Steven Levy
Born 1951 · Age 74
American journalist and author focused on computers, technology, cryptography, AI, internet, cybersecurity and privacy; editor at large for Wired and author of influential books including Hackers, Crypto, In the Plex, and Facebook: The Inside Story.
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Life & Career Timeline
Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Steven Levy is born to Lester and Helen Levy in Philadelphia.
Graduated Central High School (approx.)
Graduated Central High School in Philadelphia (year estimated from college matriculation).
Earned BA in English from Temple University
Completed bachelor's degree in English at Temple University.
Earned MA in Literature from Pennsylvania State University
Completed master's degree in literature (Penn State).
Began freelance journalism career (mid-1970s)
Worked as a freelance journalist contributing to various outlets; began to build portfolio.
Founding co-editor of Free Times
Co-founded and served as co-editor of the Free Times, a weekly guide to happenings in Philadelphia.
Published in The Philadelphia Inquirer ('Honky-tonk Odyssey')
One of his frequent mid-1970s contributions to The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Today magazine.
Contributing senior editor at New Jersey Monthly
Served as contributing senior editor (tenure reported as 1977–1979).
Published in The Philadelphia Inquirer ('South Jersey's Oasis of Soul')
Continued freelance contributions to The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Won New Jersey Sigma Delta Chi competition
Award for the piece 'My Search for Einstein's Brain'.
Rediscovered Albert Einstein's brain while reporting
Reported the rediscovery of Einstein's brain in the Wichita office of pathologist Thomas Stoltz Harvey.
Investigative Reporters and Editors Award
Won an IRE Award for reporting on 'Emergency Medical Services'.
National Magazine Award finalist
Finalist for a National Magazine Award for 'ETS and the Coaching Controversy'.
Assigned Rolling Stone article on computer hackers
Rolling Stone assigned Levy a piece about computer hackers; this reporting led him to focus on computer culture.
Contributing editor, Rolling Stone (approx. start)
Began contributing and serving as a contributing editor to Rolling Stone (tenure reported roughly 1982–1987).
Published 'Me and My Computer' in Playboy Guide
Essay published in Playboy Guide: Electronic Entertainment (Nov 1982).
Began monthly column in Popular Computing
Started monthly column (initially 'Telecomputing') in Popular Computing; column ran April 1983–Dec 1985.
Coined / popularized concept of the 'hacker ethic' (via Hackers)
Hackers popularized the idea of a 'hacker ethic'—a cultural concept that influenced thinking about information freedom and computing culture.
Published Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution
Author of Hackers (1984), chronicling early hacker culture and describing the 'hacker ethic'.
Contributor to Whole Earth Software Catalog
Contributed to Stewart Brand's Whole Earth Software Catalog (first published 1984).
Ended Popular Computing column
Monthly column in Popular Computing ran until the magazine's closure in December 1985.
Founded Macworld Game Hall of Fame
Established the Macworld Game Hall of Fame; Macworld published it annually through 2009.
Married Teresa Carpenter
Married Pulitzer Prize–winning writer Teresa Carpenter (marriage year reported as 1988).
Computer Press Association Award (Best Column/Opinion Piece)
Won a Computer Press Association award (listed among honors).
Published The Unicorn's Secret
Published a true-crime book about Ira Einhorn (also titled The Unicorn's Secret: Murder in the Age of Aquarius).
Los Angeles Times Book Prize Finalist (Science & Technology)
Artificial Life was a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize (Science & Technology category).
Published Artificial Life: The Quest for a New Creation
Book about artificial life; was a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Science & Technology.
Became a contributor to Wired (inception era)
Reported as a contributor to Wired since the magazine's early years (Wired launched 1993); later became editor at large.
Fellow, Freedom Forum Media Studies Center (1994–95)
Served as a fellow at the Freedom Forum Media Studies Center during 1994–95.
Published Insanely Great: The Life & Times of Macintosh
Book chronicling the Macintosh and Apple culture.
Joined Newsweek as chief technology writer and senior editor
Became Newsweek's chief technology writer and senior editor; covered tech stories for the magazine.
Began long-term role covering major tech companies at Newsweek
At Newsweek he developed deep reporting on companies such as Apple and later covered products like the iPod extensively.
