bio

photo by daniel garber, mustachioed man by parsa kamali
I’m a senior producer & writer based in Brooklyn, born in Massachusetts. At Pushkin Industries, I write & host on The Last Archive, a historical podcast created by Jill Lepore, and Malcolm Gladwell’s Revisionist History.
My recent projects include stories on emergency vehicle sirens, which won a 2025 Signal Award for ‘Best Writing,’ the John Birch society, Arnold Schwarzenegger’s directorial turn, and a nine-part series with Gladwell on the 1936 Berlin Olympics, which won the 2025 Webby People’s Voice Award for Best Writing. I also edit Tim Harford’s show, Cautionary Tales.
My writing on history, technology, and music has appeared in The Yale Review, Smithsonian, NPR, New York, Aeon, and elsewhere. As a musician, I have written scores for BBC radio and documentary film.
You can reach me at bhafrey at gmail, or on twitter, linkedin, and my newsletter.