Nina Totenberg is an American journalist who covers legal affairs and Supreme Court cases for National Public Radio (NPR). Her work has also appeared in publications such as New York Magazine, The Harvard Law Review, and the Christian Science Monitor. Totenberg is best known for her work on Anita Hill’s 1991 allegations against Clarence Thomas, now a Supreme Court judge, and her continuing role as a contributor to NPR’s All Things Considered, Morning Edition, and Weekend Edition. According to her profile on the NPR website, she has won various awards for her contributions to journalism, including the Long Island University George Polk Award, the Carr Van Anda Award, the Joan S. Barone Award, and the Edward R. Murrow Award. The American Bar Association has also honored her seven times for her legal reporting.

Totenberg brings her decades-long experience of covering the Supreme Court and other legal affairs in Washington, DC to her book, Dinners With Ruth. Her friendship with Ginsburg began as a professional connection, since Totenberg relied on Ginsburg, then a law professor, to help her understand different legal perspectives on cases. Her work as a legal journalist gave Totenberg extensive insight in Ginsburg’s professional life, since she often sat in on Supreme Court proceedings and witnessed Ginsburg’s speeches, oral dissents, and exchanges with lawyers and other Justices.