Alex W. Palmer is a contributing writer at the New York Times Magazine. His 2019 cover story “The China Connection” was a finalist for a National Magazine Award. His work has appeared in GQ, Smithsonian Magazine, the New Republic, and on the websites of the New Yorker and National Geographic.
He graduated from Harvard summa cum laude in Phi Beta Kappa, where he majored in social studies with a focus on conflict and ethics. As a Marshall Scholar, he earned an MA in conflict, security, and development at King’s College London and an MPhil in Middle Eastern history at Cambridge. He was a member of the inaugural class of Yenching Scholars at Peking University, where he earned a degree in China Studies and wrote extensively on modern China. As a National Geographic Explorer, he traveled the length of the Silk Road from Xi'an in western China through Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan.
Palmer is currently working on a book about the history of American intelligence in China.
Selected Work
- The China Connection: A piece for The New York Times Magazine about the rise of fentanyl and a DEA investigation into the death of a North Dakota teenager.
- How TikTok Became a Diplomatic Crisis: A story for The New York Times Magazine about the founding of TikTok and the app's uncertain fate.
- They Came to Help Migrants. Now, Europe Has Turned On Them: A piece for The New York Times Magazine about the prosecution of two humanitarian volunteers for their work helping migrants.