View source for Gene Weingarten

{{short description|American journalist}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2016}}
{{Use American English|date=September 2016}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = Gene Weingarten
| image              = Gene Weingarten 276682.jpg
| caption            = Weingarten in 2019
| alt                = Gene Weingarten in 2019
| birth_date         = {{birth based on age as of date|68|2019|10|23}}
| birth_place        = [[New York City, New York]], U.S.
| other_names        = 
| employer           = Formerly ''[[The Washington Post]]''
| alma_mater         = [[New York University]]
| occupation         = Writer
| years_active       = 1972–present
| children           = 2
}}

'''Gene <!-- Note that his name is Gene, not Eugene --> Norman Weingarten''' (born 1950 or 1951)<ref>{{Cite news |last=Horton |first=Adrian |date=2019-10-23 |title='Truth is the best story': inside Gene Weingarten's extraordinary new book |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/oct/23/truth-is-the-best-story-inside-gene-weingartens-extraordinary-new-book |access-date=2025-09-12 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> is an American journalist, and former syndicated humor columnist for ''[[The Washington Post]].''<ref name=Washingtonian-WeingartenFeature-2011>{{cite news|last1=Bartlett|first1=Tom|title=How Do You Explain Gene Weingarten?|url=https://www.washingtonian.com/2011/12/05/how-do-you-explain-gene-weingarten/|work=[[Washingtonian (magazine)|Washingtonian]]|date=5 December 2011}}</ref><ref name=WaPo-ChatologicalFAQ-2006>{{cite news|last1=Weingarten|first1=Gene|title=Just the FAQs|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/05/AR2005120501314.html|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=2 February 2006}}</ref> He is the only two-time winner of the [[Pulitzer Prize]] for [[Pulitzer Prize for Feature Writing|Feature Writing]].<ref name=PulitzerPrize-2008>{{cite news|title=The 2008 Pulitzer Prize Winner in Feature Writing: Gene Weingarten of The Washington Post|url=http://www.pulitzer.org/winners/gene-weingarten|work=[[Pulitzer Prize]]|year=2008}}</ref><ref name=PulitzerPrize-2010>{{cite news|title=The 2010 Pulitzer Prize Winner in Feature Writing: Gene Weingarten of The Washington Post|url=http://www.pulitzer.org/winners/gene-weingarten-0|work=[[Pulitzer Prize]]|year=2010}}</ref> Weingarten is known for both his serious and [[humorist|humorous]] work.<ref name=MotherJones-FiddlerSubway-2010>{{cite news|last1=Mechanic|first1=Michael|title=Secrets of a Two-Time Pulitzer Winner|url=https://www.motherjones.com/media/2010/06/gene-weingarten-pulitzer-fiddler-subway-dave-barry|work=[[Mother Jones (magazine)|Mother Jones]]|date=30 June 2010}}</ref> Through September 2021, Weingarten's column, "Below the Beltway," was published weekly in ''[[The Washington Post]]'' magazine and syndicated nationally by [[The Washington Post Writers Group]]. Weingarten and his son Dan also write ''[[Barney & Clyde]],'' a comic strip with illustrations by [[David Clark (cartoonist)|David Clark]].<ref name=NSNC-ErniePyle-Nom-2013>{{cite news|last1=Pollock|first1=Ben|title=Post's Weingarten 2014 Lifetime Achiever|url=http://www.columnists.com/2013/09/posts-weingarten-2014-lifetime-achiever/|work=National Society of Newspaper Columnists|date=2 September 2013}}</ref>

== Early life and education ==
Gene Norman Weingarten was born in New York City. He grew up in the southwest [[The Bronx|Bronx]], the son of an accountant who worked as an [[Internal Revenue Service]] agent and a schoolteacher.<ref name=MotherJones-FiddlerSubway-2010 /> In 1968, Weingarten graduated from [[The Bronx High School of Science]]<ref name=BronxScienceAlumniAssoc-2010>{{cite news|last1=Austin|first1=Ben|title=Washington Post's Gene Weingarten ('68) Wins a Second Pulitzer Prize|url=http://alumni.bxscience.edu/news/39914/Washington-Posts-Gene-Weingarten-68-Wins-a-Second-Pulitzer-Prize.htm|work=The Bronx Science Alumni Association|date=10 April 2010|archive-date=October 5, 2016|access-date=October 4, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161005113128/http://alumni.bxscience.edu/news/39914/Washington-Posts-Gene-Weingarten-68-Wins-a-Second-Pulitzer-Prize.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> and attended [[New York University]], where he started as a pre-med student but ended up majoring in psychology. He was editor of the NYU daily student newspaper, ''The Heights Daily News.'' Weingarten left college three credits short of a degree.<ref name=MotherJones-FiddlerSubway-2010 />

