Michael Hobbes is a

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 ...

and

podcast A podcast is a Radio program, program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. Typically, a podcast is an Episode, episodic series of digital audio Computer file, files that users can download to a personal device or str ...

host. He was formerly a Senior Enterprise Reporter for

HuffPost ''HuffPost'' (''The Huffington Post'' until 2017, itself often abbreviated as ''HPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and covers p ...

. His writing has also appeared in ''

Pacific Standard ''Pacific Standard'', founded as ''Miller–McCune'', was an American nonprofit magazine that reported on issues of social and environmental justice. Founded in 2008, the magazine was published in print and online for its first ten years. It was ...

'', ''

The New Republic ''The New Republic'' (often abbreviated as ''TNR'') is an American magazine focused on domestic politics, news, culture, and the arts from a left-wing perspective. It publishes ten print magazines a year and a daily online platform. ''The New Y ...

'', and ''

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 ...

''. Hobbes currently co-hosts the podcast '' Maintenance Phase'', which criticizes the science behind health and wellness fads, and the podcast ''

If Books Could Kill ''If Books Could Kill'' is a podcast hosted by Michael Hobbes and Peter Shamshiri, in which they critique bestselling nonfiction books of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Books featured on the podcast include ''Freakonomics'' by Steven D ...

'', which critically examines the premises of various popular non-fiction books. He also previously co-hosted ''

You're Wrong About ''You're Wrong About'' is an American history and pop culture podcast created by journalist Michael Hobbes and writer Sarah Marshall (writer), Sarah Marshall. It has been hosted by Marshall since its inception; Hobbes also hosted until 2021. La ...

'', which explores the truth behind popular narratives about well-known historical events and phenomena.

Career

Before beginning his writing career, Hobbes worked in human rights for 11 years. He was previously a reporter for the

Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (''The Huffington Post'' until 2017, itself often abbreviated as ''HPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and covers ...

, where he covered the

new economy The New Economy refers to the ongoing development of the American economic system. It evolved from the notions of the classical economy via the transition from a manufacturing-based economy to a service-based economy, and has been driven by ...

. He also writes journalistic and personal essays for publications including ''

'', ''

'', and ''

''. His article on the plight of

millennials Millennials, also known as Generation Y or Gen Y, are the demographic cohort following Generation X and preceding Generation Z. Researchers and popular media use the early 1980s as starting birth years and the mid-1990s to early 2000s a ...

was nominated for a

National Magazine Award The National Magazine Awards, also known as the Ellie Awards, honor print and digital publications that consistently demonstrate superior execution of editorial objectives, innovative techniques, noteworthy enterprise and imaginative design. Or ...

. He has also appeared in multiple episodes of

WNYC WNYC is an audio service brand, under the control of New York Public Radio, a non-profit organization. Radio and other audio programming is primarily provided by a pair of nonprofit, noncommercial, public radio stations: WNYC (AM) and WNYC- ...

's '' On the Media''. Michael Hobbes, along with co-host Sarah Marshall, started the podcast ''

'' in May 2018. Each episode centers a historical event or concept and breaks down the common myths and misconceptions that surround it. Unlike many history podcasts, one co-host researches the episode and the other blind-reacts to the information. During the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

lockdowns, the podcast gained a

cult following A cult following is a group of fans who are highly dedicated to a person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The latter is often called a cult classic. A film, boo ...

. Hobbes decided to step away from the podcast in October 2021, citing his wish to end his involvement on a high note. Hobbes and

Aubrey Gordon Aubrey Gordon (born 1983), also known as Your Fat Friend, is an author, podcaster, and activist. She writes about fatness, fat acceptance, and anti-fat bias, and her podcast, Maintenance Phase, focuses on the poor science behind health and w ...

have co-hosted the podcast ''Maintenance Phase'' since October 2020. The show examines the myths and "

junk science Junk science is spurious or fraudulent scientific data, research, or analysis. The concept is often invoked in political and legal contexts where facts and scientific results have a great amount of weight in making a determination. It usually con ...

