Michael Hobbes

Before beginning his writing career, Hobbes worked in human rights for 11 years. He was previously a reporter for the Huffington Post, where he covered the new economy. He also writes journalistic and personal essays for publications including Pacific Standard, The New Republic, and Slate. His article on the plight of millennials{{Citation | vauthors=((Hobbes, M.)) | title=Generation Screwed | url=http://highline.huffingtonpost.com/articles/en/poor-millennials/ | access-date=January 20, 2023|website=Huffington Post}} was nominated for a National Magazine Award.{{cite web |title=ELLIES 2018 FINALISTS ANNOUNCED |url=https://www.asme.media/ellies-2018-finalists-announced |website=www.asme.media}} He has also appeared in multiple episodes of WNYC's On the Media.{{Citation | title=Who Is The Bad Art Friend? Why Not Both?| url=https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/episodes/brooke-and-mike-are-bad-art-friends-on-the-media | access-date=January 20, 2023|website=WNYC}}

Michael Hobbes, along with co-host Sarah Marshall, started the podcast You're Wrong About in May 2018.{{Citation | vauthors=((Syme, R.)) | year=2020 | title=How We Lie to Ourselves About History | magazine=The New Yorker | url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2020/10/19/how-we-lie-to-ourselves-about-history | access-date=January 20, 2023}} Each episode centers a historical event or concept and breaks down the common myths and misconceptions that surround it. Unlike many history podcasts, one co-host researches the episode and the other blind-reacts to the information. During the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns, the podcast gained a cult following.{{Citation | vauthors=((Quah, N.)) | year=2021 | title=Why Michael Hobbes Won't Tell You You're Wrong Anymore | url=https://www.vulture.com/article/michael-hobbes-youre-wrong-about-podcast-interview.html | access-date=January 20, 2023|website=vulture.com}} Hobbes decided to step away from the podcast in October 2021, citing his wish to end his involvement on a high note.

Hobbes and Aubrey Gordon have co-hosted the podcast Maintenance Phase since October 2020.{{cite web |last1=Quah |first1=Nicholas |title=The Best Podcasts of 2021, According to People Who Make Podcasts |url=https://www.vulture.com/article/best-podcasts-industry-survey-2021.html |website=Vulture |access-date=April 25, 2023 |language=en-us |date=December 29, 2021}} The show examines the myths and "junk science" behind health, nutrition, and wellness trends, and have discussed topics including popular diets and diet foods, anti-fat bias, and eating disorders.{{Cite news|last=Petersen|first=Victoria|date=September 9, 2021|title=Breaking Down the 'Wellness-Industrial Complex,' an Episode at a Time|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/09/dining/wellness-industrial-complex-maintenance-phase.html|access-date=October 1, 2021|issn=0362-4331}}

In November 2022, Hobbes and lawyer Peter Shamshiri launched If Books Could Kill, a podcast that breaks down popular non-fiction books like Freakonomics in the same style as Maintenance Phase and You're Wrong About.{{Citation | vauthors=((Quah, N.)) | year=2022 | title=Process the World Cup With These Podcasts | url=https://www.vulture.com/2022/11/best-world-cup-soccer-podcasts.html | access-date=January 20, 2023}}

Hobbes' podcasts have received positive reviews from media outlets such as Vulture, The Atlantic, and the New York Times."{{Cite news |last=Dibdin |first=Emma |date=2022-01-27 |title=For an Antidote to Diet Culture, Try These 6 Podcasts |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/27/arts/podcasts-diets-healthy-living.html |access-date=2022-05-24 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=February 8, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220208160614/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/27/arts/podcasts-diets-healthy-living.html |url-status=live }}{{cite news |last1=Quah |first1=Nicholas |title=The Best Podcasts of 2023 (So Far) |url=https://www.vulture.com/article/best-podcasts-of-2023.html |publisher=Vulture |access-date=July 16, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240715130241/https://www.vulture.com/article/best-podcasts-of-2023.html |archive-date=2024-07-15 |url-status=live |language=en-us |date=June 6, 2023}}{{cite news |last1=Giorgis |first1=Hannah |title=A Podcast About the Airport Best Sellers We Can't Escape |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2023/06/if-books-could-kill-podcast/674369/ |access-date=18 July 2023 |work=The Atlantic |date=12 June 2023 |language=en}} In 2022, his podcast Maintenance Phase won a Webby Award for best podcast series.{{Cite web |title=NEW Webby Gallery + Index |url=http://winners.webbyawards.com/2022/podcasts/features/best-series/216047/maintenance-phase |access-date=2022-07-06 |website=NEW Webby Gallery + Index |language=en}}