== Career ==

=== 1972–1990: Early work ===
In 1972, while still in college, Weingarten's story about gangs in the South Bronx was published as a cover story in ''[[New York (magazine)|New York Magazine]].''<ref name=Washingtonian-WeingartenFeature-2011 /><ref name=NY-SouthBronxGangs-1972>{{cite news|last1=Weingarten|first1=Gene|title=Are You Ready for the New, Ultra-Violent Street Gang?|url=http://nymag.com/news/features/crime/48271/|work=[[New York (magazine)|New York Magazine]]|date=27 March 1972}}</ref>

Weingarten's first newspaper job was with the [[Albany, New York]], ''Knickerbocker News,'' an afternoon daily.<ref name=MorningMiracle-2010>{{cite book|last1=Kindred|first1=Dave|title=Morning Miracle: Inside The Washington Post: A Great Newspaper Fights for Its Life|date=2010|publisher=Doubleday|location=New York|isbn=978-0-385-53210-5|oclc=669067079|pages=85–93|chapter=Part II: "How Could Anyone Not Want to be a Reporter? Chapter 7. Gene Weingarten}}</ref>

In 1977, he went to work at the ''[[Detroit Free Press]].'' Weingarten then moved back to New York City to work at ''[[The National Law Journal]].''<ref name=Washingtonian-WeingartenFeature-2011 /> 

From 1981 to 1990, Weingarten was editor of the ''[[Miami Herald]]'' Sunday magazine, ''Tropic.'' In 1984, he hired [[Dave Barry]], giving one of America's best-known humor columnists his big break.<ref name=Washingtonian-WeingartenFeature-2011 /> ''Tropic'' won two [[Pulitzer Prize]]s, including Barry's, during Weingarten's tenure.<ref name=UFlorida-PulitzerPrizeWinners-2000>{{cite web|title=Pulitzer Prize Winners – Florida Newspapers (1939–2000)|url=http://uflib.ufl.edu/fljhist/full/pulitzers.pdf|website=[[University of Florida]]|access-date=October 4, 2016|archive-date=October 5, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161005125202/http://uflib.ufl.edu/fljhist/full/pulitzers.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 1984 he created the [[Herald Hunt]], along with Barry and his later editor at the Washington Post, [[Tom Shroder]], whom he referred to frequently in his online chats as "Tom the Butcher".

=== 1990–2019'':'' starting at ''The Washington Post'' ===
In 1990, Weingarten was hired by ''[[The Washington Post]].''<ref name=Washingtonian-WeingartenFeature-2011 />

Weingarten wrote Below the Beltway, a weekly humor column for ''The Washington Post'' that was nationally syndicated, until 2021.<ref name=KellyWritersHouse-2008>{{cite news|last1=Weingarten|first1=Gene|last2=Von Drehle|first2=David|last3=Hendrickson|first3=Paul|title=Journalists in Conversation: Gene Weingarten, David Von Drehle, and Paul Hendrickson|url=http://writing.upenn.edu/wh/calendar/1108.php|work=The Kelly Writers House|publisher=[[University of Pennsylvania]]|date=12 November 2008}}</ref><ref name=KellyWritersHouse-Video-2008>{{cite news|last1=Weingarten|first1=Gene|last2=Von Drehle|first2=David|last3=Hendrickson|first3=Paul|title=Journalists in Conversation: Gene Weingarten, David Von Drehle, and Paul Hendrickson|url=http://writing.upenn.edu/wh/multimedia/tv/reruns/watch/74107|work=The Kelly Writers House|publisher=[[University of Pennsylvania]]|date=12 November 2008|format=Video}}</ref> Illustrator [[Eric Shansby]] contributed drawings to the column, which has been a long-term collaboration over 10 years.<ref name=KojoNnamdi-MeAndDog-2014>{{cite news|last1=Nnamdi|first1=Kojo|title=Gene Weingarten & Eric Shansby on Comedy and Collaboration|url=https://thekojonnamdishow.org/shows/2014-09-18/gene-weingarten-eric-shansby-comedy-and-collaboration|work=[[The Kojo Nnamdi Show]]|publisher=[[WAMU]]|date=18 September 2014|format=Audio with transcript|issue=Interview starts at 20:27}}</ref> In 2007, for one of these columns, he humorously enhanced his Wikipedia entry until he was caught and the edits were reverted.<ref name="WaPo-Wikipedia-2007">{{cite news |last1=Weingarten |first1=Gene |date=11 March 2007 |title=Wiki Watchee |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/06/AR2007030601573.html |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]}}</ref>

Weingarten hosted a popular ''Washington Post'' online chat called Chatological Humor, formerly known as "Tuesdays with Moron." Common topics in his online chat include the art of [[comic strip]]s, analysis of humor, politics, philosophy, medicine, and gender differences. Many of his columns addressing gender differences have been written in a he-said, she-said style in collaboration with humorist [[Gina Barreca]], his co-author for ''I'm with Stupid''. It was during one of these chats he coined the phrase "[[Marrying Irving]]."<ref name="WaPo-MarryingIrving-2005">{{cite news |last1=Weingarten |first1=Gene |date=8 February 2005 |title=Chatological Humor* (Updated 2.11.05) |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A54186-2005Feb1.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121020191307/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A54186-2005Feb1.html |archive-date=20 October 2012 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]}}</ref> 

