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Alex Berenson

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Alex Berenson
Born (1973-01-06) January 6, 1973 (age 51)
New York, U.S.
OccupationAuthor
EducationBachelor's degree
History and Economics
Alma materYale University (1994)
GenreNonfiction, spy fiction
SubjectPolitics
Notable awardsEdgar Award (2007)[1]
Website
alexberenson.com

Alex Berenson (born January 6, 1973) is an American writer. He was a reporter for The New York Times and has authored several thriller novels and a book on corporate financial filings. His 2019 book Tell Your Children: The Truth About Marijuana, Mental Illness and Violence sparked controversy, earning denunciations from many in the scientific and medical communities. During the coronavirus pandemic, Berenson has appeared frequently in American media.[2] He spent much of the pandemic arguing that its seriousness was overblown; once COVID-19 vaccines were rolled out, he made claims about the safety and effectiveness of vaccines.[3][4][5][6][7]

Early life and education

Berenson was born in New York, and grew up in Englewood, New Jersey.[8] He graduated from Yale University in 1994 with bachelor's degrees in history and economics.[citation needed]

Career

Berenson joined the Denver Post in June 1994 as a business reporter. He published 513 articles through August 1996, when he left to join TheStreet.com, a financial news website founded by Jim Cramer. In December 1999, Berenson joined The New York Times as a business investigative reporter.

In the fall of 2003 and the summer of 2004, Berenson covered the occupation of Iraq for the Times. More recently, he covered the pharmaceutical and health care industries, specializing in issues concerning dangerous drugs.[9] Beginning in December 2008, Berenson reported on the Bernard Madoff $50 billion Ponzi scheme scandal.

He has written 12 spy novels, all featuring the same protagonist, CIA agent John Wells. His first novel, The Faithful Spy, was released in April 2006 and won an Edgar Award for best first novel by an American author.[10] The Faithful Spy was ranked #1 on The New York Times Bestseller List for paperbacks.[11]

In 2008, Berenson released his second thriller, The Ghost War. His third novel, The Silent Man, followed in 2009. His fourth, The Midnight House, was released in 2010 and debuted at #9 on The New York Times bestseller list.[12] The fifth, The Secret Soldier, was released in 2011 and debuted at #6 on the bestseller list.[13] The sixth, The Shadow Patrol, was released in 2012, and debuted at #8.[14][15] In July 2012, The Shadow Patrol was named a finalist for the Ian Fleming Steel Dagger Award, given by Britain's Crime Writers' Association.[16][17]

In 2010, Berenson left the Times to become a full-time novelist. He lives in the Hudson Valley,[18] with his wife, a forensic psychiatrist.[19]: 1 

Opposition to cannabis legalization

He authored the controversial 2019 book Tell Your Children: The Truth About Marijuana, Mental Illness and Violence that has been denounced as alarmist and inaccurate by many in the scientific and medical communities because of his claims that cannabis causes psychosis and violence; many scientists state that he is drawing inappropriate conclusions from the research, primarily by inferring causation from correlation,[20]: 1 [21]: 1 [22]: 1 [23]: 1 [2]: 1  as well as cherry picking[19]: 1  data that fits his narrative, and falling victim to selection bias via his use of anecdotes[19]: 1  to back up his assertions.[22]: 1 [23]: 1 [21]: 1 [24]: 1 [25]

COVID-19 pandemic

See also: COVID-19 misinformation

Early in the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, Berenson vocally argued that people and the media were overestimating the risk of the new virus, that it posed little risk to young Americans, and that it was being used as a cover for government overreach.[2][26] Many public health experts have rejected his claims.[2][26]: 1 

In May 2020, Fox News announced that Berenson would host a tv-show called "COVID Contrarian" on its online streaming platform Fox Nation. However, by July 2020, amid surges in coronavirus cases across parts of the United States, Fox News appeared to have backtracked and removed the announcement of his show from its website.[27]

In 2021, Berenson tweeted that COVID-19 vaccinations had led to 50 times more adverse effects than flu vaccine. PolitiFact rated the claim "mostly false."[6] The Atlantic called him "The pandemic's wrongest man," owing to his false claims of the vaccine's ineffectiveness.[4]

Books

Novels

John Wells series

No. Title Publisher Date Genre ISBN
1The Faithful SpyRandom HouseApril 25, 2006Spy fiction978-0-345-47899-3
2The Ghost WarPutnamFebruary 12, 2008Spy fiction978-0-399-15453-9
3The Silent ManPutnamFebruary 10, 2009Spy fiction978-0-399-15538-3
4The Midnight HousePutnamFebruary 10, 2010Spy fiction978-0-399-15620-5
5The Secret SoldierPutnamFebruary 8, 2011Spy fiction978-0-399-15708-0
6The Shadow PatrolPutnamFebruary 21, 2012Spy fiction978-0-399-15829-2
7The Night RangerPutnamFebruary 12, 2013Spy fiction978-0-399-15972-5
8The Counterfeit AgentPutnamFebruary 11, 2014Spy fiction978-0-399-15973-2
9Twelve DaysPutnamFebruary 10, 2015Spy fiction978-0-399-15974-9
10The WolvesPutnamFebruary 9, 2016Spy fiction978-0-399-17614-2
11The PrisonerPutnamJanuary 31, 2017Spy fiction978-0-399-17615-9
12The DeceiversPutnamFebruary 6, 2018Spy fiction978-0-698-40753-4

