Alex Smith

@alexjmssmith

Alex joined Breakthrough as a research analyst in the food and agriculture program in 2019 after completing a dual MA/MSc in International and World History from Columbia University and the London School of Economics and Political Science. As an analyst, Alex authored numerous reports and essays on alternative proteins, agricultural research and development, conservation, the politics of meat, agricultural productivity growth, and industrial policy for agriculture.

Since becoming Editorial Director, Alex oversees Breakthrough's publication process from ideation to publication and promotion, manages the website, and edits the Breakthrough Journal on Substack. Alex continues to write about food and agriculture, economic development, and the interplay of technology and politics for Breakthrough's publication and elsewhere. Alex's writing has appeared in Foreign Policy, Noema Magazine, Issues in Science and Technology, MIT Technology Review, and Jacobin Magazine. His work has been covered in Vox, The Financial Times, Grist, The New York Times, Wired, The Nation, The Hill, and The Washington Post. Alex has also appeared on numerous podcasts, radio shows, and TV shows to cover agricultural commodity trade including Al Jazeera, the BBC, ABC News, Derek Thompson's Plain English, and Voice of America.

Prior to graduate school, Alex worked as a data and classification analyst at Locus Analytics, where he helped produce computational tools aimed at mapping functional economic relationships across companies and governments. Alex earned his BA from Haverford College, where he studied history and philosophy.

When not at work, Alex can be found playing basketball, golf, and tennis, watching the Cleveland Cavaliers, and grilling for his friends.