Writing about Hobbes' departure from You're Wrong About in 2021, Vulture media critic Nicholas Quah called the show with Hobbes "deeply researched, funny, and heartfelt" and praised both hosts for their "level of self-knowledge" and "moral clarity."

Hobbes questioned the veracity of a 2024 essay in The Atlantic by a former New York Times editor who said he had been chastised by human resources due to eating at Chick-fil-A, given the CEO's position against same-sex marriage. The Atlantic asserted that the story had been fact-checked and confirmed with multiple Times employees, and journalists Robby Soave and Erik Wemple also supported the magazine.{{Cite news |last=Soave |first=Robby |author-link=Robby Soave |date=February 29, 2024 |title=New York Times Staffers Bullied a Conservative Writer |url=https://reason.com/2024/02/29/new-york-times-staffers-bullied-a-conservative-writer/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240517113031/https://reason.com/2024/02/29/new-york-times-staffers-bullied-a-conservative-writer/ |archive-date=May 17, 2024 |access-date=May 21, 2024 |work=Reason}}{{Cite news |last=Wemple |first=Erik |author-link=Erik Wemple |date=March 7, 2024 |title=New York Times employees fighting over Chick-fil-A? Sounds about right. |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/03/07/chick-fil-a-new-york-times/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240307234251/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/03/07/chick-fil-a-new-york-times/ |archive-date=March 7, 2024 |access-date=May 21, 2024 |work=The Washington Post}} Jonathan Chait called Hobbes a "bad-faith media critic" who reflexively criticized stories inconvenient to left-wing causes.{{Cite news |last=Chait |first=Jonathan |author-link=Jonathan Chait |date=March 1, 2024 |title=The ‘Fake’ New York Times Chicken-Sandwich Story Turns Out to Be Quite Real |url=https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/the-fake-n-y-times-chicken-sandwich-story-is-quite-real.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240512192106/https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/the-fake-n-y-times-chicken-sandwich-story-is-quite-real.html |archive-date=May 12, 2024 |access-date=May 21, 2024 |work=New York}}

Hobbes is gay.{{cite web |last1=Reese |first1=Isaac |title=Reese: Solving Gay Loneliness by Finding Community |url=https://dailyutahchronicle.com/2019/10/20/reese-the-solution-to-gay-loneliness/ |website=The Daily Utah Chronicle |date=October 21, 2019 |access-date=April 25, 2023}}{{Citation |title=Why Didn't Gay Rights Cure Gay Loneliness? |url=https://highline.huffingtonpost.com/articles/en/gay-loneliness/ |access-date=January 20, 2023 |vauthors=((Hobbes, M.))}} He has lived in Seattle, Berlin, the United Kingdom and Denmark.{{cite web |last1=Wilson |first1=Gemma |title=Millennial Provocateur Michael Hobbes |url=https://www.cityartsmagazine.com/millennial-provocateur-michael-hobbes/ |website=City Arts Magazine |access-date=April 25, 2023 |date=January 2, 2018}}

{{reflist}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hobbes, Michael}}

Category:21st-century American journalists

Category:American LGBTQ journalists

Category:American expatriates in Denmark

Category:American expatriates in Germany

Category:American gay writers

Category:American book podcasters

Category:LGBTQ people from Washington (state)

Category:Living people

Category:Year of birth missing (living people)