About

Michael Blanding is an award-winning magazine writer who covers politics, social justice, and travel for publications including The Nation, The New Republic, Consumers Digest, AlterNet, The Boston Globe, and Boston Magazine. He is currently a senior fellow at the Schuster Institute for Investigative Journalism at Brandeis University and a network fellow at the Safra Center for Ethics at Harvard University.  His first book of investigative non-fiction, The Coke Machine: The Dirty Truth Behind the World’s Favorite Soft Drink, was published by Avery/Penguin in September 2010. Michael has also co-written three travel guides for Moon Handbooks covering New England destinations, and has taught magazine writing at Emerson College, Northeastern University, and Tufts University.

Some of his favorite stories include an expose on the conditions of migrant workers in New England; a rollicking narrative about the exploits of a troubled identity thief; and a profile of Lori Berenson, an American woman convicted of terrorism in Perú. For his stories, he has won several awards, including a bronze medal from the City and Regional Magazine Association, a gold EXCEL award from Association Media and Publishing, and first- and second-place prizes from the National Association of Real Estate Editors. Michael is also a three-time finalist for the prestigious Livingston Awards for Young Journalists, the largest prize for journalists under the age of 35.

He lives in Boston, Massachusetts with his wife Alexandra Hall, a freelance writer and editor; and their two children, Zachary Martin Hall Blanding and Cleo Simone Hall Blanding.