Bob Harris (born October 15, 1963) is an American radio commentator, writer, comedian, and former ''

Jeopardy! ''Jeopardy!'' is an American game show created by Merv Griffin. The show is a quiz competition that reverses the traditional question-and-answer format of many quiz shows. Rather than being given questions, contestants are instead given gene ...

'' champion.

Early career

Early in his career, Harris was a stand-up comedian who appeared in numerous comedy clubs, and he has spoken at over 200 colleges. Harris has written for the TV shows ''

Bones A bone is a rigid organ that constitutes part of the skeleton in most vertebrate animals. Bones protect the various other organs of the body, produce red and white blood cells, store minerals, provide structure and support for the body, a ...

'' and '' CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'', appeared frequently as a debunker of urban legends on the

TLC Network TLC is an American cable television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. First established in 1980 as The Learning Channel, it initially focused on educational and instructional programming. By the late 1990s, after an acquisition by the ow ...

program '' Mostly True Stories: Urban Legends Revealed'', and provided voiceover work on an episode of '' Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' and throughout the ''

This Modern World ''This Modern World'' is a weekly satirical comic strip by cartoonist and political commentator Tom Tomorrow (real name Dan Perkins) that covers current events from a left-wing point of view. Published continuously for more than 30 years, ''Th ...

'' animated web series and the ''

Torchwood ''Torchwood'' is a British science fiction television programme created by Russell T Davies. A spin-off of the 2005 revival of ''Doctor Who'', it aired from 2006 to 2011. The show shifted its broadcast channel each series to reflect its growin ...

'' web series ''Web of Lies''. In addition, Harris has contributed to several comic book projects published by ''

Dark Horse Comics Dark Horse Comics is an American comic book, graphic novel, and manga publisher founded in Milwaukie, Oregon by Mike Richardson in 1986. The company was created using funds earned from Richardson's chain of Portland, Oregon comic book shops know ...

'', narrated an audiobook on

Kosovo Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...

Noam Chomsky Avram Noam Chomsky (born December 7, 1928) is an American public intellectual: a linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, historian, social critic, and political activist. Sometimes called "the father of modern linguistics", Chomsky i ...

, and contributed to '' National Lampoon'', the ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television a ...

'',

Paul Krassner Paul Krassner (April 9, 1932 – July 21, 2019) was an American author, journalist, and comedian. He was the founder, editor, and a frequent contributor to the freethought magazine ''The Realist'', first published in 1958. Krassner became a key ...

's magazine ''

The Realist ''The Realist'' was a Humor magazine, magazine of "social-political-religious criticism and satire", intended as a hybrid of a grown-ups version of Mad (magazine), ''Mad'' and Lyle Stuart's anti-censorship monthly ''The Independent.'' Edited and ...

'', and numerous other publications. From 1998 to 2002, his daily political commentaries aired on an average of 75 radio stations across the U.S., winning awards from the Los Angeles Press Club and the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. ne ...

. He was also the morning drive-time host on the

Working Assets Working Assets is a corporation in the United States founded in 1985 by Peter Barnes. Working Assets' first product was the Better World Credit Card. After the United States deregulated telephone service, the company introduced Working Assets L ...

attempt at explicitly liberal

talk radio Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues and consisting entirely or almost entirely of original spoken word content rather than outside music. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often featu ...

, RadioForChange.com, and wrote online political columns for ''

Mother Jones Mary G. Harris Jones (1837 (baptized) – November 30, 1930), known as Mother Jones from 1897 onwards, was an Irish-born American schoolteacher and dressmaker who became a prominent union organizer, community organizer, and activist. She h ...

'' magazine.

Game show appearances

His game show appearances include reaching the semi-finals of the ''Jeopardy!'' Million Dollar Masters tournament in 2002, participation in a million-dollar-winning team on ''

Greed Greed (or avarice) is an uncontrolled longing for increase in the acquisition or use of material gain (be it food, money, land, or animate/inanimate possessions); or social value, such as status, or power. Greed has been identified as und ...

'' in 2000 (winning $200,000 for himself), and a successful $250,000 phone-a-friend answer for a contestant on ''

Who Wants to Be a Millionaire ''Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?'' (often informally called ''Millionaire'') is an international television game show franchise of British origin, created by David Briggs, Mike Whitehill and Steven Knight. In its format, currently owned and l ...

''. Harris also participated in the ''Jeopardy!'' Ultimate Tournament of Champions in 2005 and the ''Jeopardy!'' Battle of the Decades tournament in 2014. In 2005, Harris was the officiant of the "Jeopardy! Wedding", in which Harris briefly assumed Alex Trebek's podium and presided over the real-life wedding of a former opponent and 1998 Tournament of Champions winner Dan Melia and his fiancé Dara Hellman. Alex Trebek himself was the official legal witness. In 2012, Harris served as co-host of the

History Channel History (formerly The History Channel from January 1, 1995 to February 15, 2008, stylized as HISTORY) is an American pay television network and flagship channel owned by A&E Networks, a joint venture between Hearst Communications and the Disney ...

's ''National History Bee'' for middle school students. In 2014, Harris later participated in the ''Jeopardy!'' Battle of the Decades. He finished in third place behind Shane Whitlock and Robin Carroll.

Books

In 1999, Common Courage Press published his first book, "Steal This Book and Get Life Without Parole," a collection of previously published columns, including "Thumbs of Steel," an essay Harris originally published in

about his first appearances on ''

''. Harris would later expand this column into his second book, ''Prisoner of Trebekistan: A Decade in Jeopardy!'', published by Crown Publishing Group in 2006, detailing ten years of tournament successes and failures. This book itself became a clue on ''

'' in 2009 and on ''

'' in 2011. His third book, a tongue-in-cheek guide to world conflicts, ''Who Hates Whom: Well-Armed Fanatics, Intractable Conflicts, and Various Things Blowing Up-A Woefully Incomplete Guide'' (Crown Publishing Group), was published September 25, 2007. Harris's fourth book, ''The International Bank of Bob: Connecting Our Worlds One $25 Kiva Loan at a Time'', for Bloomsbury Publishing, was released on March 5, 2013. In 2008, Harris had been sent around the world by ForbesTraveler.com editor Jeff Koyen to review luxury hotels. On returning home, Harris used the proceeds from his luxury assignments to fund thousands of small loans in developing nations, mostly through the microfinance organization

Kiva A kiva is a space used by Puebloans for rites and political meetings, many of them associated with the kachina belief system. Among the modern Hopi and most other Pueblo peoples, "kiva" means a large room that is circular and underground ...

. He then spent much of the next several years traveling to meet clients in the field and see the results first-hand. In the wake of publication, more than 2400 readers and supporters have joined a

lending team called Friends of Bob Harris, making approximately 250,000 loans totaling more than $10.5 million to help fund small businesses in over 100 countries (as of February, 2022).

References

External links

Crown Publishing Group book information, ''Prisoner of Trebekistan''

Crown Publishing Group book information, ''Who Hates Whom''

Bloomsbury Publishing book information, ''The International Bank of Bob''

Bob Harris blog and website

"Friends of Bob Harris" team at Kiva

J! Archive – Bob's scores and games
*

–

Salon.com ''Salon'' is an American politically progressive/ liberal news and opinion website created in 1995. It publishes articles on U.S. politics, culture, and current events. Content and coverage ''Salon'' covers a variety of topics, including re ...

An International Financier, on a Teensy Scale
– The New York Times {{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Bob Living people American male writers American male bloggers American bloggers Jeopardy! contestants American male voice actors American comics writers 1963 births