Jon Wiener

This article is about the American historian. Not to be confused with Jon Weiner.
Jon Wiener
Born (1944-05-16) May 16, 1944 (age 80)[1]
Saint Paul, Minnesota, U.S.[2]
Alma materPrinceton University (BA) Harvard University (PhD)
Occupation(s)Historian,
Political writer,
Author
Years active38+[3]
EmployerUniversity of California, Irvine[2]
SpouseJudy Fiskin
Websitewww.jonwiener.com
Jon Wiener with Chinese dissent artist Ai Wei Wei at KPFK, 2017

Jon Wiener (born May 16, 1944) is an American historian and journalist based in Los Angeles, California.[2] His most recent book is Set the Night on Fire: L.A. in the Sixties, a Los Angeles Times bestseller co-authored by Mike Davis.[4][5] He waged a 25-year legal battle to win the release of the FBI's files on John Lennon.[6][2] Wiener played a key role in efforts to expose the surveillance, as well as the behind-the-scenes battling between the government and the former Beatle, and is an expert on the FBI-versus-Lennon controversy.[7][8] A professor emeritus of United States history at the University of California, Irvine and host of The Nation's weekly podcast, Start Making Sense,[9] he is also a contributing editor to the progressive political weekly magazine The Nation.[10][11] He also hosts a weekly radio program in Los Angeles.[12]

Set the Night on Fire (2020) is a movement history of Los Angeles. The backbone of the book is the story of the civil rights, Black power and Chicano movements, as well as the anti-war movement, gay liberation and women's liberation and the battles between young people and the LAPD on Sunset Strip and at Venice Beach. The counterculture provides another focus—the Ash Grove folk music club, the LA Free Press, KPFK radio and the Free Clinic.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference LATW061 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b c d Wiener, Jon (May 21, 2012). "Jon Wiener". The Nation. Retrieved May 21, 2012.
  3. ^ Note: estimate assumes began career at age 30
  4. ^ Davis, Mike; Wiener, Jon (2020). Set the Night on Fire: L.A. in the Sixties. [S.l.]: Verso. ISBN 978-1-78478-022-7. OCLC 1109409493.
  5. ^ "Bestsellers List Sun., June 14, 2020". Los Angeles Times. June 10, 2020. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
  6. ^ "FBI releases final file on John Lennon". USA Today. Associated Press. December 21, 2006. Retrieved May 21, 2012.
  7. ^ "FBI Releases Last Pages From Lennon File". Washington Post. Associated Press. December 20, 2006. Retrieved May 21, 2012.
  8. ^ Wiener, Jon (February 25, 2000). "John Lennon's MI5-FBI Files". Common Dreams. Archived from the original on March 21, 2013. Retrieved June 2, 2012.
  9. ^ "Emeriti Faculty". www.humanities.uci.edu.
  10. ^ "Jon Wiener". April 2, 2010.
  11. ^ "Start Making Sense". October 22, 2015.
  12. ^ "Living In The USA". KPFK 90.7 FM. September 2, 2023.