Non-fiction

Awards

References

  1. ^ a b "The Edgars 2007 - Best First Novel By An American Author". The Edgars 2007. Mystery Writers of America. Archived from the original on 2010-03-12. Retrieved 2010-09-12.
  2. ^ a b c d Ecarma, Caleb (2020-04-10). "An Ex-New York Times Reporter Has Become the Right's Go-To Coronavirus Skeptic - Alex Berenson, a journalist and thriller writer, is being quoted on Breitbart and appearing on Fox News—even going too far for Sean Hannity". Vanity Fair. Archived from the original on 2020-04-11. Retrieved 2020-04-30.
  3. ^ Grynbaum, Michael M.; Hsu, Tiffany; Kanno-Youngs, Zolan (2021-07-20). "On Fox News, Vaccination Pleas Intensify, but Skepticism Persists". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-07-21.
  4. ^ a b Thompson, Derek (2021-04-01). "The Pandemic's Wrongest Man". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2021-04-01.
  5. ^ "PolitiFact - CDC says more young people hospitalized from vaccine than COVID-19 itself? False". @politifact. Retrieved 2021-07-21.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  6. ^ a b "PolitiFact - A claim comparing adverse events for COVID-19, flu vaccines exaggerates raw data". @politifact. Retrieved 2021-07-17.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  7. ^ Check, Reuters Fact (2021-07-09). "Fact Check-The CDC did not say fewer young people are hospitalized from COVID-19 than from vaccinations". Reuters. Retrieved 2021-07-21. {{cite news}}: |first= has generic name (help)
  8. ^ "Alex Berenson Biography". Archived from the original on 2010-02-01. Retrieved 2010-09-12.
  9. ^ Berenson, Alex. "Alex Berenson - The New York Times". Topics.nytimes.com. Archived from the original on 2010-10-04. Retrieved 2010-09-12.
  10. ^ "The Faithful Spy". NPR. Retrieved 2020-04-17.
  11. ^ "Alex Berenson". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 2020-04-17.
  12. ^ "Hardcover Fiction". The New York Times. 2010-02-28. Retrieved 2020-04-17.
  13. ^ "Hardcover Fiction". The New York Times. 2011-02-27. Retrieved 2020-04-17.
  14. ^ "Hardcover Fiction". The New York Times. 2012-03-11. Retrieved 2020-04-17.
  15. ^ Tixier Herald, Diana; Stavole-Carter, Samuel (2019). Genreflecting: A Guide to Popular Reading Interests (8th ed.). ABC-CLIO. p. 206. ISBN 9781440858482.
  16. ^ "Ian Fleming Steel Dagger award nominees announced". MI6-HQ.com. 2012-07-10. Retrieved 2020-04-17.
  17. ^ "The Shadow Patrol". The Crime Writers' Association. Retrieved 2020-04-17.
  18. ^ Boster, Seth (2019-03-19). "Anti-marijuana author to visit Colorado Springs, share findings". The Gazette. Retrieved 2020-04-17.
  19. ^ a b c Way, Katie (2019-01-28). "What Fearmongering About Pot Tells You About Mainstream Marijuana Coverage - Alex Berenson's Tell Your Children relies on hyperbole and paranoia to argue against legalization". The Nation. Archived from the original on 2019-02-03. Retrieved 2019-05-10.
  20. ^ Lewis, Amanda (2019-01-12). "Is Alex Berenson Trolling Us With His Anti-Weed Book? - A former 'New York Times' journalist wrote about a "hidden epidemic" cause by pot — but it seems he got the science wrong". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2019-01-23. Retrieved 2019-05-07.
  21. ^ a b Hart, Carl; Ksir, Charles (2019-01-20). "Does marijuana use really cause psychotic disorders? - Alex Berenson says the drug causes 'sharp increases in murders and aggravated assaults'. As scientists, we find his claims misinformed and reckless". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 2019-02-01. Retrieved 2019-05-01.
  22. ^ a b Multiple Signatories (2019-02-14). "Letter from Scholars and Clinicians who Oppose Junk Science about Marijuana". Drug Policy Alliance. Archived from the original on 2019-04-17. Retrieved 2019-04-22.
  23. ^ a b Lartey, Jamiles (2019-02-17). "Popular book on marijuana's apparent dangers is pure alarmism, experts say - Doctors and scientists criticize 'flawed pop science' of Tell Your Children – but author Alex Berenson stands by his claims". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 2019-02-23. Retrieved 2019-04-22.
  24. ^ Dufton, Emily; Richert, Lucas (2019-04-16). "The return of 'reefer madness'". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 2019-04-17. Retrieved 2019-05-02.
  25. ^ Lopez, German (2019-01-14). "What Alex Berenson's new book gets wrong about marijuana, psychosis, and violence - The book, Tell Your Children, has received a lot of media attention, but it's essentially Reefer Madness 2.0". Vox. Archived from the original on 2019-02-04. Retrieved 2019-04-30.
  26. ^ a b Freedlander, David (2020-04-16). "Does the King of the COVID-19 Contrarians Have a Case?". Vanity Fair. Retrieved 2020-05-04.
  27. ^ "As coronavirus surges, Fox News shifts its message on masks". news.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2020-07-02.
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