Vlatko Vedral on The Quantification of Everything
The professor of quantum information theory at Oxford tells us about books that successfully popularise quantum physics and the science of complex systems. Look, no equations!Read full interview
View ArticleScott Turow on Legal Novels
The author tells us about his favourite novels with legal themes and the issues of justice, morality and human mess they bring to lightRead full interview
View ArticleDavid Edmonds on Ethical Problems
Given the choice between allowing five people to die, and killing one person, what would you do? What is the utilitarian argument for vegetarianism? Should we be able to sell our kidneys? The...
View ArticleRichard Baum on Obstacles to Political Reform in China
The late China specialist and UCLA professor said sometimes he felt genuine admiration for China’s technocratic leaders. Other days he shook his head at their obsessive intransigence and China's...
View ArticleRandall Grahm on Wine
Image by ColbyOtero.com on FlickrThe Californian winemaker gives us a fabulously eclectic reading list for understanding and enjoying the world of wineRead full interview
View ArticleAnatole Kaletsky on A New Capitalism
Stéfan on FlickrWe need to build an entirely new market system, not just patch up the old one, says the economics commentator, who discusses the long-term fallout of the financial crisis and possible...
View ArticleCatherine S Manegold on Narrative Non-Fiction
The author and former New York Times reporter says that some of the very best writing today is non-fiction — and that seductive narratives can yank readers into the most diverse range of subjectsRead...
View ArticleEdith Grossman on Translation
The award-winning literary translator discusses books on and of translation that inspired her, and considers the trade-off between fidelity and meaning that every translator facesRead full interview
View ArticleGiles Coren on Food Writing
The London Times award-winning food columnist takes an irreverent look at the world of food writing, from restaurant critics to celebrity chefsRead full interview
View ArticleAlex Ross on Writing about Music
Image by Ferrari + caballos + fuerza = cerebro Humano  on Flickr"People who care deeply about music want someone out there doing the work of listening to this vast quantity of new music and singling...
View ArticleTyler Cowen on Information
A conversation with the economist, educator, omnivore, polymath and co-founder of Marginal Revolution, highlighting books about decentralised information, mass collaboration and spontaneous orderRead...
View ArticleJoe Posnanski on Baseball
A conversation with the Sports Illustrated columnist, widely acclaimed as one of America's finest sports writers, in which he discusses five great books about baseballRead full interview
View ArticleCalvin Trillin, on Memoirs
"I always thought when I started writing memoir that I was at a hideous disadvantage because, well, I wouldn’t want to admit this in New York, or in more sophisticated circles, I actually had a happy...
View ArticleAndy Borowitz on Comic Writing
"Mark Twain would have been great at Twitter. But he might never have gotten around to writing Huckleberry Finn. Maybe that's what Twitter is doing to comedy — diverting our attention from longer forms...
View ArticleHarold Bloom on Literary Criticism
"I maintain canonical standards for the study and appreciation of literature. I practice philology and knowledge of the history of language. I do not give in to political considerations, however they...
View ArticleArmistead Maupin, on San Francisco
Image by Postcard Farm on FlickrThe author of Tales of the City talks about San Francisco’s spirit of place, and the books which capture it. "We are free to be flaky here. Even our billionaires are...
View ArticleHari Kunzru on the American Desert
The novelist explains his fascination with the Mojave desert, and how it came to inspire his most recent novel, Gods Without MenRead full interview
View ArticleBruce Schneier, on Trust
"I have to trust my cloud providers. I have to trust that Facebook won't misuse the personal information it knows about me. I have to trust that my data won't get shipped off to a server in a foreign...
View ArticleFrancis Spufford on Soviet Russia
One of the hardest things for us to remember about Stalinism is that, as well as being a system of horrors, it also represented modernity, and social mobility, and opportunity for lots of people.Read...
View ArticleAlain de Botton, on Essays
"Essays are about brevity and also personality, a feeling that you're being taken on an intellectual or emotional journey by a particular person who you get to know along the way. Essays root ideas in...
View Article
More Pages to Explore .....