Ben Piven

Digital Writer / Editor

The World

Multimedia journalist and producer

Ben has extensive experience working in international news and spent six years at Al Jazeera — first as an online producer with Al Jazeera English in Doha, then as a planning editor with Al Jazeera America in New York. Most recently, Ben worked as a senior business producer for AJ Impact, Al Jazeera’s business and economics vertical. He was also a digital content editor for Open Society Foundations.

He is used to working in multiplatform newsrooms and creating digital content out of broadcast-first stories.

Ben was a Fulbright Scholar in India and got his Master’s at Columbia Journalism School. He is based in New York City.

An aspiring polyglot, Ben speaks French, Arabic, Hebrew, Hindi and Spanish.

In this Jan. 29, 2011 file photo, anti-government protesters gather in Tahrir Square, Cairo, Egypt.

Photos: Arab uprisings began with quest for freedom and led to repression, wars

What started as a series of idealistic revolutions turned into dashed dreams of democracy and revival of authoritarian governance. The decade since has seen yet more instability and violence. 

Photos: Arab uprisings began with quest for freedom and led to repression, wars
US President Donald Trump wears a protective face mask due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic as he tours the assembly line at a Whirlpool Corporation washing machine factory in Clyde, Ohio, Aug. 6, 2020.

Explainer: American voters never forget — it’s the economy, stupid

Explainer: American voters never forget — it’s the economy, stupid
Head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization Ali-Akbar Salehi and International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi attend a press conference in Tehran, Iran, Aug. 25, 2020.

Explainer: How Biden and Trump would remake the Iran nuclear deal

Explainer: How Biden and Trump would remake the Iran nuclear deal
Russia's President Vladimir Putin is greeted by US President Donald Trump at the G20 summit in Osaka, Japan, June 28, 2019.

Explainer: How Russia benefits from disrupting the US election, again

Explainer: How Russia benefits from disrupting the US election, again
Democratic US presidential nominee and former Vice President Joe Biden answers questions from reporters after a speech about the effects on the economy of the Trump administration's response to the coronavirus during an appearance in Wilmington, Del., Sep

Explainer: How the next US president could vanquish the coronavirus

Explainer: How the next US president could vanquish the coronavirus
Chinese President Xi Jinping and then-Vice President Joe Biden raise their glasses in a toast during a luncheon at the State Department, in Washington, Sept. 25, 2015. 

Explainer: Both candidates' platforms underline US struggle to confront China

With China flexing its muscles like never before, Donald Trump and Joe Biden try to convince voters that their policies will be better for trade, technology and human rights. They also promise to lessen US dependence on Beijing, a campaign pledge that may prove difficult to fulfill.

Explainer: Both candidates' platforms underline US struggle to confront China
US President Donald Trump sits in front of a CAL FIRE firefighting aircraft as California Governor Gavin Newsom speaks during a briefing on wildfires in McClellan Park, Calif., Sept. 14, 2020. 

Explainer: Biden clashes with Trump in tale of two climate narratives

Though the presidential contenders disagree on many issues, perhaps none is as stark as their fundamental divergence on the issue of global warming and how to reverse ecological doom.

Explainer: Biden clashes with Trump in tale of two climate narratives
European Information Society and Media Commissioner Viviane Reding pauses at the end of a news conference in Brussels April 7, 2006, after the launch of the .eu domain names for all citizens.

Internet mushrooms toward 300 million domains and boosts its language diversity

What’s in a name online? With US relinquishing control of Web governance, non-Latin alphabet addresses may surge.

Internet mushrooms toward 300 million domains and boosts its language diversity