Josh Barro

Last updated

Josh Barro
Josh Barro.jpg
Born (1984-07-17) July 17, 1984 (age 39)
Education Harvard University (BA)
Occupation Journalist
Employer(s) New York
The New York Times
Business Insider
Bloomberg L.P.
NBCUniversal
Comcast
Political party Republican (before 2016)
Democratic (since 2016)
SpouseZachary Allen
Relatives Robert Barro (father)

Joshua A. Barro (born July 17, 1984) is an American journalist and creator of the newsletter and podcast Very Serious. [1] He previously hosted the weekly radio program Left, Right, & Center based at KCRW Los Angeles and served as a senior editor and columnist at Business Insider . [2] [3]

Contents

Early life

Barro is the son of Harvard University professor and macroeconomist Robert Barro. [4] After growing up in Massachusetts, Barro received a bachelor's degree in psychology from Harvard University. [5] While in college, he spent a summer interning for Grover Norquist. [6]

Career

Barro previously worked as a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research, [7] as a real estate banker for Wells Fargo, [8] as the lead writer for The Ticker (a defunct economics and politics blog hosted by Bloomberg L.P.), and as the politics editor at Business Insider. [9]

He appears regularly on Bloomberg Television and MSNBC and has appeared on Real Time with Bill Maher on HBO [10] and on All In with Chris Hayes on MSNBC. He is the former host, moderator and center of the weekly political roundtable radio show Left, Right & Center , based at KCRW Los Angeles and heard on public radio stations across the U.S.

In early 2013, he was a prominent supporter of a potential trillion-dollar coin, [11] but by late 2013, he had changed his mind. [12]

Time named Barro's Twitter feed one of "The 140 Best Twitter Feeds of 2013", one of ten in the Politics category. [13] In 2012, Forbes selected him as one of the "30 Under 30" media "brightest stars under the age of 30", [7] and David Brooks listed him as part of the "vibrant and increasingly influential center-right conversation." [14] A former aide to Barack Obama included Barro on a short list of Obama's favorite columnists. [15]

In 2014, Barro left Business Insider to join The New York Times' "The Upshot." [5] [16] In 2016, Barro was rehired by Business Insider as a senior editor. [17] In 2018, he again left Business Insider to become a business columnist at New York magazine. [18] In 2020, he announced that he was rejoining Business Insider as a columnist covering politics, business, and the economy. [19] [20]

In early 2022, Barro left Business Insider and stepped down as host of Left, Right & Center to pursue his newsletter and podcast Very Serious. [21] He is a co-podcaster with Los Angeles lawyer Kenneth White, [22] a/k/a Popehat, in a podcast about litigation, "Serious Trouble." [23]

Political views

Early in his career, Barro described himself as Republican but was critical of many of the party's policies. [24] He also identified as a neoliberal. [25] Barro has spoken out strongly against traditional Christian beliefs regarding homosexuality, stating that they "linger and oppress" and must be "stamped out ruthlessly". [26] [27]

After the 2012 United States elections, Barro became increasingly critical of the Republican Party and wrote that "the party's economic agenda, as embodied in the latest Ryan budget, is simply terrible for the vast majority of Americans." [4] Barro called Congressional Republicans "crazy and awful". [6] Reactions by other conservatives in the media led The Atlantic to name Barro "the loneliest Republican". [6] Ezra Klein said that, based on Barro's views, "He doesn't come across as much of a Republican." [28]

On October 11, 2016, following the Republican Party's nomination of Donald Trump for president, Barro said he had left the Republican Party and registered as a Democrat. [29] [30] Barro cited as reasons for his decision the "fact-free environment so many of its voters live in, and because of the anti-Democrat hysteria that had been willfully whipped up by so many of its politicians," which created a "vulnerability in our democracy." [29]

Hamburger problem

Barro argues that progressives in the United States have what he calls a hamburger problem, by which he means they sanctimoniously scold the public about a host of inconsequential personal choices, such as eating ground beef burgers (it is unhealthy, harms animals, and contributes to global warming, among others). They have become in his words a movement of "moralizing busybodies", which harms their political appeal. He said: "All this scolding—this messaging that you should feel guilty about aspects of your life that you didn't think were anyone else's business—leads to a weird outcome when you go to vote in November." [31] [32] [33] [34]

