governance as a counter to the inefficiencies of an increasingly chaotic society. His call for informed leadership and deliberate reform established him as a leading public intellectual—and his insights on democracy and political responsibility remain as urgent today as they were a century ago.    Learn more