Jonathan Alter | |
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 Jonathan Alter (2025) | |
| Born | Jonathan H. Alter (1957-10-06)October 6, 1957 (age 68) |
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| Alma mater | Harvard University |
| Genre | Non-fiction American political history |
| Spouse | |
| Children | Charlotte, Molly,Tommy |
| Parents | Joanne Alter (mother) |
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| www | |
Jonathan H. Alter is an Americanauthor, political analyst, columnist, documentary filmmaker, and television producer. He served as a columnist and senior editor forNewsweek magazine from 1983 to 2011. Alter has written extensively on American politics and history, including several books aboutU.S. presidents.
Alter is a political analyst forNBC News and since 1996, has appeared onNBC,MSNBC, andCNBC. He has a site on the internet. In 2021, Alter launched a newsletter entitled "Old Goats with Jonathan Alter", where he posts columns, videos, and interviews with accomplished people who may share their wisdom and experience. His newsletter is published as free and paid via Substack. In 2013 and 2014, Alter served as an executive producer on theAmazon Studios production entitledAlpha House that starredJohn Goodman,Mark Consuelos,Clark Johnson, andMatt Malloy. In 2019, he co-produced and co-directedBreslin and Hamill: Deadline Artists, a documentary about the columnistsJimmy Breslin andPete Hamill that received the 2020Emmy Award for Outstanding Historical Documentary.
Books by Alter includeThe Center Holds: Obama and His Enemies (2013),The Promise: President Obama, Year One (2010), which went to number three on theNew York Times Bestsellers List,Between The Lines: A View Inside American Politics, People and Culture (2008), andThe Defining Moment: FDR's Hundred Days and the Triumph of Hope (2006), aNew York Times Notable Book of the Year. His 2024 book,American Reckoning: Inside Trump's Trial - And My Own, recounts his eyewitness account of the landmark criminal trial that was neither televised nor videoed in which Donald Trump was convicted of 37 felonies .
From 2015 to 2023, Alter hosted a radio show with his children, "Alter Family Politics", as part ofAndy Cohen's 24-hour network, Radio Andy, Channel 102 on Sirius XM.[1]
In 2021, Alter began an onlineSubstack publication for free and paid subscribers entitled,Old Goats with Jonathan Alter, that he characterizes as "ruminating with friends". In 2025, Alter and historianJulian Zelizer also launched a similar free and paid internet newsletter entitled "Then and Now" via Substack, where they compare a current event with similar historical circumstances that may be discussed and provide insights in a few minutes.
Alter was raised in aJewish family inChicago,[2] the son of James Alter (1922–2014),[3] who owned a refrigeration and air-conditioning company, andJoanne (née Hammerman) (1927–2008),[4] who was an elected commissioner of theMetropolitan Sanitary District of Greater Chicago and a member of theDemocratic National Committee.[5][6] His mother was the first woman in the Chicago area to be elected to public office.[7] He is a 1975 graduate ofPhillips Academy[5][8] and a 1979 graduate ofHarvard University, where he was one of the lead editors on theHarvard Crimson.[5][9]
In the 1980s, Alter was the media critic forNewsweek. He launched a political commentary column withNewsweek in 1991 that was the first of its kind for the magazine. Alter became one of the few reporters with regular access toBill Clinton after his election as president in1992, during which time Alter was a consultant toMTV. In the bookMedia Circus (ISBN 0-8129-2022-8) byHoward Kurtz of theThe Washington Post, Clinton was quoted as saying, "Alter bites me in the ass sometimes, but at least he knows what we're trying to do".
Alter was the first pundit to predict the months-longrecount process following the2000 presidential election. His correct prediction, made during a discussion on NBC withTim Russert andTom Brokaw, gained international recognition for Alter.[10]
Although Alter later asserted in his bookBetween the Lines that he regretted writing the article,[11] in the aftermath of theSeptember 11th attacks he authored an article forNewsweek about dealing with terrorists that was entitled "Time to think about torture". In the article he suggested that U.S. law enforcement might need to rethink some old assumptions abouttorture methodology,[12] noting that "some torture clearly works" and suggested that the nation should "keep an open mind about certain measures to fight terrorism, like court-sanctioned psychological interrogation", and consideration of transferring some terrorists to other countries with less stringent rules on torture.[13]
Alter frequently criticized PresidentGeorge W. Bush, emphasizing what he considered Bush's lack of accountability. Having benefited from an autologousadult stem cell transplant while fightinglymphoma, Alter also disparaged Bush's position on embryonicstem cell research.[14] However, Alter offered some support for Bush's invasion of Iraq, writing in February 2003, "Osama Bin Laden hit us on 9/11 because he thought we were soft and would not respond. Weakness now would further embolden Saddam Hussein".[15]
Alter served as a correspondent on the NBCToday Show for several stories about the effect of theIraq War on returning veterans.
