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Ronan Farrow

Ronan Farrow is an investigative reporter and a contributing writer to The New Yorker. He is also currently producing documentaries for HBO.

His writing for The New Yorker has catalyzed personnel changes in the public and private sectors, reforms in law and policy, and criminal prosecutions. His stories exposed the first sexual-assault allegations against the movie producer Harvey Weinstein; CBS executives, including Leslie Moonves; and then New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman. Farrow’s reporting about Donald Trump’s alliance with the National Enquirer figured prominently in the first criminal indictment of a U.S. President. In a series of profiles, he was among the first to identify then fugitives from the law amongst the January 6th rioters. His examination of the legal conservatorship of the singer Britney Spears was closely followed by resignations from her attorney and manager, and his reporting on the spyware Pegasus prompted an executive order prohibiting the U.S. government’s use of such technology.

Farrow’s work for the magazine has won the Pulitzer Prize for public service, the National Magazine Award, and the George Polk Award, among other honors.

His most recent work as a documentary producer, the film “Endangered,” followed journalists through the COVID-19 pandemic and was nominated for an Emmy. He previously worked as an anchor and investigative reporter at MSNBC and NBC News.

Farrow is the author of the New York Times best-sellers “War on Peace: The End of Diplomacy and the Decline of American Influence” and “Catch and Kill: Lies, Spies, and a Conspiracy to Protect Predators,” which was named one of the best books of the year by more than a dozen major outlets, nominated for a Grammy for its audiobook, and adapted into a podcast that received more than nine million downloads.

Prior to his career in journalism, he served as a State Department official, first in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and then advising the Secretary of State as the director of the Department’s Office of Global Youth Issues.

Farrow is a graduate of Yale Law School and a member of the New York Bar. He holds a Ph.D. in political science from Oxford University, where he studied as a Rhodes Scholar. He lives with his partner in New York City.

RuPaul Doesn’t See How That’s Any of Your Business

The drag star brought the form mainstream, and made an empire out of queer expression. Now he fears “the absolute worst.”

Elon Musk’s Shadow Rule

How the U.S. government came to rely on the tech billionaire—and is now struggling to rein him in.

Inside the Hush-Money Payments That May Decide Trump’s Legal Fate

Years of interviews with potential witnesses provide insights into the Manhattan D.A.’s case.

A Hacked Newsroom Brings a Spyware Maker to U.S. Court

When Roman Gressier, an American reporter working in El Salvador, found out that he and his colleagues were being surveilled, he feared persecution and worried for his sources’ safety. 

The Search for Dirt on the Twitter Whistle-Blower

More than a dozen of Peiter (Mudge) Zatko’s former colleagues have received offers of payment for information about him.

How Democracies Spy on Their Citizens

The inside story of the world’s most notorious commercial spyware and the big tech companies waging war against it.

How Britney Spears Got Free, and What Comes Next

Spears fought for years to end the conservatorship she was under, and finally won. But the legal battles aren’t over.

Andrew Cuomo’s War Against a Federal Prosecutor

A call to the Obama White House that some legal experts say is impeachable fits a pattern of the Governor smearing those who scrutinize him.

Britney Spears’s Conservatorship Nightmare

How the pop star’s father and a team of lawyers seized control of her life—and have held on to it for thirteen years.

Can Biden Reverse Trump’s Damage to the State Department?

Reeling from the leadership of Rex Tillerson and Mike Pompeo, career officials wonder whether Secretary of State Antony Blinken can revitalize American diplomacy.

Cuomo’s First Accuser Raises New Claims of Harassment and Retaliation

In her first extensive interview, Lindsey Boylan sheds new light on a toxic workplace, as insiders detail the campaign to discredit her.

A Pennsylvania Mother’s Path to Insurrection

How claims by Rudy Giuliani and Alex Jones spurred a parent of eight to become one of the Capitol riot’s biggest mysteries, and a fugitive from the F.B.I.

A Former Marine Stormed the Capitol as Part of a Far-Right Militia

In the assault, organized groups with military experience played an active role.

An Air Force Combat Veteran Breached the Senate

The Texas-based pilot was with a group that descended on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office suite.

How a C.I.A. Coverup Targeted a Whistle-blower

When a Justice Department lawyer exposed the agency’s secret role in drug cases, leadership in the intelligence community retaliated.

