Kevin Roose's Blog

Some Very Belated News

As you might have noticed if you're part of my Twitter, Facebook, or G+ life (which would be impressive, considering I don't have a G+ life), I'm no longer a full-time freelancer.

In June, I joined the staff at DealBook, the financial news service within The New York Times. So far, I've had the opportunity to work on a lot of fun projects – everything from Wall Street interns to MMA-fighter CEOs to sonnets about donuts. As I cover Wall Street culture, I'll continue to work on my second book, CRASH BABIES, about the lives and times of young Wall Street bankers and traders.

I'll be updating this space periodically with big articles or other news, but for more regular updates, read DealBook regularly or just keep tabs on my author page. (But really, you should do the Twitter thing. I'm marginally more fun over there.)

Thanks, as always, for all your support. — Kevin

Bartending in Beantown

In March, ESPN The Magazine sent me to The Four's, one of the biggest and most famous sports bars in Boston, where I was assigned to spend several days doing all the things a regular employee does – cooking wings, washing dishes, serving Bud Light to Bruins fans. The goal was to see how a big-time sports bar operates, and what kinds of hidden secrets I could pick up during a four-day immersion.

Between St. Patrick's Day, the Hockey East tournament, and a Celtics game, it was one of the craziest weeks at The Four's all year, and one of the wildest experiences of my life. Thanks to Peter Colton and the rest of his staff for letting me invade their place for a long weekend, and to Mark Peterson for taking the only-slightly-mortifying photographs of me working the late shift.

Read the piece here.

The $94 billion guru

A fun clip from New York Magazine's new Wall Street issue: I profile Ray Dalio, a transcendental-meditating, manifesto-writing billionaire who runs Bridgewater Associates, the world's largest hedge fund.

Dalio is such a fascinating character, and his approach to radical transparency reminded me of this legendary piece by my friend A.J. Jacobs about another guy, Brad Blanton, whose obsession with truth-telling has made him a lightning rod. I want to be in the room when these two meet.

Ted Talk

Last spring, I was speaking at my friend Mark Hurst's great GEL conference about The Unlikely Disciple. I thought it was a cool opportunity to tell my story to an audience of media/tech-centric New Yorkers who wouldn't know much about Liberty University, Jerry Falwell, or the evangelical world in general.

So at the post-conference reception, I was surprised when another attendee came up to me, told me that he knew the world of evangelical Christianity intimately since he had grown up in Colorado Springs (which, as you probably know, is sort of to churches what Manhattan is to cupcakes), and introduced himself as Marcus.

Marcus Haggard.

Son of Ted Haggard, the pastor who was booted from his 14,000-member megachurch in 2006 for engaging in sexual acts and drug use with a male escort.

So after I recovered from THAT, we got to talking, and it turned out that Marcus had an amazing story. His dad, he said, had very nearly written a story about going undercover at a Christian college – in his case, Oral Roberts University in Tulsa – before converting and becoming a pastor. In essence, Marcus said, we'd had the same idea, 35 years apart.

Even though I've been writing mostly about Wall Street lately and have a book to finish, I decided I couldn't let a story like this pass me by. So I called Ted, who agreed to let me come out to Colorado Springs and interview him about what's happened to him since the scandal.

The result was the most challenging and fascinating (and judging from the e-mails I've gotten, the most controversial) assignment I've ever been handed. And, I'll confess, it made me miss writing about religion.

Read The Last Temptation of Ted over at GQ.

A few finance clips

As you may have guessed by now, I've been covering Wall Street for a few (well, two) publications recently with an eye towards finishing my next book, about young investment bankers and traders.

I'll have more in the way of a mid-book progress report soon, but wanted to share a few of my adventures in the world of high finance so far.

New York Times DealBook

Analysts Analyze Wall Street 2: I took five analysts, each from a different bulge-bracket bank, to see (and give the Mystery Science Theater treatment to) Oliver Stone's sequel.

Wallets Out, Wall St. Dares to Indulge: My front-page story with Susanne Craig found Wall Street's pre-crisis profligacy peeking through the cracks…

Wall St., Though Tarnished, Still a Draw on Campus: …whereas at Wharton, it was still 2007.

In Austere Era, Goldman Workers Adopt Lower Profile: When Goldman Sachs is in the crosshairs, its young employees lie especially low.

Seeking Guidance on Dodd-Frank's Diversity Clause: If Maxine Waters puts a diversity clause in the financial regulation bill and nobody sees it, does do banks still have to comply?

Talk About a Close Shave: Goldman Sachs kicks its favorite barber out of his shop, then makes him the offer of a lifetime.

New York Magazine

Banker Boot Camp: I attended a five-day training session for incoming Wall Street employees and learned about CapEx synergies, discounted cash flow, and how to gamble at Hermès.

Wall Street Without Parties: Houlihan Lokey having a better holiday party than Goldman Sachs is the finance equivalent of he Red Sox being beaten by the Yankees. The Staten Island Yankees.

Paperback Writer (PLUS: The Jonah Project)

Just a quick update: after more than a year of waiting, The Unlikely Disciple is now out in paperback and audiobook!

Amazon and Barnes & Noble are both selling paperback copies for $10 and change (click here to order a copy), and the audiobook is available on both iTunes and Audible.com.

But here's the really big news.

If you're a regular visitor to this site, you probably noticed a big blue button up on the right.  It's there because I'm running a new social campaign based on my experience at L...

Does this mean I can stop making Bible jokes?

Despite my extreme blogging torpor of late, it's been a busy few months here at Roose HQ.  Since graduating from college in December and moving to Brooklyn in January, a lot has happened to me:

I began playing Grand Slam Tennis on my Wii, establishing a record of dominance that culminated in a first-place finish at Wimbledon last week.  (And mom said I'd never amount to anything.)I watched Hot Tub Time Machine with my dad, who may never recover.I went back to Liberty U. to watch two of my...

Let there be blog

It took Noah a hundred years to build a wooden ark, so I don't feel too bad about letting life – schoolwork, work-work, and not-work – take me away from this blog for a few months.  But I do want to get back to tending this space regularly after I finish my final exams and officially graduate from college.  (Six more weeks!)

Until then, a few noteworthy nuggets:

Thanks to all who have written, commented, and tweeted about The Unlikely Disciple in the past few months. The book is still moving...

TUD featured on the New England Cable News!

Tonight's New England Cable News broadcast featured a great segment on my Liberty journey and its aftermath.  It's embedded below, or click here.

Of note in the segment: my mediocre Frisbee skills (which NECN kindly edited to remove the worst flubs), the slightly stilted but nevertheless funny cameos by my friends Jason and Jenny, and my chat with Beth Shelburne, the anchor who produced the piece, and who is a lovely interviewer and a consumate professional.  Big ups to everyone involved.

Now off

NPR, SCL, etc.

Following a few weeks of relative media quiet, I was lucky enough (blessed, even) to be asked to talk about The Unlikely Disciple on NPR’s “All Things Considered” last week.

The highlight of my trip to NPR’s New York bureau was writing my name in the official NPR guestbook.  I scribbled my signature, looked at the line above mine, and saw “T. Morrison” in large, loopy letters.

“Is that…?” I asked the receptionist.

“Toni Morrison?” he said.  “Yeah.  She was in the studio right before you.”

Luckily, I