With a heavy heart, I have to tell you that after a long battle with cancer my husband Kevin Drum passed away on Friday, March 7, 2025.
No public memorial services are planned.
In lieu of flowers, please donate to the charity or political cause of your choice.
A Facebook page, 'In Memory of Kevin Drum', has been created as a place for friends and family to share memories of Kevin. I encourage you to post your thoughts and memories there.
Thank you to all the wonderful blog readers who supported, encouraged and challenged him through the years.
He will be greatly missed.
Marian
Kevin's voice, his weblog, was the kind of thing people who knew what they were reading read.
Not only am I grieving Kevin; I’m grieving the loss of the dialogue with all of these brilliant people I feel I’ve come to know over 20+ years. Where am I going to hear from you, or Dorky1, or Jasper now? Kevin’s blog has been my first source of ideas for so long…
Oh, that is so hard to take although he fought it for a long time.
I've been a fan of Kevin's for a long time – over 20 years now. I discovered his blog around 9/11 and he was the best "voice of reason" around.
I am so sorry to read this and sorry this is my last comment in his long, long series of blogs. I learned a lot from him. I learned a lot about California from him back in those days. I'm so glad to have had this experience of knowing him - remote and not in real life as it is.
What we all should have already known: think first, think second, think third. Then speak.
And of course, "Only the good die (relatively) young." A huge loss for us all.
My condolences to you and your family. Kevin worked hard to bring facts, figures, and of course charts to political and economic conversations at a time when politicians just say trust us, it’s ‘common sense’. I will miss him.
So very, very sorry. Loved Kevin, his intellect, facility with charts, knack for seeing and reporting the truth. Loved his love for photography, astronomy, and his cats.
Peace to you.
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RIP calpundit. Sad news. His voice, insight, and perspective will be missed.
Honestly, the most influential person in my life in terms of how to think about the news cycle and current events. Going forward I will always ask myself, "What would Kevin say about this?"
Marian, a hug. Kitties, some cuddles.
10 years is a long time to live with a death sentence hanging over your heads.
The universe has lost a bright star and our lives are all poorer for it. I will miss snarky Kevin, and handwavy Kevin more than he could ever have known. I am a better person because of him.
May your heart someday mend and the pain subside. Know that we love you as much as we loved Kevin. You were the sun in his world, and therefor ours by extension.
If there's anything we can do, please let us know.
Sandy
Marian, Thank you for alerting us to this terrible news. My sincerest condolences. I've been reading Kevin's blogs for over 20 years and like everyone else here I will miss all of Kevin's rare attributes: honesty, curiosity, intelligence, integrity, humor all with clarifying charts and cats. Oh and courage. What a loss. Thank you for sharing Kevin with all of us.
So sorry, my heart goes out to you and all those that have loved him.
As someone who has been through the roller coaster ride that is cancer, I really admire the courage he had to post all the details of his ordeals. Sometimes the fight goes well, sometimes not, but knowledge and compassion are always good.
I've been reading Kevin's blog since the beginning of blogs. Kevin had a unique view formed by his experiences that I always appreciated and I will miss it dearly.
My deepest of condolences. He will be greatly missed. Thank you so much for sharing him with us. He touched so many lives and sparked so much discussion and growth. His memory WILL be a blessing.
My deepest sympathies, Marian. Kevin has helped keep me sane in an increasingly irrational world for twenty years now. He meant a lot to his readers, and will be greatly missed. The stoics wanted their every action to benefit the world, and their every word speak truth. I think Kevin would have made a fine stoic.
Peace and love to all his loved ones, and thank you for sharing him with us.
Kevin’s blog was my first stop online every day. I always wanted to get his educated take on what was going on in the world and he brought the receipts with his firm grasp of statistics. I’m so sorry for your loss Marion and for ours too.
He was a rock. I really don't know what else to say. Kevin was an irreplaceable combination of sanity, wit, intelligence and decency. And his prose—what a giant talent! Crying as I write this. Terribly sorry for your loss, Marian. He'll be greatly missed. I feel like I've lost a friend of 23 years. I'll miss this community, too.
