“60 Minutes” is adding Ariel Levy, a longtime New Yorker staff writer, to its lineup as a contributor ahead of the CBS newsmagazine’s 59th season, according to a memo executive producer Nick Bilton sent staff Monday. Bilton praised Levy’s willingness to travel to difficult locations and tackle subjects that have shaped major public debates, pointing to her three decades of reporting on culture, gender, sexuality and health.
Levy spent 12 years at New York magazine before joining The New Yorker as a staff writer in 2008. Her 2013 essay “Thanksgiving in Mongolia,” which recounted losing a pregnancy while on a reporting trip, won a National Magazine Award the following year and later formed the basis of her 2017 memoir, “The Rules Do Not Apply.” She is also known for her 2005 book examining the rise of raunch culture and for hosting a podcast that traced the unraveling of a prominent American family business.
Her addition continues a significant reshaping of “60 Minutes” under Bilton and CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss, who has overseen the departures of correspondents Scott Pelley, Sharyn Alfonsi and Cecilia Vega, along with Anderson Cooper’s earlier exit. The program has moved quickly to rebuild its roster, recently bringing on New York Times columnist Ross Douthat as a correspondent alongside contributors Sebastian Junger and Gianna Toboni. Norah O’Donnell is also set to take on a larger presence at the program after years as a contributor.
Levy joins existing correspondents Bill Whitaker, Lesley Stahl and Jon Wertheim as the retooled show prepares to premiere its new season September 13. Bilton has described the incoming class as sharing an instinct for stories that hold power accountable and draw viewers in, even as the program works with a leaner staff following its abrupt personnel turnover earlier this year.
