Bahadur was born in 1984 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.^[2] Educated at the University of Toronto Schools, he attended the University of Toronto, graduating in 2007 with a B.A. in Political Science and Economics.^[3] In 2008, he was working for a market research firm in Chicago. Interested in working as a journalist, Bahadur was told by real journalists to avoid going to school to study journalism and to obtain experience working as a freelancer in "crazy places" instead.^[4]

Bahadur is a Canadian journalist.^[5] He has written for The New York Times, The Financial Post, The Globe and Mail, The Times of London, and he has worked for CBS News as a freelance correspondent.

Initially, Bahadur wanted to visit Somalia to write about the election in the northwestern part of the country, but the news coverage of the hijacking and capture of the MV Faina by Somali pirates in September 2008 made him switch gears.^[6] Deciding to cover the piracy angle, Bahadur contacted journalists in Somalia and made arrangements with Radio Garowe. He quit his job and purchased a ticket to Somalia. Several months before Bahadur arrived, Canadian freelance journalist Amanda Lindhout was kidnapped in Somalia and held hostage by gunmen far away from the relatively safe areas of Somaliland and Puntland where Bahadur was working on his interviews.^[7]

In January 2009, Bahadur traveled for almost two days to reach the semi-autonomous region of Puntland in northeastern Somalia. Once there, he met with the pirates and learned about the history of the industry.^[8] During his journey, Bahadur discovered information that challenged basic assumptions about the pirates: there were not as many pirates as he was led to believe, they were not controlled by international crime syndicates and they were not working with jihadists.^[9]

He visited Africa several times, spending three months in areas that most journalists never visit.^[10] Bahadur returned from his first trip in March 2009, just before the Maersk Alabama hijacking in April. This timing led to heightened interest in his book and he subsequently sold it to a publisher.^[11] Bahadur planned on finishing his first book before 2010, but it took much longer than he expected.^[4] His book, The Pirates of Somalia: Inside Their Hidden World was released in the U.S. on July 19, 2011.^[12]

On August 9, 2011, Bahadur appeared as a guest on The Daily Show.^[13]

A film based on his story, The Pirates of Somalia, directed by Bryan Buckley, was released in 2017. Bahadur was portrayed by Evan Peters.

• The Pirates of Somalia: Inside Their Hidden World. HarperCollins, 2011. ISBN 0-307-37906-X.

• Arellano, Veronica (July 29, 2011). Xpress Reviews: Nonfiction. Library Journal. Archived from the original on October 15, 2011. Retrieved 2011-08-15.
• Associated Press (September 26, 2012). "Party seems over for Somali pirates". Newsday. Archived from the original on September 28, 2012. Retrieved March 14, 2018.
• Batchelor, J. (July 23, 2011). The John Batchelor Show Archived 2012-03-30 at the Wayback Machine. WABC. Even occurs from 18:21-35:21. Retrieved 2011-08-15.
• Bloomberg Television. (July 29, 2011). Bahadur Says Somali Pirates Backed by Local Investors. The Washington Post. Retrieved 2011-08-15.
• Centre for International Governance Innovation. (October 18, 2010). Signature Lecture: Piracy and Terrorism at Sea.
• Conan, Neal. (July 19, 2011). A Peek Into The Secret World of Somali Pirates. Talk of the Nation. National Public Radio. Transcript.
• Glor, J. (2011). 'The Pirates of Somalia,' by Jay Bahadur. CBS News. Retrieved 2011-08-15.
• HarperCollins. Jay Bahadur Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2011-08-15.
• Hammer, J. (August 7, 2011). "Tracking Somali Pirates to Their Lair". The New York Times Book Review. Archived URL. Retrieved 2011-08-14.
• Houreld, K. (July 18, 2011). Secrets of Somali pirates revealed in new book. Associated Press. Newsday. Retrieved 2011-08-15.
• Hume, J. (July 24, 2011). Can I get a little piracy?, National Post. Retrieved 2011-08-15.
• Ilo, M. (2011). Toronto man who lived with Somali pirates reveals his adventures in new book. The Canadian Press. Winnipeg Free Press. Retrieved 2011-08-15.
• Kelley, K. (August 14, 2011). Somali's pirate money funding of property boom disputed. The East African. Archive URL. Retrieved 2011-08-14.
• May, C. D. (July 27, 2011). Do Somali pirates have legit gripe? Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine Daily Republic. Retrieved 2011-08-15.
• Profile Books. (2011). Jay Bahadur.
• Random House Audio. (2011). Jay Bahadur.
• Sekulich, D. (July 22, 2011). Low conduct on the high seas. The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2011-08-15.
• Scribe Publications. (2011). Jay Bahadur Archived 2011-09-20 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2011-08-15.
• Shribman, D. M. (July 17, 2011). Debunking myths of pirates. The Boston Globe.
• Smith, D. (July 29, 2011). Arrivals: Barnes, Swift, Barclay. Toronto Star. Retrieved 2011-08-15.
• Stewart, J. (August 9, 2011). Jay Bahadur. The Daily Show.

• Ewing, Mike. (July 26, 2011). Ontario Morning Podcast Archived 2012-03-16 at the Wayback Machine. CBC Radio One. Event occurs from 10:00-19:35.
• Kirkus Reviews. (May 15, 2011). The Pirates of Somalia: Inside Their Hidden World. 79(10), 828-829. ISSN 0042-6598
• Nanjiani, S. (June 6, 2011). Extended Interview with Jay Bahadur. BBC Radio Scotland.

• Bahadur's blog
• Journalist Nation
• Appearances on C-SPAN