Jim O'Grady is a features reporter at WNYC. He has also told stories on This American Life, Studio 360 with Kurt Andersen and The Moth podcast. He’s been a reporter for The New York Times; professor of journalism at NYU; and director of research for the Center for an Urban Future, a policy think tank. He’s also the author of two biographies: Dorothy Day: With Love For The Poor, and Disarmed & Dangerous: The Radical Lives and Times of Daniel and Philip Berrigan.
Jim lives in Brooklyn.
Jim O'Grady appears in the following:
Einstein, God Are Prime Movers of Conversation at Local Cocktail Party
Tuesday, December 11, 2018
The famous physicist wrote most forcefully on the deity in a recently auctioned letter, which got brainy New Yorkers talking.
Einstein's 'God Letter' Grabs $2.9 Million at Auction
Tuesday, December 04, 2018
The anonymous winning bid, which smashed the previous record price for a letter by the world-renowned physicist, came in by phone to a Christie's sales room.
Red Bulls Risk More Heartbreak Tonight in Major League Soccer Showdown
Thursday, November 29, 2018
The team had the best record in the league this year, a feat they've accomplished three out of the last six years. But they have yet to win a championship.
Episode 9: What Does the Right Kind of Woman Sound Like?
Monday, November 05, 2018
Shrill, strident, bossy. These are the misogynistic slurs women often face when they run for elected office. So what should power sound like?
Voters Think Out Loud Before Making Up Minds on Midterms
Sunday, November 04, 2018
Dug-in Republicans, determined Dems, and wavering indies. What else did you think we’d find only days before the election?
Did New York City Botch the 1918 Flu Epidemic? The Debate Still Rages
Thursday, September 13, 2018
Royal S. Copeland, the city's health commissioner, was a homeopath and Tammany Hall appointee. Some say he handled the crisis with dexterity; others disagree.
England and Soccer: Tempest-Tossed
Friday, June 15, 2018
English soccer fan Melinda Siriwardana says, “I'm going to be rooting for my country all the way.” But don’t do the same, she cautions.
Root For My Team! No, Mine!
Thursday, June 14, 2018
At a decades-long pick-up soccer game in Prospect Park, the immigrant players can't agree on who Americans should root for in the World Cup. But everyone has an opinion.
Up the Ozzies!
Wednesday, June 13, 2018
Sydney-bred Matt Larsson draws on a deep well of World Cup knowledge – not his own but that of his old friend Jonesy – to argue that the Socceroos should be a ripper team to root for.
The Case For Iceland
Monday, June 11, 2018
Iceland only has as many registered soccer players as the state of Rhode Island. In their first World Cup, the team is a minnow among sharks.
All In For Senegal?
Monday, June 11, 2018
A New York City teacher and student tussle over whom to root for in the men's 2018 World Cup. They don't come to an agreement.
"Freaks, Wonders, Curiosities!" Ain't Nothin' More American Than the Coney Island Ballyhoo
Thursday, May 31, 2018
From Veg-O-Matics to Trump, it's theater as sales pitch.
¡Viva La Mexico!
Tuesday, May 29, 2018
Our team isn't in it, so we need to back another country. Fans from around the world make the case for theirs.
New York Bookies Ponder Their Future on Eve of Legalized Sports Gambling
Friday, May 25, 2018
Will legal betting at racetracks and casinos—or on your phone—put your local bookie out of business?
From Party Boy to Budding Bodhisattva
Thursday, May 17, 2018
What happened that turned former Mets star and current broadcaster Keith Hernandez from a GQ coverboy to a self-effacing middle-aged man with a celebrity cat?
That's Not Pneumonia. That's the Country's First Female Doctor.
Wednesday, May 09, 2018
Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell was known for her perseverance as well as for her innovations. She's finally getting some recognition.
Go-To Guy from Golden Age of Typewriters Finds a Taker for His Trove
Wednesday, April 18, 2018
A former repairman bequeathed the innards of old and elegant machines to one of the few remaining repairmen in New York — or the country.
Why We're Not Supposed to Know the Names of Cops who Kill Civilians, But Sometimes Do
Monday, April 16, 2018
"It's a big department, people talk," says one police official (on condition of anonymity).
Hundreds Rally in Herald Square to Protest Trump's Syrian Bombings
Sunday, April 15, 2018
The marchers decried what they view as the increasing belligerence of U.S. foreign policy, and "threats from expanding wars."
After Police Shooting, Dueling Narratives About Victim
Thursday, April 12, 2018
At City Hall rally, family members of Saheed Vassell criticized his portrayal by police and Mayor de Blasio.
