July 2009
Pakistan’s dynasty-bashing heir apparent discusses how Obama and corruption legitimize the Taliban, her work to include women in Pakistani politics, and why she will never run for office (it’s not why you think).

June 2009
On the twentieth anniversary of Geek Love, Dunn discusses her new book, the cultural value of boxing, and why some sports are superior to the arts.

June 2009
The longtime Africa correspondent discusses the Kenyan whistleblower who risked his life to end corruption, why she rejects Dambisa Moyo’s thesis about aid and democracy, and how she learned to love Paul Wolfowitz.

June 2009
On the twentieth anniversary of Tiananmen Square, the student leader made famous for scolding the premier in his hospital gown discusses life in exile, guilt over the students’ deaths, and how his movement was a mere first step toward greater political freedom in China.

May 2009
In his latest book, Mamdani attacks the Save Darfur Coalition as ahistorical and dishonest, and argues that the conflict in Darfur is more about land, power, and the environment than it is directly about race.

May 2009
On May 27, Shell goes to court over the 1995 execution of iconic Nigerian writer and environmental activist Ken Saro-Wiwa. His son, Ken Wiwa, Jr., and bestselling novelist Richard North Patterson discuss Saro-Wiwa’s legacy, Nigeria now, and the upcoming landmark trial.

May 2009
The emerging writer on the ideal reader, Abraham Lincoln as a shaman, how poetry and fiction go together, and the greatness of a mongoose.

April 2009
The environmental child prodigy on how the economy can benefit from green initiatives, why Canada and the U.S. must help lead the way, and the role for tribal peoples in conservation.

April 2009
With a newly-elected leftist government in El Salvador, exiled Salvadoran novelist Horacio Castellanos Moya is optimistic about the future of a country that once responded to his novels with death threats.

April 2009
The African author and economist on ending western aid to Africa, what Bono and Geldof don’t get, and the stifling of African independence and entrepreneurship.

March 2009
The ICC’s lead prosecutor on the Court’s first arrest warrant for a sitting head of state, why his Court is nobody’s instrument but the law’s, and how he got his mother to see the light.

February 2009
A Muslim and a Jewish firebrand challenge their respective religions to embrace doubt, democracy, and openness.

January 2009
The neo-conservative who coined “axis of evil” on how writing for the president is like writing for the movies, the administration’s “departures from the law,” and why the president should have brought in Democrats.

November 2008
The celebrity polemicist on the resurgence of anti-Semitism, an Arab brand of fascism, and how the election of Obama could reconstitute the grand alliance of Jews and African Americans.

November 2008
The religion reporter talks about his experiences with “the Family,” the secret Christ-loving, Hitler-quoting powerbrokers of the modern world.

November 2008
What can a California geographer possibly teach us about the American troop surge and ethnic cleansing in Iraq?

October 2008
The author and statesman on the definition of soft power, why it's imperative to getting what a country wants, and which presidential candidate is better equipped to use it.

September 2008
The election watchdog dissects why Las Vegas slot machines have more oversight than U.S. voting machines, and claims that Hillary Clinton's New Hampshire primary victory was rigged.

August 2008
The congresswoman and author on the impact of Hillary's candidacy and the utter shortsightedness of voting for McCain; plus, the next big goal for women, and the importance of supportive fathers.

August 2008
Kill All Your Darlings and Low Life author Luc Sante on the majesty of rhythm, the primacy of surprise, and his cluelessness toward plot.

August 2008
Part 3: A conversation between actor/activist Mia Farrow and French intellectual Bernard-Henri Lévy on the current state of the Darfur genocide, what needs to be done after the Olympics, and how to start doing it.

July 2008
(Part 2) Actor/activist Mia Farrow on the continued slaughter, China's role, and what we can do to help the people of Darfur

June 2008
(Part 1) The French philosopher on how 3 great ideas of the political left have backfired on the people of Darfur

June 2008
The former Pfizer veep-turned-whistleblower on how the pharmaceutical industry is like the mob, the sad state of U.S. healthcare, and his fruitless attempts at finding work.

May 2008
The punk rock icon discusses debating the soldiers in Iraq, Sean Hannity's lack of courage, and the incalculable influence of Chuck D

February 2008
Rock star poet John Ashbery on pop art, manifestos, and feeling like a foreigner in America

February 2008
Iran's USA scholar says it's not just American politics that demonize Iran, it's the culture, including books and films

February 2008
The queen of science fiction on war, the problem with literary realism and learning to write as a woman

January 2008
The recent National Book Award winner on how poets and poetry can best engage the world.

