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WELCOME!

    Robert is the author of Strikeout at Hell Gate, a novel about baseball set in racially torn New York in 1990.  An L.A. Press Club Award-winning journalist, he has written for Thrive Global, the Huffington Post, the L.A. Times, the L.A. Weekly and the Jewish Journal, among other publications.  He is a graduate of Yale College and the Yale School of Management.

 

    In March 1997, Robert had a psychotic break that landed him in the USC psychiatric ward.  He had a relapse in January 1999 in which he was hospitalized at the UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute.

 

    Thankfully, Robert has tamed his illness over the past two decades.  He has benefited from therapy, medication, writing, exercise, and listening to Bob Dylan and the Rolling Stones.  

 

    In the years since subduing his illness, Robert has written roughly 300 newspaper articles on subjects ranging from sports to politics, arts to mental health policy.  More than anything, he has dedicated his writing career to reducing stigma directed against those suffering from mental illness.

 

    In addition to his articles, Robert has given numerous speeches over the years, including at schizophrenia conferences at Patton State Hospital and Loma Linda University Medical School, two institutions in Southern California. He was the keynote speaker at USC Verdugo Hills Hospital's Inaugural Worldwide Suicide Prevention Day Conference, as well as at an annual gala for Thresholds, a mental-health support organization in Chicago.  

 

    He has also spoken about mental health and writing at prisons, boys & girls clubs, libraries and schools in the Southland.

    Robert lives in Southern California with Carol, his wife, and a menagerie of cuties.

NEW! ROBERT'S SUBSTACK:

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"No Kings" in the City of Angels

We can achieve the impossible when we hear our song

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Violence Is Not and Never Has Been an Option

We can learn more from our failures than from anything else

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In Praise of David Duchovny

Asking the actor-author for forgiveness on the eve of 9/11

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Parks and the Arts Can Transform Us

Stepping into nature helps to boost our spirits and elevate our world

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Jesus Embraces Everyone at the Hollywood Bowl

The super power of love is in all of us

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We Need Music and Love

A commentary on Trump, Shylock and D.E.I.

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Zohran Mamdani Wins Our Hearts

Elevating language can help us stay optimistic in spite of Trump

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Hope Is the Answer at USC Verdugo Hills Hospital Conference

We all need humility when we speak of suicidal ideation

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Driving Across the Country with Dylan and Sinatra

We need leadership from Washington and music in our souls

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Standing up to Bullies

Apologizing to Johnny,
my childhood neighbor

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Rosie O'Donnell and "South Park" Have the Fighting Spirit

Reporting on my recent honeymoon in Ireland

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A Dream of Peace on a Midsummer Night

Celebrating my nuptials to Carol

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No Kings, No Tyrants

No more "obliterating" our language

WEBSITE EXCLUSIVES:

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We Are All LGBTQ

It is a blessing to be or to “think different”

Standing up for Harvard

The truth is vital in
our democracy

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Brian Wilson and L.A. Protests Offer a Split Screen

Don’t worry, baby.  Everything will turn out alright.

PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED WORK:

The Voice of Light and Truth

A tribute to Professor George Fayen

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The Gospel of Charlotte Bruney

Praising my math teacher from 9th grade

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The Quiet Man

Honoring Bob Jaffee, my dad, on the eve of his second Yahrzeit.

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Shalom, Salaam and Respect

The sacred kinship of the letters of the alphabet can lead us to peace

PSA VIDEO MEDIA:

Reciting "The Canterbury Tales" as Entertainment 

A recitation from memory of the opening 18 lines of “The Canterbury Tales," as a means of entertainment.

Copyright © 2025 Robert David Jaffee

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