Ari Melber Biography
Ari Melber is a well-known American attorney and an Emmy Award-winning journalist. He’s currently the Chief Legal Correspondent for MSNBC and the host of his own show, The Beat with Ari Melber. In 2016, he snagged an Emmy for his impressive coverage of the Supreme Court, and he’s also been nominated for “Outstanding Live Interview” in both 2020 and 2025.
Ari Melber Age
Ari Melber is 42 years old as of 2026. He was born on 31 March 1980 in Seattle, Washington, United States.
Ari Melber Height
Melber stands at a height of 5 feet 11 inches (1.8m).
Ari Melber Family and Parents
Melber is an Israeli immigrant kid who is Jewish. His grandparents were survivors of the Holocaust. He was born to Daniel M. Melber, Barbara D. Melber. His brother Jonathan Melber is an American author.
Ari Melber Wife
Melber resides in Brooklyn’s Carroll Gardens neighborhood. Drew Grant, a pop culture reporter for The New York Observer, is his ex-wife. He is a New York State Bar Association member.
Ari Melber Education
Melber attended Seattle’s Garfield High School and the University of Michigan, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in political science. He moved to Washington, D.C. after college and worked for Senator Maria Cantwell. He then joined Senator John Kerry’s presidential campaign, where he worked as the Iowa caucus coordinator and California deputy political director. Melber moved on to Cornell Law School, where he was an editor of the Cornell Journal of Law and Public Policy and interned at New York County Defender Services, a Manhattan public defender’s office after Kerry failed to win the presidency.
Streaming
The Beat has achieved extraordinary online reach. As of 2024, it amassed over 1.5 billion total YouTube views, averaging 500,000–700,000 views per episode, making it MSNBC’s most streamed show online. AdWeek noted Melber’s interviews with figures such as Bill Gates, 50 Cent, and Robert De Niro contributed to this success. Analysts have cited The Beat as a driving force behind MSNBC’s leadership on YouTube, demonstrating remarkable digital engagement for a cable news program.
2013–2015
In April 2013, Ari Melber made his debut on MSNBC as a co-host of The Cycle, teaming up with S.E. Cupp, Krystal Ball, Touré, and Steve Kornacki. Unfortunately, the show was canceled in July 2015, but Melber didn’t skip a beat. He continued his journey at the network, stepping into the role of Chief Legal Correspondent and often filling in as a host on The Rachel Maddow Show.
2015–2018
Melber took on the title of MSNBC’s Chief Legal Correspondent and served as a legal analyst for NBC News, diving deep into stories involving the Department of Justice, the FBI, and the Supreme Court. His outstanding reporting on the Supreme Court even earned him an Emmy Award, and in 2017, he hosted The Point on Sundays.
On July 24, 2017, Melber launched The Beat with Ari Melber, which, by 2021, had become the longest-running program in MSNBC’s 6 p.m. slot. He covered significant events like the firing of FBI Director James Comey, investigations into potential obstruction of justice, and President Trump’s dealings with Ukraine, all of which sparked conversations about impeachment. Additionally, he was the first to report on state-level investigations related to the Mueller probe, which ultimately led to separate charges against Paul Manafort in 2019.
Ari Melber 2020
Tiana Lowe, a conservative commentator, said in June 2020 that “Ari Melber on MSNBC” operates a “excellent straight news hour,” in contrast to other news shows. The Beat, according to Mediaite, is a “thought-provoking” and “idiosyncratic show” that “avoids the singular focus on Trump’s misdeeds that consumes some other hosts,” with Melber’s interviewing style relying on “the facts of the story and logical reasoning [rather than] partisan cheap shots” for “fascinating” exchanges. In a 2019 interview with Melber, director Lee Daniels became emotional, claiming it was the only time he would ever “tear on television.”
Melber was previously the anchor of The Point, an MSNBC Sunday evening show; a cohost of MSNBC’s The Cycle; and a replacement host for other MSNBC series like The Rachel Maddow Show and The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell. Melber was previously a Nation correspondent, writing about law, politics, organizing, civil rights, and technology; his work has also appeared in The Atlantic, Reuters, and Politico, as well as in several books. Melber also contributed to an Organizing for America study. Melber frequently employs hip-hop songs to describe political or judicial situations. He was called the “hidden fourth Beastie Boy” by Vanity Fair, which described him as “shockingly brilliant and thoroughly read.”
Ari Melber MSNBC
Melber is an NBC News legal commentator and MSNBC’s lead legal correspondent, covering the Department of Justice, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the Supreme Court. For his coverage of the Supreme Court, he received an Emmy Award.
On May 9, 2017, Melber wrote that the dismissal of FBI Director James Comey could lead to an inquiry into obstruction of justice, citing a former FBI official who informed him the firing raised the possibility of obstruction. On May 18, 2017, a probe was announced, which included an obstruction investigation.
In October, Melber reported that President Trump’s behavior toward Ukraine could lead to impeachment for “bribery.”According to Mediaite, top Democrats began presenting the bribery case for the first time the next month, demonstrating that “Democrats agreed with the MSNBC presenter.” During an impeachment hearing, Republican Congressman Ratcliffe also referenced a bribery episode from The Beat.
On August 29, 2017, just a few months into the Mueller investigation, Melber broke the report that a state investigator was looking considering charging possible Mueller inquiry suspects with state crimes, meaning a conviction would not be eligible for a presidential pardon. The next day, Politico followed up on the report, and in March 2019, New York State prosecutors filed separate charges against Paul Manafort. Melber questioned former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski in February 2019 about whether Trump directed him to intervene in the Mueller investigation, and Lewandowski’s response was untrue, according to Melber. Lewandowski was questioned about the fraudulent answer during a congressional hearing in 2019.
Melber broke the story of police repeatedly tasing a Virginia man until he died in custody, resulting in an investigation by the FBI into the officers’ actions. Melber said live on MSNBC on the night of the 2018 midterm elections that Democrats on the Ways and Means Committee “plan to request President Trump’s tax returns.” Chairman of the US House Committee on Ways and Means Richard Neal carried out the plan in April 2019, formally seeking Trump’s tax returns.
Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who spoke with Ari Melber after receiving Donald Trump’s first pardon; Eric Holder, Kamala Harris, Trump attorney Jay Sekulow, Dave Chappelle, Meek Mill, Ken Starr, and a number of witnesses in the Mueller investigation, including Steve Bannon, whose appearance on The Beat was his first ever on MSNBC.
Melber is known for his interviewing abilities. For questioning four significant witnesses in the Mueller investigation at once, he was nominated for an Emmy Award for “Outstanding Live Interview.” Melber is “a highly skilled interviewer,” according to Columbia Journalism Review, and “his veins appear to contain ice water; he exhibits no emotion at all” during furious conversations.”Melber is an amazing interviewer, among the best on television,” New York Times columnist Peter Wehner, a former White House staffer in GOP administrations, remarked in February 2019.
Other anchors include Forrest Sawyer, Joan Lunden, Jim Avila, Joan Lunden, Cecily Tynan, Robin Roberts, George Stephanopoulos, Michael Strahan, Lara Spencer, Ginger Zee, David Muir, Amy Robach, Kendis Gibson, Diane Macedo, Rob Nelson, Paula Faris, and Reena Ninan.
