Johann Hari

Johann Hari is a journalist and the author of three New York Times bestselling books, and the executive producer of an Oscar-nominated movie and an eight-part television series starring Samuel L. Jackson. His books have been translated into 40 languages and have earned praised from a broad range of people, from Oprah to Noam Chomsky, Elton John to Naomi Klein.

Hari's internationally acclaimed books explore pressing social issues. His most recent work, "Magic Pill: The Extraordinary Benefits and Disturbing Risks of the New Weight-Loss Drugs," investigates the dramatic rise of new weight-loss medications. His 2022 bestseller "Stolen Focus: Why You Can’t Pay Attention" was widely recognized as one of the year’s best books by outlets including Amazon, the Financial Times, the New York Post, and The Spectator. It earned numerous global accolades, including ‘Most Important Book of the Year’ at the Non-Obvious Book Awards and ‘Best Book of the Year’ at the Porchlight Book Awards, and was a bestseller across three continents. Hari’s debut, "Chasing the Scream," a powerful critique of the war on drugs, was adapted into the Oscar-nominated film "The United States vs. Billie Holiday" and a documentary series. His follow-up, "Lost Connections," exploring the root causes of depression, was praised by the British Journal of General Practice as “one of the most important texts of recent years” and was shortlisted for a British Medical Association award.

Hari’s TED talks -- “Everything You Think You Know About Addiction is Wrong” and “This Could Be Why You Are Depressed or Anxious” -- have been viewed more than 93 million times.

He has written for some of the world’s leading newspapers and magazines, including the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the Guardian, the Spectator, Le Monde Diplomatique, the Sydney Morning Herald, and Politico. He has appeared on NPR’s "All Thing Considered," HBO’s "Realtime with Bill Maher," The Joe Rogan Experience podcast, the BBC’s "Question Time," and many other popular shows.

Hari was born in Glasgow, Scotland, and when he was a year old, his family moved to London, where he grew up and where he has lived for most of his life. His father – a Swiss immigrant – was a bus driver, and his mother was a nurse and later worked in shelters for survivors of domestic violence.

He studied Social and Political Science at King’s College, Cambridge, and graduated with a Double First.

Hari was twice named ‘National Newspaper Journalist of the Year’ by Amnesty International. He has also been named ‘Cultural Commentator of the Year’ and ‘Environmental Commentator of the Year’ at the Comment Awards. He lives half the year in London and spends the other half of the year traveling to research his books.