John Hodgman

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John Hodgman

John Hodgman is an American author and humorist whose work has been published in the Paris Review, The New York Times Magazine and McSweeny’s. He has also contributed to Public Radio International’s This American Life, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s Wiretap and, of late, Comedy Central’s The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.

Hodgman’s first book, The Areas of My Expertise, was published in 2005. In addition to his work in literature, he is the founder of and master of ceremonies for the Little Gray Book Lectures in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

Biographical information

Hodgman was born and raised in Brookline, Massachusetts, and attended Brookline High School and Yale University. On the June 8, 2006 episode of The Daily Show, Hodgman declared Brookline to be the SMILF (Soccer Mom I’d Like to Fuck) capital of the world.

(The term I was actually thinking of was SMILF: “Soccer Mom I’d Like to be Friends with.” And the territory included only New England. Otherwise, thank you, internet, for posting all this accurate information. That is all.—Jh)

Before gaining fame as a writer, Hodgman worked as a literary agent at Writers House in New York City, where he represented Darin Strauss, David Grand, Deborah Digges, and actor Bruce Campbell, among others. Hodgman has used his experience as an agent in his McSweeney’s column “Ask a Former Professional Literary Agent.”

Hodgman lives in New York City.

TV appearances

File:Get a Mac ad characters.jpg

John Hodgman as a PC.

Hodgman appeared on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart on November 16, 2005 to promote his book, The Areas of My Expertise. Stewart described the book as “very funny” and said that the section on hobo names in particular was written with “a certain kind of genius.” On January 16, 2006, Hodgman appeared on The Daily Show again, this time as an “expert” on Iranian nuclear ambitions in an interview with Stewart. Then on January 31, 2006, he appeared on the show for a third time as an “expert” to discuss the retirement of Alan Greenspan. The Daily Show’s website currently lists Hodgman as an official contributor. He re-appeared in a report about India-Pakistan relations on March 8, 2006. On March 20, 2006, he posed as an expert on the potential effects of global warming. On April 25, 2006 he appeared as a judge for the U.S. Army’s essay contest. Unlike other correspondents, who are frequently re-branded with titles using the “Senior [Insert Descriptive Word Here] Correspondent” format, Hodgman retains the simple title “Resident Expert,” thus implying that the show can reference him as an expert on anything.

In February of 2006, Hodgman appeared on Attack of the Show, a tech-related show which runs daily on G4, to share some insight with the host and promote his book The Areas of My Expertise.

Hodgman appeared in the Get a Mac ad campaign for Apple Computer starting in May 2006. In the ads he played a humanized PC along side his Mac counterpart, played by actor Justin Long.

External links

• Official site for The Areas of My Expertise
• The Little Gray Book Lectures
• Ask a Former Professional Literary Agent at McSweeney’s
• The 700 Hoboes Group on Flickr.

In the media

• Hodgman’s appearance on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
• Venue Songs DVD/CD On this DVD by They Might Be Giants, Hodgman plays “the Deranged Millionaire.”
• MP3 interview with Hodgman on The Sound of Young America, February, 2006
• MP3 interview with Hodgman on The Sound of Young America, November, 2005
• Hodgman’s Appearance on the Jawbone Radio podcast.
• Hodgman’s appearance in the new ads “Get a Mac” of Apple, May 2006