" behind health, nutrition, and wellness trends, and have discussed topics including popular

diets The Low Countries comprise the coastal Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta region in Western Europe, whose definition usually includes the modern countries of Luxembourg, Belgium, the Netherlands and parts of Northern France. Both Belgium and the ...

and

diet food Diet food (or dietetic food) refers to any food or beverage whose recipe is altered to reduce fat, carbohydrates, and/or sugar in order to make it part of a weight loss program or Dieting, diet. Such foods are usually intended to assist in weigh ...

anti-fat bias Social stigma of obesity is bias or discriminatory behaviors targeted at overweight and obese individuals because of their weight and high body fat percentage. Such social stigmas can span one's entire life as long as excess weight is present, ...

, and

eating disorder An eating disorder is a mental disorder defined by abnormal eating behaviors that adversely affect a person's health, physical or mental health, mental health. These behaviors may include eating too much food or too little food. Types of eatin ...

s. In November 2022, Hobbes and lawyer Peter Shamshiri launched ''

,'' a podcast that breaks down popular non-fiction books like ''

Freakonomics ''Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything'' is the debut non-fiction book by University of Chicago economist Steven Levitt and ''New York Times'' journalist Stephen J. Dubner. Published on April 12, 2005, by Wil ...

'' in the same style as ''Maintenance Phase'' and ''You're Wrong About''.

Reception

Hobbes' podcasts have received positive reviews from media outlets such as ''

Vulture A vulture is a bird of prey that scavenges on carrion. There are 23 extant species of vulture (including condors). Old World vultures include 16 living species native to Europe, Africa, and Asia; New World vultures are restricted to Nort ...

The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher based in Washington, D.C. It features articles on politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 185 ...

, and 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 ...

.''" In 2022, his podcast ''Maintenance Phase'' won a

Webby Award The Webby Awards (colloquially referred to as the Webbys) are awards for excellence on the Internet presented annually by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, a judging body composed of over three thousand industry experts a ...

for best podcast series. Writing about Hobbes' departure from ''You're Wrong About'' in 2021, ''

'' media critic Nicholas Quah called the show with Hobbes "deeply researched, funny, and heartfelt" and praised both hosts for their "level of self-knowledge" and "moral clarity." Hobbes questioned the veracity of a 2024 essay in ''

'' by a former ''New York Times'' editor who said he had been chastised by

human resources Human resources (HR) is the set of people who make up the workforce of an organization, business sector, industry, or economy. A narrower concept is human capital, the knowledge and skills which the individuals command. Similar terms include ' ...

due to eating at

Chick-fil-A Chick-fil-A, Inc. ( , a Word play, play on the American English pronunciation of "wikt:filet#Pronunciation, filet") is an American fast food restaurant chain and the largest chain specializing in Chicken burger, chicken sandwiches. Headquarter ...

, given the CEO's position against same-sex marriage. ''The Atlantic'' asserted that the story had been fact-checked and confirmed with multiple ''Times'' employees, and journalists Robby Soave and

Erik Wemple Erik Wemple is an American journalist who works as a columnist and media critic at ''The Washington Post''. He was formerly the editor of the alternative weekly ''Washington City Paper''. Since 2017, Wemple has been known for feuding with former ...

also supported the magazine.

Jonathan Chait Jonathan Chait () is an American pundit and writer for ''The Atlantic''. He was previously a senior editor at ''The New Republic'' and an assistant editor of ''The American Prospect'' and wrote for '' New York'' magazine. He writes a periodic c ...

called Hobbes a "bad-faith media critic" who reflexively criticized stories inconvenient to

left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of Ideology#Political ideologies, political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy either as a whole or of certain social ...

causes.

Personal life

Hobbes is gay. He has lived in Seattle, Berlin, the United Kingdom and

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hobbes, Michael 21st-century American journalists American LGBTQ journalists American expatriates in Denmark American expatriates in Germany American gay writers American book podcasters LGBTQ people from Washington (state) Living people Year of birth missing (living people)