Jesse Bering began his career as a psychology professor at the University of Arkansas and is the former director of the Institute of Cognition and Culture at Queen's University Belfast. In 2011, Bering left his academic post in Northern Ireland and returned to the U.S. to write full time, settling in Ithaca, New York with his partner, Juan Quiles, their kind but morbidly obese cat, Tommy, and two pathologically friendly border terriers, Gulliver and Uma. In addition to his books, Bering is also a regular contributor to many popular magazines, including Scientific American, Slate, New York Magazine, The Guardian, The New Republic, Discover, and more.