Franklin Foer

Franklin Foer
Born	7/20/1974
Birthplace	Washington, D.C., U.S.
Nationality	American
Occupation	Journalist, author
Known for	How Soccer Explains the World, World Without Mind
Education	Columbia University (BA)
Spouse(s)	Abby Greensfelder
Children	2

Franklin Foer (born July 20, 1974) is an American journalist and author who serves as a staff writer at The Atlantic. He is a former editor of The New Republic, where he held the position twice — first from 2006 to 2010 and again from 2012 to 2014. Foer is the author of several books, including How Soccer Explains the World: An Unlikely Theory of Globalization (2004), which used the lens of international soccer to examine broader cultural, political, and economic forces, and World Without Mind: The Existential Threat of Big Tech (2017), a critique of the influence of major technology companies on journalism, publishing, and intellectual life. Born into a prominent Washington, D.C., literary family — his brother is the novelist Jonathan Safran Foer — Franklin Foer has spent more than two decades writing about politics, culture, foreign affairs, and the intersection of technology and democracy. His work at The Atlantic has focused on American politics, the federal government, and U.S. foreign policy, producing essays and reported pieces on subjects ranging from the civil service to the geopolitics of the Middle East. Foer's career reflects a sustained engagement with the traditions of American political journalism and long-form magazine writing.

Early Life

Franklin Foer was born on July 20, 1974, in Washington, D.C. He grew up in a Jewish family with deep intellectual and cultural roots. His father, Albert Foer, is a lawyer and antitrust advocate who founded the American Antitrust Institute. His mother, Esther Safran Foer, is an activist and author who later wrote a memoir about her family's experience during the Holocaust.

Franklin is part of a family that has achieved notable prominence in American letters and public life. His younger brother, Jonathan Safran Foer, became an acclaimed novelist with works including Everything Is Illuminated (2002) and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (2005). Another brother, Joshua Foer, is a science writer and author of Moonwalking with Einstein (2011), about the art and science of memory. The Foer family's collective literary output drew significant media attention, with the New York Observer profiling the family as a distinctive force in American cultural life.

Growing up in the Washington, D.C. area, Franklin Foer was immersed in the world of politics and policy from an early age. The family's Jewish identity also played an important role in shaping his intellectual development. In interviews and writings, Foer has discussed the significance of Jewish thought, identity, and culture, themes that have recurred throughout his career as an editor and author. His upbringing in the nation's capital, surrounded by political discourse and a family that valued intellectual inquiry, set the stage for a career centered on the intersection of ideas, politics, and culture.

Education

Foer attended Columbia University in New York City, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree. At Columbia, he was exposed to the traditions of liberal arts education and the broader New York intellectual milieu. He graduated in 1996, as indicated by his alumni designation with the university. His time at Columbia coincided with a period of significant change in American media, as the internet was beginning to transform journalism and publishing — forces that Foer would later write about extensively in his career.

Career

Early Career and The New Republic (First Tenure)

After graduating from Columbia, Foer entered the world of Washington journalism. He joined The New Republic, one of the most influential American magazines of political opinion and cultural commentary, where he rose through the editorial ranks. The magazine, founded in 1914, had long served as a central forum for liberal intellectual debate in the United States, and Foer's arrival placed him within a tradition of editors and writers who shaped American political discourse.

Foer became the editor of The New Republic, a position that gave him significant influence over the magazine's editorial direction. During his first tenure as editor, which began in 2006, he sought to maintain the publication's identity as a forum for serious political and cultural analysis while adapting to the changing media landscape. Under his leadership, the magazine continued to publish long-form journalism, policy analysis, and cultural criticism, even as the rise of digital media posed existential challenges to print publications.

How Soccer Explains the World (2004)

In 2004, Foer published his first book, How Soccer Explains the World: An Unlikely Theory of Globalization. The book used the global sport of soccer as a prism through which to examine the forces of globalization, nationalism, tribalism, and cultural identity. Foer traveled to countries across Europe, South America, and other regions, examining how soccer clubs and fan cultures reflected deeper political and social dynamics — from ethnic conflict in the Balkans to oligarchic capitalism in post-Soviet Russia to the cultural politics of European integration.

