Benjamin Chertoff
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Benjamin Chertoff is a former research editor for Popular Mechanics, most known for his work with the 9/11: Debunking The Myths article. He is currently the Popular Mechanics Online editor, and he hosts and produces the Popular Mechanics Show, the weekly podcast of Popular Mechanics magazine.[1]
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[edit] Biography
Benjamin Chertoff is a magazine journalist. He began his career at the age of 19, working as an intern in the features department at Time Out New York Magazine -- including researching the magazine's Urban Legends story -- and later contributing to the features section. Along with freelancing for several national magazines, he then worked at Men's Journal. In 2003 he helped start the political non-profit Music for America. He moved to Popular Mechanics in September, 2004. There, he worked as the magazine's research editor, and helped to manage the reporting for magazine's March, 2005 9/11: Debunking The Myths story, as well as the magazine's coverage of the aftermath to Hurricane Katrina, and many other aviation, military and technology stories. He is currently the Online Editor of Popular Mechanics, and edits all the non-print outlets of Popular Mechanics Magazine.[2]
The magazine's investigation of 9/11 conspiracy theories was the first of its kind. Chertoff has stated that the magazine's editors decided to investigate 9/11 Myths after seeing Jimmy Walter's full page ad in the New York Times for a book called Painful Questions.[3] In a June, 2006 column in Scientific American magazine,[4] Skeptics Society president Dr. Michael Shermer called the Popular Mechanics article "the single best debunking of this conspiratorial codswallop." In 2006, the magazine published the book Debunking 9/11 Myths: Why Conspiracy Theories Can't Stand Up to Hard Facts, which greatly expanded on the original story, including new myths and much more detail than could fit in the original, magazine article.
[edit] Disputed family background
Chertoff has been accused of bias in the 9/11: Debunking The Myths story by conspiracy theorists, who argue that he is the cousin of Department of Homeland Security secretary Michael Chertoff.[5][6][7] However, Chertoff has repeatedly both denied this claim and said " I don't know"[1], most notably in the September 11, 2006 issue of U.S. News and World Reports, stating "no one in my family has ever met anyone related to Michael Chertoff"[8] and in an audio interview where he notes any possible relationship would likely only be found back in "19th century Belarus."[9] However, according to political blogger Kurt Nimmo, this fact is disputed by his mother, Judy Dargan, in Pelhalm New York, who has told independent researcher Christopher Bollyn that “Yes, of course, he is a cousin".[10][2]
[edit] Coverage
He has been referred to by Coast to Coast AM,[11] a Washington Post blog,[12] CNN[13][14] and ABC news.[15]
[edit] References
- ^ http://www.popularmechanics.com/podcasts
- ^ http://www.popularmechanics.com/marketing/1100892.html
- ^ http://www.erichufschmid.net/PainfulQuestionsBuyBook.html
- ^ http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?articleID=000DA0E2-1E15-128A-9E1583414B7F0000
- ^ http://www.911review.com/denial/holocaust.html
- ^ http://www.rumormillnews.com/cgi-bin/archive.cgi?read=66176
- ^ http://www.rumormillnews.com/cgi-bin/archive.cgi?read=66177
- ^ http://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/articles/060903/11conspiracy.htm
- ^ http://odeo.com/show/1783494/view Odeo podcast with Popular Mechanics executive editor David Dunbar, contributing editor Brad Reagan and editor-in-chief Jim Meigs
- ^ http://kurtnimmo.com/?p=777
- ^ http://www.coasttocoastam.com/guests/934.html
- ^ http://blog.washingtonpost.com/reportingforduty/2006/04/day_flights.html
- ^ http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0508/24/lad.01.html
- ^ http://edition.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0508/24/lad.01.html
- ^ http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Technology/story?id=1767392
[edit] External links
- Odeo podcast with Benjamin Chertoff