The world just got a bit darker. Not what we needed right now. But that's not on Kevin. He bent all his efforts toward making it a better place. And he left a hell of a legacy. His work on environmental lead alone will benefit millions of people.
Rest in peace, friend.
❤️❤️
"I'll miss this community, too."
As will I. Or at least 95% of it.
I miss him already.
Farewell intrepid blogger and enjoy your journey through the stars.
You certainly left this world a better place.
Goodbye, friend. You contributed so much, and will be sorely missed.
Marian - I'm so so sorry for your loss.
Thank you for sharing him with us all for these many years. I will miss him so much.
I found myself thinking about Kevin a lot in the past few weeks, knowing how hard and long his struggle was. I recently was hospitalized and shared a room for 4 days with a man who was just receiving a new diagnosis of multiple myeloma. I related Kevin's battle and his ability to continuously push forward, travel, do amazing photography, and analyze the world in the face of such adversity. I'm hoping my new friend can fight this disease as hard as Kevin did. He will be missed.
And now you have followed Kevin's example by relating his story as both general information to inspire hope and an example of how persistence in searching for new treatments, and willingness to try some, can some make it possible to extend a patient's life considerably.
Sixty-six is still too young for a good person, sharing his expertise freely with all. to depart this life - but he made it worthwhile for himself and many others, and you may have passed along a valuable example that will benefit the patient with whom you shared Kevin's story.
RIP KD and condolences to Marian. It didn't sound like it was going well and ultimately I guess it didn't. He fought the good fight.
So sad to hear this Marian, sending you and your family heartfelt condolences. I’ve enjoyed Kevin's writing, charts and photos for over 20 years - he will be missed by many, in many ways.
Oh my! My heart goes out to you. Kevin was a true scientist -- followed the data wherever it led him, even with his own medical issues. That's what I liked about him. Opinions are a dime a dozen and worth even less. But data is what it is and you have to conform your opinions to it.
He will be sorely missed. I don't know how long I've been reading him, but he was CalPundit then, well before Political Animal and Mother Jones.
I’m so sorry Marian and family. Like many others I’ve been reading Kevin’s blog for 20 years. Of the sites I go to every day, his was the last I would read. No matter whether the news was good or bad, he used data and stats to back up his views. But more than that, the idea that there will be no mor cat posts, no more photographs of the stars, no more travel photos is horribly sad. I will miss him.
My heartfelt condolences. I’ve been reading Kevin’s work for years and although I rarely posted, checking in to see his latest was a daily part of my life. I know this was a long battle for him, and I was always inspired that he didn’t let it stop him from doing the things he truly enjoyed. I’m so glad that you and Kevin made the trip to Europe not long ago. I’ll miss his posts on politics and charts, but maybe even more so his photography and cat blogging. So many will miss him for so many reasons.
Kevin Drum carried over his standard “Meh - I looked through the original studies, and the story is more complex and less clear than is commonly understood” outlook, which he applied to every policy question, to his own cancer treatment.
You can imagine how helpful this was to me as a cancer patient, seeing someone with years of this experience under his belt still going about his day, treating cancer as just one parameter of daily existence.
Typical of his attitude was this statement:
“As I've said before, I haven't learned any deep life lessons from this experience. I just wish it had never happened. Nor has there ever been any bravery or resilience or any of that involved. The heroes of this story are the research scientists who invented all the different molecules I've taken over the years.”
Thank you, Kevin.
You have my deepest sympathy. My husband and I have followed Kevin from Cal Pundit days. We will definitely make a donation in his honor.
Sasha
I'm so sorry to hear of your loss, and it's a loss for all of us as well.
I love you folks in this community that Kevin built. I'll miss the place.
I’ve lost a friend, of 20 something years, who I never met. Go in peace Kevin, you’ve earned it.
Pet the kitties for us all Marian, and know we all grieve with you.