Joshua Ryan Topolsky (born October 19, 1977) is an American

technology Technology is the application of Conceptual model, conceptual knowledge to achieve practical goals, especially in a reproducible way. The word ''technology'' can also mean the products resulting from such efforts, including both tangible too ...

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

. He is also a

record producer A record producer or music producer is a music creating project's overall supervisor whose responsibilities can involve a range of creative and technical leadership roles. Typically the job involves hands-on oversight of recording sessions; ensu ...

, and DJ under the

stage name A stage name or professional name is a pseudonym used by performers, authors, and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. The equivalent concept among writers is called a ''nom de plume'' (pen name). Some performers ...

Joshua Ryan. Topolsky was the co-founder and

editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The editor-in-chief heads all departments of the organization and is held accoun ...

of technology news network ''The Verge'', and a co-creator of its parent company

Vox Media Vox Media, Inc. is an American mass media company founded in Washington, D.C. with operational headquarters in Lower Manhattan, New York City. The company was established in November 2011 by CEO Jim Bankoff and Trei Brundrett to encompass ''S ...

. Previously, he was the editor-in-chief of ''

Engadget Engadget ( ) is a technology news, reviews and analysis website offering daily coverage of gadgets, consumer electronics, video games, gaming hardware, apps, social media, streaming, AI, space, robotics, electric vehicles and other potentially ...

''. On August 4, 2014, Topolsky stepped down from The Verge and Vox Media to join

Bloomberg Bloomberg may refer to: People * Daniel J. Bloomberg (1905–1984), audio engineer * Georgina Bloomberg (born 1983), professional equestrian * Michael Bloomberg (born 1942), American businessman and founder of Bloomberg L.P.; politician a ...

"as the editor of a series of new online ventures it is introducing as part of a revamped journalism strategy". He left Bloomberg in July 2015 after clashes with

Michael Bloomberg Michael Rubens Bloomberg (born February 14, 1942) is an American businessman and politician. He is the majority owner and co-founder of Bloomberg L.P., and was its CEO from 1981 to 2001 and again from 2014 to 2023. He served as the 108th mayo ...

over the direction of its digital media strategy and started the digital news company The Outline.

Journalism

Between August 2008 and March 2011, Topolsky was the editor-in-chief of the technology blog ''Engadget''. Since 2009, he has been the technology correspondent for

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

's ''

Late Night with Jimmy Fallon ''Late Night with Jimmy Fallon'' is an American television talk show broadcast by NBC. The show was the third installment of the '' Late Night'' franchise. Hosted by Jimmy Fallon,

'', and then ''

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon ''The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by actor and comedian Jimmy Fallon that airs on NBC. The show premiered on February 17, 2014, and is produced by Broadway Video and Universal Television. It i ...

''. In March 2011, he resigned his position at ''Engadget''. Following his departure from Engadget, Topolsky began a new site called '' This Is My Next'', a temporary home for him and his ex-''Engadget'' colleagues as they built a new technology network. Like Engadget, the website included a wide variety of technology news, reviews, and editorials. The website name is a play on a phrase Topolsky often says when reviewing a device that he especially likes (e.g. "This is my next phone."). Topolsky's team at ''This Is My Next'' included former ''Engadget'' editors and contributors including Paul Miller,

Nilay Patel Nilay Patel () is an American editor and blogger who has been editor-in-chief of technology news website ''The Verge'' since 2014. Education In 2003, Patel earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from the University of Chicago. In ...

Joanna Stern Joanna Stern (born December 5, 1984) is an American technology journalist, best known for her videos and columns at ''The Wall Street Journal'' and technology news websites ''Engadget'' and ''The Verge''. She became a personal technology columni ...

, Chris Ziegler, and others. On July 18, 2011, Topolsky announced on ''Late Night'' that he and his team were developing a new permanent network called ''

The Verge ''The Verge'' is an American Technology journalism, technology news website headquarters, headquartered in Lower Manhattan, New York City and operated by Vox Media. The website publishes news, feature stories, guidebooks, product reviews, cons ...

''. ''The Verge'' launched on November 1, 2011, with Topolsky as the founding editor-in-chief. He appears in many of the audio and video podcasts that the site releases as well as writing articles. He has appeared on Fallon's shows several times since the announcement of the site with products the site has reviewed that he showcases to the audience. ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' reported on July 24, 2014, that Topolsky would be leaving ''

'' on August 4, 2014, to pursue an editorial position at ''

''. The ''Times'' noted, "He will develop and run Bloomberg’s new ventures, which will cover specific topic areas such as politics and luxury." ''

'' reported on July 10, 2015, that Topolsky would be leaving ''

Bloomberg Business ''Bloomberg Businessweek'', previously known as ''BusinessWeek'' (and before that ''Business Week'' and ''The Business Week''), is an American monthly business magazine published 12 times a year. The magazine debuted in New York City in Septembe ...

