Gang, Interrupted
Emily Brennan interviews Steve JamesFebruary 2012
Hoop Dreams director Steve James’s new film follows former gang members who neutralize Chicago gang violence
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White on Noir
Suzanne Snider interviews Eve Sussman, February 2012The artist Eve Sussman dissects infrastructure as beauty, Soviet-era aesthetics, Occupy Wall Street, Williamsburg lofts, and her latest film that uses an algorithm to distinguish each screening. With a sample selection.
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Waiting for Nobody
Fortunato Salazar interviews Michelle Rhee, January 2012The controversial education reformer on improving mobility, the gap between the U.S. and other developed countries, and why she’s optimistic.
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OK, Computer
Fortunato Salazar interviews Tom Vander Ark , January 2012The former Gates Foundation director thinks technology will help ready American students for college and careers. But they (and their parents) ought to work twice as hard as they do.
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Life and Death in Karachi
Rafia Zakaria interviews Steve Inskeep, January 2012The NPR host and reporter on what Americans miss when they consider Karachi, the city's resilience, and what Jinnah really envisioned in Pakistan.
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The Female Grotesque
Ruth Williams interviews Kim Hyesoon, January 2012South Korean poet Kim Hyesoon on subverting expectations, her use of grotesque language, and the state of feminism in Korea.
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For Sale: Baby
Kristen French interviews Erin Siegal, December 2011The investigative journalist on the search for Maria Fernanda, the role of Christianity in the trafficking of Guatemalan adoptees, and funding the research for her book via Kickstarter.
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Studio Visit: Wardell Milan
Madeleine Hunt-Ehrlich interviews Wardell Milan, December 2011Artist Wardell Milan on dioramas, Matchbox villages and riffing on Ralph Ellison.
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The Harmonizer
Camille Goodison interviews Kwame Dawes, December 2011The Emmy Award–winning poet and crisis reporter on Haiti’s continuing struggles and Jamaica’s AIDS crisis, how Afro-Caribbean music has influenced the writing of V.S. Naipaul and Langston Hughes, and his new role as editor of Prairie Schooner.
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The Wizard of #OWS
Jake Whitney interviews Kalle Lasn, December 2011The editor in chief of Adbusters on sparking the Occupy Wall Street movement and its next phase, why the president is a “f#$%ing wimp,” and his beef with David Brooks.
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Picturing Africa
Joe Penney interviews Azu Nwagbogu, December 2011Lagos Photo Festival founder Azu Nwagbogu on combating Afro-pessimism, the dialogue between Africa and the West, and depicting the “other Africa” of industry and intellect.
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Unsettled
Jasmin Ramsey interviews Amira Hass, November 2011Israeli journalist Amira Hass on the next Palestinian uprising and her attempts to cut through propaganda to get at the truths of the lives next door.
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Miracle Realist
Sam Kerbel interviews David Grossman, November 2011In a candid interview, the Israeli author on Netanyahu’s impotence, how his son’s death affected his latest novel, and Israel’s need to embrace Palestinians with humanity.
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Myth About Myths
Shiva Rahbaran interviews Amir Hassan Cheheltan, November 2011The Iranian writer on the tension between artists and intellectuals, the power of mysticism, and the long-lasting effects of the 1979 revolution.
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Postcards from Karachi
Video by Ram Devineni, October 2011Poet and war correspondent Eliza Griswold reports from Pakistan on the killing of Osama bin Laden.
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On the Fly with Katherine Ellison
Mark Dowie interviews Katherine Ellison, October 2011The Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter on receiving an ADHD diagnosis at the same time as her son and how writing her new memoir helped them cope.
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Libya’s Reluctant Spokesman
Hari Kunzru interviews Hisham Matar, October 2011On the occasion of his second novel, Libyan author Hisham Matar discusses the effect of totalitarianism on personal lives, what makes the novel a great art form, and the Arab Spring.
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The Lioness of Iran
Shiva Rahbaran interviews Simin Behbahāni, October 2011Iran’s most prominent poet, a two-time Nobel nominee, on the greatest epic in history, the nightmare of censorship, and why her country will eventually achieve democracy.
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Studio Visit: Legacy Russell
Madeleine Hunt-Ehrlich interviews Legacy Russell, October 2011In the debut of Guernica’s new interview series, Madeleine Hunt-Ehrlich visits the studio of Legacy Russell and gets the lowdown on Russell’s ongoing performance project Open Ceremony.
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The Weight of the Poor
Cornel West interviews Frances Fox Piven , September 2011The professor Glenn Beck loves to hate speaks with Cornel West about waitressing, black nationalism, how the radical right helped her define her politics, and why she’s gloomy about America’s future.
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Fundamentals
Meakin Armstrong interviews Craig Thompson, September 2011The author of the lauded graphic novel Blankets discusses the influences behind his new book, the effect of 9/11 on his work, and the decline of the superhero in comics.
