Eric Klinenberg is Professor of Sociology, Public Policy, and Media, Culture, and Communications at New York University, and editor of Public Culture. His new book, Going Solo: The Extraordinary Rise and Surprising Appeal of Living Alone, will be published in February 2012 by the Penguin Press.

Klinenberg's first book, Heat Wave: A Social Autopsy of Disaster in Chicago, won six scholarly and literary prizes (and was a Favorite Book selection by the Chicago Tribune) and was praised as “a dense and subtle portrait” (Malcolm Gladwell, The New Yorker); “a remarkable, riveting account” (American Prospect); “intellectually exciting” (Amartya Sen); and a “trenchant, persuasive tale of slow murder by public policy” (Salon). A theatrical adaptation of Heat Wave premiered in Chicago in 2008, and Judith Helfand is directing a feature documentary based on the book.

Klinenberg's second book, Fighting for Air: The Battle to Control America’s Media, was called “politically passionate and intellectually serious,” (Columbia Journalism Review), “a must-read for those who wonder what happened to good radio, accurate reporting and autonomous public interest” (Time Out New York), and “eye-opening …required reading for conscientious citizens” (Kirkus). Since its publication, he has testified before the Federal Communications Commission and briefed the U.S. Congress on his findings.

Klinenberg is currently working on three research projects: The first, a study of the problem of urban security, examines the rise of disaster expertise, the range of policy responses to emerging concerns about urban risk and vulnerability, and the challenge of cultivating a culture of preparedness. The second explores how social media, crowd sourcing, and the distrust of experts is changing communications during crises. The third is an ongoing ethnographic investigation of news production in a digital age.

In addition to his books and scholarly articles, Klinenberg has contributed to popular publications such as The New York Times Magazine, Rolling Stone, The London Review of Books, The Nation, The Washington Post, Mother Jones, The Guardian, Le Monde Diplomatique, Slate, and the radio program This American Life.