Mark Oppenheimer

Mark Oppenheimer is Professor of Practice and Executive Editor of Arc: Religion, Politics, Et Cetera at Washington University in St. Louis’s John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics, a position he has held since May 2024. He previously taught at Stanford, Wesleyan, Wellesley, NYU, Boston College, and Yale, where he founded the Yale Journalism Initiative. From 2010-2016 he wrote the influential “Beliefs” column for The New York Times and has contributed extensively to The New Yorker, The Nation, GQ, Slate, and The Wall Street Journal.

Education:

• Ph.D. in Religious Studies, Yale University

Research Interests: Oppenheimer’s work centers on the intersection of religion, politics, and culture in the United States. He explores American Christianity, Jewish life and identity, freethought movements, and the evolution of religious liberalism and pluralism throughout the twentieth century.

His scholarly and journalistic output manifests in both written and audio formats, reaching broad audiences through books, podcasts, and major media outlets.

Books and Podcasts:

• Author of five books, including The Newish Jewish Encyclopedia and the award-winning Squirrel Hill: The Tree of Life Synagogue Shooting and the Soul of a Neighborhood.
• Creator of Unorthodox, the world’s most popular podcast on Jewish life and culture (>7 million downloads).
• Host of Gatecrashers, an eight-part podcast on Jews and antisemitism in Ivy League history.

Currently, he is writing a biography of celebrated children’s author Judy Blume, scheduled for release in 2026.