Michael Ames is a reporter covering American politics, environmental issues and corduroy for places like Harper’s Magazine, Newsweek, TheNewYorker.com and The Daily Beast. For Newsweek, he investigated the case of U.S. Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, who was held captive in Pakistan from July 2009 until May 2014. For Harper’s, he has reported on Ron Paul’s libertarian youth movement, as well as the conservatives pushing for criminal justice reform. He is also the author of The World Beard and Moustache Championships: The First Official Book.