Starting in 1993, Weingarten created and edited the [[The Style Invitational|Style Invitational]] humor contest for ''The Washington Post''. As part of the contest, he often hid his connection to the Invitational, using the pseudonym "The Czar." However, Weingarten admitted responsibility in 1999 and 2001, writing, "I run a reader-participation contest every Sunday in ''The Post''. It is called The Style Invitational."<ref name="WaPo-StyleInvitational-Czar-1999">{{cite news|last1=Weingarten|first1=Gene|title=Memo: A Home Team Name Game|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/15/AR2005111500459_pf.html|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=12 January 1999}}</ref><ref name="WaPo-9-11-2001">{{cite news|last1=Weingarten|first1=Gene|title=Not Funny: The Rules of Humor Changed on Sept. 11|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/11/AR2007091100695_pf.html|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=18 September 2001}}</ref> He stopped editing the contest in 2003, handing it off to editor Pat Myers. 

In 2005, one of Weingarten's in-house critiques was leaked online, where he said ''The Post'' was suffering a failure of imagination.<ref name="Mediabistro-InHouseCritique-2005">{{cite news |last1=Garrett |title=Post is Suffering a 'Failure of Imagination' |url=https://www.mediabistro.com/fishbowlDC/newspapers/post_is_suffering_a_failure_of_imagination_27889.asp |work=[[Mediabistro (website)|Mediabistro]] |date=4 November 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060625060548/https://www.mediabistro.com/fishbowlDC/newspapers/post_is_suffering_a_failure_of_imagination_27889.asp |archive-date=25 June 2006}}</ref> Selected passages were later re-posted on his column.<ref name="WaPo-InHouseCritique-2005">{{cite news|last1=Weingarten|first1=Gene|title=Chatological Humor*|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2005/11/02/DI2005110200622.html|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=8 November 2005}}</ref> 

In his live online chat on June 22, 2009, Weingarten disclosed that he had accepted a buyout offer from ''The Washington Post'', which meant he was retiring as a longer-form feature writer.<ref name="Washingtonian-WeingartenFeature-2011" /> The frequency of his online chat was reduced from weekly to monthly. His column continued under a contract with ''The Post'', but he stopped contributing feature-length articles. {{As of|2011}}, he was semi-retired from the paper, working on other projects.<ref name="DallasNews-Mayborn-2011">{{cite news|last1=Johnston|first1=Caitlin|title=Gene Weingarten to speak at Mayborn conference|url=http://www.dallasnews.com/arts/books/2011/07/19/gene-weingarten-to-speak-at-mayborn-conference|work=[[Dallas News]]|date=19 July 2011}}</ref>

=== 2019–present: ''One Day'' and moving to Substack ===
In October 2019, Weingarten published ''One Day'', an exhaustive look into a random day in American history. The date was chosen by children picking numbers out of a hat: It was December 28, 1986. The premise was that "if you dig deeply enough, there is no such thing as an ordinary day." In 2019, it was ranked by [[Slate (magazine)|''Slate'']] as one of the 50 best nonfiction books of the past 25 years.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Kois |first1=Dan |last2=Miller |first2=Laura |date=November 18, 2019 |title=The 50 Best Nonfiction Books of the Past 25 Years |url=https://slate.com/human-interest/2019/11/50-best-nonfiction-books.html |access-date=5 August 2022 |website=Slate |language=en}}</ref>

He went into the idea of the book with [[NPR]]:<ref>{{Cite news |last=Simon |first=Scott |date=2019-10-26 |title=Gene Weingarten Mines Magic From Just 'One Day' |url=https://www.npr.org/2019/10/26/773041703/gene-weingarten-mines-magic-from-just-one-day |access-date=2025-09-12 |work=NPR |language=en}}</ref><blockquote>I went to a restaurant, brought [an] old green fedora. Inside were 63 crumpled pieces of paper — 31 on the first drawing, drawn by a little boy for the day of the year. 12 in the second one for the month the year, and 20 for the third one; I had limited the year to one of 20 years. I wanted people alive who I could talk to who remembered what happened. So we limited it to 1969 to 1989.... Journalists will tell you that the absolutely worst news day of the week is Sunday. And this was a Sunday. The absolutely worst news week of the year is the sleepy one between Christmas and New Year's, and at least at first glance, 1986 didn't ring any great news bells with me. We seemed to have the worst day of the week in the worst week of the year in a bad year.</blockquote>His [https://live.washingtonpost.com/gene-weingarten20201103.html?itid=ap_geneweingarten, last chat] at the ''Post'' was November 3, 2020, where he revealed that Chatalogical Humor had been cancelled, partially or wholly due to his public criticism of the ''Post''{{'}}s rollout of their new online chat software the previous week.

