Walter Isaacson

Walter Seff Isaacson was born on May 20, 1952, in New Orleans, Louisiana. He attended Harvard College and then Pembroke College, Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar. Early in his career he reported for The Sunday Times of London and the New Orleans Times-Picayune before joining Time magazine in 1978. Isaacson rose through Time to become the magazine’s 14th editor in 1996, later serving as chairman and CEO of CNN (2001) and then president and CEO of the Aspen Institute (2003). During these years he combined editorial leadership with public engagement and civic convening roles. Isaacson has authored and coauthored numerous books of history and biography, notable for blending narrative storytelling with attention to science, technology, and public life; major works include Kissinger: A Biography (1992), Benjamin Franklin: An American Life (2003), Einstein: His Life and Universe (2007), Steve Jobs (2011), The Innovators (2014), Leonardo da Vinci (2017), The Code Breaker (Jennifer Doudna, 2021), and Elon Musk (2023). His writing frequently explores innovation, creativity, and the social impact of technology and science, linking individual lives to broader institutional and societal change. Isaacson has served as a Professor of History at Tulane University and as an interviewer for the PBS/CNN program Amanpour & Company since 2018. He has hosted or contributed to podcasts and television programs and acted as an editor-at-large or adviser for publishing and media organizations. He continues to write narrative nonfiction focused on influential figures in science, business, and technology.