Jonathan Alter graduated from Harvard in 1979, was an editor of The Washington Monthly in 1981-82, and remains a contributing editor. He joined Newsweek in 1983, where he is a senior editor and columnist. He joined NBC News as a contributing correspondent in 1996 and appears frequently on the "Today" show, NBC Nightly News, and MSNBC. He is married, has three children, and lives in Montclair, New Jersey. He is the author of the bestselling book, The Defining Moment: FDR's Hundred Days and the Triumph of Hope.