The Atlantic Hires Ali Breland as Staff Writer Covering Extremism; Julie Beck, Ellen Cushing, and Matteo Wong Move to Staff Writers

The Atlantic is sharing news about four new staff writers: the hire of Ali Breland, most recently at Mother Jones, to report on disinformation and extremism; the promotion of Matteo Wong, previously an associate editor, covering artificial intelligence; and the moves of longtime Atlantic editors Julie Beck and Ellen Cushing to staff-writer positions, covering culture and family. More details on the new roles are below, as announced by deputy editors Paul Bisceglio and Jane Yong Kim.

From Paul Bisceglio, announcing Ali’s hire and Matteo’s promotion:

Ali arrives from Mother Jones, where he has distinguished himself with his reporting and writing about the intersection of technology, extremism, and politics. In a cover story last year, he profiled the white nationalist Nick Fuentes and explored a hideous culture of neofascist influencers … His feature for The New Republic about Germany’s neo-Nazi resurgence is a finalist in this year’s Livingston Awards; he has covered effective accelerationism, and broken news about racism on the world’s largest NFT platform.

Matteo’s promotion will come as no surprise to his colleagues, nor to the many fans of The Atlantic’s conversation-setting AI coverage. Since joining us as an assistant editor in 2022, Matteo has rapidly established himself as a leading voice on AI, guiding us through the field’s promise, dangers, and uncertainty while also delighting us with big ideas about the future of electric vehicles, robot chicken sandwiches, rice cookers, and smelling … Matteo is the full package: a skilled writer, prodigiously talented, and a kind, generous colleague. It’s a gift for us all to have even more of his writing.”

From Jane Yong Kim, announcing new roles for Julie, an editor at The Atlantic since 2013 and host of the recent podcast How to Talk to People, and Ellen, who joined The Atlantic in 2018:

I’m thrilled to report that Julie Beck will be shifting into a staff-writer role. Julie has steered the Family desk with verve and creativity, shaping an expansive slate of stories—about relationships, parenting, adolescence, how we live, and more—that have resonated deeply with readers. Her work on friendship, in particular, from “The Friendship Files” to ambitious stories that challenge us to rethink the status quo, has been first in class. Julie has always found the time to write original, memorable stories: about why our childhoods were all the same, the dangerous myths pop culture sells about romance, how hobbies infiltrated American life, and her quest to talk with other people named Julie Beck, among many others.

Second, I’m very happy to say that Ellen Cushing, who has deftly led the Projects team over the past several years, is also shifting into a staff-writer role. Ellen has brought some of our most ambitious editorial projects to life with ingenuity and vision. She is an elegant, assured reporter who has helped readers understand many of the tangled, confusing parts of our lives: the dystopia that is Amazon Prime Day, the huge impact of Slack on the workplace, the brain fog of the late-stage pandemic, and what it was like growing up as a teenage conspiracist. As a writer, Ellen will focus on the culture, business, science, and politics of food—a subject area that The Atlantic has long wanted to tackle even more robustly. She’ll also contribute to our coverage of internet culture, American childhood, and more.”

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