Marc Ambinder

For 20 years, I’ve told true and complex stories about the world and revealed some of its deeper secrets, and I’ve taught thousands of others how to do the same. A SME on national security, American politics, elections and government, corporate communications, digital and cyber security and nuclear policy, I am at present the counter-disinformation lead for USC’s Election Cybersecurity initiative. I’m also the executive-in-residence for digital security at USC’s Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, where I’ve taught courses on national security reporting and journalistic social responsibility. My third book, “The Brink: President Reagan and the Nuclear War Scare of 1983”, was published by Simon & Schuster in 2018. I’ve managed teams of reporters, consultants and students and I’ve co-created several innovative digital news products. In Washington, D.C., I was politics editor at the Atlantic, chief political consultant for CBS News, and a White House correspondent for National Journal. On the side, I work with Spycraft Entertainment, and I helped develop an immersive educational experience about security and ethical decision-making for the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. In all that I do, I want to reverse the phenomenon of truth decay, and I care deeply about accountability, non-zero-sum arguments, critical thinking, humor and creative expression.