Computer Press Association Award for Year 2000 report
Won Computer Press Association Award (for a 1998 report on the Year 2000 problem, co-written).
The Unicorn's Secret adapted into NBC miniseries
His 1988 book served as source for NBC's two-night miniseries 'The Hunt for the Unicorn Killer' starring Naomi Watts (1999).
Published Crypto: How the Code Rebels Beat the Government
Book about cryptography, privacy, and the battle with the U.S. government over code export and secrecy.
Recognized as an authoritative voice on cryptography and privacy
Crypto widely cited and lauded as a definitive account of modern cryptography and its implications for privacy and policy.
Won Frankfurt Grand E-Book Prize for Crypto
Crypto won the grand e-book prize at the 2001 Frankfurt Book Fair.
Newsweek cover story unveiling 4th-generation iPod
Published a Newsweek cover story 'iPod Nation' (July 24, 2004) that revealed Apple's 4th-generation iPod before Apple's official announcement; included interview with Steve Jobs.
Published The Perfect Thing: How the iPod Shuffles Commerce, Culture, and Coolness
Book chronicling development and cultural impact of the iPod.
C-SPAN Q&A appearance on The Perfect Thing
Appeared on C-SPAN Q&A to discuss The Perfect Thing (Dec 24, 2006).
Authors@Google and public speaking engagements
Delivered Authors@Google and other high-profile talks about his books and tech topics.
Became writer and editor at large for Wired
Joined Wired as writer and editor at large (Wikipedia lists 'since 2008').
Inducted as SVForum Visionary
Inducted as a SVForum Visionary (2008) alongside tech figures such as Reed Hastings and Diane Greene.
In the Plex named Amazon's Best Business Book of 2011
In the Plex received commercial recognition as Amazon's best business book in 2011.
In the Plex leads to expanded public profile on Google
In the Plex increased Levy's profile as a chronicler of major tech companies and their social impact.
Published In the Plex: How Google Thinks, Works, and Shapes Our Lives
Published a multi-year exposé on Google, its culture, people and influence.
Published 'Like minds' in Wired
Wired piece (Dec 2013) among many essays and reporting for Wired.
Profiled as 'America’s premier technology journalist' by The Washington Post (cited on bio)
Recognition in press profiles highlighting his decades of tech coverage and influence.
Co-created Backchannel tech blog
Co-founded the Backchannel tech blog as an editorial project focused on long-form tech journalism.
Backchannel integrated into Wired
Backchannel, which Levy co-created, was integrated into Wired in 2017.
Backchannel editorial milestone: integration and broader audience
Backchannel integration into Wired consolidated his longform tech journalism platform.
Facebook book receives widespread media attention
Facebook: The Inside Story was broadly covered by media and cited as a major reporting effort on Facebook's internal history and leadership.
Published Facebook: The Inside Story
Published a multi-year, in-depth history of Facebook based on three years of interviews with employees including Chamath Palihapitiya, Sheryl Sandberg, and Mark Zuckerberg.
Completed multi-year reporting project on Facebook
Conducted approximately three years of interviews with Facebook employees for Facebook: The Inside Story (reporting circa ~2017–2020).
Longstanding contributor to Wired and other major outlets
Has been a contributor to Wired since its inception and (formally) an editor at large since 2008; has written for Rolling Stone, The New Yorker, The New York Times Magazine, Harper's, Macworld, Premiere and others.
Continues to live and work in New York City
Residence in NYC with wife, Teresa Carpenter, and their son; ongoing writing, speaking and editorial work.
Multiple career honors (various years, aggregated)
Aggregation of honors: multiple Computer Press Association Awards, Clarion Award winner, finalist for Loeb Award and National Magazine Award, Frankfurt e-book prize, SVForum Visionary induction, Amazon best book recognition.
Ongoing speaking engagements and media appearances
Frequent speaker on tech topics (Authors@Google, LiveWIRED events, conference talks) and appears regularly in media and podcasts.
Recognized as an influential chronicler of technology
Multiple honors including PC Magazine naming Hackers a top sci‑tech book of the prior decades; numerous press awards and finalists for major journalism prizes.
Key Achievement Ages
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