Ben Yagoda (born February 22, 1954) is an American writer and educator. He is a professor of journalism and English at the University of Delaware.

Early life

Born in New York City to Louis Yagoda (1909–1990), a labor mediator and arbitrator with the New York State Mediation Board, visiting lecturer at the Cornell University School of Industrial and Labor Relations, and a former organizer for the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America, and Harriet (née Lewis), he grew up in New Rochelle, New York. He entered Yale University to study English in 1971 and graduated in 1976 with a bachelor of arts. He later earned an M.A. in American civilization at the University of Pennsylvania, in 1991.

Career

He became a freelance journalist for publications such as The New Leader, The New York Times, Newsweek, and Rolling Stone. He has published a number of books including About Town: The New Yorker and the World it Made. Besides his work as a journalism and English professor at the University of Delaware, Yagoda also writes occasionally for a New York Times blog about the English language. He currently has a monthly podcast called The Lives They're Living with Ben Yagoda.

Personal life

Yagoda resides in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, with his wife. They have two daughters.

Selected bibliography