Personal life

Barro lives in Manhattan and is openly gay. In 2017, he married Zachary Allen, chairman of TIPAH Consulting and a former Democratic National Committee official. [35] He is an atheist. [36]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Frum</span> Canadian-American political commentator (born 1960)

David Jeffrey Frum is a Canadian-American political commentator and a former speechwriter for President George W. Bush. He is currently a senior editor at The Atlantic as well as an MSNBC contributor. In 2003, Frum authored the first book about Bush's presidency written by a former member of the administration. He has taken credit for the famous phrase "axis of evil" in Bush's 2002 State of the Union address.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kal Penn</span> American actor and civil servant (born 1977)

Kalpen Suresh Modi, known professionally as Kal Penn, is an American actor, author, and former White House staff member in the Barack Obama administration. As an actor he is known for his portrayals of Lawrence Kutner on the television program House, White House staffer Seth Wright on Designated Survivor, Kevin, a psychologist and boyfriend to Robin in How I Met Your Mother, and Kumar Patel in the Harold & Kumar film series. He is also recognized for his performance in the film The Namesake. Penn once taught at the University of Pennsylvania in the Cinema Studies Program as a visiting lecturer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alex Pareene</span> American journalist

Alex Pareene is an American journalist, writer, and editor. He was the editor-in-chief of the online news magazine Gawker. Pareene later served as a senior editor at Deadspin and editor-in-chief of Splinter News, before becoming a staff writer at The New Republic. As of 2022, he published a newsletter on Substack called "The AP Newsletter".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ezra Klein</span> American journalist (born 1984)

Ezra Klein is an American progressive journalist, political analyst, New York Times columnist, and the host of The Ezra Klein Show podcast. He is a co-founder of Vox and formerly served as the website's editor-at-large. He has held editorial positions at The Washington Post and The American Prospect, and was a regular contributor to Bloomberg News and MSNBC. His first book, Why We're Polarized, was published by Simon & Schuster in January 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ross Douthat</span> American author and columnist (born 1979)

Ross Gregory Douthat is an American political analyst, blogger, author and New York Times columnist. He was a senior editor of The Atlantic. He has written on a variety of topics, including the state of Christianity in America and "sustainable decadence" in contemporary society.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Public Policy Polling</span> U.S. Democratic polling firm

Public Policy Polling (PPP) is an American polling firm affiliated with the Democratic Party. Founded in 2001 by businessman Dean Debnam, the firm is based in Raleigh, North Carolina. Debnam currently serves as president and CEO of PPP, while Tom Jensen serves as the firm's director.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joe Walsh (Illinois politician)</span> American politician (born 1961)

William Joseph Walsh is an American politician, talk radio host, former social worker, and former 2020 Republican presidential candidate who served one term in the United States House of Representatives representing Illinois's 8th congressional district.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neera Tanden</span> American political consultant (born 1970)

Neera Tanden is an American political consultant and government official serving as Director of the United States Domestic Policy Council since 2023. Tanden previously served as a senior advisor and staff secretary to President Joe Biden from 2021 to 2023 and as president of the Center for American Progress (CAP), a center-left policy research and advocacy organization, where she worked in different capacities since its founding in 2003 until she joined the Biden administration in 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reince Priebus</span> American attorney and politician (born 1972)

Reinhold Richard "Reince" Priebus is an American lawyer and politician who served as chairman of the Republican National Committee from 2011 to 2017 and as White House chief of staff during the first six months of Donald Trump's presidency.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Grunwald</span> American writer and journalist

Michael Grunwald is an American journalist and author who writes about public policy and national politics. He worked as a journalist for The Boston Globe, The Washington Post and Time. He is presently a senior writer for Politico Magazine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2016 United States Senate election in Illinois</span>

The 2016 United States Senate election in Illinois was held on November 8, 2016, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of Illinois, concurrently with the 2016 U.S. presidential election, as well as other elections to the United States Senate in other states and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2016 United States Senate election in California</span>

The 2016 United States Senate election in California was held on November 8, 2016, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of California, concurrently with the 2016 U.S. presidential election, as well as elections to the United States Senate in other states and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CJ Pearson</span> American journalist and political commentator

Coreco Ja'Quan Pearson is an American conservative activist, political advisor, political candidate and commentator.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Make America Great Again</span> American political slogan