In the September 26, 2021 ''Washington Post Magazine'', he wrote his last humor column, titled "The Short Goodbye",<ref>{{Cite news |last=Weingarten |first=Gene  |date=2021-09-23 |title=Perspective {{!}} Gene Weingarten: I won't humor you anymore |language=en-US |newspaper=Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/magazine/gene-weingarten-i-wont-humor-you-anymore/2021/09/21/8c6e2ce6-0bf8-11ec-aea1-42a8138f132a_story.html |access-date=2021-09-25 |issn=0190-8286}}</ref> and in a follow-up comment stated that he was not retiring, just discontinuing his regular column.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Weingarten |first1=Gene |title=I Won't Humor You Any More |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/magazine/gene-weingarten-i-wont-humor-you-anymore/2021/09/21/8c6e2ce6-0bf8-11ec-aea1-42a8138f132a_story.html?commentID=a5d38059-2c02-49ff-b860-7ffabd04c2de |access-date=5 October 2021}}</ref> However, Weingarten announced via Twitter on December 8, 2021, that he and the ''Post'' could not come to terms on a new contract, and he was no longer writing for them.<ref name="nocontract">{{cite tweet |author=Gene Weingarten |author-link=Gene Weingarten |user=geneweingarten |number=1468550427058839554 |title=This turns out to have been my last story for the Wapo. We couldn't come to terms on a new contract. I have dramatic & spectacular thoughts about this but after 30 years with talented people & an institution I revere, that's what they'll remain: Thoughts. |access-date=8 December 2021}}</ref> His final story was "A Dog’s Life: Why are so many people so cruel to their dogs? My search to understand a hidden scourge".<ref name="lastarticle">{{cite news |last1=Weingarten |first1=Gene |title=A Dog's Life Why are so many people so cruel to their dogs? My search to understand a hidden scourge. |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/magazine/2021/11/08/why-are-so-many-people-so-cruel-their-dogs/ |access-date=8 December 2021 |newspaper=Washington Post |date=November 11, 2021}}</ref>

Weingarten launched his [[Substack]] blog in January 2023, where he posts regularly. On January 3, he brought back his weekly online chat (now three times a week, on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays). The same day, he also brought back the Style Invitational (albeit under the name The Invitational to avoid legal issues with the ''Post''), which had been cancelled by the ''Post'' just days before his departure. It is now run by him and Pat Myers, who took over after his departure in 2003.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Weingarten |first=Gene |date=2022-12-16 |title=Hello. |url=https://geneweingarten.substack.com/p/hello |access-date=2025-09-13 |website=The Gene Pool}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Weingarten |first=Gene |date=2023-01-05 |title=The Invitational Week 1— Dead Letters |url=https://geneweingarten.substack.com/p/the-invitational-week-1-dead-letters |access-date=2025-09-13 |website=The Gene Pool}}</ref>

== Other work ==

=== ''The Hypochondriac's Guide To Life. And Death'' ===
Weingarten is a self-acknowledged [[hypochondriac]]. He was diagnosed with what was then a near-fatal infection of [[Hepatitis C]], which led to the publication his first book, 1998's ''The Hypochondriac's Guide To Life. And Death.''<ref name=Washingtonian-WeingartenFeature-2011 /><ref name=NPR-Hypochondria-1998>{{cite news|last1=Montagne|first1=Renee|title=The Cure For Hypochondria|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1024361|work=[[Morning Edition]]|publisher=[[NPR]]|date=29 September 1998|format=Includes Real Media audio link}}</ref>

=== ''I'm with Stupid: One Man, One Woman'' ===
Weingarten co-wrote a series of humor columns in ''The Washington Post'' with feminist writer [[Gina Barreca]] about the differences between men and women. These became the basis of the 2004 book she and Weingarten collaborated on called ''I'm with Stupid: One Man. One Woman. 10,000 Years Of Misunderstandings Between The Sexes Cleared Right Up.'' The two wrote for over two years via email and on the phone without having met in person. They eventually met for the first time while doing publicity for the book.<ref name=CBSNews-ImWithStupid-2004>{{cite news|last1=Morales|first1=Tatiana|title='I'm With Stupid'|url=http://www.cbsnews.com/news/im-with-stupid/|work=[[CBS News]]|date=9 February 2004}}</ref> The book is illustrated by cartoonist [[Richard Thompson (cartoonist)|Richard Thompson]].

=== ''Old Dogs: Are the Best Dogs'' ===
In fall of 2008, Weingarten published ''Old Dogs: Are the Best Dogs'' in collaboration with photographer Michael S. Williamson. Together they profiled and photographed 63 dogs between the ages of 10 and 17 years old over the course of two and a half years. In response to the inevitable question of which dogs remained alive, Weingarten has asserted that the answer will always be "all of them." Weingarten's inspiration for ''Old Dogs'' came shortly after the death of his dog, Harry S Truman, who is also featured in the book.

