Amanda Ripley

Ripley was born in Arizona and grew up in New Jersey. She graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Cornell University in 1996 with a B.A. in government. She lives in Washington, DC, with her husband. Her brother is the screenwriter Ben Ripley.

Amanda Ripley writes about human behavior and public policy for Time magazine and The Atlantic.[1] She is currently an Emerson Fellow at the New America Foundation.[2] Her 2008 book, The Unthinkable: Who Survives When Disaster Strikes - and Why, explains how the brain works in disasters—and how we can do better. The Unthinkable was made into a PBS documentary called "Surviving Disaster".[3]

Ripley has written feature stories about what makes a great teacher for The Atlantic and about education fever in Korea for TIME Magazine.[4][5]

Before joining Time, Ripley covered the D.C. court system for Washington City Paper and reported on Capitol Hill for Congressional Quarterly. In 2003, Ripley served as a Paris correspondent for TIME Magazine. She has also contributed to the New York Times Magazine, the Washington Monthly, Time Out, and Slate.

In August 2013, she released a book about education systems around the world called The Smartest Kids in the World: And How They Got That Way, published by Simon & Schuster.

Her essay "Ban School Bake Sales" was featured as the essay prompt on the October 2016 SAT.

• The Unthinkable: Who Survives when Disaster Strikes - and Why New York : Arrow Books, 2009. ISBN 9780099525721, OCLC 972068736
• The Smartest Kids in the World: And How They Got That Way New York, NY : Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, 2014. ISBN 9781451654431, OCLC 862348013

External video

Book Discussion on The Smartest Kids in the World, C-SPAN, August 30, 2014

• Tara Parker-Pope (August 5, 2008). "Learning to Be Your Own Best Defense in a Disaster". The New York Times.
• Ulaby, Neda (July 22, 2008). "Identifying Who Survives Disasters — And Why". NPR.
• "How to survive a disaster" Robert Crampton. The Times. June 21, 2008.
• "Q&A with Amanda Ripley, author of The Unthinkable: Who Survives When Disaster Strikes — and Why"
• "Interview with Diane Rehm" The Diane Rehm Show. June 18, 2008.
• "Answer Sheet: What Makes an Effective Teacher?" Valerie Strauss. The Washington Post.
• "Amanda Ripley Articles in The Atlantic"
• "Amanda Ripley Presents at FEMA's 2009 National Conference on Community Preparedness"