Bob Harris (writer)
Encyclopedia
Bob Harris is an American
radio commentator, writer
, stand-up comedian, and thirteen-time Jeopardy!
contestant.
From 1998–2002, his daily political commentaries aired on an average of 75 radio stations across the U.S., winning awards from the Los Angeles Press Club and the Associated Press
. He was also the morning drive-time host on the Working Assets
attempt at explicitly liberal talk radio
, RadioForChange.com, and wrote online political columns for Mother Jones
magazine.
Harris has variously written for the TV shows Bones and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
, appeared frequently as a debunker of urban legends on the TLC Network program Mostly True Stories: Urban Legends Revealed
, done voiceover work on an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, contributed to several comic book projects published by Dark Horse Comics
, and narrated an audiobook on Kosovo
by Noam Chomsky
. He has also contributed to National Lampoon, the Chicago Tribune
, Paul Krassner
's magazine The Realist
, and numerous other publications.
Early in his career, Harris was a stand-up comedian
who appeared in numerous comedy clubs. His increasing political activism led to a series of guest speaking engagements at over 200 colleges.
His game show
appearances include an upset of Frank Spangenberg
in the first round of the Jeopardy! Million Dollar Masters tournament in 2002, participation in a million-dollar-winning team on Greed
in 2000 winning $200,000 for himself, and a successful $250,000 phone-a-friend answer for a contestant on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire
.
His current weblog is BobHarris.com, although he also contributes frequently to the weblog This Modern World
by cartoonist Tom Tomorrow
. Harris is the voice of Sparky the penguin in the animated cartoons.
In 1999, Common Courage Press published his first book "Steal This Book and Get Life Without Parole," a collection of his political columns. Also included was "Thumbs of Steel," an essay originally published in The Realist, about his original appearances on Jeopardy. Harris would later expand this column into Prisoner of Trebekistan, which was published by Crown Publishing Group in 2006, and included details of his later tournament successes and failures.
His third book, a tongue-in-cheek guide to world conflicts, Who Hates Whom: Well-Armed Fanatics, Intractable Conflicts, and Various Things Blowing Up-A Woefully Incomplete Guide (Crown Publishing Group), was published September 25, 2007.
Bob's forthcoming fourth book, for Bloomsbury Publishing, will explore the impact of global microfinance
and in particular Kiva loans
in third-world countries.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
radio commentator, writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
, stand-up comedian, and thirteen-time Jeopardy!
Jeopardy!
Griffin's first conception of the game used a board comprising ten categories with ten clues each, but after finding that this board could not be shown on camera easily, he reduced it to two rounds of thirty clues each, with five clues in each of six categories...
contestant.
From 1998–2002, his daily political commentaries aired on an average of 75 radio stations across the U.S., winning awards from the Los Angeles Press Club and the Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
. He was also the morning drive-time host on the Working Assets
Working Assets
CREDO is an American for-profit company that offers mobile and long distance phone service. Based in San Francisco, California, Working Assets has raised over $65 million for nonprofit organizations such as GreenPeace, Planned Parenthood, Democracy Now etc.-History:Working Assets was founded in...
attempt at explicitly liberal talk radio
Talk radio
Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often feature interviews with a number of different guests. Talk radio typically includes an element of listener participation, usually by broadcasting live...
, RadioForChange.com, and wrote online political columns for Mother Jones
Mother Jones (magazine)
Mother Jones is an American independent news organization, featuring investigative and breaking news reporting on politics, the environment, human rights, and culture. Mother Jones has been nominated for 23 National Magazine Awards and has won six times, including for General Excellence in 2001,...
magazine.
Harris has variously written for the TV shows Bones and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation is an American crime drama television series, which premiered on CBS on October 6, 2000. The show was created by Anthony E. Zuiker and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer...
, appeared frequently as a debunker of urban legends on the TLC Network program Mostly True Stories: Urban Legends Revealed
Mostly True Stories: Urban Legends Revealed
Mostly True Stories: Urban Legends Revealed is a docudrama about urban legends and re-enacting them and researching their credibility. It aired on The Learning Channel from 2002 until 2004. It ran for four seasons. Early episodes were hosted by Natasha Henstridge...
, done voiceover work on an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, contributed to several comic book projects published by Dark Horse Comics
Dark Horse Comics
Dark Horse Comics is the largest independent American comic book and manga publisher.Dark Horse Comics was founded in 1986 by Mike Richardson in Milwaukie, Oregon, with the concept of establishing an ideal atmosphere for creative professionals. Richardson started out by opening his first comic book...
