Manuel Roig-Franzia

Washington, D.C.

Feature reporter

Education: UCLA, BA in English; Northwestern University, Master's in journalism

Manuel Roig-Franzia is a feature writer in The Washington Post’s Style section, where he profiles national figures in the worlds of politics, the law and the arts. He previously served as bureau chief in Miami for The Post's National staff and in Mexico City for the Post's Foreign staff. He has covered U.S. and international presidential campaigns, the January 2010 Haiti earthquake and more than a dozen major hurricanes, including Katrina. He is the author of "The Rise of Marco Rubio," a biography of the Florida senator and former Republican presidential candidate. Roig-Franzia was born in S
Latest from Manuel Roig-Franzia

The Steele dossier author promises more Trump dirt. Will anyone buy it?

In a new book, “Unredacted,” Christopher Steele unveils the fruits of fresh sleuthing and warns that Trump is a threat to democracy.

October 7, 2024
Christopher Steele in London in late September.

Technology columnist Taylor Lorenz leaves The Washington Post

In the wake of a controversial Instagram post, the writer announced she will start a newsletter on Substack.

October 1, 2024
The Washington Post building in downtown D.C.

Alsu Kurmasheva’s arrest was a Russian mystery that’s tough to solve

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty editor Alsu Kurmasheva was not on a reporting trip when she was detained in Russia. She was freed in the Russia-U.S. prisoner swap.

August 1, 2024
Alsu Kurmasheva, an editor for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, attends a court hearing in Kazan, Russia, on May 3. Kurmasheva was convicted of spreading false information about the Russian military and sentenced to 6½ years in a Russian penal colony on July 19.

Vladimir Kara-Murza was jailed in Russia, but it didn’t silence him

Russian journalist, author and opposition politician Vladimir Kara-Murza won a Pulitzer Prize for columns written at a Moscow detention center.

August 1, 2024
Vladimir Kara-Murza leaves flowers during a memorial in Moscow in 2021 commemorating the sixth anniversary of the assassination of Russian opposition figure Boris Nemtsov.

Evan Gershkovich lived his journalism dream before his nightmare began

The Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich freed from Russia rose to the upper echelons of his profession and is a symbol of the fight for press freedom.

August 1, 2024
Journalist Evan Gershkovich in 2021.

To a list of American journalists jailed in Russia, add Alsu Kurmasheva

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty editor Kurmasheva was detained in 2023. Her husband and daughters came to Washington recently to raise awareness and ask for help.

July 29, 2024
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, who is in custody after she was accused of violating Russia's law on foreign agents, attends a court hearing in Kazan, Russia, on May 31.

Donald Trump’s nephew asks questions about racism in new memoir

Fred C. Trump III casts aside decades of silence to delve into the roots of the Trump family’s dysfunction at a critical moment in American political history.

July 24, 2024

Bernie Madoff, despite so many ‘final words,’ remains inscrutable

Author Richard Behar probes the mind of America’s most notorious financial fraudster and considers a personal connection to the long con.

July 6, 2024
Bernie Madoff, who ran a $68 billion Ponzi scheme, heads to court in Manhattan in 2009.

A Taliban revenge killing prompts questions, removal of an acclaimed documentary

National Geographic has removed the Emmy-winning film “Retrograde” from its streaming platforms, after criticism from veterans and inquiries from The Washington Post.

May 22, 2024
A scene from the 2022 documentary “Retrograde,” which aired on National Geographic and streamed on digital platforms, including Hulu, until National Geographic removed it in April, in “an abundance of caution,” according to a statement, because of “new attention to this film.”

Evan Gershkovich’s sister was the quiet one. Now she’s his voice.

On the first anniversary of the Wall Street Journal reporter’s arrest in Russia, Evan Gershkovich’s sister Danielle Gershkovich is on a crusade to set him free

March 29, 2024