Leah McGrath Goodman is an American author and freelance journalist who has worked New York City and London. She began her career as a special writer and editor for The Wall Street Journal, Dow Jones Newswires, and Barron's, and was recruited from university by the Dow Jones Newspaper Fund. She has contributed to publications and agencies such as Fortune, The Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal, Condé Nast Portfolio, the Associated Press, Forbes and The Guardian.
In 2010 McGrath Goodman was the recipient of a Scripps Howard Foundation fellowship in environmental journalism and a visiting professorship at the University of Colorado at Boulder. Her first book The Asylum: The Renegades Who Hijacked the World's Oil Market, about the global oil trading market, was published in 2011. In 2014, a Newsweek cover story where she allegedly uncovered the identity of bitcoin's inventor attracted widespread controversy. In 2016, McGrath Goodman placed as a finalist for the National Magazine Award for her coverage of America's widening wealth gap as part of a package of stories for Newsweek. In 2017, a second Newsweek cover story she wrote about the 9-11 attacks leading Ground Zero to become a deadly cancer cluster was also nominated for a National Magazine Award.
Early life and education
McGrath Goodman was born in Boston, Massachusetts; her parents were an English teacher and an artist. She graduated from St. Bonaventure University in 1998 with bachelor's degrees in journalism and political science.
Career
Jersey child abuse investigation
In 2012, UK politician John Hemming tabled an early day motion regarding the withdrawal of McGrath Goodman's UK visa, because she had been prevented from entering the UK after declaring her intentions to investigate allegations of a cover-up regarding the Jersey child abuse investigation, despite having a clean immigration and travel record. In interviews with the BBC, The Guardian and other media outlets, McGrath Goodman stated that she was confused as to why she was not allowed entry into the UK and was therefore unable to catch a connecting flight into Jersey, a popular holiday destination and a British Crown dependency. UK Border Force stated that the reason she was denied entry was they were not satisfied she was genuinely seeking entry as a visitor for the limited period she claimed and she had attempted to mislead the Border Force officer about her travel plans and the reason she required entry to the UK. In 2013, the ban was lifted and a new visa granted after a campaign by British politicians and journalists. A major new inquiry into the abuse scandal led by a senior UK judge was also announced. In 2017, the inquiry concluded hundreds of children were abused on the island for decades. In an interview with Vice, McGrath Goodman said she would continue to research and complete her book on what happened to the children of Jersey, stating, "I've never seen grown men in law enforcement and high-level government positions literally fear for themselves, their lives, and their families while trying to do their jobs and protect innocent people...Something is definitely wrong when investigating child abuse means being bullied, threatened, and smeared. As someone who cares about the island and cares about these people and these issues, I don't know if I can watch something like that and just not do anything as a journalist."