Key Facts
Career & Education
About
Franklin Foer is a prominent American journalist, author, and editor known for his political and cultural commentary. Born on July 20, 1974, in Washington, D.C., to a Jewish family with roots in Poland—his parents were lawyer Albert Foer and Esther Safran Foer, whose parents were Holocaust survivors—he is the brother of novelist Jonathan Safran Foer and journalist Joshua Foer. Foer graduated from Columbia University in 1996 and began his career writing for publications such as Slate and New York magazine. From 2006 to 2010, and again from 2012 to 2014, he served as editor of The New Republic, where he worked to revitalize the magazine's focus on liberal ideas and in-depth reporting, collaborating with figures like Peter Beinart, though his tenure was marked by significant controversy, including the Scott Thomas Beauchamp affair and a dramatic 2014 staff exodus following his firing by owner Chris Hughes. After leaving The New Republic, he continued his career in journalism as a staff writer at The Atlantic, covering politics and society, including his 2024 cover story 'The Golden Age of American Jews Is Ending,' which sparked widespread discussion by analyzing the rise of antisemitism on both the political right and left. He is also a fellow at the New America Foundation. Foer has authored several acclaimed books, including 'How Soccer Explains the World: An (Almost) Universal Explanation of the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly' (2004), exploring global politics through sports; 'World Without Mind: The Existential Threat of Big Tech' (2017), critiquing the influence of technology giants and Silicon Valley's monopolies; and 'The Last Politician: Inside Joe Biden's White House and the Struggle for America's Future' (2023), offering an insider's view of the Biden administration. His writing often intersects politics, culture, and technology, establishing him as a prominent voice in American media.