Megan Greenwell is an American editor and journalist. She was the first female editor-in-chief of

Deadspin ''Deadspin'' is a sports blog owned by Lineup Publishing. Founded by Will Leitch in 2005 and originally based in Chicago, it was then sold to Gawker Media, Univision Communications and G/O Media. Lineup Publishing acquired it in March 2024, t ...

and editor of

Wired.com ''Wired'' is a bi-monthly American magazine that focuses on how emerging technologies affect culture, the economy, and politics. It is published in both print and online editions by Condé Nast. The magazine has been in publication since its l ...

. She has written for publications such as ''

ESPN The Magazine ''ESPN The Magazine'' was an American monthly sports magazine published by the ESPN sports network in Bristol, Connecticut. The first issue, with the cover line "NEXT.," was published on March 11, 1998 (cover date March 23, 1998), and featured K ...

'', '' GQ'', ''

Esquire Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentleman ...

'', and ''

New York Magazine ''New York'' is an American biweekly magazine concerned with life, culture, politics, and style generally, with a particular emphasis on New York City. Founded by Clay Felker and Milton Glaser in 1968 as a competitor to ''The New Yorker'' a ...

''.

Biography

Greenwell grew up in

Berkeley, California Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Anglo-Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland, Cali ...

. Her mother is an Episcopal priest who currently serves as the Dean of Christ Church Cathedral in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

. She attended Berkeley High School, where she was a reporter for the school newspaper, '' Berkeley High Jacket'', and uncovered an indentured servitude and sex ring operated by Berkeley's largest landlord,

Lakireddy Bali Reddy Lakireddy Bali Reddy (1937 – November 8, 2021) was an Indian and American landlord, convicted felon, and chairman of the Lakireddy Balireddy College of Engineering in Andhra Pradesh. Reddy exploited the Indian caste system to bring young Indi ...

, before receiving her B.A. from

Barnard College Barnard College is a Private college, private Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college affiliated with Columbia University in New York City. It was founded in 1889 by a grou ...

in 2006. At Barnard, she was a fencer for the Columbia Lions fencing team and was the editor-in-chief of ''

Columbia Daily Spectator The ''Columbia Daily Spectator'' (known colloquially as ''Spec'') is the student newspaper of Columbia University. Founded in 1877, it is the second-oldest continuously operating college news daily in the nation after '' The Harvard Crimson'', a ...

''. Greenwell began as an intern, and soon covered the Iraq war from

Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

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 ...

'' shortly after college''.'' She later covered education and philanthropy and was part of The Washington Post team that won the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for breaking the

Virginia Tech shooting The Virginia Tech shooting was a spree killer, spree shooting that occurred on Monday, April 16, 2007, comprising two attacks on the campus of the Virginia Tech, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) in Blacksbu ...

. Greenwell was later the managing editor of

GOOD Magazine GOOD Worldwide Inc. is a United States–based media company that reports on businesses and non-profits. GOOD produces a website, a quarterly magazine, online videos, and events. The company was founded in 2006 and has offices in Los Angeles, ...

, the inaugural features editor at ''New York'' magazine's lifestyle website The Cut and senior editor of ''

''. Greenwell was the executive features editor for Esquire.com and was hired as the fifth and first female editor-in-chief of ''Deadspin'' in 2018. She later became the editor-in-chief of ''

'' in 2019. She left her post in 2021, citing "burnout." She published her first book '' Bad Company: Private Equity and the Death of the American Dream'' in June 2025, in which she explores the world of

private equity Private equity (PE) is stock in a private company that does not offer stock to the general public; instead it is offered to specialized investment funds and limited partnerships that take an active role in the management and structuring of the co ...

and how it upended the lives of four people in various industries around the country.

Personal life

Greenwell is married to David Heller, an assistant professor of internal medicine and global health at

Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (ISMMS or Mount Sinai), formerly the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, is a private medical school in New York City, New York, United States. The school is the academic teaching arm of the Mount Sina ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Greenwell, Megan Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Wired (magazine) people American journalists American editors Columbia Lions fencers Esquire (magazine) people The Washington Post journalists Barnard College alumni ESPN people New York (magazine) people Berkeley High School (Berkeley, California) alumni