Matt Taibbi is an American author and podcaster. Taibbi frequently platforms and supports anti-trans media figures.
Background
Matthew Colin “Matt” Taibbi was born on March 2, 1970 in New Brunswick, New Jersey and grew up in the Boston area. Following academic and behavior problems, Taibbi attended the private Concord Academy. Taibbi briefly attended New York University before transferring to Bard College, which included a year studying in St. Petersburg, Russia. Taibbi earned a bachelor’s degree from Bard in 1992 and moved to Uzbekistan. Taibbi was deported later that year for an article critical of Uzbek President Islam Karimov, and moved to Mongolia. Taibbi returned to the US for surgery after contracting pneumonia.
In Moscow, Taibbi and Mark Ames co-edited eXile, a free publication for expats living in Russia. The two co-authored the 2000 book The Exile: Sex, Drugs, and Libel in the New Russia, which was criticized for its crude and misogynistic content.
In 2002, after returning to the US after writing for numerous Russian publications, Taibbi founded satirical publication The Beast based in Buffalo, New York. Taibbi left a year later and continued freelancing for The Nation, Playboy, New York Press, Rolling Stone, and New York Sports Express. In 2005 Taibbi left the New York Press after a piece mocking the impending death of the Pope led to protests and the dismissal of Taibbi’s editor.
Taibbi is best known for work at Rolling Stone from 2004 to 2014, which included financial and political reporting of domestic and international issues. In 2010, Taibbi physically attacked writer James Verini while being interviewed for Vanity Fair.
Anti-transgender activism
What is a Woman? review
Daily Wire spent approximately $40,000 promoting Taibbi’s review of their anti-trans film, with the ad reading: “Old School Liberal Taibbi Reviews ‘What is a Woman?’ And Pans The Radical Left.”
In 2024, Andrea Long Chu noted Taibbi’s role in uplifting anti-trans media:
The Times is not alone; it is one of many respectable publications, including The Atlantic and The Economist, engaged in sanitizing the ideas promoted by TARLs in the more reactionary corners of the media landscape. Here one finds journalists like Singal, Matthew Yglesias, Matt Taibbi, Andrew Sullivan, Helen Lewis, Meghan Daum, and, of course, former Times staffer Bari Weiss. Many of these writers live in self-imposed exile on Substack, the newsletter platform, where they present themselves as brave survivors of cancellation by the woke elites. But they are not a marginal force.
Chu (2024)
Substack
Taibbi is one of the most successful publishers on Substack.
Podcasting
Taibbi co-hosts the Useful Idiots podcast which has included conservative and anti-trans guests, including Erica Anderson, Jesse Singal, and Katie Herzog. Taibbi also appears on anti-trans podcasts, including Andrew Sullivan.
The Twitter Files
Taibbi was tapped by Elon Musk to report on The Twitter Files.
References
Harris, Malcolm (July 6, 2022). The Right’s Dangerous ‘Just Asking Questions’ Anti-Trans Campaign Is Working. New York https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2022/07/the-just-asking-questions-anti-trans-campaign-is-working.html
Chu, Andrea Long (March 11, 2024). Freedom of Sex: The moral case for letting trans kids change their bodies. New York https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/trans-rights-biological-sex-gender-judith-butler.html
Resources
Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)