Stephen Thompson (journalist)
{{For|other people of that name|Stephen Thompson (disambiguation)}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Stephen Thompson
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| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1972|08|01}}
| birth_place = Iola, Wisconsin
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| education =
| alma_mater = University of Wisconsin–Madison
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| children =
| relatives = Maggie Thompson (mother)
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| occupation = Journalist
| employer = NPR
The Onion/The A.V. Club (1992-2004)
| years_active = 1992-present
| website =
}}
Stephen Thompson (born August 1, 1972) is a host, commentator, writer, and editor for NPR and NPR Music. He is a regular on the NPR podcasts Pop Culture Happy Hour and All Songs Considered,{{cite web |title=NPR Bio: Stephen Thompson |website=NPR |url=https://www.npr.org/people/5244882/stephen-thompson |accessdate=10 September 2013}} a recurring guest host of NPR's New Music Friday, and also serves as an occasional music commentator for Morning Edition. He created NPR Music video series Tiny Desk Concerts with Bob Boilen in 2008.{{cite web | url=https://www.npr.org/people/5244882/stephen-thompson | title=Stephen Thompson, Writer/Editor, NPR Music | publisher=NPR | work=NPR Music | accessdate=July 23, 2017}}{{cite web |last1=Crockett |first1=Zachary |title=Tiny Desk: how NPR's intimate concert series earned a cult following |url=https://www.vox.com/culture/2016/11/21/13550754/npr-tiny-desk-concert |website=Vox |publisher=Vox Media |language=en |date=2016-11-21}}
Biography
Stephen Thompson was born to news editors Don and Maggie Thompson and raised in Iola, Wisconsin.{{Cite book |last=Wenc |first=Christine |title=Funny Because It's True: How The Onion Created Modern American News Satire |publisher=Running Press |year=2025 |isbn=9780762484430 |pages=83, 198}} He graduated from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1994, where he helped found student-run radio station WSUM. He joined The Onion as an entertainment writer in November 1992. In the summer of 1993, he founded and became editor of the paper’s entertainment section, which was dubbed The A.V. Club in 1995. Thompson served as copy editor for The Onion’s comedy section and first six humor books, from 1999's #1 New York Times best-seller Our Dumb Century through 2004's The Onion Ad Nauseam, Vol. 15. In December 2004, Thompson was fired one week before publication of The Tenacity Of The Cockroach: Conversations With Entertainment's Most Enduring Outsiders, a book which he edited.
When Lady Gaga allegedly refused to allow "Weird Al" Yankovic to parody her single "Born This Way," Thompson broke the news that it was Gaga's manager who had denied the request without her knowledge. Once brought to her attention, Lady Gaga approved Yankovic's parody.{{cite web|last=Koski|first=Genevieve|title=UPDATE UPDATE: Lady Gaga WILL let "Weird Al" Yankovic "Perform This Way"|date=20 April 2011 |url=https://www.avclub.com/update-update-lady-gaga-will-let-weird-al-yankovic-1798225268|publisher=The A.V. Club|access-date=27 May 2011}}
In 2017, the Green Bay Packers made a 22-minute documentary on Thompson's love for the team as part of its "Packers Life" series on Spectrum Sports.{{Cite news |last=Nyman |first=Shane |date=20 November 2017 |title=Packers Showcase Iola Native NPR Host's Obsessive Fandom |url=https://www.postcrescent.com/story/sports/nfl/packers/fans/2017/11/20/packers-showcase-iola-native-npr-hosts-obsessive-fandom/881212001/ |access-date=2 June 2025 |work=The Post-Crescent}}
As a freelance entertainment and humor writer, Thompson has been published in Paste magazine, The Washington Post, The Guardian, and McSweeney’s.{{cite news |last1=Nyman |first1=Shane |title=Iola to NPR: Always 'Happy Hour' for Stephen Thompson |url=https://www.postcrescent.com/story/entertainment/2016/09/01/iola-npr-always-happy-hour-stephen-thompson/88996510/ |work=The Post-Crescent |agency=USA Today Network |date=September 1, 2016}} In 1999, he also co-founded The Onion’s softball team, the haplessness of which he chronicled in loving but often grisly detail at www.teamonion.com.{{cite web |title=Team Onion |url=http://www.teamonion.com/ |website=teamonion.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030404135943/http://www.teamonion.com/ |archive-date=2003-04-04 |url-status=dead}} Thompson lives in Silver Spring, Maryland, and has two children.
Edited works
- {{cite book |first=Stephen |last=Thompson |author2=A.V. Club Staff |date=10 December 2004 |title=The Tenacity of the Cockroach: Conversations With Entertainment's Most Enduring Outsiders |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780609809914 |location= |language=English |publisher=Three Rivers Press |isbn=9780609809914 |access-date=14 June 2015 |url-access=registration}}
References
- [https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5244882 Stephen Thompson]
Citations
{{Reflist}}
{{The Onion}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thompson, Stephen}}
Category:American music journalists
Category:American online publication editors
Category:American magazine editors