Alix Spiegel is an American

public radio Public broadcasting involves radio, television and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service. Public broadcasters receive funding from diverse sources including license fees, individual contributions, public financing ...

producer and

science journalist Science journalism conveys reporting about science to the public. The field typically involves interactions between scientists, journalists, and the public. Origins Modern science journalism dates back to '' Digdarshan'' (means showing the d ...

. She is currently a senior audio editor for ''

The 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 ...

''. Spiegel previously hosted and produced the NPR program ''

Invisibilia ''Invisibilia'' is a radio program and podcast from National Public Radio, which debuted in early 2015 and "explores the intangible forces that shape human behavior—things like ideas, beliefs, assumptions and emotions." The program's title com ...

'' with

Hanna Rosin Hanna Rosin (born 1970) is an Israeli-born American writer. She is the editorial director for audio for ''New York Magazine'' Formerly, she was the co-host of the NPR podcast Invisibilia with Alix Spiegel. She was co-founder of DoubleX, the now ...

and worked on ''

This American Life ''This American Life'' (''TAL'') is an American monthly hour-long radio program produced in collaboration with Chicago Public Media and hosted by Ira Glass. It is broadcast on numerous public radio stations in the United States and internation ...

'' and for

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other n ...

Biography

Spiegel grew up in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

in a

secular Jewish Secular Jew may refer to: * A general epithet for Jews who participate in modern secular society and are not stringently religious * Nonreligious Jews, including nonaffiliated, agnostics, etc. ** Jewish atheism ** Cultural Judaism * ''Hiloni ...

household. Her father was the great-grandson of

Joseph Spiegel Joseph Spiegel (1840–1918) was the founder of the Spiegel catalog, a Civil War veteran, the younger brother of Union Army Colonel Marcus M. Spiegel, and patriarch of the Spiegel family. Biography Spiegel was born to a Jewish family, the son ...

, the founder of the

Spiegel Catalog Spiegel was an American direct marketing retailer founded in 1865 by Joseph Spiegel. Spiegel published a catalog, like its competitors Sears and Montgomery Ward, which advertised various brands of apparel, accessories, and footwear, as well a ...

. Her great-aunt was civil rights activist Polly Spiegel Cowan. She played the

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

from a very young age and initially considered a career as a musician. After graduating from

Oberlin College Oberlin College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio. It is the oldest Mixed-sex education, coeducational liberal arts college in the United S ...

, Spiegel moved to Chicago, where she saw an announcement in a newspaper about a fledgling local show for WBEZ called ''Your American Playhouse: Documentaries About American Life''. In 1995 Spiegel began correspondence with the show's producer,

Ira Glass Ira Jeffrey Glass (; born March 3, 1959) is an American public radio personality. He is the host and producer of the radio and television series ''This American Life'' and has participated in other NPR programs, including ''Morning Edition'', ...

, who took her on as an intern. In 1996 the show changed its name to ''

'' and was picked up nationally by

Public Radio International Public Radio International (PRI) was an American public radio organization. Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, PRI provided programming to over 850 public radio stations in the United States. PRI was one of the main providers of programm ...

, by which time Spiegel was producing pieces for the show. That year Spiegel and the show's other producers won the

George Foster Peabody Award The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Peabody, honor the most powerful, enlightening, and invigorating stories in television, radio, and ...

In 2002, Spiegel won the

Livingston Award The Livingston Awards at the University of Michigan are American journalism awards issued to media professionals under the age of 35 for local, national, and international reporting. They are the largest, all-media, general reporting prizes in Ame ...

for episode #204 " 81 Words" about Spiegel's own grandfather, Dr.

John Patrick Spiegel John Paul Spiegel (March 17, 1911 – July 17, 1991) was an American psychiatrist, and expert on violence and combat stress and the 103rd President of the American Psychiatric Association (APA). As president-elect of the APA in 1973, he ...

, who had a hand in removing

homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to peop ...

from the ''

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders The ''Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders'' (DSM; latest edition: DSM-5-TR, published in March 2022) is a publication by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) for the classification of mental disorders using a common langua ...

''. In 2007, she won the

Alfred I. duPont–Columbia University Award The Alfred I. duPont–Columbia University Award honors excellence in broadcast and digital journalism in the public service and is considered one of the most prestigious awards in journalism. The awards were established in 1942 and administered ...

for the segment, "Which One of These is Not Like the Others?" for episode #322, "Shouting Across the Divide". Having taken up an interest in the human mind, Spiegel eventually moved on to

freelance ''Freelance'' (sometimes spelled ''free-lance'' or ''free lance''), ''freelancer'', or ''freelance worker'', are terms commonly used for a person who is self-employed and not necessarily committed to a particular employer long-term. Freelance w ...

work for NPR's Science Desk where she spent ten years covering psychology and human behavior. In 2008 she won the

Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award The Robert F. Kennedy Awards for Excellence in Journalism is a journalism award named after Robert F. Kennedy and awarded by the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights. The annual awards are issued in several categories and were est ...

for her piece "Stuck and Suicidal in a Post-Katrina Trailer Park". In 2010 she won the

Erikson Institute Prize for Excellence in Mental Health Media Erikson is a common Scandinavian patronymic surname meaning "son of Erik", itself an Old Norse given name. There are other spelling variations of this surname, as it is common amongst Danes, Swedes, Finns, and Norwegians. Erikson is uncommon a ...

. She continued to appear as an occasional contributor to ''This American Life'' until the launch of her show ''Invisibilia''. Spiegel's science reporting has also been featured in ''

'' and ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spiegel, Alix Living people People from Baltimore American Jews American radio producers Oberlin College alumni NPR personalities This American Life people Year of birth missing (living people) Livingston Award winners for National Reporting Spiegel family Journalists from Maryland 20th-century American journalists 21st-century American journalists Women radio producers