Franklin Foer (; born July 20, 1974) is a staff writer at ''
The Atlantic
''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science.
It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...
'' and former editor of ''
The New Republic
''The New Republic'' is an American magazine of commentary on politics, contemporary culture, and the arts. Founded in 1914 by several leaders of the progressive movement, it attempted to find a balance between "a liberalism centered in hu ...
'', commenting on contemporary issues from a liberal perspective.
Personal life
Foer was born in 1974 to a
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
family. He is the son of Albert Foer, a lawyer, and
Esther Safran Foer
Esther Safran Foer (born 1946) is a writer and the former executive director of Sixth & I Synagogue in Washington, DC.
Early life
Esther Safran was born in Łódź, Poland to Louis and Ethel Safran, Holocaust survivors who met in 1945. She sp ...
. He is the elder brother of novelist
Jonathan Safran Foer
Jonathan Safran Foer (; born February 21, 1977) is an American novelist. He is known for his novels '' Everything Is Illuminated'' (2002), '' Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close'' (2005), '' Here I Am'' (2016), and for his non-fiction works ''Eati ...
and freelance journalist Joshua Foer.
He graduated from
Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
in 1996 and lives in Washington, D.C. with his wife and two daughters.
Career
Foer has written for ''Slate'' and ''New York'' magazine. He served as editor of American magazine ''
The New Republic
''The New Republic'' is an American magazine of commentary on politics, contemporary culture, and the arts. Founded in 1914 by several leaders of the progressive movement, it attempted to find a balance between "a liberalism centered in hu ...
'' from 2006 until 2010, when he resigned—by his subsequent account, because of exhaustion over an interminable search for a patron who could save the magazine. He then became editor again in 2012, recruited by new patron
Chris Hughes
Chris Hughes (born November 26, 1983) is an American entrepreneur and author who co-founded and served as spokesman for the online social directory and networking site Facebook until 2007. He was the publisher and editor-in-chief of ''The New R ...
. His book ''
How Soccer Explains the World
''How Soccer Explains the World: An Unlikely Theory of Globalization'' (also published as ''How Football Explains the World: An Unlikely Theory of Globalization'') is a book written by American journalist Franklin Foer. It is an analysis of the i ...
'' was published in 2004. The book ''Jewish Jocks'', which he co-edited with ''New Republic'' writer Marc Tracy, was published in 2012. It won a
National Jewish Book Award
The Jewish Book Council (Hebrew: ), founded in 1944, is an organization encouraging and contributing to Jewish literature.Scott Thomas Beauchamp controversy. His firing in December 2014 by ''New Republic'' owner Chris Hughes and his replacement by former
Gawker
''Gawker'' is an American blog founded by Nick Denton and Elizabeth Spiers and based in New York City focusing on celebrities and the media industry. According to SimilarWeb, the site had over 23 million visits per month as of 2015. Founded ...
editor Gabriel Snyder provoked an editorial crisis that culminated in the resignation from the magazine of two-thirds of the people on its masthead.
In 2017 Foer published ''World Without Mind: The Existential Threat of Big Tech'', which was named a ''
New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' 100 Notable Books of 2017. Using
Facebook
Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dust ...
,
Amazon
Amazon most often refers to:
* Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology
* Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin
* Amazon River, in South America
* Amazon (company), an American multinational technolog ...
,
Google
Google LLC () is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company focusing on Search Engine, search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, software, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, ar ...
, and
Apple
An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple trees are cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus '' Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, where its wild ancest ...
as case studies, ''World Without Mind'' argues for a closer examination for the role of technology in our lives, particularly the ways it is shaping the values of individuals globally.
In October 2022, Foer reported in ''
The Atlantic
''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science.
It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...
'' an in-depth overview of possible legal consequences of activities performed by former president
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...
.
Bibliography
Books
*
How Soccer Explains the World
''How Soccer Explains the World: An Unlikely Theory of Globalization'' (also published as ''How Football Explains the World: An Unlikely Theory of Globalization'') is a book written by American journalist Franklin Foer. It is an analysis of the i ...
(2004)
* Jewish Jocks, co-edited with Marc Tracy (2012)
* World Without Mind: The Existential Threat of Big Tech (2017)
Essays and reporting
* Originally published in the February 5, 2001 issue.
* Online version is titled "Paul Manafort, American hustler".
———————
;Notes
Paul Glastris Paul Glastris is an American journalist and political columnist. Glastris is the current editor-in-chief of the ''Washington Monthly'' and was President Bill Clinton's chief speechwriter from September 1998 to the end of his presidency in early 2 ...
on
Bloggingheads.tv
Bloggingheads.tv (sometimes abbreviated "bhtv") is a political, world events, philosophy, and science video blog discussion site in which the participants take part in an active back and forth conversation via webcam which is then broadcast on ...