Derek Thompson (journalist)

Last updated
Derek Thompson
Born (1986-05-18) May 18, 1986 (age 37)
McLean, Virginia, U.S.
Occupation
  • Journalist
  • podcaster
NationalityAmerican
Alma mater Northwestern University

Derek Kahn Thompson (born May 18, 1986) is a self-described "progressive" [1] American podcaster and journalist. He is a staff writer at The Atlantic and the author of Hit Makers: How to Succeed in an Age of Distraction.

Contents

Early life

Derek Thompson was born in McLean, Virginia, the son of Robert Thompson and Petra Kahn, both deceased. [2] [3] Before graduating from high school, he appeared in several theatrical productions at the Folger Shakespeare Theater [4] and the Shakespeare Theater. [5] After attending the Potomac School, Thompson graduated from Northwestern University in 2008. [6] [7]

Career

Thompson has been a writer at The Atlantic since 2009. [8] Starting in November 2021, Thompson began hosting a weekly headline podcast entitled Plain English, part of The Ringer Podcast Network. [9] In 2018, he became the host of the technology and science podcast Crazy/Genius, which was nominated for an iHeartMedia Best Podcast Award in its first year. [10]

Thompson has written two cover stories for the magazine. The first, "A World Without Work", is a widely referenced [11] [12] essay on the meaning of work and automation's threat to the labor force. The second was a lengthy profile of X, the research and development division of Alphabet. [13]

In 2017, Thompson published his first book, Hit Makers: How to Succeed in an Age of Distraction. It was a national bestseller [14] and winner of the American Marketing Association's Leonard L. Berry Marketing Book Award for the best marketing book of 2018. [15]

Personal life

Thompson lives in Washington D.C., with his wife. [16]

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References

  1. ↑ Thompson, Derek (August 12, 2022). "A New Way to Think About Racism in America". "Plain English with Derek Thompson" podcast at approximate timecode 4:22. Apple Podcast.
  2. ↑ "Bob Thompson Obituary". Legacy.com .
  3. ↑ "Petra Kahn Obituary". Legacy.com. Retrieved 9 September 2022.
  4. ↑ "For Grandy, No More Gopher". The Washington Post.
  5. ↑ "Fleshing Out King John". The Washington Post.
  6. ↑ "Career Day: Finding Their Calling - Potomac School". www.potomacschool.org. Retrieved 2023-02-14.
  7. ↑ "Author Derek Thompson Returns to NU to Discuss New Book". The Daily Northwestern. 4 May 2017.
  8. ↑ "Derek Thompson Author Page". TheAtlantic.com.
  9. ↑ Thompson, Derek (2021-11-11). "Introducing 'Plain English with Derek Thompson'". The Ringer. Retrieved 2021-12-21.
  10. ↑ "iHeartMedia Podcast Awards".
  11. ↑ "Derek Thompson - A World Without Work". YouTube.
  12. ↑ "Challenges loom as tech takeover grows". CBS.com.
  13. ↑ "Google X and the Science of Radical Creativity". TheAtlantic.com. 10 October 2017.
  14. ↑ "Hit Makers". Penguin Random House.
  15. ↑ "The Leonard L. Berry Marketing Book Award". AMA.org.
  16. ↑ "How Manhattan Became a Rich Ghost Town". TheAtlantic.com. 15 October 2018.
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