Martha Bayles is an American author, critic, and professor. She has written widely on the arts, media, cultural policy, and U.S. public diplomacy. Bayles's essays and reviews have appeared in many national and international publications, including the New York Times, the International Herald Tribune, Newsweek, Boston Globe, Atlantic Monthly, and The New Republic. She is a former TV and arts critic for the Wall Street Journal and a regular contributor to the Boston Globe, Weekly Standard, and Claremont Review of Books. She is also an educator, having taught at Harvard University, Claremont McKenna College, and Boston College. She has lectured around the world on public diplomacy and popular culture. Her books, Hole In Our Soul: The Loss of Beauty and Meaning in American Popular Music, Ain't