The Atlantic Announces Sophia Nguyen and Kevin Sieff as Staff Writers; and Theo Balcomb and Jonathan L. Fischer as Senior Editors

The Atlantic is announcing several journalists joining this spring as a part of our continued newsroom growth: Sophia Nguyen and Kevin Sieff as staff writers; along with Theo Balcomb and Jonathan L. Fischer as senior editors.

Sophia joins us from The Washington Post, where she covered news and wrote features for the Books section. Kevin also comes from the Post, where he spent 15 years overseas in postings that included Kabul, Nairobi, Mexico City, and, most recently, Barcelona. Theo is a senior editor across The Atlantic’s podcasts, and has had a long career in audio journalism, starting at NPR and later co-creating The Daily at The New York Times. And Jonathan, also recently of the Post, will work across culture more broadly, including the business of entertainment and media.

Below are the announcements about our new staff:

We are delighted to welcome Theo Balcomb back to The Atlantic, now as a senior editor. Theo is an audio-journalism veteran, having started her career at NPR as a fellow and rising to supervising producer of All Things Considered. She later co-created The Daily at The New York Times. Since then, Theo has edited the Peabody Award–winning investigative series The Empty Grave of Comrade Bishop, the Pulitzer finalist Broken Doors, and the duPont Award–nominated series Field Trip, all from The Washington Post. She’s also worked on the much-loved (and super-cool) Song Exploder podcast. She helped develop the relaunch of Radio Atlantic in 2022, and we are excited to have her back. Theo will edit across shows.

Jonathan L. Fischer is joining us as a senior editor. Jonathan is a creative, thoughtful, and experienced editor who will focus on steering our reporting about the Kennedy Center, the Smithsonian Institution, and the Trump administration’s broader efforts to remake culture. This is a crucial line of coverage for us, and we couldn’t be more excited to have Jon in this role. Most recently, he was leading a similar line of coverage at The Washington Post, where he guided his reporters to scoop after scoop. Jon will also edit stories about culture more broadly, and The Atlantic will benefit from his array of interests, including but not limited to the business of entertainment and media.

Sophia Nguyen is coming on board as a staff writer, focusing on culture and the world of books. Sophia is a versatile and creative journalist who has reported a wide range of fascinating stories—including about breakout successes in self-publishing, trends in book design, and self-help’s evolution into a lifestyle. Sophia’s impressive doggedness is matched only by the elegance of her writing and the originality of her ideas, and we can’t wait for Atlantic readers (and all of you) to get to know her. She comes to us from The Washington Post, where she has served as both a writer and an editor.

Kevin Sieff is also joining us as a staff writer. Kevin is an intrepid reporter and stylish writer who has used his investigative powers to break many major international stories. He exposed the links between drug trafficking and soccer in Latin America, revealed the largest match-fixing ring in professional-tennis history, and uncovered a human-smuggling ring led by tweens. (If you thought the seamy underside of competitive pigeon-racing would escape his notice, well, think again.) Kevin also comes to us from The Washington Post, where he spent 15 years overseas, including stints in Kabul, Nairobi, Mexico City, and, most recently, Barcelona. Kevin will be relocating back to the U.S., but his passport will continue to get a workout. We expect him to train his gaze south of the border, with a focus on Latin America. It’s an area he knows well; last year his story on a Mexican police unit that apprehends American fugitives was adapted as a Netflix series, The Gringo Hunters. Kevin has won two Overseas Press Club awards and has been a finalist for both the Pulitzer and the Livingston.

Recent editorial hires at The Atlantic include staff writers Henry Grabar, Luis Parrales, Judith Shulevitz, Sarah A. Topol, and Jenisha Watts; and senior editors Paul Beckett, Emily Bobrow, Adam Kirsch, Michael Leibel, and Chris Suellentrop.

Press Contacts:
Anna Bross and Paul Jackson | press@theatlantic.com