Adam Davidson

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Adam Davidson – Life, Career, and Influence in Journalism

Explore the life and work of Adam Davidson — American journalist and economist, co-founder of Planet Money, former New Yorker and New York Times Magazine columnist, and author of The Passion Economy.

Introduction

Adam Davidson is an American journalist, broadcaster, and author renowned for his skill in explaining complex economic and business topics in accessible terms. As a co-founder of NPR’s Planet Money, a former economics columnist for The New York Times Magazine, a writer for The New Yorker, and author of The Passion Economy, Davidson has shaped how many people understand markets, work, and innovation in the 21st century.

Early Life & Education

Adam Davidson was born in 1970. His father, Jack Davidson, was a film and television actor. He grew up in Manhattan’s West Village, in the Westbeth Artists Community.

Davidson attended the University of Chicago, where he graduated in 1992. His degree was in the history of religion. He has spoken publicly about identifying as an atheist of Jewish descent.

Career & Major Works

Early Journalism & International Reporting

Davidson’s early career included working as a Middle East correspondent for PRI’s Marketplace. He later became the international business and economics correspondent for NPR. During his time at NPR, Davidson covered major global events:

• The Asian tsunami

• The war in Iraq, including reporting from Baghdad (2003–2004)

• Other crises and globalization issues

Planet Money & “The Giant Pool of Money”

In 2008, Davidson and Alex Blumberg co-founded Planet Money, the NPR program and podcast exploring economics in human terms. One of their signature pieces was the radio documentary “The Giant Pool of Money”, which traced the roots of the 2008 U.S. mortgage crisis. That episode won wide acclaim and journalism awards (including a George Polk Award) for making a dense financial narrative understandable.

Columnist & Magazine Work

After his success with radio, Davidson moved into print and magazine journalism. He joined The New York Times Magazine as an economics columnist (writing the “It’s the Economy” column) and contributed other features. In 2016, he became a staff writer at The New Yorker, focusing on business, technology, and economics. While he later left the staff role (circa 2018), he continues to contribute to the magazine.

His work has also appeared in publications such as The Atlantic, Harper’s, GQ, and Rolling Stone.

The Passion Economy and Later Endeavors

In 2020, Davidson published the book The Passion Economy: The New Rules for Thriving in the Twenty-First Century, which explores how people can build meaningful work and income in a changing digital and economic landscape.

Beyond journalism, Davidson at times has advised media organizations and leaders on strategy, storytelling, and adapting to digital change. He also founded a podcast production venture called Three Uncanny Four, in joint venture with Sony Music—though he has publicly acknowledged it didn’t meet expectations.

Awards & Recognition

• George Polk Award (Radio Reporting) for “The Giant Pool of Money”

• The “Giant Pool of Money” episode earned a Peabody Award and a DuPont-Columbia Award, and was named one of the top works of journalism of the decade by NYU's Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute.

These honors reflect Davidson’s ability to make complex economic issues engaging, relevant, and comprehensible to general audiences.

Style, Themes & Influence

Adam Davidson’s journalism is marked by:

1. Clarity & narrative storytelling: He frequently frames economics through stories of real people, turning abstract metrics into lived experience.

2. Bridging journalism and policy discourse: His work often lies at the intersection of public policy, business, and the lived effects on society.

3. Adaptability: From radio to print to digital media, Davidson has navigated multiple formats while preserving depth.

4. Critical engagement with economic change: His themes include globalization, inequality, disruption, financial crises, and the future of work.

Through Planet Money, columns, essays, and books, Davidson has influenced how audiences, students, and professionals think about the economy—not just as numbers and graphs, but as systems with human impact.

Legacy & Continuing Impact

• Planet Money remains one of the most respected economics podcasts and programs, partly because of the foundation Davidson helped lay for accessible, engaging economic journalism.

• The Passion Economy contributes to ongoing conversations about how people can navigate digital platforms, gig economies, and creative work in modern times.

• His body of work continues to be cited in academic, public, and journalistic circles when discussing how to communicate economics to broad audiences.

• His career path also serves as a model for journalists who wish to move fluidly across media types—radio, print, books, advising—while maintaining intellectual coherence.