Jeff Bakalar | |
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![]() Bakalar in 2023 | |
Born | Jeffrey Ian Bakalar March 24, 1982 |
Alma mater | Towson University (B.A.) |
Years active | 2004-present |
Known for | podcaster, celebrity interviewer, videogames journalist, internet personality |
Notable work | |
Spouse | Stacie Blair Bakalar (2010-present) [1] |
Children | 1 |
Jeffrey Ian Bakalar (born March 24, 1982) is a professional podcaster, video game journalist, and formerly [2] the host of CNET's longest-running podcast, The 404 Show. He was a recurring personality on various podcasts on Giant Bomb , later becoming a co-owner of the site in 2025. [3] [4]
Bakalar was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1982 [5] and was raised in Briarwood, Queens before his family relocated to Marlboro Township, New Jersey where he attended Marlboro High School. He graduated from Towson University in 2004 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Electronic Media and Film, where he won an award for a mockumentary he directed called Adult Swim. [6]
In 2010, he married his longtime girlfriend, Stacie Davis. [7]
He currently lives in New Jersey.
During his college years, Bakalar worked as a production office intern for actor and producer Bob Balaban in New York City at his production company Chicagofilms [8] while Balaban completed work on Gosford Park . [9]
In 2004, he signed a contract with Warner Bros. Records subsidiary Maverick Records to direct and produce a documentary for the pop punk band Mest. The documentary, entitled Seven Deadly Sins was released as a pack-in bonus with copies of the band's 2005 album Photographs . [10] [11]
In 2007, Bakalar joined CNET as a home theater and gaming editor, eventually starting a technology and pop culture podcast called The 404 Show with Randall Bennett and Wilson Tang. [12] In hosting the podcast, Bakalar has interviewed Tony Hawk, Marc Maron, John Hodgman, Shaun White, Wayne Brady, Scott Aukerman, Michael Showalter, Andrew W.K. and others. [13] Each year the podcast is performed live at the Consumer Electronics Show, where it has featured Danny DeVito, Eliza Dushku, Felicia Day and others. [14] [15]
In 2012, Bakalar started CNET's first-ever weekly tech parody comic called Low Latency, which he writes and is illustrated by Blake Stevenson. [16]
Bakalar briefly co-hosted another CNET project, Pre-Game, but stopped production after a year of programming to focus more on The 404 Show. [12]
Bakalar is a member of the New York Videogame Critics Circle, an advocacy group for game writers in and around the New York City area. [17]
He regularly appears on TV and radio as a technology, pop culture, and video game expert. Bakalar has been featured on G4's Attack of the Show , NPR's All Things Considered , and CNBC's Power Lunch . [18] [19] [20]
In late 2014, Bakalar joined CBSN as a regularly appearing tech and pop culture pundit representing CNET. [21]
On May 22, 2015, he joined the cast of Giant Bomb's Giant Beastcast, where he remained a regular member until its conclusion in May 2021. He later joined the cast of its sister podcast, the Giant Bombcast. [22]
On September 29, 2017, the final episode of The 404 Show podcast was published. [2]
In May 2025, Bakalar announced he had become a co-owner of the newly-independent Giant Bomb. [23]