=== ''Barney & Clyde'' ===
In June 2010, Weingarten and his son Dan began publishing the syndicated comic strip ''[[Barney & Clyde]]'', illustrated by [[David Clark (cartoonist)|David Clark]].<ref name=DailyCartoonist-BarneyClyde-2010>{{cite news|last1=Gardner|first1=Alan|title=Barney and Clyde to launch in June|url=http://dailycartoonist.com/index.php/2010/03/24/barney-and-clyde-to-launch-in-june/|work=The Daily Cartoonist|date=24 March 2010}}</ref><ref name=WaPo-BarneyClyde-Review-2010>{{cite news|last1=Cavna|first1=Michael|title=Comic Riffs - Post comics changes: Of Barney, Clyde & Gene (Weingarten)|url=http://voices.washingtonpost.com/comic-riffs/2010/03/_a_coupla_years_back.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121010005533/http://voices.washingtonpost.com/comic-riffs/2010/03/_a_coupla_years_back.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 10, 2012|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=24 March 2010}}</ref> The comic is about the friendship between billionaire, J. Barnard Pillsbury, and a homeless man named Clyde Finster.<ref name=SaltLakeTrib-BarneyClyde-2011>{{cite news|last1=Pierce|first1=Scott D.|title=New comic strip is a father-son collaboration|url=http://archive.sltrib.com/story.php?ref=/sltrib/entertainment/52567960-81/comics-strip-weingarten-sunday.html.csp|work=[[The Salt Lake Tribune]]|date=16 September 2011}}</ref> The comic took over five years to develop, with the ''[[Miami Herald]],'' ''[[The Washington Post]],'' and the ''[[Chicago Tribune]]'' early supporters.<ref name=MiamiHerald-BarneyClyde-2010>{{cite news|last1=Gyllenhaal|first1=Anders|title=Inside the Newsroom: Barney and Clyde|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZInOS10WjjM |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211222/ZInOS10WjjM |archive-date=2021-12-22 |url-status=live|work=[[Miami Herald]]|date=7 June 2010|format=Video}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

=== ''Me & Dog'' ===
In September 2014, Weingarten published ''Me & Dog'', a picture book, in collaboration with illustrator [[Eric Shansby]]. The book is about a young boy Sid and his dog, Murphy. It is said to be the first atheist-themed children's book. Weingarten said he wrote the book in response to the lack of literature geared towards children and atheism − and a counterbalance to the prevalence of books like ''[[Heaven Is for Real]].''

=== Unproduced work ===
In addition, Weingarten has written three screenplays, one in collaboration with humorist [[Dave Barry]] and two in collaboration with [[David Simon]], including ''B Major,'' about a piano marathon conducted in [[Scranton, Pennsylvania|Scranton]] in 1970. None of the screenplays has yet been produced.<ref name="WSJ-SimonScreenplay-2010">{{cite news|last1=Kaufman|first1=Anthony|title=David Simon on 'Treme' and Why Journalism Might Not Be Doomed|url=https://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2010/10/25/david-simon-on-treme-and-why-journalism-might-not-be-doomed/|work=[[The Wall Street Journal]]|date=25 October 2010|url-access=subscription}}</ref>

== Reception ==

=== Awards ===
From 1987 to 1988, Weingarten was a fellow at the [[Nieman Foundation for Journalism]] at [[Harvard University]].<ref name=NiemanFellowship-GroupPhoto-1988>{{cite web|title=Class of 1988 - Nieman Foundation|url=http://nieman.harvard.edu/alumni/class-of-1988/|website=[[Nieman Foundation for Journalism]]|date=1988}}</ref>

In 2006, Weingarten won the [[Missouri Lifestyle Journalism Awards|Missouri Lifestyle Journalism Award]] for Multicultural Journalism for his Washington Post Magazine feature article ''Snowbound.''

In 2008, Weingarten was awarded the [[Pulitzer Prize for Feature Writing]] for his ''Washington Post'' story, "Pearls Before Breakfast,"<ref name=WaPo-PearlsBeforeBreakfast-2007>{{cite news|last1=Weingarten|first1=Gene|title=Pearls Before Breakfast: Can one of the nation's great musicians cut through the fog of a D.C. rush hour? Let's find out.|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/magazine/pearls-before-breakfast-can-one-of-the-nations-great-musicians-cut-through-the-fog-of-a-dc-rush-hour-lets-find-out/2014/09/23/8a6d46da-4331-11e4-b47c-f5889e061e5f_story.html|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=8 April 2007}}</ref> "his chronicling of a world-class violinist ([[Joshua Bell]]) who, as an experiment, played beautiful music in a subway station filled with unheeding commuters."<ref name=PulitzerPrize-2008 /><ref name=NPR-PearlsBeforeBreakfast-2008>{{cite news|last1=Siegel|first1=Robert|title=Commuter Concerto Helps Writer Net Pulitzer|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=89443778|work=[[NPR]]|date=7 April 2008}}</ref> The night Weingarten returned from accepting his Pulitzer Prize, he received an email from a librarian named Paul Musgrave from the [[Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum|Richard Nixon Presidential Library]], who told him that he had recently seen an article about a similar experiment that the ''[[Chicago Evening Post]]'' did in May 1930 where they had the virtuoso Jacques Gordon play his [[Stradivarius]] violin outside a subway station to see if commuters would notice the music. The article, entitled "Famous Fiddler in Disguise Gets $5.61 in Curb Concerts," showed commuters displaying the same disinterest as Weingarten described in his article. It turns out Joshua Bell had owned that same [[Stradivarius]] violin for over 10 years.<ref name=KellyWritersHouse-Video-2008 /><ref name=WaPo-FiddlingHistory-2008>{{cite news|last1=Weingarten|first1=Gene|title=Fiddling Around With History|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/24/AR2008062401153.html|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=29 June 2008}}</ref>

