Jacob Weisberg (born 1964) is an American political journalist, who served as editor-in-chief of
The Slate Group, a division of
Graham Holdings Company. In September 2018, he left Slate to co-found
Pushkin Industries
Pushkin Industries is an American publisher of podcasts and audiobooks. It was co-founded in 2018 by Malcolm Gladwell and Jacob Weisberg. As of 2021, it hosts over 25 podcasts.
History
The company was co-founded in 2018 by Malcolm Gladwell and ...
, an audio content company, with
Malcolm Gladwell
Malcolm Timothy Gladwell (born 3 September 1963) is an English-born Canadian journalist, author, and public speaker. He has been a staff writer for ''The New Yorker'' since 1996. He has published seven books: '' The Tipping Point: How Little ...
.
Weisberg was also a ''
Newsweek
''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely ...
'' columnist. He served as the editor of ''
Slate
Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. It is the finest grained foliated metamorphic ro ...
'' magazine for six years before stepping down in June 2008. He is the son of
Lois Weisberg, a Chicago social activist and municipal commissioner.
Background
Weisberg's father, Bernard Weisberg, was a Chicago lawyer and judge. His parents were introduced at a cocktail party by novelist
Ralph Ellison
Ralph Waldo Ellison (March 1, 1913 – April 16, 1994) was an American writer, literary critic, and scholar best known for his novel '' Invisible Man'', which won the National Book Award in 1953. He also wrote '' Shadow and Act'' (1964), a coll ...
. His mother is
Lois Weisberg. His brother is former
CIA
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...
officer and television writer and producer
Joe Weisberg.
Weisberg graduated from
Yale University
Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...
in 1986, where he worked for the ''
Yale Daily News
The ''Yale Daily News'' is an independent student newspaper published by Yale University students in New Haven, Connecticut since January 28, 1878. It is the oldest college daily newspaper in the United States. The ''Yale Daily News'' has consi ...
''. When a junior, he was offered membership in
Skull and Bones
Skull and Bones, also known as The Order, Order 322 or The Brotherhood of Death, is an undergraduate senior secret student society at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. The oldest senior class society at the university, Skull and Bone ...
by then lieutenant governor of Massachusetts
John Kerry
John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician and diplomat who currently serves as the first United States special presidential envoy for climate. A member of the Forbes family and the Democratic Party (Unite ...
. But he declined the offer, citing the club's exclusion of women.
Weisberg was persuaded by ''The Washington Posts
Robert G. Kaiser
Robert G. Kaiser (born 1943) is an American journalist and author. He retired from ''The Washington Post'' in early 2014 after a career of more than 50 years on the paper. During his career he served as managing editor (1991–98) and associate e ...
to join
Elihu Society. After Yale he attended
New College, Oxford
New College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as its feeder school, New College is one of the oldest colleges at ...
on a
Rhodes Scholarship
The Rhodes Scholarship is an international postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford, in the United Kingdom.
Established in 1902, it is the oldest graduate scholarship in the world. It is considered among the world ...
.
Career
Weisberg is currently the CEO of Pushkin Industries, a media company focused on audio content, which he co-founded with
Malcolm Gladwell
Malcolm Timothy Gladwell (born 3 September 1963) is an English-born Canadian journalist, author, and public speaker. He has been a staff writer for ''The New Yorker'' since 1996. He has published seven books: '' The Tipping Point: How Little ...
. Pushkin focuses on creating new podcasts, audiobooks and short-form audio content.
The company produces the podcast ''
Revisionist History'', hosted by Gladwell, which was previously produced through
Panoply Media, a division of
Slate Group. Until September 2018, Weisberg was the Editor in Chief of Slate Group.
Previously, he was a commentator on
National Public Radio
National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from othe ...
. He also worked for ''
The New Republic
''The New Republic'' is an American magazine of commentary on politics, contemporary culture, and the arts. Founded in 1914 by several leaders of the progressive movement, it attempted to find a balance between "a liberalism centered in hu ...
'' in Washington, D.C., and was a contributing writer for ''
The New York Times Magazine
''The New York Times Magazine'' is an American Sunday magazine supplement included with the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times''. It features articles longer than those typically in the newspaper and has attracted many notable contributors. ...
'' and a contributing editor to ''
Vanity Fair''. He has served as a columnist for the ''
Financial Times
The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nikke ...
''. Early in his career, he worked for ''
Newsweek
''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely ...
'' in the London and Washington bureaus. Weisberg has also worked as a
freelance
''Freelance'' (sometimes spelled ''free-lance'' or ''free lance''), ''freelancer'', or ''freelance worker'', are terms commonly used for a person who is self-employed and not necessarily committed to a particular employer long-term. Freelance ...
journalist for numerous publications.
Books
The creator and author of the ''
Bushisms'' series, Weisberg published ''
The Bush Tragedy'' in 2008. He is also the author, with former
Goldman Sachs executive and Secretary of the Treasury
Robert Rubin
Robert Edward Rubin (born August 29, 1938) is an American retired banking executive, lawyer, and former government official. He served as the 70th United States Secretary of the Treasury during the Clinton administration. Before his government ...
, of the latter's memoir, ''In an Uncertain World: Tough Choices from Wall Street to Washington'', which was a
''New York Times'' bestseller as well as one of ''
Business Week
''Bloomberg Businessweek'', previously known as ''BusinessWeek'', is an American weekly business magazine published fifty times a year. Since 2009, the magazine is owned by New York City-based Bloomberg L.P. The magazine debuted in New York City ...
''s ten best business books of 2003.
Weisberg's first book, ''In Defense of Government'', was published in 1996.
He chaired the judging panel for the 2009
BBC Samuel Johnson Prize for excellence in non-fiction writing.
Personal
Weisberg is married to style and fashion journalist
Deborah Needleman, formerly editor-in-chief
of ''
T:The New York Times Style Magazine'' editor of
''domino'' magazine.
Works
*
*
*
*
What Are Impeachable Offenses?' September 28, 2017 issue of New York Review Books, with
Noah Feldman
Noah R. Feldman (born May 22, 1970) is an American academic and legal scholar. He is the Felix Frankfurter Professor of Law at Harvard Law School and chairman of the Society of Fellows at Harvard University. He is the author of 10 books, host of ...
References
External links
Short bio of Weisberg– Harvard University, Kennedy School of Government
Video (and audio) debate/conversation with Jacob Weisbergand
David Frum on
Bloggingheads.tv
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Weisberg, Jacob
1964 births
Living people
American male journalists
Jewish American writers
Jewish American journalists
Yale University alumni
American Rhodes Scholars
Alumni of New College, Oxford
The New Republic people
Slate (magazine) people
Date of birth missing (living people)
Place of birth missing (living people)
American podcasters
21st-century American Jews