Meet The New Columnists Joining The Daily Wire’s Upstream

Since The Daily Wire launched Upstream eight months ago, we’ve kept our readers supplied with thoughtful takes on the cultural news of the day, from Taylor Swift’s supposed marriage faux pas to the outsize number of trans kids in Hollywood. We’ve also taken a look at our wallets and our personal health, with brands to avoid supporting and a warning about those popular leggings you see everywhere.

Lifestyle reporter Lauren Bair has kept you abreast of everything from Meghan Markle’s handwriting to a phone-free challenge at Chick-fil-A. Amid running Upstream and finding the best writers to dish on the real-life trends you may or may not have noticed, I’ve written about Ariana Grande’s concerning weight loss and why Christopher Nolan’s adaptation of “The Odyssey” is actually worth seeing.

“Watching Upstream grow this year, and watching Daily Wire readers argue with it, share it, and keep coming back for more, has been one of the best parts of my job,” says Brent Scher, editor in chief of The Daily Wire. “It’s exactly what I hoped it would be: thought-provoking writing that drives conversation and gives readers a change of pace from the news cycle.”

We’re proud of what we’ve done so far and excited for our next step. To expand our coverage of the cultural stories and lifestyle tips most relevant to you, we are bringing on four columnists to cover parenting, health, film and literature, marriage, and so much more. You’ve probably already seen their names here; now you can expect regular installments of their expertise and insight.

Bethany Mandel: The No-Nonsense Mom

Bethany Mandel

Bethany wrote Upstream’s very first piece: “Weight-Loss Medication May Have Dangerous Side Effects. I Don’t Care.” Since then, she’s revisited the subject with a meditation on how much weight loss is too much. But she’s not just our GLP-1 expert. She’s a homeschooling mom of six and a fierce voice for parental rights and against permissive parenting. With a bimonthly column, Bethany will continue sharing her commentary on homeschooling, parenting in a digital age, and fighting back against a culture that minimizes family values.

The co-author of “Stolen Youth: How Radicals Are Erasing Innocence and Indoctrinating a Generation” and co-host of “The Mom Wars” podcast, Bethany frequently appears on Fox News and Newsmax and is a regular guest on “The Hugh Hewitt Show” and “That Kevin Show” on Salem Radio Network. She is a columnist for the Washington Examiner and a regular writer at the New York Post. She lives in Silver Spring, Maryland, with her husband, Seth, and their children. Read her work here.

Jordan Jantz: The MAHA Guru

Jordan Jantz

Jordan has become our resident health expert and go-to for all things “Make America Healthy Again.” She’s written about how to get a better night’s sleep, why she ditched social media, and the downsides to the protein craze. Expect her weekly column to share more tips on healthy eating, hacks for living well without going full Bryan Johnson, and analyses of trends and media in the MAHA space.

Jordan is a freelance writer and editor as well as the assistant editor at IW Features, where she writes the Champion Women series. She studied English and finance at the University of Northwestern-St. Paul, and she has a master of fine arts degree in creative writing. Her work has spanned the health and wellness, business, culture, and scholarly worlds. Read her here.

Bridget Riley: The Cultural Critic

Bridget Riley

If you’re looking for film and book reviews that push past the surface, you’ll love reading Bridget. A historian and cultural commentator whose work explores how the past illuminates the moral and imaginative challenges of the present, she’s written about the problem with romantasy, what makes a “Christian” film, and why Gen Z is obsessed with “yearning.” She will be contributing bimonthly.

Bridget read modern history at Oxford before completing a Ph.D. in medieval history at the University of Reading, where her research examined 14th-century philosophical debates over the poverty of Christ — including whether he worked or begged during his earthly life — a controversy that shaped medieval politics and theology for centuries.

Alongside her academic work, she writes on contemporary culture for readers in the United Kingdom and the United States, drawing on formative years in New York, Washington, D.C., and Paris to bring a firsthand experience of American and European cultural life. Her essays bring historical perspective to modern film, television, literature, and public life. In addition to writing for Upstream, she contributes to the Claremont Review of Books and to Seen & Unseen in the U.K. Her writing combines historical insight, cultural analysis, and a concern for the moral knowledge that shapes human flourishing. Read her work here.

Elizabeth Grace Matthew: The Marriage And Motherhood Maven

Elizabeth Grace Matthew

Elizabeth is a Philadelphia-based writer who focuses on marriage, parenting, culture, education, feminism, and religion. She is also a wife, the mother of four boys, and a former university professor and administrator. For Upstream, Elizabeth has written cogently against gentle parenting and for healthy approaches to dating, like meeting in real life, and marriage, like taking your husband’s last name. She will be contributing weekly.

Matthew’s work has appeared in USA Today, the Hill, America Magazine, Law and Liberty, Deseret News, Public Discourse, The Dispatch, Fairer Disputations, RealClearBooks&Culture, The Blaze, the Metropolitan Review, the Washington Examiner, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Philadelphia Inquirer, Patheos, and FemCatholic. Her broadcast media appearances include “The Federalist Radio Hour,” WHYY, NPR’s “All Things Considered” with Sacha Pfeiffer, “Walk-Ins Welcome” with Bridget Phetasy, and “Lean Out” with Tara Henley. Read her work here.

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