About Barry Glassner

The author of seven books on contemporary social issues, sociologist Barry Glassner’s book, The Culture of Fear: Why Americans Are Afraid of the Wrong Things (Basic Books), is a national bestseller that was named a “Best Book of the Year” by Knight-Ridder newspapers and by the Los Angeles Times Book Review.

In his book, The Gospel of Food (Ecco/HarperCollins), Glassner argued that by abandoning food fads and mythical beliefs about diet, Americans will eat better and lead happier lives. “Glassner exposes the strained interpretations, ‘prejudices dressed up as science,’ and pure fabrications behind much received wisdom,” The New York Times wrote of The Gospel of Food, a book that The Los Angeles Times described as “pure fun to read.” “Glassner’s views about food are on the whole so bracing,” declared The Wall Street Journal, “it’s hard not to root for him as he tilts against modern food dogma.”

Described by The New York Times as “a master at the art of dissecting research,” and by Rolling Stone as “one of the country’s leading sociologists,” Glassner has published research studies in The American Sociological Review, American Journal of Psychiatry, and other leading journals in the social sciences. His articles and commentaries have appeared in newspapers including The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, and Chronicle of Higher Education, and he is the recipient of several honors, including an “outstanding book of the year” award from Choice magazine and a visiting fellowship at Oxford University.

Featured prominently in Michael Moore’s Academy Award winning documentary, “Bowling for Columbine,” Glassner has appeared on numerous television programs, including “The Today Show,” “Good Morning America,” “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” “Hardball,” “The O’Reilly Factor,” and various news programs on CNN, CNBC, and MSNBC, and on radio shows including National Public Radio’s “Morning Edition,” “All Things Considered,” “Fresh Air,” “Talk of the Nation,” and “Marketplace,” and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s “Ideas” program. In 2019, Glassner co-hosted 28 episodes of the podcast FearNOT with comedian Alonzo Bodden.

Glassner is a magician member of the Magic Castle. His interest in magic dates back to his childhood, and as a teenager, he was president of Magical Youths International.

Formerly a journalist and an editor for ABC radio news, Glassner went on to receive his doctorate from Washington University in St. Louis and to become chair of the sociology departments at Syracuse University, the University of Connecticut, and the University of Southern California, where he subsequently served for five years as Executive Vice Provost before being appointed President of Lewis & Clark College. He is a founding Network Member of The Progress Network.

Since 2020, Glassner has done executive coaching for CEOs and other senior leaders at universities and national associations.