In 2010, Weingarten was awarded a second [[Pulitzer Prize for Feature Writing]] for his ''Washington Post'' story, "Fatal Distraction,"<ref name=WaPo-FatalDistraction-2009>{{cite news|last1=Weingarten|first1=Gene|title=Fatal Distraction: Forgetting a Child in the Backseat of a Car Is a Horrifying Mistake. Is It a Crime?|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/magazine/fatal-distraction-forgetting-a-child-in-thebackseat-of-a-car-is-a-horrifying-mistake-is-it-a-crime/2014/06/16/8ae0fe3a-f580-11e3-a3a5-42be35962a52_story.html|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=8 March 2009}}</ref> "his haunting story about parents, from varying walks of life, who accidentally kill their children by forgetting them in cars."<ref name=PulitzerPrize-2010 /> Weingarten said he had a lucky break when his daughter was younger when he almost left her behind in the car when they lived in Florida.<ref name=JournalismCenter-FatalDistraction-2012>{{cite news|title=When a Child Dies: "Fatal Distraction" - The Washington Post|url=http://journalismcenter.org/when-a-child-dies/fatal-distraction.html|work=Casey Journalism Center for Children and Families|date=9 December 2012|archive-date=October 15, 2016|access-date=October 17, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161015212407/http://journalismcenter.org/when-a-child-dies/fatal-distraction.html|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=JournalismCenter-FatalDistraction-Video-2012>{{cite news|last1=Weingarten|first1=Gene|title=When a Child Dies: Gene Weingarten talks about "Fatal Distraction"|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HASjll-wGHU|work=JCCF Journalism Center on Children & Families|date=9 December 2012|format=video}}{{cbignore}}{{Dead YouTube link|date=February 2022}}</ref>

In 2014, Weingarten was awarded the National Society of Newspaper Columnists' Ernie Pyle Lifetime Achievement Award.<ref name=NSNC-PyleAward-2015>{{cite news|title=Lifetime Achievement Hall of Fame: 2014, Washington, D.C., Gene Weingarten|url=http://www.columnists.com/awards/nsnc-hall-of-fame/|work=National Society of Newspaper Columnists|date=30 November 2015}}</ref>

=== Indian food remarks ===
On August 19, 2021, Weingarten published a column in ''The Washington Post'' of foods he dislikes, including hazelnuts, sweet pickles, and "Indian food", which he described as "the only ethnic cuisine in the world based entirely on one spice."<ref>{{Cite news |title=Perspective {{!}} Gene Weingarten: You can't make me eat these foods |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/magazine/gene-weingarten-you-cant-make-me-eat-these-foods/2021/08/12/e34996a8-efc0-11eb-81d2-ffae0f931b8f_story.html |access-date=2021-08-24 |newspaper=Washington Post |language=en-US |issn=0190-8286}}</ref> [[Padma Lakshmi]] criticized Weingarten and ''The Washington Post'' for publishing content with racist undertones.<ref>{{Cite web |date=August 23, 2021 |title=Padma Lakshmi has scathing response to writer who said he doesn't 'get' Indian food |url=https://www.today.com/food/padma-lakshmi-responds-writer-who-dissed-indian-food-t228929 |access-date=2021-08-24 |website=TODAY.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Capretti |first=Lucia |date=2021-08-23 |title=Padma Lakshmi Just Clapped Back At This Reductive Food Opinion |url=https://www.mashed.com/495189/padma-lakshmi-just-clapped-back-at-this-reductive-food-opinion/ |access-date=2021-08-24 |website=Mashed.com |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Lakshmi |first=Padma |date=August 23, 2021 |title=What in the white nonsense(TM) sign is this? |url=https://twitter.com/padmalakshmi/status/1429832223319072768 |access-date=2021-08-24 |website=Twitter |language=en}}</ref> Celebrities of South Asian descent [[Meena Harris]], [[Mindy Kaling]] and [[Salman Rushdie]] also publicly criticized the piece.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Yadav |first=Prerna |date=2021-08-24 |title=Padma Lakshmi, Mindy Kaling among others slam viral post saying Indian cuisine consists of one spice |url=https://www.indiatvnews.com/trending/offbeat-padma-lakshmi-mindy-kaling-among-others-slam-viral-post-saying-indian-cuisine-consists-of-one-spice-728612 |access-date=2021-08-24 |website=www.indiatvnews.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Meena Harris, Mindy Kaling & Padma Lakshmi lash out at a post that said Indian cuisine consists of ONE spice |url=https://www.msn.com/en-in/entertainment/entertainmenttopstories/meena-harris-mindy-kaling-and-padma-lakshmi-lash-out-at-a-post-that-said-indian-cuisine-consists-of-one-spice/ar-AANEldF |access-date=2021-08-24 |website=www.msn.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Rushdie |first=Salman |date=August 24, 2021 |title=Tweet about Gene Weingarten |url=https://twitter.com/SalmanRushdie/status/1430187738624626689 |website=Twitter}}</ref> On August 23, the ''Post'' added a correction to the article which clarified, "India’s vastly diverse cuisines use many spice blends and include many other types of dishes."<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-08-24 |title=Washington Post Corrects Column That Dissed Indian Food |url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/washington-post-corrects-gene-weingarten-column-that-dissed-indian-food |access-date=2021-08-24 |website=The Daily Beast |language=en}}</ref>

