John Leo

John Patrick Leo (June 16, 1935 – May 9, 2022) was an American writer and journalist. He was noted for authoring columns in the National Catholic Reporter and U.S. News & World Report, as well as for his reporting with The New York Times and Time magazine. He later became editor-in-chief of "Minding the Campus", a web site focusing on America's colleges and universities. After retiring from journalism, he joined the Manhattan Institute as a senior fellow in 2007.

Early life Leo was born in Hoboken, New Jersey, on June 16, 1935. His father, Maurice, was a designer of kitchen and hospital equipment; his mother, Mary (Trincellita), was a housewife. Leo was raised in Teaneck, New Jersey, and attended Regis High School in New York City on scholarship, graduating in 1952. He then studied philosophy and English at the University of Toronto, where he was also the editor of the student newspaper. After his graduation in 1957, he went back to his home state and covered the criminal courts for the Bergen Record of Hackensack, New Jersey, for three years. He subsequently worked as the editor of the Catholic Messenger, When Daniel Berrigan, a flamboyant anti-Vietnam-war Jesuit, was exiled to Latin America and put under a vow of silence, Leo broke the story in his column. Berrigan was soon brought back home.

The New York Times hired Leo in 1967 as its first reporter to cover the intellectual world. and served as book editor of the sociological magazine Society. Leo worked at Time from 1974 to 1987, writing the behavior section which covered psychology, psychiatry, feminism and intellectual trends. He also wrote essays and humor, including the Ralph-and-Wanda dialogues between a liberal feminist and her curmudgeonly husband. was syndicated to 140 newspapers by Universal Press Syndicate. The column focused mainly on social and cultural issues, most commonly political correctness, but also advertising, movies, language, the news media, higher education, pop psychology and the self-esteem movement. His 1995 column on Time-Warner, terming it America's "leading cultural polluter", sparked the campaign that led to Time-Warner's decision to sell off its 50 percent share in Interscope Records, a heavy producer of gangsta rap.

Leo's book of humor, How the Russians Invented Baseball and Other Essays of Enlightenment , was published in 1989. His other books are Two Steps Ahead of the Thought Police (, 1994) and Incorrect Thoughts (, 2001).

Personal life Leo's first marriage was to Stephanie Wolf. Together, they had two children, Kristin and Karen. They eventually divorced. He subsequently married Jacqueline Leo in 1978. She was the former editor-in-chief of The Fiscal Times, Reader's Digest, and other publications, and they remained married until his death. They had one child together named Alex.

Leo died on May 9, 2022, at a hospital in The Bronx at the age of 86. He had Parkinson's disease and was hospitalized for COVID-19 prior to his death.