Sam Tranum holds a B.A. from Antioch College and an M.A. in international relations from the University of Chicago. He served as a US Peace Corps Volunteer in Turkmenistan from 2004-2006 and taught journalism at the American University of Central Asia in Kyrgyzstan from 2007-2009. He has worked as a reporter at the Charleston Daily Mail in West Virginia, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel in Florida, and the Energy Intelligence Group in Washington DC. He has worked as an editorial consultant at The Statesman in Kolkata.