== Personal life ==
Weingarten has lived in many places on the East Coast. His first residence in the Washington D.C. area was in [[Bethesda, Maryland]].<ref name=WaPo-Bethesda-CapitolHill-2007>{{cite news|last1=Weingarten|first1=Gene|title=Chatological Humor: Swiss Family pR0n|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2007/12/11/DI2007121101553.html|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=18 December 2007}}</ref> Starting in 2001 he lived in the [[Capitol Hill]] neighborhood of Washington, D.C.,<ref name=WaPo-CapitolHill-2006>{{cite news|last1=Weingarten|first1=Gene|title=Chatological Humor* (Updated 2.3.06)|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2006/01/25/DI2006012500622.html|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=31 January 2006}}</ref> with his wife, Arlene Reidy, an attorney, but in a column published August 10, 2017, announced that the marriage had collapsed.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Weingarten |first1=Gene |title=Saved, by a whisker |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/magazine/gene-weingarten-saved-by-a-whisker/2017/08/04/a875b054-680e-11e7-8eb5-cbccc2e7bfbf_story.html |newspaper=The Washington Post|date=August 10, 2017|access-date=30 May 2020}}</ref> He has since made several references to a girlfriend in online chats, and at least one column, and in his chat of June 2, 2019, revealed that his girlfriend was Rachel Manteuffel, a 36-year-old editor and fellow writer for ''The Washington Post''. He has two children, Molly Weingarten, a veterinarian, and Dan Weingarten, a cartoonist.<ref name=WaPo-Children-2005>{{cite news|last1=Weingarten|first1=Gene|title=Chatological Humor* (Updated 8.05.05)|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2005/07/26/DI2005072601470.html|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=2 August 2005}}</ref>

Weingarten has stated he is an atheist.<ref name=WaPo-25RandomFacts-2009>{{cite news|last1=Weingarten|first1=Gene|title=Me, in a Nutshell|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/27/AR2009022701536.html|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=8 March 2009}}</ref><ref name=WaPo-PresumptionsMagicLife-2007>{{cite news|last1=Weingarten|first1=Gene|title=Presumptions of Magic in Life|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/liveonline/images/weingarten/gene_magic2.jpg|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=21 August 2007|format=Faxed drawing}}</ref> He is an amateur [[horologist]].<ref name=NPR-ClockCollecting-2012>{{cite news|last1=Weeks|first1=Linton|title=Found Time: How To Spend The 24 Hours Of Leap Day|url=https://www.npr.org/2012/02/28/147591281/found-time-how-to-spend-the-24-hours-of-leap-day|work=Around the Nation|publisher=[[NPR]]|date=28 February 2012}}</ref>

== Works and publications ==
; Books
* {{cite book|last1=Weingarten|first1=Gene|last2=Barry|first2=Dave (introduction)|last3=Staake|first3=Bob (illustrations)|title=The Hypochondriac's Guide to Life and Death|date=1998|publisher=Simon & Schuster|location=New York|isbn=978-0-684-85280-5|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780684852805|oclc=39347929}}
* {{cite book|last1=Weingarten|first1=Gene|last2=Barreca|first2=Regina|last3=Thompson|first3=Richard (illustrations)|title=I'm with Stupid: One Man, One Woman: 10,000 Years of Misunderstanding between the Sexes Cleared Right Up|date=2004|publisher=Simon & Schuster|location=New York|isbn=978-0-7432-4420-6|url=https://archive.org/details/imwithstupidonem00wein|oclc=53285202}}
* {{cite book|last1=Weingarten|first1=Gene|last2=Williamson|first2=Michael (photographs)|title=Old Dogs: Are the Best Dogs|date=2008|publisher=Simon & Schuster|location=New York, NY|isbn=978-1-4165-3499-0|url=https://archive.org/details/olddogsarebestdo00wein|oclc=156975381}}
* {{cite book|last1=Weingarten|first1=Gene|title=The Fiddler in the Subway: The True Story of What Happened When a World-Class Violinist Played for Handouts -- and Other Virtuoso Performances by America's Foremost Feature Writer|date=2010|publisher=Simon & Schuster|location=New York|isbn=978-1-4391-8160-7|oclc=891943904}}<ref name=Kirkus-Fiddler-Review-2010>{{cite news|title=The Fiddler in the Subway by Gene Weingarten|url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/gene-weingarten/the-fiddler-in-the-subway/|work=Kirkus Reviews|date=22 December 2010}}</ref>
* {{cite book|last1=Weingarten|first1=Gene|last2=Shansby|first2=Eric (illustrations)|title=Me & Dog|date=2014|publisher=Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers|location=New York|isbn=978-1-4424-9414-5|oclc=906830301}}<ref>{{cite news|title=Me & Dog by Gene Weingarten|url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/gene-weingarten/me-dog/|work=Kirkus Reviews|date=29 July 2014}}</ref>
* {{cite book|last1=Weingarten|first1=Gene|title=One Day|date=2019|publisher=[[Blue Rider Press]]|location=New York|isbn=978-0-3991-6666-2}}<ref>{{cite news|title=One Day by Gene Weingarten|url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/gene-weingarten/one-day/|work=Kirkus Reviews|date=4 August 2019}}</ref>

