# John Hodgman
**John Hodgman** (born 1971) is an American writer, comedian, and actor known for books of invented facts, his role as the PC in Apple's "Get a Mac" television commercials, and his work as a correspondent on *The Daily Show with Jon Stewart*.[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/john-hodgman/) • [2](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2006-oct-24-et-hodgman24-story.html) He was born in [Brookline, Massachusetts](https://www.edgepedia.org/brookline-massachusetts), attended Yale University, and worked as a literary agent in New York before turning to comedy writing.[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/john-hodgman/) • [3](https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/educational-magazines/hodgman-john-1971)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1971, Brookline, Massachusetts[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/john-hodgman/) |
| Early career | Literary agent for Writers House until 2000; McSweeney's columnist beginning 1997[3](https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/educational-magazines/hodgman-john-1971) |
| First book | *The Areas of My Expertise* (E.P. Dutton, 2005), an almanac of "complete world knowledge" mixing trivia, lists, and fake histories[3](https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/educational-magazines/hodgman-john-1971) |
| Daily Show debut | November 16, 2005; became the show's "resident expert"[4](https://www.avclub.com/john-hodgman-1798215033) • [2](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2006-oct-24-et-hodgman24-story.html) |
| Apple ads | Portrayed the PC opposite Justin Long's Mac in a campaign created by TBWA/Chiat/Day[2](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2006-oct-24-et-hodgman24-story.html) |
| Podcast | *Judge John Hodgman*, on which he rules as a self-designated "fake internet judge" on listener disputes, with producer and bailiff Jesse Thorn[5](https://www.latimes.com/books/jacketcopy/la-ca-jc-hodgman-vacationland-20171026-story.html) |
| Memoirs | *Vacationland* (2017) and *Medallion Status* (2019, Viking, 304 pages)[6](https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/john-hodgman/vacationland-hodgman/) • [7](https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/john-hodgman/medallion-status/) |
## Early life and writing career
Hodgman was born in Brookline, Massachusetts, and attended Yale University, where he studied literary theory.[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/john-hodgman/) • [5](https://www.latimes.com/books/jacketcopy/la-ca-jc-hodgman-vacationland-20171026-story.html) He has described himself as an odd teenager: "in high school I had long hair and I wore a fedora to school and a Dr. Who scarf and I carried a briefcase."[5](https://www.latimes.com/books/jacketcopy/la-ca-jc-hodgman-vacationland-20171026-story.html)
His first career was in publishing. He worked as a literary agent for Writers House until 2000 and began writing a column for the literary website McSweeney's in 1997, contributing absurdist pieces such as "Ask A Former Professional Literary Agent."[3](https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/educational-magazines/hodgman-john-1971) • [4](https://www.avclub.com/john-hodgman-1798215033) He has said he chose agency work over writing because it was social and less work than writing itself.[5](https://www.latimes.com/books/jacketcopy/la-ca-jc-hodgman-vacationland-20171026-story.html) Through McSweeney's, and by hosting a series of "Little Gray Book Lectures" in [Williamsburg, Brooklyn](https://www.edgepedia.org/williamsburg-brooklyn), he developed the egghead humorist persona that carried into his later work.[2](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2006-oct-24-et-hodgman24-story.html)
## The fake-facts books
Hodgman's first book, *The Areas of My Expertise: An Almanac of Complete World Knowledge Compiled with Instructive Annotation and Arranged in Useful Order*, appeared from E.P. Dutton in 2005, mixing trivia, advice, lists, and invented histories under the banner of complete world knowledge.[3](https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/educational-magazines/hodgman-john-1971) Its topics included "What You Did Not Know about Hobos," "Handy Measurements of Time When You Do Not Have a Watch," and "History's Worst Men's Haircuts."[3](https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/educational-magazines/hodgman-john-1971)
He planned the books as a trilogy of fake facts. The second, *More Information Than You Require*, was published on October 21, 2008, with factually incorrect passages about U.S. presidents, gambling, and a secret underground world of mole-men.[8](https://time.com/archive/6909320/john-hodgman/) The third, *That Is All*, followed in 2011.[6](https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/john-hodgman/vacationland-hodgman/) Hodgman has explained the method behind the fakery: "I like some factness with my fakery. Ideally, fake facts help to jostle our imaginations. They remind us how much of actual history is so strange, and novelistic, and practically unbelievable."[9](https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/articles/200901/q-and-a-irreverence-material) He has also said the details about his life in the books "always have one foot in the truth."[9](https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/articles/200901/q-and-a-irreverence-material)
## Television and the Apple ads
Hodgman's first appearance on *The Daily Show with Jon Stewart* came on November 16, 2005.[4](https://www.avclub.com/john-hodgman-1798215033) He became the show's "resident expert," offering deliberately inaccurate assessments of topics such as [Alan Greenspan](https://www.edgepedia.org/alan-greenspan)'s retirement and Iran's atomic program.[2](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2006-oct-24-et-hodgman24-story.html) The exposure transformed his book's fortunes: the day of his first appearance *The Areas of My Expertise* ranked 1,400th on Amazon, and the next day it stood at number 14, later rising to 7.[8](https://time.com/archive/6909320/john-hodgman/)
