Kevin Mattson was born in 1966 in the metropolitan area of Washington, D.C. He grew up in Bethesda, Maryland, a suburb of the city, and was heavily influenced by the punk scene. He played in numerous local bands, including Hate from Ignorance, and Subtle Oppression. He contributed to several zines, including: "If This Goes On" and "Off Center". With Mark Andersen, he co-founded the activist organization Positive Force. Through this organization, he helped organize protests and worked on programs that fed and supported unhoused people. Mattson received his B.A. from the New School in New York City, and received his Ph.D. in History from the University of Rochester in 1994. He was Associate Director of the Walt Whitman Center for the Culture and Politics of Democracy, Rutgers University (New Brunswick, New Jersey). In 2001, he became a tenured professor of American History at Ohio University in Athens Ohio. In 2004, he became the Connor Study Professor of Contemporary History. He has published articles in both academic and popular publications and serves as an editor of the journal Dissent. He has written numerous books, including: When America was Great: The Fighting Faith of Postwar Liberalism (2004); Upton Sinclair and the Other American Century (2006); Rebels All: A Short History of the Conservative Mind in Postwar America (2008); What the Heck Are You Up To Mr. President?: Jimmy Carter, America’s Malaise and the Speech That Should Have Changed the Country (2009); and We’re Not Here to Entertain: Punk Rock, Ronald and the Real Culture War of 1980s America (2020).