Hettie O'Brien is a writer. Currently, she is an Assistant Editor at the Guardian, where she writes about social affairs and the incursion of finance into everyday life. She is also a contributing writer to the Guardian's Long Read and Guardian Review. Previously, O'Brien covered economic and social affairs for the New Statesman, and covered corporate monopolies and the Federal Trade Commission as a reporter in Washington DC. Before becoming a journalist, she worked as a researcher for Rethinking Economics. O'Brien's writing about economics, politics and culture has appeaered in the Times Literary Supplement, the Baffler, the Atlantic, and the Architectural Review. She has also appeared on the BBC World at One, and has chaired panels at the Design Museum and Royal Society of Arts. O'Brien received her B.A. in Philosophy from the University of St Andrews and her M.A. in Philosophy from the University of Cambridge.