"Make America Great Again" is an American political slogan and movement most recently popularized by Donald Trump during his successful 2016 presidential campaign. "MAGA" is also used to refer to Trump's political base, or to an individual or group of individuals from within that base. The slogan became a pop culture phenomenon, seeing widespread use and spawning numerous variants in the arts, entertainment and politics, being used by both those who support and those who oppose Trump's presidency. Originally used by Ronald Reagan as a campaign slogan in his 1980 presidential campaign, it has since been described as a loaded phrase. Multiple journalists, scholars, and commentators have called the slogan racist, regarding it as dog-whistle politics and coded language.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mercedes Schlapp</span> American lobbyist & columnist (born 1972)

Mercedes Schlapp is an American communications specialist and political commentator for both English and Spanish media. She has served in two presidential administrations as director of specialty media under George W. Bush and as White House Director of Strategic Communications in the Trump administration from September 2017 to July 2019. She went on to work on the Trump 2020 re-election campaign as senior advisor for strategic communications.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kayleigh McEnany</span> American political commentator and author (born 1988)

Kayleigh McEnany is an American conservative political commentator, television personality, and writer who served the administration of Donald Trump as the 33rd White House press secretary from April 2020 to January 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rick Wilson (political consultant)</span> American political strategist (born 1963)

Frederick George "Rick" Wilson is an American political strategist, media consultant, and author based in Florida. A former member of the Republican Party, he has produced televised political commercials for governors, U.S. Senate candidates, Super PACs, and corporations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Josh Rogin</span> American journalist

Josh Rogin is an American journalist currently serving as a foreign policy columnist for the Global Opinions section of The Washington Post and a political analyst for CNN. He is author of the book Chaos Under Heaven: Trump, Xi, and the Battle for the 21st Century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mindy Finn</span> American academic

Mindy Finn is an American digital media expert, political and technology consultant, and entrepreneur. She worked as a digital strategist for the Republican Party, most notably for George W. Bush and Mitt Romney's presidential campaigns in 2004 and 2008, respectively, and became the vice presidential candidate for Evan McMullin's 2016 presidential campaign. She co-founded the organizations Stand Up Republic and Empowered Women, and works to make elections more inclusive.

