Natalia Petrzela

Natalia Mehlman Petrzela is a historian of contemporary American politics and culture. She is the author of "Classroom Wars: Language, Sex, and the Making of Modern Political Culture," and "Fit Nation: The Gains and Pains of America’s Exercise Obsession." She is executive producer and host of BBC’s Extreme podcast, and the host of Welcome to Your Fantasy, from Pineapple Street Studios/Gimlet. She is a columnist for MSNBC Opinion, a frequent media guest expert, public speaker, and contributor to outlets including the New York Times, the Washington Post, CNN, and the Atlantic.

Petrzela is a Carnegie Corporation Fellow in 2024-25, a National Endowment for the Humanities Public Scholar in 2025-26, and is currently working on two new books, a short history of the school culture wars, and a history of the Hamptons, with historian Neil J. Young. She is the executive producer of a documentary series based on "Fit Nation," in development with TIME Studios. Petrzela’s career began as a public school teacher, and she is currently Lead Historian on the Jewish American Hidden Voices curriculum for New York City’s Department of Education.

Petrzela is Professor of History at The New School, co-founder of the wellness education program Healthclass 2.0, and a Premiere Leader of the mind-body practice intenSati. Her work has been supported by the Spencer, Whiting, Rockefeller, and Mellon Foundations, the Carnegie Corporation, and the National Endowment for the Humanities. She holds a BA from Columbia University and a PhD from Stanford University.