The book received significant attention and was praised for its inventive approach to explaining complex geopolitical phenomena through the accessible medium of sport. It became one of the more widely discussed works of popular nonfiction about globalization in the mid-2000s. More than two decades after its publication, the book continues to generate discussion. In a 2025 essay for Foreign Policy, Foer revisited the themes of the book, noting that soccer still had "some explaining to do" in light of developments such as FIFA's announcement of an inaugural Peace Prize ahead of the 2026 World Cup. The essay reflected on how globalization, capitalism, and the governance of international soccer had evolved since the book's original publication.

Return to The New Republic (2012–2014)

In May 2012, Foer returned to The New Republic as editor, a move reported by The New York Times. His return came at a time when the magazine was undergoing a significant transformation under the ownership of Chris Hughes, the Facebook co-founder who had purchased the publication. Hughes had ambitious plans to reinvent the magazine for the digital age while preserving its intellectual heritage.

Foer's second tenure as editor was marked by efforts to balance the magazine's storied traditions with the demands of a rapidly changing media environment. However, tensions between the editorial vision and the ownership's direction came to a head in late 2014. In December of that year, Foer departed from the magazine amid a broader staff revolt. The upheaval was triggered by disagreements over the magazine's future direction, with many editors and writers expressing concern that the publication's identity as a journal of serious political and cultural thought was being compromised in favor of a more digitally oriented approach. The mass departure of senior staff members, including Foer, drew extensive media coverage and was seen as emblematic of the broader crisis facing legacy print publications in the digital age.

The departure raised broader questions about the role of wealthy technology entrepreneurs as owners of legacy media institutions and the tension between digital innovation and editorial independence. Commentators also noted the significance of the exodus for American Jewish intellectual life, given the magazine's historical importance as a platform for Jewish writers and thinkers.

World Without Mind (2017)

In 2017, Foer published World Without Mind: The Existential Threat of Big Tech, a book that examined the growing power of major technology companies — particularly Google, Facebook, Amazon, and Apple — over American intellectual and cultural life. Drawing in part on his experience at The New Republic under a tech-industry owner, Foer argued that Silicon Valley's monopolistic tendencies posed a threat to independent journalism, publishing, and the broader marketplace of ideas.

The book's central argument was that the technology industry's emphasis on algorithms, data collection, and platform dominance was eroding the autonomy of writers, editors, and publishers, undermining the conditions necessary for independent thought. Foer traced the intellectual roots of Silicon Valley's ideology and examined how technology companies had reshaped the economics of media, making it increasingly difficult for traditional journalistic institutions to sustain themselves.

In a 2017 essay for The Atlantic that previewed some of the book's themes, Foer wrote about the moment "when Silicon Valley took over journalism," describing the transformation of the media industry by technology platforms and the consequences for democratic discourse.

World Without Mind was named to The New York Times list of 100 Notable Books of 2017, recognizing it as one of the year's most significant works of nonfiction.

Jewish Jocks (2012)

In 2012, Foer co-edited Jewish Jocks: An Unorthodox Hall of Fame, an anthology that explored the history and cultural significance of Jewish athletes. The book, which featured contributions from a wide range of writers, challenged stereotypes about Jews and athletics by profiling figures from across the history of sports. It was discussed on NPR, where the project was described as putting "stereotypes aside" in its examination of the relationship between Jewish identity and athletic achievement.

Staff Writer at The Atlantic

Following his departure from The New Republic, Foer became a staff writer at The Atlantic, one of America's oldest and most prominent magazines. At The Atlantic, Foer has written extensively on American politics, the federal government, foreign policy, and cultural affairs. His work has encompassed both long-form reported pieces and analytical essays on current events.

In his role at The Atlantic, Foer has produced a body of work that reflects his longstanding interests in politics, governance, and the forces shaping American democracy. His reporting and commentary have addressed a range of subjects, including the structure and culture of the federal government, the influence of foreign governments on American politics, and the dynamics of political movements.

In 2025 and 2026, Foer's work at The Atlantic covered a range of consequential topics. In a July 2025 piece, he examined the trajectory of NASA, arguing that the agency had "engineered its own decline" and ceded its ambitions to the private space industry, particularly to Elon Musk's SpaceX.

