Joel Achenbach
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Joel LeRoy Achenbach (; born December 31, 1960) is an American staff writer for ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
'' and the author of seven books, including '' A Hole at the Bottom of the Sea'', ''The Grand Idea'', ''Captured by Aliens'', ''It Looks Like a President only Smaller'', and three compilations of his former syndicated newspaper column "Why Things Are". He is a contributor to many publications, including ''
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 ...
'' and ''
National Geographic ''National Geographic'' (formerly ''The National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as ''Nat Geo'') is an American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. The magazine was founded in 1888 as a scholarly journal, nine ...
'', where he is a former monthly columnist. Achenbach has been a commentator on
National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...
's ''
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'', and does occasional lectures and other speaking engagements. In addition to his work in the print version of ''The Washington Post'', Achenbach was one of the first ''Post'' writers to have a significant presence on the
Internet The Internet (or internet) is the Global network, global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a internetworking, network of networks ...
and formerly wrote the popular ''Post'' blog, "The Achenblog," which ended in March 2017.


Background and education

Achenbach is a native of
Gainesville, Florida Gainesville is the county seat of Alachua County, Florida, United States, and the most populous city in North Central Florida, with a population of 145,212 in 2022. It is the principal city of the Gainesville metropolitan area, Florida, Gainesv ...
. He graduated with an A.B. in politics from
Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...
in 1982 after completing a 246-page-long senior thesis titled "A Prism for Politics: The Controversy of the
Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant The Diablo Canyon Power Plant is a nuclear power plant near Avila Beach, California, Avila Beach in San Luis Obispo County, California. Following the permanent shutdown of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station in 2013, Diablo Canyon is now t ...
." Prior to his tenure with ''The Washington Post'' in 1990, Achenbach was a staff writer for the ''
Miami Herald The ''Miami Herald'' is an American daily newspaper owned by McClatchy, The McClatchy Company and headquartered in Miami-Dade County, Florida. Founded in 1903, it is the fifth-largest newspaper in Florida, serving Miami-Dade, Broward County, Fl ...
'' from 1982–90, where he worked closely with
Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prizes () are 23 annual awards given by Columbia University in New York City for achievements in the United States in "journalism, arts and letters". They were established in 1917 by the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made his fo ...
winners
Gene Weingarten Gene Norman Weingarten is an American journalist, and former syndicated humor columnist for ''The Washington Post.'' He is the only two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Feature Writing. Weingarten is known for both his serious and humor ...
and
Dave Barry David McAlister Barry (born July 3, 1947) is an American author and columnist who wrote a nationally Print syndication, syndicated humor column for the ''Miami Herald'' from 1983 to 2005. He has written numerous books of humor and parody, as we ...
. Achenbach was awarded the Philip J. Klass Award for outstanding contributions in promoting
critical thinking Critical thinking is the process of analyzing available facts, evidence, observations, and arguments to make sound conclusions or informed choices. It involves recognizing underlying assumptions, providing justifications for ideas and actions, ...
and scientific understanding for 2011, by National Capital Area Skeptics (NCAS).


Style and experience

Members of the Achenblog have described Achenbach as writing with versatility and deft humor. As a reporter and an author he has covered topics as diverse as
presidential election A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The p ...
s,
George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...
, the national deficit, the
war in Iraq This is a list of wars involving the Republic of Iraq and its predecessor states. , style="background:#F88" , Coalition of Gulf War, Coalition victory * Kuwait, State of Kuwait resumes self-governance over all Kuwaiti sovereign territory * Esta ...
, the search for extraterrestrial life, the
space program A space program is an organized effort by a government or a company with a goal related to outer space. Lists of space programs include: * List of government space agencies * List of private spaceflight companies * List of human spaceflight prog ...
, and
climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...
. In addition to scientific and analytical sophistication, Achenbach's work has been characterized by members of the Achenblog as having a strong appreciation for and sensitivity to the human aspects of his stories. In the months after the Deepwater Horizon Disaster, Achenbach wrote and contributed to an extensive series of articles for ''The Washington Post'' that led to his most recent book, ''A Hole at the Bottom of the Sea''.


Misconduct allegations and suspension

On January 10, 2018, ''The Washington Post'' suspended Achenbach for 90 days because of what it called "inappropriate workplace conduct" involving current and former female colleagues. After the conclusion of the suspension Achenbach returned to work as a reporter for the Washington Post.


Family life

Achenbach lives in Washington, DC with his wife, Mary Stapp, and their three daughters.


Selected works

* ''Why Things Are'' (
1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...
), * ''It Looks Like a President Only Smaller: Trailing Campaign 2000'' (
2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...
), * ''Captured by Aliens: The Search for Life and Truth in a Very Large Universe'' (
2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...
), * ''The Grand Idea: George Washington's Potomac and the Race to the West'' (
2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...
), * ''A Hole at the Bottom of the Sea: The Race to Kill the BP Oil Gusher'' (
2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...
),


References


External links


Achenblog – the official Joel Achenbach blog

Video discussions and debate featuring Achenbach
on BloggingHeads.tv
Official website for "A Hole at the Bottom of the Sea"
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Achenbach, Joel 1960 births Living people 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers American humorists American male bloggers American bloggers American male non-fiction writers American science writers Princeton University alumni The Washington Post people