Ted was born in New York and grew up in Japan, South Africa, and Washington, D.C. He has written for numerous publications, including The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the Wall Street Journal, Condé Nast Traveler, and Outside. His first book, Apartheid in my Rucksack, was a personal account of discovering Africa as a white African. His book Mongo, Adventures in Trash deals with the people in New York City who collect what others consider garbage, whether it’s a computer, a book, a soda can or a piece of a demolished building. Together with Jenni Baxter, he wrote The Expat Confessions, about the trials and tribulations of South Africans who live abroad. His next book, for Random House, is a nonfiction thriller about a forensic sculptor titled The Girl with the Crooked Nose. He is a swimmer and a runner, and has done his share of triathlons as well as long-distance swims in South Africa and New York’s Hudson River.