Derek Thompson (journalist)
Derek Kahn Thompson (born May 18, 1986) is an American journalist. He is a staff writer at The Atlantic and the author of Hit Makers: How to Succeed in an Age of Distraction.
Early life[]
Derek Thompson was born in McLean, Virginia, the son of Robert Thompson and Petra Kahn, both deceased.[1] Before graduating from high school, he appeared in several theatrical productions at the Folger Shakespeare Theater[2] and the Shakespeare Theater.[3] Thompson graduated from Northwestern University in 2008.[4]
Career[]
Thompson has been a writer at The Atlantic since 2009.[5] 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.[6]
Thompson has written two cover stories for the magazine. The first, "A World Without Work", is a widely referenced[7][8] 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.[9]
In 2017, Thompson published his first book, Hit Makers: How to Succeed in an Age of Distraction. It was a national bestseller[10] and winner of the American Marketing Association's Leonard L. Berry Marketing Book Award for the best marketing book of 2018.[11]
On July 27, 2020, Thompson coined the term "hygiene theater" when referring to hygiene measures being taken during the COVID-19 pandemic that have done little to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and have provided a false sense of security.[12][13]
Personal life[]
Thompson lives in Washington D.C.[14]
Since 2016 he is a member of Giving What We Can, a community of people who have pledged to give at least 10% of their income to effective charities.[citation needed]
References[]
- ^ "Bob Thompson Obituary".
- ^ "For Grandy, No More Gopher". The Washington Post.
- ^ "Fleshing Out King John". The Washington Post.
- ^ "Author Derek Thompson Returns to NU to Discuss New Book". The Daily Northwestern.
- ^ "Derek Thompson Author Page". TheAtlantic.com.
- ^ "iHeartMedia Podcast Awards".
- ^ "Derek Thompson - A World Without Work". YouTube.
- ^ "Challenges loom as tech takeover grows". CBS.com.
- ^ "Google X and the Science of Radical Creativity". TheAtlantic.com.
- ^ "Hit Makers". Penguin Random House.
- ^ "The Leonard L. Berry Marketing Book Award". AMA.org.
- ^ Thompson, Derek (2020-07-27). "Hygiene Theater Is a Huge Waste of Time". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2021-02-22.
- ^ Landsverk, Gabby (2020-10-14). "5 bogus coronavirus protection measures that are just 'hygiene theater' — and 2 things that actually do work". Insider. Retrieved 2021-02-22.
- ^ "How Manhattan Became a Rich Ghost Town". TheAtlantic.com.
- 1986 births
- Living people
- The Atlantic (magazine) people
- 21st-century American journalists
- American male journalists
- American men podcasters
- American podcasters
- Northwestern University alumni
- People from McLean, Virginia
- Journalists from Virginia