Brendan Francis Newnam is a native of Philadelphia, Pa., who still can’t come to terms with the fact that he lives in Los Angeles. Before working for the national public radio programs Marketplace,Marketplace Money and Weekend America, he was a freelance radio reporter and he freelanced domestically and abroad for various publications. He worked for three years as an associate producer for a local arts program at WRTI in Philadelphia and prior to that he was the staff researcher at the national public radio program Fresh Air with Terry Gross. Newnam holds a B.A. in English Literature from Rutgers University, where he graduated with high honors and he holds (and still pays for) a J.D. from Temple Law School where he was a member of the Moot Court Honor Society. He enjoys eating decadently, engaging in spirited debate and writing pop songs.