References

  1. ↑ Barro, Josh. "This Is Very Serious". www.joshbarro.com. Retrieved March 17, 2022.
  2. ↑ "Josh Barro - Insider". Business Insider. Retrieved April 1, 2021.
  3. ↑ "Left, Right & Center | Political Discussion & News". KCRW. June 26, 2006.
  4. 1 2 Chait, Jonathan (June 2013). "Josh Barro, the Loneliest Republican". The Atlantic . Retrieved August 10, 2015.
  5. 1 2 Barro, Josh. "Josh Barro bio". The New York Times . Retrieved July 28, 2014.
  6. 1 2 3 Eidelson, Josh (October 17, 2013). "GOP is "crazy and awful": The Josh Barro Republicans are displeased". Salon. Retrieved October 7, 2016.
  7. 1 2 Howard, Caroline; Noer, Michael (December 17, 2012). "30 Under 30 - Media". Forbes . Retrieved March 27, 2013.
  8. ↑ Barro, Josh. "Josh Barro bio". Bloomberg. Retrieved March 26, 2013.
  9. ↑ Byers, Dylan (May 29, 2013). "Josh Barro to Business Insider". Politico. Retrieved May 29, 2013.
  10. ↑ Feldman, Josh (February 9, 2013). "Bill Maher And Panel Take On Drones: Obama's A 'Swell Guy,' But He's Basically Just Like Bush". Mediaite . Retrieved March 27, 2013.
  11. ↑ O'Brien, Matthew (January 8, 2013). "Everything You Need to Know About the Crazy Plan to Save the Economy With a Trillion-Dollar Coin". The Atlantic. Retrieved March 26, 2013.
  12. ↑ Josh Barro (August 27, 2013). "Republicans Are Full Of It, And There's No Threat Over The Debt Ceiling". Business Insider. Retrieved September 11, 2013.
  13. ↑ Sorensen, Adam (March 25, 2013). "The 140 Best Twitter Feeds of 2013". Time. Archived from the original on March 28, 2013. Retrieved March 26, 2013.
  14. ↑ Brooks, David (November 19, 2012). "The Conservative Future". The New York Times. Retrieved March 27, 2013.
  15. ↑ McMorris-Santoro, Evan (October 28, 2013). "Here Are Obama's Favorite Columnists". Buzzfeed. Retrieved October 29, 2013.
  16. ↑ Byers, Dylan (February 24, 2014). "Josh Barro to join The New York Times". Politico. Retrieved July 28, 2014.
  17. ↑ Gold, Hadas. "Josh Barro to return to Business Insider". POLITICO. Retrieved October 7, 2016.
  18. ↑ Barro, Josh [@jbarro] (September 18, 2018). "I'm very excited to be joining New York magazine as their business columnist! I'll be writing for Intelligencer -- NYMag's expanded site about politics, business and tech -- about companies and the economy as they relate to government and society. https://t.co/KP2ElizeyS" (Tweet). Archived from the original on February 16, 2021. Retrieved June 14, 2021– via Twitter.
  19. ↑ Barro, Josh [@jbarro] (November 9, 2020). "Some personal news: I am excited to announce that next month, I will rejoin @businessinsider as a columnist focusing on politics, business and the economy. I will also be doing analytical writing on topics like why infrastructure is so expensive in the US" (Tweet). Archived from the original on March 15, 2021. Retrieved June 14, 2021– via Twitter.
  20. ↑ Barro, Josh [@jbarro] (December 8, 2020). "2020 has absolutely sucked. But we have lots of reasons to believe 2021 is going to be awesome, with rapid deployment of vaccines, a robust economic recovery, and a normal person as president. My first column back at Business Insider: https://t.co/JJUkaDJ1Hq" (Tweet). Archived from the original on February 16, 2021. Retrieved June 14, 2021– via Twitter.
  21. ↑ Barro, Josh. "This Is Very Serious". www.joshbarro.com. Retrieved March 17, 2022.
  22. ↑ White, Kenneth (February 18, 2016). "Kenneth P. White". Brown White & Osborn LLP. Retrieved April 6, 2023.
  23. ↑ "Serious Trouble". Serious Trouble. Retrieved April 6, 2023.
  24. ↑ Salam, Reihan (November 21, 2012). "Josh Barro on Why Republicans Resist the Reformist Project". National Review Online. Retrieved March 27, 2013.
  25. ↑ Sullivan, Andrew (June 5, 2013). "Ask Josh Barro Anything: The Recent Evolution Of Conservatism". The Dish. Retrieved June 6, 2013.
  26. ↑ Barro, Josh [@jbarro] (July 24, 2014). "Anti-LGBT attitudes are terrible for people in all sorts of communities. They linger and oppress, and we need to stamp them out, ruthlessly" (Tweet). Archived from the original on May 3, 2017 – via Twitter.
  27. ↑ Dreher, Rod (July 25, 2014). "Josh Barro wins the Wall Street Journal a New Subscriber" . Retrieved October 11, 2016.
  28. ↑ Klein, Ezra. "Josh Barro didn't leave conservatism. Conservatism left Josh Barro". Washington Post. Retrieved October 7, 2016.
  29. 1 2 Barro, Josh. "Why I left the Republican Party to become a Democrat". Business Insider. Retrieved November 14, 2016.
  30. ↑ "Josh Barro Leaves GOP for Democratic Party: 'F--k It, I'm Out'". TheWrap. October 17, 2016. Retrieved November 14, 2016.
  31. ↑ "Liberals can win again if they stop being so annoying and fix their 'hamburger problem'". Business Insider. Retrieved August 30, 2017.
  32. ↑ Robberson, Tod. "Robberson: Red-meat Republicans have a point. Skip the 'venti' and give it to me straight". stltoday.com. Retrieved August 30, 2017.
  33. ↑ "Hamburgers aren't the problem". Mother Jones. Retrieved August 30, 2017.
  34. ↑ "The Left's 'Hamburger Problem' Is Not Going Away". National Review. Retrieved August 30, 2017.
  35. ↑ "POLITICO Playbook, presented by BP – HAPPY FEC DAY -- LONGTIME BIDEN FRIEND takes Playbookers inside V.P.'s mind – NYT MAGAZINE cover questions government narrative about bin Laden killing – SPORTS FANTASY industry ramps up lobbying – B'DAY: Lis Smith". POLITICO. October 15, 2015. Retrieved October 7, 2016.
  36. ↑ Barro, Josh [@jbarro] (December 28, 2013). "Mentioning that I am an atheist seems to have led to a bunch of email trying to convince me of the existence of god" (Tweet). Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved November 12, 2016– via Twitter.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.