The Apple "Get a Mac" campaign, created by the agency TBWA/Chiat/Day in Los Angeles, cast Hodgman as the PC opposite actor [Justin Long](https://www.edgepedia.org/justin-long)'s Mac. Hodgman wore drab business suits against Long's jeans and T-shirt, and he described the pairing as a "vaudeville comedy duo" with Long as the straight man. He appeared in more than a dozen of the ads by late 2006 and said of the role, "I'm not playing anything other than a version of myself."[2](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2006-oct-24-et-hodgman24-story.html) [Kirkus Reviews](https://www.edgepedia.org/kirkus-reviews) later observed that many fans knew him mainly through the Apple campaign, in which he played "the stodgier PC to the hipper computer devices."[6](https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/john-hodgman/vacationland-hodgman/)
He has described his television career as accidental and has connected it to impostor syndrome: "I had never been on television before; my work on television was an imitation of all of the television that I ever watched."[10](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/books/story/2019-11-27/q-a-with-john-hodgman-on-medallion-status) He returned for [Jon Stewart](https://www.edgepedia.org/jon-stewart)'s final Daily Show episode in August 2015, appearing with [Lewis Black](https://www.edgepedia.org/lewis-black) in a segment covering the Republican primary debate field.[11](https://time.com/3987824/jon-stewart-final-daily-show-alumni/)
## Podcast, memoirs, and acting
Hodgman hosts the weekly podcast *Judge John Hodgman*, on which he rules as a self-designated "fake internet judge" on disputes between pairs of listeners, with producer and bailiff Jesse Thorn.[5](https://www.latimes.com/books/jacketcopy/la-ca-jc-hodgman-vacationland-20171026-story.html) • [12](https://www.stlmag.com/culture/a-conversation-with-comedian-john-hodgman/)
After exhausting his fake facts, Hodgman turned to personal essays. *Vacationland: True Stories from Painful Beaches*, published October 24, 2017, was his first memoir, framed around his family's house in western Massachusetts and a summer house in Maine, and dealing with middle age, fatherhood, and what he called being a "mid-40s white male monster."[5](https://www.latimes.com/books/jacketcopy/la-ca-jc-hodgman-vacationland-20171026-story.html) • [6](https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/john-hodgman/vacationland-hodgman/) The audiobook, read by Hodgman, runs 11 hours and was released by Penguin Audio.[13](https://www.kirkusreviews.com/audiobook-reviews/john-hodgman/vacationland/) *Medallion Status: True Stories from Secret Rooms* followed on October 15, 2019 from Viking, using his airline frequent flier perks as a running metaphor for fame and its dwindling.[7](https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/john-hodgman/medallion-status/)
His acting credits include the films *Baby Mama* (2008), *The Invention of Lying* (2009), and *Pitch Perfect 2* (2015), along with voice work on the animated series *Phineas and Ferb*.[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/john-hodgman/)
## Personal life
Hodgman is married to Katherine Fletcher, a high school teacher, and the couple have two children.[2](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2006-oct-24-et-hodgman24-story.html) In his memoirs he declines to name his children, saying he wants to avoid feeding their egos.[6](https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/john-hodgman/vacationland-hodgman/) He has lived in Brooklyn and keeps a summer home in Brooklin, Maine, the state whose license-plate motto "Vacationland" gave his 2017 book its title.[5](https://www.latimes.com/books/jacketcopy/la-ca-jc-hodgman-vacationland-20171026-story.html) • [12](https://www.stlmag.com/culture/a-conversation-with-comedian-john-hodgman/)
## References
1. [John Hodgman – Writer, Comedian, Personality, Actor, TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/john-hodgman/)
2. [This blowhard bit is working out great, Los Angeles Times (October 24, 2006)](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2006-oct-24-et-hodgman24-story.html)
3. [Hodgman, John 1971(?)–, Encyclopedia.com](https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/educational-magazines/hodgman-john-1971)
4. [John Hodgman interview, The A.V. Club](https://www.avclub.com/john-hodgman-1798215033)
5. [The more-than-book-famous John Hodgman and his memoir 'Vacationland', Los Angeles Times (October 26, 2017)](https://www.latimes.com/books/jacketcopy/la-ca-jc-hodgman-vacationland-20171026-story.html)
6. [Vacationland: True Stories from Painful Beaches, Kirkus Reviews](https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/john-hodgman/vacationland-hodgman/)
7. [Medallion Status: True Stories from Secret Rooms, Kirkus Reviews](https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/john-hodgman/medallion-status/)
8. [John Hodgman, TIME (October 21, 2008)](https://time.com/archive/6909320/john-hodgman/)
9. [Q and A: Irreverence Material, Psychology Today (January 2009)](https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/articles/200901/q-and-a-irreverence-material)
10. [Q&A: John Hodgman on fame and why he's not faking it anymore, Los Angeles Times (November 27, 2019)](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/books/story/2019-11-27/q-a-with-john-hodgman-on-medallion-status)
11. [See Which Daily Show Alumni Showed Up for Jon Stewart's Finale, TIME (August 2015)](https://time.com/3987824/jon-stewart-final-daily-show-alumni/)
12. [A Conversation with Comedian John Hodgman, St. Louis Magazine (September 2015)](https://www.stlmag.com/culture/a-conversation-with-comedian-john-hodgman/)
13. [Vacationland audiobook review, Kirkus Reviews](https://www.kirkusreviews.com/audiobook-reviews/john-hodgman/vacationland/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Theater and dance › Stand-up comedy and comedians › American stand-up comedians, contemporary › Stand-up comedians born 1970–1979*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license