Theo Baker
Investigations Editor, The Stanford Daily; Student, Stanford University
Theo Baker is an investigative journalist and student at Stanford University. As a freshman investigations editor for The Stanford Daily, he investigated and extensively reported on falsification in the neuroscience research of Stanford’s president, resulting in the president's resignation and the retraction of several studies. For that reporting at the age of 17, Baker became the youngest ever recipient of a George Polk Award. His work has also appeared in The New York Times, New York Magazine, The Atlantic and elsewhere. At Stanford, where he’s graduating in 2026, Baker is also a teaching assistant and research assistant with the Cyber Policy Center and Stanford Internet Observatory. He’s also volunteered with World Central Kitchen, conducted national polling and helped run a large hackathon.