In November 2025, Foer wrote about the relationship between Gulf monarchies and the American presidency, examining why Gulf states "shower Trump with gifts" and arguing that no previous president had "yielded to royal temptations from abroad" in the same manner.

In December 2025, Foer published an essay on Vice President J. D. Vance, arguing that Vance had failed "a simple moral test" by welcoming anti-Semitic elements into the Republican coalition. That same month, he wrote an intellectual obituary of sorts for Norman Podhoretz, the neoconservative intellectual and longtime editor of Commentary magazine, describing him as "the 'filthy little slum child' who remade the American right."

In early 2026, Foer published "The Purged," a reported feature for the magazine's February issue that examined the impact of federal worker layoffs under the Trump administration, describing the "destruction of the civil service" as "a tragedy not just for the roughly 300,000 workers who have been discarded" but for the broader functioning of government.

Also in 2026, Foer wrote a series of pieces on U.S. policy toward Iran, including an essay arguing that "the obvious is taking its revenge on Trump" in the context of the administration's approach to Iran and another contending that Trump was "betraying Iran's pro-democracy protesters" despite earlier promises of support.

Personal Life

Franklin Foer is married to Abby Greensfelder. The couple has two children. The family resides in the Washington, D.C., area, where Foer has lived for much of his life.

Foer's Jewish identity has been a recurring theme in both his personal and professional life. He has written and spoken about the significance of Jewish culture, history, and thought, and his editorial and authorial work has frequently engaged with questions of Jewish identity in contemporary America.

His family connections to the literary world remain prominent. His brother Jonathan Safran Foer continues to publish novels and nonfiction, while his brother Joshua Foer is active as a writer and entrepreneur. His mother, Esther Safran Foer, published a memoir about her family's Holocaust history. The Foer family's collective contributions to American letters have been the subject of media profiles and commentary.

Recognition

Foer's work has received recognition from multiple quarters. His book How Soccer Explains the World (2004) was one of the more prominent works of popular nonfiction about globalization published in the 2000s and continues to be discussed and referenced more than two decades after its publication, as evidenced by Foer's own 2025 revisitation of its themes in Foreign Policy.

World Without Mind (2017) was named to The New York Times list of 100 Notable Books of 2017, placing it among the most recognized works of nonfiction published that year.

Foer has appeared on major media platforms to discuss his work and ideas, including appearances on Charlie Rose and C-SPAN. His essays and reported features at The Atlantic have been published as cover stories and featured prominently in the magazine's print and digital editions.

His editorship of The New Republic, particularly the circumstances of his 2014 departure, became a significant moment in the ongoing debate about the future of American magazine journalism and the relationship between legacy media institutions and technology-industry ownership.

Legacy

Franklin Foer's career spans a period of profound transformation in American journalism and media. His tenure at The New Republic — particularly the dramatic circumstances of his 2014 departure — became a defining episode in the broader story of how legacy publications have struggled to adapt to the digital age while maintaining editorial independence and intellectual seriousness. The incident crystallized debates about the role of technology entrepreneurs as media owners and the tension between innovation and tradition in American journalism.

His books have contributed to public understanding of two major forces shaping the contemporary world: globalization and the rise of Big Tech. How Soccer Explains the World offered an innovative framework for understanding how global cultural phenomena reflect deeper political and economic dynamics, while World Without Mind provided an early and sustained critique of the technology industry's influence over intellectual life and democratic discourse. The latter work anticipated many of the concerns about platform power, algorithmic curation, and the erosion of journalistic independence that would become central to public debate in subsequent years.

At The Atlantic, Foer has continued to produce journalism that engages with the major political and policy questions of the era, from the structure of the federal government to U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East. His work reflects a commitment to the tradition of long-form, idea-driven magazine journalism — a tradition that he has both practiced and defended throughout his career.

As a member of the Foer family, Franklin Foer is part of a broader literary and intellectual constellation that has made a notable collective contribution to American cultural life. The family's prominence in letters — spanning fiction, nonfiction, journalism, and memoir — represents an unusual concentration of literary talent within a single generation.