Thom Shanker

Thom Shanker is a national security journalist whose career has spanned coverage from Cold War Europe to the Pentagon. Shanker spent nearly a quarter-century at The New York Times, including 13 years as Pentagon correspondent, reporting on the Department of Defense, overseas combat operations, and national security policy. He later served as Deputy Washington Editor for The Times, overseeing coverage of the military, diplomacy, and veterans' affairs.

Before joining The Times, Shanker spent five years as The Chicago Tribune's Moscow correspondent, covering the start of the Gorbachev era through the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the collapse of the communist bloc in Eastern Europe. He also served as the Tribune's senior European correspondent, based in Berlin, where he was the first reporter to document and report on the Serb campaign of systematic mass rape of Muslim women during the wars in the former Yugoslavia.

Shanker's Pentagon reporting included embedding with Army Special Forces in Kandahar early in the war in Afghanistan and conducting numerous reporting trips to Afghanistan and Iraq. He embedded with units at various levels, from squad and company through battalion, brigade, division, and corps. This access informed his expertise in military operations and national security policy, forming the basis for his books. He is the coauthor of "Counterstrike: The Untold Story of America's Secret War with Al Qaeda," published by Henry Holt & Co., which became a New York Times best seller. Shanker attended the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, where he studied strategic nuclear policy and international law.

Shanker coauthored, with Andrew Hoehn, "Age of Danger: Keeping America Safe in an Era of New Superpowers, New Weapons, and New Threats," published by Hachette Books. The book features analysis and interviews with national security leaders, including Robert Gates, Stanley McChrystal, Eric Schmidt, and Michael Leiter, and examines the need for the United States to adapt its security apparatus to address emerging threats beyond traditional military operations. The book was featured in The Cipher Brief's Best Reads Gift Guide and received recognition from former Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel.

Shanker is director of the Project for Media and National Security and a professor of policy analysis at the RAND School of Public Policy, where he teaches media and national security. The Project for Media and National Security facilitates dialogue among policymakers, journalists, researchers, and students on military, cyber, and other national security issues, and oversees the Defense Writers Group, a Washington, D.C., institution that brings together reporters and national security officials for in-depth discussions. Shanker graduated cum laude with a bachelor's degree in political science from Colorado College and holds an honorary Doctor of Laws from the college. His experience in frontline reporting, editorial leadership, and academic engagement positions him as a leading voice on media, military affairs, and national security.