, and narrated an audiobook on Kosovo
Kosovo
Kosovo is a region in southeastern Europe. Part of the Ottoman Empire for more than five centuries, later the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia...
by Noam Chomsky
Noam Chomsky
Avram Noam Chomsky is an American linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, and activist. He is an Institute Professor and Professor in the Department of Linguistics & Philosophy at MIT, where he has worked for over 50 years. Chomsky has been described as the "father of modern linguistics" and...
. He has also contributed to National Lampoon, the Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
, Paul Krassner
Paul Krassner
Paul Krassner is an author, journalist, stand-up comedian, and the founder, editor and a frequent contributor to the freethought magazine The Realist, first published in 1958...
's magazine The Realist
The Realist
The Realist was a pioneering magazine of "social-political-religious criticism and satire," intended as a hybrid of a grown-ups version of Mad and Lyle Stuart's anti-censorship monthly The Independent. Edited and published by Paul Krassner, and often regarded as a milestone in the American...
, and numerous other publications.
Early in his career, Harris was a stand-up comedian
Comedian
A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy...
who appeared in numerous comedy clubs. His increasing political activism led to a series of guest speaking engagements at over 200 colleges.
His game show
Game show
A game show is a type of radio or television program in which members of the public, television personalities or celebrities, sometimes as part of a team, play a game which involves answering questions or solving puzzles usually for money and/or prizes...
appearances include an upset of Frank Spangenberg
Frank Spangenberg
Lieutenant Frank Spangenberg garnered fame in 1990 when he set the five-day cumulative winnings record on the game show Jeopardy!, becoming the first person to win more than $100,000 in five days on the show...
in the first round of the Jeopardy! Million Dollar Masters tournament in 2002, participation in a million-dollar-winning team on Greed
Greed (game show)
Greed is an American television game show that aired on Fox from November 4, 1999 until July 14, 2000. The game consisted of a team of contestants who answered a series of multiple-choice questions for a potential prize of up to $2 million...
in 2000 winning $200,000 for himself, and a successful $250,000 phone-a-friend answer for a contestant on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (US game show)
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire is an American television quiz show which offers a maximum prize of $1,000,000 for correctly answering 14 consecutive multiple-choice questions of random difficulty. Until 2010, the format required contestants to correctly answer 15 consecutive questions of increasing...
.
His current weblog is BobHarris.com, although he also contributes frequently to the weblog This Modern World
This Modern World
This Modern World is a weekly satirical comic strip by cartoonist and political commentator Tom Tomorrow that covers current events from a liberal point of view. Tomorrow also runs a weblog that informs readers about stories of interest, often presented as a follow up to his cartoons...
by cartoonist Tom Tomorrow
Tom Tomorrow
Tom Tomorrow is the pen name of editorial cartoonist Dan Perkins. His weekly comic strip This Modern World, which comments on current events, appears regularly in over 90 newspapers across the U.S. and Canada as of 2006, as well as on CREDO Action and Daily Kos, where he is its comics curator...
. Harris is the voice of Sparky the penguin in the animated cartoons.
In 1999, Common Courage Press published his first book "Steal This Book and Get Life Without Parole," a collection of his political columns. Also included was "Thumbs of Steel," an essay originally published in The Realist, about his original appearances on Jeopardy. Harris would later expand this column into Prisoner of Trebekistan, which was published by Crown Publishing Group in 2006, and included details of his later tournament successes and failures.
His third book, a tongue-in-cheek guide to world conflicts, Who Hates Whom: Well-Armed Fanatics, Intractable Conflicts, and Various Things Blowing Up-A Woefully Incomplete Guide (Crown Publishing Group), was published September 25, 2007.
Bob's forthcoming fourth book, for Bloomsbury Publishing, will explore the impact of global microfinance
Microfinance
Microfinance is the provision of financial services to low-income clients or solidarity lending groups including consumers and the self-employed, who traditionally lack access to banking and related services....
and in particular Kiva loans
Kiva (organization)
Kiva Microfunds is an organization that allows people to lend money via the Internet to microfinance institutions in developing countries around the world and in the United States, which in turn lend the money to small businesses and students...
in third-world countries.
External links
- Crown Publishing Group book information, Prisoner of Trebekistan
- Crown Publishing Group book information, Who Hates Whom
- Bob Harris blog and website
- This Modern World
- J! Archive - Bob's scores and games
- Bob Harris vs. The News - Salon.comSalon.comSalon.com, part of Salon Media Group , often just called Salon, is an online liberal magazine, with content updated each weekday. Salon was founded by David Talbot and launched on November 20, 1995. It was the internet's first online-only commercial publication. The magazine focuses on U.S...