Michael Barbaro

Michael Barbaro is an American journalist and the host of The Daily, the flagship news podcast of The New York Times. He previously served as a national political reporter for the newspaper, covering the 2016 presidential campaign and other major political events. Barbaro's distinctive narrative style and interviewing technique have been credited with helping to popularize the daily news podcast format and expand the audio journalism reach of The New York Times.

Early life and education

Michael Barbaro was born in Hamden, Connecticut, and grew up in nearby Cheshire, Connecticut. He developed an early interest in journalism, writing for his high school newspaper. Barbaro attended Yale University, where he contributed to the Yale Daily News and served as its editor-in-chief. He graduated from Yale in 2001 with a degree in American studies.

Career

Barbaro began his professional journalism career at The Washington Post in 2001, initially working as a news aide before becoming a reporter covering retail and the Washington, D.C. economy. He joined The New York Times in 2005 as a business reporter, where he covered the retail industry and companies like Wal-Mart. He transitioned to the newspaper's political team, becoming a key reporter on the Metro desk and later within the Politics section. Barbaro provided extensive coverage of the political rise of figures like Michael Bloomberg and the 2012 presidential election. His reporting during the 2016 election cycle, particularly on the campaign of Donald Trump, garnered significant attention for its depth and insight.

The Daily

In January 2017, Barbaro became the host of The Daily, a new podcast from The New York Times conceived by Lisa Tobin and Sam Dolnick. The podcast was created in the wake of the 2016 election to delve deeply into a single major news story each weekday. Under Barbaro's stewardship, The Daily quickly became a cultural and journalistic phenomenon, consistently topping Apple Podcasts charts and winning a Peabody Award in 2020. The show is known for its in-depth interviews with Times reporters like Maggie Haberman, Astead Herndon, and David Leonhardt, and for its detailed narrative episodes on events ranging from the COVID-19 pandemic to the January 6 Capitol attack. The success of The Daily helped launch a broader audio strategy at The New York Times, leading to other shows like The Argument and First Person.

Personal life

Barbaro is married to Timothy Levin, a botanist. The couple resides in New York City. He has been open about the challenges of balancing the demanding schedule of a daily news podcast with personal life. Barbaro is also known for his distinctive vocal delivery and his signature sign-off phrase on The Daily, "Here's what else you need to know today."

Awards and recognition

For his work on The Daily, Barbaro, along with the production team, received the Peabody Award in 2020. The podcast has also won several Webby Awards and was named Apple Podcasts' Show of the Year in 2018. Individually, Barbaro has been recognized for his political reporting; his work was part of The New York Times coverage that was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting in 2017. In 2021, he was included on Forbes "30 Under 30 Media" list as an influential voice in journalism.

Category:American journalists Category:The New York Times people Category:1979 births Category:Living people Category:Podcast hosts Category:Yale University alumni Category:People from Hamden, Connecticut