Steven Petrow

Host

The Civilist with Steven Petrow

Steven Petrow is the go-to guy on modern manners, a columnist for the Washington Post and USA Today, and the author of five books on the subject.

Steven Petrow is a respected journalist and the go-to source for modern manners, as cited by The New York Times, People, Time,and NPR. Known as "Mr. Manners” until Miss Manners threatened to sue him for trademark infringement, Steven’s often humorous, but always insightful advice has made him a nationally recognized expert. In addition to his five etiquette books, Petrow writes the "Civilities" column for the Washington Post as well as "Digital Ethics" for USA Today. Previously, he penned The New York Times's "Civil Behavior" column, "Digital Dilemmas" for Parade magazine, and "Medical Manners" for Everyday Health.Steven’s work helps people navigate an ever-changing and evolving social landscape. He educates his audiences with the simple principles of human kindness and respect and demonstrates how much language matters in our personal relationships and digital communications. He regularly brings his “civility with a point of view” to numerous media outlets with appearances on CNN, MSNBC, NPR, PBS, and Fox News, among others. He's also Hilton Hotel’s LGBT ambassador and a former president of the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association.Among his books are: Steven Petrow’s Complete Gay & Lesbian Manners: The Definitive Guide to LGBT Life; The New Gay Wedding: A Practical Primer for Brides and Grooms, Their Families and Guests; When Someone You Know Has AIDS: A Practical Guide; and the upcoming Mind Your Digital Manners: Navigating Life in an Age Without Rules. Follow Steven on Twitter at @StevenPetrow and “Like” him on Facebook.


Two people watch the sunset

House of Blues: Part two of a conversation with Andrew Solomon about depression

Culture

Depression is real and nothing to be ashamed of. We want to help you talk about it.

Steven made this pecan pie for Thanksgiving.

Talking turkey, politics and gratitude — and how to keep everything running smoothly

Global Politics
The Civilist guests

Duke and UNC students answer questions about free speech, trigger warnings and safe spaces

Culture
A delegate makes a victory sign.

Six ways you can avoid losing friends because of social media — between now and Election Day

Global Politics
Man and the sunrise

Five ways to talk with anyone about depression

Culture
A Muslim woman cries near the coffin of her relative

Should we tweet about illness or, yes, even death?

Culture

How we deal with death in the age of social media prevents vexing problems for people dealing with loss.

Ji-Ho Park on the Duke University campus

In the war over pronouns, gender-neutral pronouns are here to stay

Culture

As more people become comfortable with outing themselves as pan-sexual or genderqueer, the way we refer to them is changing.

An HB2 headline in the Raleigh News and Observer.

North Carolina’s governor says ‘basic etiquette’ is behind the state’s bathroom bill. Not so fast.

Global Politics

The Civilist host Steven Petrow is an expert on etiquette — and he can’t find anything in etiquette rules that supports HB2.

US and LGBT pride flag

‘Mr. Manners’ has a new podcast. He wants to use it to make America kind again.

Global Politics

The Civilist is the newest podcast from PRI. Over the coming weeks, host Steven Petrow will look at how we can bring civility to discussions about politics, LGBT rights and more.