This month the New York Times anointed the youngest regular columnist in its history, 29 year old Ross Douthat. A Harvard grad of 2002, he usually takes a libertarian position. You'll also notice from the published comments on his blogs that he has not the slightest need for plaudits and will readily publish intelligent controversy.
Douthat is a film critic and contributing editor to National Review. He first gained recognition as a columnist and senior editor at The Atlantic, and his work has since appeared in The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Slate, The Weekly Standard, The New Republic and GQ. He is also the author of "Grand New Party: How Republicans Can Win the Working Class and Save the American Dream" with Reihan Salam (Doubleday, 2008) and "Privilege: Harvard and the Education of the Ruling Class" (Hyperion, 2005). [From Editor and Publisher,4/28/09]
Like David Brooks (U Chicago), he's the kind of writer you love to agree and disagree with. Always thoughtful, well-documented, leading edge and just plain young smart. You can pick up some of his blogs from the Atlantic (along with plenty of comments) by googling his name.
The Times has the smartest columnist line-up in the news world, from the progressive left to the progressive right. The Wall Street Journal, in contrast, has failed to give the intelligent reader a broad spectrum. Instead, you get one progressive, Thomas Frank, and a bunch of right-wing capitalists. Don't misread my bias, I've been a closet capitalist for a good 40 years. It's just that with WSJ, everything is predictable. . . same sampling of facts, same inferences, same conclusions, same political perspectives.
I'll say this for WSJ. They do a superb job with careers (Alexandra Levit, et al) and career development, the arts, science, occasional book reviews and is not hesitant to print columns from a broad spectrum that might include both Dick Cheney and Robert Reich.