Alter's 2006 bookThe Defining Moment concluded, to the surprise of some critics, that the United States had come very close todictatorship beforeFranklin D. Roosevelt became president, painting FDR as the savior of American democracy and capitalism. The work gained acclaim from presidential candidates. During an interview with60 Minutes on November 14, 2008, then-president-electBarack Obama said he had recently been readingThe Defining Moment and hoped to apply some of Roosevelt's strategies that were outlined in the book into his own administration.[16] In 2020, then-president-electJoe Biden said that he was learning about the fragility of democracy fromThe Defining Moment.[17] As of 2025, for three times, Alter has been a best selling author on the list published by the New York Times.
A longtime proponent of education reform, Alter played a major role in theAcademy Award-nominated documentaryWaiting for "Superman".[18] He also sits on the board of directors ofThe 74, an education news website.[19]
Alter was the commencement speaker atUtica University in 2008. Again, in 2009, he was invited to be the speaker at the commencement atWestern Connecticut State University when they awarded him an honorary doctorate.[20] He also has receivedhonorary degrees fromMontclair State University (2009) andWilliam Paterson University (2019).
Alter has held professional positions at several institutions. In 1993, Alter was a fellow ofThe Japan Society. He was the Ferris Visiting Professor atPrinceton University. In 2009, he was a visiting professor atArizona State University. In 2016, Alter was an adjunct professor atMontclair State University. He was awarded aJohn Simon Guggenheim Fellowship in 2024. He was named a visiting scholar at theAmerican Academy in Rome in 2025.
In April 2011, Alter leftNewsweek, quickly joining the media outletBloomberg.[21] Following Bloomberg, he wrote forThe New Yorker,The Daily Beast,Vanity Fair,Washington Monthly, and other publications. In 2024, he was a contributing opinion writer forThe New York Times, assigned to write about theTrump felony trial and his2024 presidential campaign.
Alter was an executive producer of the Amazon Studios showAlpha House, starringJohn Goodman. Written byDoonesbury creatorGarry Trudeau, the comedy series revolves around fourRepublican U.S. senators who live together in a townhouse on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. After developing the script with Trudeau, Alter sold the pilot to Amazon, which picked up the show as its first original series.[22] The show ran for two seasons, with a total of 21 episodes.
The 2019 HBO filmBreslin and Hamill: Deadline Artists was co-produced and co-directed by Alter, with Steve McCarthy and John Block. The documentary was the winner of the2020 Emmy Award for Outstanding Historical Documentary. It remains available onHBO Max.[23]
Alter has interviewed nine of the past ten presidents of the United States.[24]
Alter lives inMontclair,New Jersey,[7] with his wife, Emily Lazar,[5] a former executive producer of theComedy Central showThe Colbert Report, andThe Late Show with Stephen Colbert. She is a longtime television news talent producer. Their three children are: Charlotte (born 1989), a senior national correspondent forTime magazine,Tommy (born 1991), an Emmy-winning producer and co-founder withJJ Redick of ThreeFourTwo Productions, where he hosts the hit basketball podcastThe Young Man and the Three, and Molly (born 1993), a partner in Northzone, who was selected as one ofForbes30 Under 30 in venture capital in 2020.
Alter's family has had wide-ranging influence in politics. His mother, Joanne, was the first woman elected to public office inCook County,Illinois. His sister, Jamie Alter Lynton, who also is a journalist and his brother-in-lawMichael Lynton, the former CEO of Sony Corporation of America, were two of the most politically active Obama fundraisers in California. His cousin,Charles Rivkin, is a creator ofthe Muppets franchise,[25] a formerUnited States Ambassador to France, and the chairman of the Motion Picture Association of America(MPAA). Another cousin,Robert S. Rivkin, is a former deputy mayor of Chicago.[25] Rivkin's wifeCindy S. Moelis is the former head of the White House Fellows Program and is among the closest friends of formerFirst Lady of the United StatesMichelle Obama.
Alter is a former member of the board of directors ofDonorsChoose,[26] which allows teachers to post online proposals for classroom materials. He is a current board member ofThe Blue Card,[27] a national Jewish organization assistingHolocaust survivors,the Century Foundation, and the Bone Marrow Foundation. He chairs the board of the J. Anthony Lukas Prize Project, which offers awards for non-fiction authors.
Just two days after Yom Kippur, it was Jew lefty vs. Jew lefty. I was a Jew lefty, too!
Although he has since published a well-received history of Franklin Delano Roosevelt's first hundred days in office and two books on Barack Obama's presidency,Newsweek columnist Jonathan Alter is probably still best known as the first person to suggest in popular media that the attacks of September 11 meant someone ought to be tortured.
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