- Pritzker Fellows
- Former Fellows
- James Bennet
James Bennet
Former Editor of The New York Times Editorial Page & Editor-In-Chief of The Atlantic
James Bennet was most recently the editorial page editor of The New York Times. During his four-year tenure, Times Opinion won two Pulitzer Prizes, including its first such award for editorial writing in more than 20 years. It increased its original reporting, expanded its range of views, and undertook new initiatives in video, audio and data journalism.
Before joining The Times, Bennet was editor in chief and co-president of The Atlantic. Under Bennet, who was named editor in 2006, The Atlantic substantially increased its editorial reach and impact while returning to profitability for the first time in recent history. Adweek and Ad Age named Bennet editor of the year in 2012 and 2009 respectively, and the magazine was honored with the National Magazine Award four times during his tenure, including Magazine of the Year and best website, for TheAtlantic.com.
Before joining The Atlantic, Bennet worked for The Times for 15 years in several roles, including Detroit bureau chief, White House correspondent, and Jerusalem bureau chief, a role in which he covered the second Intifada. He also served as staff writer for the Sunday Magazine. Before joining the Times, Bennet was an editor with The Washington Monthly. He and his wife have two sons.
Seminars
"The World"
From climate change to the resurgence of authoritarianism, the crisis in multilateralism to China's assertiveness on the world stage, this seminar series will examine some of the biggest global challenges awaiting the next administration. We will first consider how these developments look from outside the borders of the US - from the perspectives of journalists who have covered them and officials have sought to manage them - before turning to the question of what America's broad goals in foreign policy should be, and how it might pursue them.
How profound a challenge to the American idea does the rise of China represent? What are China’s global aspirations, and the relative strengths and weaknesses of its system?
Special Guest: Jane Perlez, Beijing Bureau Chief at The New York Times
International institutions, if not the very idea of broad alliances in support of human rights or trade, have come under withering criticism from the Trump administration and other governments. What’s the argument for multilateralism in this day and age, and where Is it still succeeding? What’s really wrong with the United Nations - and what’s right with it? How hard might it be for a future American administration to again engage the UN and other international bodies effectively, and how should it go about doing that?
Special Guests: Jeffrey Feltman, former United Nations Undersecretary-General for Political Affairs & former United States Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs; and Prince Zeid Raad Al Hussein, former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
A discussion at the front lines of the struggle with the environmental activist Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim.
Special Guest: Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim, Co-Chair of the International Indigenous Peoples Forum on Climate Change
Why misinformation has become a key tool of statecraft. A look at the history of KGB tactics and how they were updated for the digital age. How are the Russians, Chinese, North Koreans, and others - including the Americans - using misinformation to manipulate their own populations and strengthen their positions globally? What if anything can be done about this, at a time of declining trust and collapsing institutions? How are some of the old Soviet states combating misinformation?
Special Guest: Inga Springe, Investigative Journalist from Latvia & Founder & Director of the Baltic Center for Investigative Journalism
Can Europe save the world? Frans Timmermans, vice president of the European Commission, discusses the European Green Deal and its global impact, life after Brexit, and the future of the EU-US relationship.
Special Guest: Frans Timmermans, Executive Vice-President of the European Commission, Leading the Commission's European Green Deal & First European Climate Law
What explains the resurgence of the populist, authoritarian model in Europe and around the world? How did this supposedly discredited system come storming back? What are the key hallmarks of such regimes, and what makes them endure or fail? What different lessons can be drawn from Hungary, Turkey, Venezuela, Brazil and the Philippines?
Special Guest: Anne Applebaum, Author, Staff Writer at The Atlantic & Senior Fellow of International Affairs and Agora Fellow in Residence at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies
America’s standing in the world is at an ebb. The country is deeply in debt, partly as a result of endless wars abroad, and it is failing to address the needs of its own people. Can the US lead again, and, if so, how? What should its principal goals in the world be, and how should it pursue them?
Special Guest: Susan Rice, former United States Ambassador to the United Nations & former National Security Advisor for President Barack Obama; and former Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs for President Bill Clinton