ABOUT

I grew up in Illinois, graduated from Williams College, and studied at Princeton Theological Seminary. After working as a political speechwriter, I began writing for newspapers and magazines. My first book, Starstruck: When A Fan Gets Close to Fame, about the gravitational pull of celebrity, grew out of my childhood obsession with collecting autographs. As a longtime contributing editor at Vanity Fair, I wrote about culture, politics, religion, crime, business, technology and national security, and discussed my stories for the magazine on many national TV and radio shows, including CBS Mornings, CBS Sunday Morning, AC 360, Morning Joe, The News Hour, Leonard Lopate, and Morning Edition. Of all my VF stories, this is one of my favorites: a love story about a breeder of Pembroke Welsh Corgi dogs who happened to be the Queen of England. My new book, Stronger: The Untold Story of Muscle in Our Lives is about the central role of muscle in human life.