I’m Graham Webster, born in Wisconsin and raised in Colorado. I spend my time reading and writing about technology and politics in China and elsewhere as an academic, journalist, and political analyst. After one year as a Ph.D. student in political science at the University of Washington in Seattle, I am now based in New York City, where I work for a think tank, write for various publications, and advance independent projects. I did my undergraduate work in journalism and international studies at Northwestern University and a master’s in East Asian studies at Harvard University.
For a year from 2007 to 2008, I lived in Beijing as journalist, blogger, and consultant to the Natural Resources Defense Council. In 2006–2007 I was an editor at the Center for American Progress in Washington, D.C. As an undergraduate, I worked at a variety of media organizations, ranging from a local television newsstation in Denver, Colorado, to a design and culture magazine in Tokyo, to a magazine about newspapers in New York City. A summary of my résumé is available on this site.
I’ve written or photographed content for many media outlets. Here’s a partial list: The Boston Globe, Al Jazeera English, the San Jose Mercury News, Talking Points Memo, Editor & Publisher, CNET, Art Asia Pacific, Change.org, WorldChanging.com, Urbane (Beijing), Tokion Japan, BUST,THEME, and Westword (Denver). My comments have appeared in reports by Bloomberg News and McClatchy Newspapers, and I have been a guest on The Michael Koolidge Show on News/Talk 1060 WRHL in suburban Chicago and Feedback on WNUR 89.3 FM Evanston/Chicago.
When not writing or researching, I can be found biking aimlessly, playing bass in bands ranging from “One Night Band” (a project during grad school that lasted as long as it sounds) to the house band at a tiny rock club in Beijing or, in high school, Rose Hill Drive.
My name in Chinese is 魏光明. In Japanese I am グレアム・ウェブスター.