'' after clashes with founder

. This follows a radical redesign of

web properties. In April 2015, Topolsky started ''Tomorrow'', a weekly podcast about current trends in technology, news, and culture. Each episode of ''Tomorrow'' features cohost Ryan Houlihan and a special guest, ranging from Google designer

Matías Duarte Matías Duarte is a Chilean Americans, Chilean-American User interface design, computer interface designer and Google's Vice President of Design. Prior to his current role, he was the Director of Android (operating system), Android User Experience ...

to Topolsky's wife. In 2016, Topolsky pursued initial funding for a new digital media outlet. The company is titled Independent Media and launched its first publication, The Outline, on December 5. In 2023, Topolsky was hired by Robinhood to launch Sherwood Media a website dedicated to, "deliver actionable, illuminating news on the markets, business, tech, and the culture of money in a way that's authoritative, engaging, and speaks in the language of this moment". As of 2025 Topolsky is Sherwood's editor-in-chief and president.

Music

Under the stage name Joshua Ryan, Topolsky was a well known

trance music Trance is a genre of electronic dance music that emerged from Electronic body music, EBM in Frankfurt, Germany, in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and quickly spread throughout Europe. Trance music is typically characterized by a tempo between ...

DJ whose tracks were included on several gold certified

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one Performing arts#Performers, performer or by several performers. If the recordings are from ...

s. His tracks have been licensed by

Palm Pictures Palm Pictures is an American entertainment company owned and run by Chris Blackwell. Palm Pictures produces, acquires, and distributes music and film projects with a particular focus on the DVD-Video format. Palm places an emphasis on such proj ...

Moonshine Music Moonshine Music was an electronic music record label founded by Steve Levy and Ricardo Vinas, in Los Angeles in 1992, and later headquartered in West Hollywood, California. Moonshine released over 250 compilations albums, many of which were DJ mixe ...

Ministry of Sound Ministry of Sound or Ministry of Sound Group is a multimedia entertainment business based in London with a nightclub, shared workspace and private members' club, worldwide events operation, music publisher (popular music), music publishing busin ...

, and

Sony Music Entertainment Sony Music Entertainment (SME), commonly known as Sony Music, is an American multinational music company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony Group Corporation. It is the recording division of Sony Music Group, with the other half being the ...

( UK). In 1999, Fragrant Records released his single "Pistolwhip", which was re-released on

NuLife Recordings David Alistair Pearce (born 14 June 1963) is an English dance DJ, Electronic dance music, EDM producer and broadcaster, who has performed across the United Kingdom and the world. He previously presented ''Dance Anthems'' on BBC Radio 1 for ten ...

in 2001 and reached number 29 on the UK Singles Chart. Topolsky and his brother Eric Emm are known as the producing duo The Brothers.

Personal life

Topolsky lives outside New York with his wife, Laura June, who was also an editor at ''The Verge'' and now writes for various publications such as ''

The Awl ''The Awl'' was a website about "news, ideas and obscure Internet minutiae of the day" based in New York City. Its motto was "Be Less Stupid." History Founded in April 2009 by David Cho and former ''Gawker'' editors Choire Sicha and Alex Balk ...

'' and ''

Jezebel Jezebel ()"Jezebel"
(US) and

'', and their daughter. Topolsky was raised in a

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

family.

Discography

Solo work

* "Hush" / "Doinyourheadin" – Slinkey Recordings 1997 * "Don't Look Back" – Slinkey Recordings 1998 * "Pistolwhip" – Fragrant Music 1999 * "Pistolwhip" –

2000 * "Thunderclap" – Fragrant Music 2000 * "Unreal" – Crush Recordings 2000 * "All" / "Ison" – System Recordings 2001 * "Buildings in Between" – System Recordings 2003 * "Buildings in Between" (

remix A remix, also sometimes called reorchestration or rework, is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, poem, or photograph ca ...

es) – System Recordings 2003 * "By Design" – System Recordings 2003 * "Fury" – System Recordings 2003 * "Damage" – Alpha Numeric 2004 * "Blueness" – System Recordings 2005

Remixes

Tanlines Tanlines is an American electronic music and indie rock duo from Brooklyn, New York composed of percussionist Jesse Cohen and guitarist and vocalist Eric Emm. Their influence is drawn from various genres including pop, indie, dance and world mu ...

/ Brothers (Joshua Ryan Remix)

Journalism

Music

Personal life

Discography

Solo work

Remixes

See also

References

External links