December 2007
It would surprise most people to know that slave labor is just as prevalent in America as anywhere else in the world. Here John Bowe, the author of Nobodies, sheds light on America’s dirty secret and why it still exists.

November 2007
The poet who refuses to call himself a poet on his hatred of dumbing it down and the musician he might have been.

September 2007
Aesop Rock on hip-hop, the intelligentsia, and being a mad scientist

July 2007
The author of the proto-9/11 novel deconstructs terrorism, fiction, and his inability to carry a tune.

July 2007
The actress cum activist on her campaign to end genocide in Darfur, and how China, Steven Spielberg and Kofi Annan have stood in her way

May 2007
Iraq's most tenacious feminist says the U.S. war and its aftermath have completely disenfranchised women.

April 2007
The signs were there; but the Bush administration looked away

March 2007
Iraq was not the first time, just the first time we all watched it happen

February 2007
Islam's toughest critic on her new book, the Axis of Evil, and the neoconservatives' moral high ground

February 2007
In his 800th anniversary year, Rumi is the best selling poet in America; a talk with his most prominent English translator

January 2007
The economic boom in China has meant the rise virtually overnight of a slew of new cities. But what are the costs? A talk with the artist/photographer on hyper-urbanization in China, with his photographs

January 2007
The author discusses his decision to become a writer, the relationship between the individual and a nation, and his work as an opera librettist.

October 2006
The poet on his apprenticeship to Bidart, developing an effective "camouflage" and where the self lives in poetry.

September 2006
The photographer on working in series, the personal roots of his current project, "Window," and September 11th.

August 2006
The anti-Hillary candidate on the deaf media, war opportunism and building a progressive infrastructure.

August 2006
The acclaimed author on science fiction, collaborating with Ben Stiller, and how Ayn Rand almost made him an architect.

July 2006
The author/activist on the politics of natural gas in Bolivia

June 2006
The former poet laureate on attacking pretension, daring to be accessible, and i-poetry.

May 2006
As Republicans attempt to preemptively discredit the Congress’s oversight role, Conyers discusses why he won’t let go

May 2006
The author/journalist on climate change in a culture of denial

April 2006
The acclaimed author on giving up control, how she processed the loss of her husband, and becoming a playwright

April 2006
Is post-September 11^th New York on the verge of becoming the world’s greenest city?

April 2006
The U.S. poet laureate on the aesthetic of the simple poem

March 2006
"They’re looking down upon us after Rwanda, saying, 'You know, we’re going to give you another chance. This time we’re gonna give you lots of time.'"

February 2006
"Americans aren’t so stupid, after all, as to re-elect this guy."

January 2006
The columnist and author on the current war with Iraq and the next one with...

January 2006
The critic and the artist on Christo, political art, and the toggle between looking and reading

December 2005
The former deputy assistant attorney general on his new book, the Geneva Conventions and the legal case for torture

November 2005
The British singer on the folk tradition, American politics, and the social responsibility of the artist.

October 2005
The innovative writer/director discusses her latest film, venturing into uncharted territory, and how A.O. Scott got her movie wrong.

September 2005
Banks discusses his time in Students for a Democratic Society, finding a narrator's voice, and his (brief) acting career.

August 2005
What the Muslim gaze westward has seen during the invasion and occupation of Iraq.

August 2005
The pianist and arranger talks about winning a Grammy, being an indy favorite and the state of salsa today.

August 2005
Newman discusses Padilla's case, his state of mind and why the Bush administration's position sets an ugly precedent.

August 2005
The author of Everything is Illuminated, on the verge of a film release and an opera debut, talks about his new book.

June 2005
"What I learned from him was that you could perhaps better tell the story of a place by writing of a tiny village as a sort of prism into the bigger issues the culture was facing."

June 2005
"In a sense, I feel like the job of the artist at all times is essentially the same, which is simply to tell the truth. I mean, I’m nervous about any prescriptions for what a writer should or shouldn’t do."

May 2005
"The only long-term way that the terrorist threat will be neutralized is to improve human dignity, and shore up failed states like Afghanistan, like Darfur, so that they don’t become a breeding ground for more people hostile to the United States."

May 2005
"Al Qaeda has received a great deal of support and training over the years from the U.S. What’s important about mentioning these connections is to prevent the same mistake from being repeated again."

January 2005
"Terrorists act as they do because they don't have great power at their easy disposal. The result is that they rely upon the ability to exploit the mistakes of others."

January 2005
"Yes, I think we have to be faithful to the context. But it's very important to differentiate between fidelity and literalness."

October 2004
"Poetry articulates and enacts the difficult-to-say, the half-known; it finds a music and a shape, offers an arrangement of words and sentences that better approximate the way things are."

October 2004
"Historians hate to make predictions."