; Selected articles
* {{cite news|last1=Weingarten|first1=Gene|title=Are You Ready for the New, Ultra-Violent Street Gang?|url=http://nymag.com/news/features/crime/48271/|work=[[New York (magazine)|New York Magazine]]|date=27 March 1972}}
* {{cite news|last1=Weingarten|first1=Gene|title=Tears for Audrey|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/features/santo.htm|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=19 July 1998}}
* {{cite news|last1=Weingarten|first1=Gene|title=The Hardy Boys The Final Chapter&nbsp;... |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/05/AR2005120501092.html|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=9 August 1998}}
* {{cite news|last1=Weingarten|first1=Gene|title=If You Go Chasing Rabbits&nbsp;... |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A47809-2001Feb9.html|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=11 February 2001|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101030125120/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A47809-2001Feb9.html|archive-date=30 October 2010}}
* {{cite news|last1=Weingarten|first1=Gene|title=Fear Itself: Learning to live in the age of terrorism|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A15004-2004Aug19.html|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=22 August 2004|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101030124832/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A15004-2004Aug19.html|archive-date=30 October 2010}}
* {{cite news|last1=Weingarten|first1=Gene|title=Snowbound|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/04/26/AR2005042601144.html|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=1 May 2005}}
* {{cite news|last1=Weingarten|first1=Gene|title=The Peekaboo Paradox|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/18/AR2006011801434.html|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=22 January 2006}}
* {{cite news|last1=Weingarten|first1=Gene|title=Pearls Before Breakfast: Can one of the nation's great musicians cut through the fog of a D.C. rush hour? Let's find out.|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/magazine/pearls-before-breakfast-can-one-of-the-nations-great-musicians-cut-through-the-fog-of-a-dc-rush-hour-lets-find-out/2014/09/23/8a6d46da-4331-11e4-b47c-f5889e061e5f_story.html|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=8 April 2007}}
* {{cite news|last1=Weingarten|first1=Gene|title=Fatal Distraction: Forgetting a Child in the Backseat of a Car Is a Horrifying Mistake. Is It a Crime?|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/magazine/fatal-distraction-forgetting-a-child-in-thebackseat-of-a-car-is-a-horrifying-mistake-is-it-a-crime/2014/06/16/8ae0fe3a-f580-11e3-a3a5-42be35962a52_story.html|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=8 March 2009}}
* {{cite news|last1=Weingarten|first1=Gene|title=Since 1979, Brian Murtagh has fought to keep convicted murderer Jeffrey MacDonald in prison|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/magazine/since-1979-brian-murtagh-has-fought-to-keep-convicted-murderer-jeffrey-macdonald-in-prison/2012/12/05/3c8bc1c6-2da8-11e2-89d4-040c9330702a_story.html|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=5 December 2012}}

== See also ==
* ''[[Barney & Clyde]]''

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== Further reading ==
* {{cite book|last1=Kindred|first1=Dave|title=Morning Miracle: Inside The Washington Post: A Great Newspaper Fights for Its Life|date=2010|publisher=Doubleday|location=New York|isbn=978-0-385-53210-5|oclc=669067079|pages=85–93|chapter=Part II: "How Could Anyone Not Want to be a Reporter? Chapter 7. Gene Weingarten}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Gene Weingarten}}
* {{Twitter}}
* [https://www.washingtonpost.com/people/gene-weingarten/ Gene Weingarten] at ''[[The Washington Post]]''
* {{C-SPAN|58272}}

{{PulitzerPrize Feature Writing}}
{{The Washington Post Writers Group}}
{{Portal bar|Biography|Journalism}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Weingarten, Gene}}
[[Category:American atheists]]
[[Category:American humorous columnists]]
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[[Category:American male journalists]]
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[[Category:New York University College of Arts & Science alumni]]
[[Category:Nieman Fellows]]
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[[Category:Year of birth missing (living people)]]