“I Haven’t Exhaled in So Long”: Surviving Harvey Weinstein

Rose McGowan on what it felt like to watch the convicted predator be taken into police custody after being found guilty of sex crimes.

The Black Cube Chronicles, Part III: The Double Agent

How a whistle-blower exposed Harvey Weinstein’s attempts to suppress allegations of sexual assault and harassment.

The Black Cube Chronicles, Part II: The Undercover Operative

How a private spy who manipulated Rose McGowan in service of Harvey Weinstein was unmasked.

The Black Cube Chronicles, Part I: The Private Investigators

How two operatives tasked with surveilling reporters became embroiled in an international plot to suppress sexual-assault allegations against Harvey Weinstein.

How an Élite University Research Center Concealed Its Relationship with Jeffrey Epstein

New documents show that the M.I.T. Media Lab was aware of Epstein’s status as a convicted sex offender, and that Epstein directed contributions to the lab far exceeding the amounts M.I.T. has publicly admitted.

RuPaul Doesn’t See How That’s Any of Your Business

The drag star brought the form mainstream, and made an empire out of queer expression. Now he fears “the absolute worst.”

Elon Musk’s Shadow Rule

How the U.S. government came to rely on the tech billionaire—and is now struggling to rein him in.

Inside the Hush-Money Payments That May Decide Trump’s Legal Fate

Years of interviews with potential witnesses provide insights into the Manhattan D.A.’s case.

A Hacked Newsroom Brings a Spyware Maker to U.S. Court

When Roman Gressier, an American reporter working in El Salvador, found out that he and his colleagues were being surveilled, he feared persecution and worried for his sources’ safety. 

The Search for Dirt on the Twitter Whistle-Blower

More than a dozen of Peiter (Mudge) Zatko’s former colleagues have received offers of payment for information about him.

How Democracies Spy on Their Citizens

The inside story of the world’s most notorious commercial spyware and the big tech companies waging war against it.

How Britney Spears Got Free, and What Comes Next

Spears fought for years to end the conservatorship she was under, and finally won. But the legal battles aren’t over.

Andrew Cuomo’s War Against a Federal Prosecutor

A call to the Obama White House that some legal experts say is impeachable fits a pattern of the Governor smearing those who scrutinize him.

Britney Spears’s Conservatorship Nightmare

How the pop star’s father and a team of lawyers seized control of her life—and have held on to it for thirteen years.

Can Biden Reverse Trump’s Damage to the State Department?

Reeling from the leadership of Rex Tillerson and Mike Pompeo, career officials wonder whether Secretary of State Antony Blinken can revitalize American diplomacy.

Cuomo’s First Accuser Raises New Claims of Harassment and Retaliation

In her first extensive interview, Lindsey Boylan sheds new light on a toxic workplace, as insiders detail the campaign to discredit her.

A Pennsylvania Mother’s Path to Insurrection

How claims by Rudy Giuliani and Alex Jones spurred a parent of eight to become one of the Capitol riot’s biggest mysteries, and a fugitive from the F.B.I.

A Former Marine Stormed the Capitol as Part of a Far-Right Militia

In the assault, organized groups with military experience played an active role.

An Air Force Combat Veteran Breached the Senate

The Texas-based pilot was with a group that descended on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office suite.

How a C.I.A. Coverup Targeted a Whistle-blower

When a Justice Department lawyer exposed the agency’s secret role in drug cases, leadership in the intelligence community retaliated.

“I Haven’t Exhaled in So Long”: Surviving Harvey Weinstein

Rose McGowan on what it felt like to watch the convicted predator be taken into police custody after being found guilty of sex crimes.

The Black Cube Chronicles, Part III: The Double Agent

How a whistle-blower exposed Harvey Weinstein’s attempts to suppress allegations of sexual assault and harassment.

The Black Cube Chronicles, Part II: The Undercover Operative

How a private spy who manipulated Rose McGowan in service of Harvey Weinstein was unmasked.

The Black Cube Chronicles, Part I: The Private Investigators

How two operatives tasked with surveilling reporters became embroiled in an international plot to suppress sexual-assault allegations against Harvey Weinstein.

How an Élite University Research Center Concealed Its Relationship with Jeffrey Epstein

New documents show that the M.I.T. Media Lab was aware of Epstein’s status as a convicted sex offender, and that Epstein directed contributions to the lab far exceeding the amounts M.I.T. has publicly admitted.