Joel Stein

Joel Stein
Stein at Beverly Hills High School for "Career Day", May 16, 2006
Born	(1971-07-23) July 23, 1971 (age 45) Edison, New Jersey
Occupation	Columnist
Nationality	American
Spouse	Cassandra Barry (March 2002–present)
Children	1

Joel Stein (born July 23, 1971) is an American journalist who wrote for the Los Angeles Times and is a regular contributor to Time.

Stein grew up in Edison, New Jersey, the son of a salesman. His family is Jewish. Stein attended J.P. Stevens High School, where he was a writer and entertainment editor for Hawkeye, the student newspaper. He majored in English at Stanford University and wrote a weekly column for the school's student newspaper, The Stanford Daily. He graduated in 1993 with a BA and an MA and moved to New York City, and then to Los Angeles in 2005.

Stein's career began as a writer and researcher for Martha Stewart Living. He worked a year for Stewart and later quipped that she had fired him twice in the same day. Stein did fact-checking at various publications before becoming a sports editor and columnist for Time Out New York, where he stayed for two years. While working at Time Out New York, he was a contestant on MTV's short-lived game show Idiot Savants. Stein joined Time in August 1997.

Stein sometimes appears as a commentator on television programs such as I Love the '80s. He also co-produced three TV pilots: an animated series for VH1 and two for ABC. The animated show, titled Hey Joel, aired in Canada and later in South Africa, while the other two were never picked up. He was a writer and producer for the sitcom Crumbs.