# Tom Nichols

> Tom Nichols is a staff writer at The Atlantic, professor emeritus of national security affairs at the U.S. Naval War College, and author of The Death of Expertise. A Cold War scholar who spent decades teaching strategy to military officers, he became one of America's most-read voices on the collapse of trust in experts and the fragility of democracy. He is also, improbably, a five-time undefeated Jeopardy! champion and a curmudgeonly New England cat guy who once played a fictional pundit on HBO's Succession.

- **Role:** Staff writer at The Atlantic; Professor Emeritus of National Security Affairs at the U.S. Naval War College
- **Organizations:** The Atlantic, U.S. Naval War College, Harvard Extension School, Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs
- **From:** Holyoke, Massachusetts, United States
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** BA, Political Science, Boston University, MA, Political Science, Columbia University, Certificate, Harriman Institute, Columbia University, PhD, Government, Georgetown University
- **Known for:** Author of The Death of Expertise (Oxford, 2017), a widely cited account of the collapse of public trust in experts, Five-time undefeated Jeopardy! champion and Ultimate Tournament of Champions invitee, Professor of national security affairs at the U.S. Naval War College for roughly 25 years

## Career timeline

- **1988** — Completed PhD at Georgetown with a thesis on Soviet military doctrine under Khrushchev and Gorbachev
- **1989** — Joined Dartmouth College faculty; also served as legislative aide to U.S. Senator John Heinz
- **1994** — Won five consecutive games on Jeopardy! and competed in the Tournament of Champions
- **1997** — Became Professor of Strategy at the U.S. Naval War College
- **2005** — Invited back for Jeopardy!'s Ultimate Tournament of Champions
- **2014** — Published the essay 'The Death of Expertise' in The Federalist
- **2017** — Released The Death of Expertise with Oxford University Press
- **2018** — Left the Republican Party to become an independent after the Kavanaugh confirmation
- **2021** — Published Our Own Worst Enemy: The Assault From Within on Modern Democracy
- **2022** — Retired from the Naval War College as Professor Emeritus; appeared on HBO's Succession
- **2022** — Became a full-time staff writer at The Atlantic and author of The Atlantic Daily newsletter

## Achievements

- Author of The Death of Expertise (Oxford, 2017), a widely cited account of the collapse of public trust in experts
- Five-time undefeated Jeopardy! champion and Ultimate Tournament of Champions invitee
- Professor of national security affairs at the U.S. Naval War College for roughly 25 years
- Petra T. Shattuck Excellence in Teaching Award, Harvard Extension School (2012)
- Navy Meritorious Civilian Service Award
- Author of eight books on Russia, nuclear weapons, the Cold War, expertise, and democracy

## Latest updates

- **2025-01** — Continuing as a staff writer at The Atlantic and author of The Atlantic Daily newsletter, writing on U.S. politics, Russia, and nuclear policy.
- **2025-01** — Active on Bluesky (@radiofreetom) and a recurring commentator on Charlie Sykes's 'To the Contrary' Substack.

## Links

- Website: https://www.theatlantic.com/author/tom-nichols/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tom-nichols-atlantic/
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/RadioFreeTom
- Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/radiofreetom.bsky.social

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/tom-nichols
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-06-02