An accomplished and highly regarded columnist at some of the nation’s top media outlets, Stephens is now with the New York Times. Previously he was with the Wall Street Journal, where he was deputy editorial page editor and a foreign affairs columnist. Before that, at age 28, he was editor-in-chief of the Jerusalem Post. 

At The Post he oversaw the paper's news, editorial, digital and international operations, and also wrote a weekly column. Stephens is the author of America in Retreat: The New Isolationism and the Coming Global Disorder, released in November 2014. In it, he argues that the US has been retreating from its role as the "world's policeman" in recent decades, which will lead to ever-greater world problems. He is currently working on a book about the free world. He is the recipient of numerous awards and distinctions, including three honorary doctorates, the Ellis Island Medal of Honor and the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for commentary. And interestingly, in 2022, the government of Russia banned him for life from visiting that country. 

Stephens was raised in Mexico City and holds a B.A. from the University of Chicago and an M.Sc. from the London School of Economics. He sits on numerous academic advisory boards and was a co-founder, with Garry Kasparov, of the Renew Democracy Initiative, an organization dedicated to advancing democratic principles throughout the world. 

He and Corinna da Fonseca-Wollheim, his wife, a music critic and entrepreneur, live near New York City and have three children.