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Remains of the Day
Myron Farber and Mary Marshall Clark interview Mary Lee Hannell, September 2011A New York City mother and Port Authority executive recalls the worst day of her life and the aftermath for herself, her colleagues, and her family. From a new oral history of September 11.
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Parts and Partial
Katherine Dykstra interviews Stephanie Coontz, September 2011You thought feminists had to focus on empowering women? Stephanie Coontz on why, after a sustained assault on families and unions, that just isn't enough anymore.
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Democracies of Bread
Ann Marie Awad interviews Annia Ciezadlo, August 2011The author of Day of Honey discusses ancient Iraqi cooking, the Middle East’s dependence on imported wheat, and the link between bread and civilian uprisings.
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On the Fly: Belva Davis
Mark Dowie interviews Belva Davis, August 2011Broadcast journalist Belva Davis on her family’s move from Louisiana to Oakland, California, her new memoir, and becoming the first female African American television reporter on the West Coast.
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The Switchboard
Jesse Tangen-Mills interviews Elaine Equi, August 2011The wry poet on the crossover between poetry and the punk rock scene, O’Hara and Ginsberg, and embracing technology.
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Social Business
Jake Whitney interviews Muhammad Yunus, August 2011Was Nobel Peace Laureate Muhammad Yunus’s sacking from the microlending bank he created part of a conspiracy to discredit and force him out?
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Pacific
Gabrielle Calvocoressi interviews Jen P. Harris, July 2011A meditation on an artist coming into her own and out into the open.
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Recovering Cubanness
Luke Epplin interviews Oscar Hijuelos, July 2011The Pulitzer Prize-winning author on his new memoir, recovering his Latin roots in America, his relationship with Donald Barthelme, and how he found his voice.
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The Sick and the Well
Elizabeth Koch interviews Lynne Tillman, July 2011Lynne Tillman discusses her latest mindfuck story collection and how social reading platforms erode the barrier between writer and reader.
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Contested Territory
Jina Moore interviews Rebecca Hamilton, July 2011On July 9, southern Sudan is scheduled to become the world’s newest country. Rebecca Hamilton discusses the impact of this change on the rest of the region.
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Never the Face
Claire Messud in conversation with Ariel Sands, June 2011Claire Messud and novelist Ariel Sands (the pseudonym of an internationally known nonfiction writer) discuss the tradition of sadomasochistic literature, the glorification of obsessive love, and whether there's a feminist defense of submissiveness.
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Off the Grid
Glenna Gordon interviews Peter DiCampo, June 2011A photographer and former Peace Corps volunteer in Ghana observes the beauty of the dark and the politics of electricity. (With video.)
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On the Fly: Anna Deavere Smith
Marc Breindel interviews Anna Deavere Smith, June 2011Actress and playwright Anna Deavere Smith on “absorbing America,” “Nurse Jackie,” and her latest production, Let Me Down Easy.
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God Bless You, Mr. Greybeard
Bill Moyers interviews Jane Goodall, June 2011The iconic anthropologist and activist on what chimpanzees tell us about our ultimate destiny, the sixth great extinction, and reasons for hope.
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Excavation
Lila Azam Zanganeh interviews Amitav Ghosh, May 2011The author Amitav Ghosh discusses the link between anthropology and writing, The New Yorker’s edit of his essay on the Iraq war, and John Updike’s worst book.
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On the Fly: Mike Daisey
Mark Dowie interviews Mike Daisey, May 2011Writer and monologist Mike Daisey describes his inspirations, working customer relations at Amazon, and his latest production, The Agony and Ecstasy of Steve Jobs.
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Fear and Framing in Kashmir
Amy Rosenberg interviews Tariq Tapa, May 2011The filmmaker Tariq Tapa on growing up Jewish and Muslim in New York, saying the unsayable, and the future of horror films.
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Full Metal Racket
Jake Whitney interviews Michael Hastings, May 2011The Rolling Stone reporter on his blockbuster articles, how the generals pushed Obama into a war he didn’t want to fight, and the Pentagon’s effort to tear down the wall between PR and propaganda.
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The Other Face of Silence
Nathalie Handal interviews Elia Suleiman, May 2011The award-winning Palestinian director on his latest and most personal film, Israel’s moral army, and the power of silence.
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On the Fly: Robert Reich
Mark Dowie interviews Robert Reich, April 2011The former Secretary of Labor on the Great Recession, class warfare, and why President Obama must challenge right-wing distortions with a counter-narrative.
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The Straight Dope
Bill Moyers interviews David Simon, April 2011David Simon would be happy to find out that The Wire was hyperbolic and ridiculous, and that the “American Century” is still to come. But he's not betting on it.
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La Estocada
Fortunato Salazar interviews Bette Ford, April 2011The famed American matador on Catalonia’s impending bullfighting ban, the art of killing well, and her friendships with Hemingway and Norman Mailer.
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Selmeyyah
Jamal Mahjoub interviews Ahdaf Soueif, March 2011Egyptian novelist and activist Ahdaf Soueif on when she knew the revolution would succeed, the role Al Jazeera and social networking played, and the irresponsible reporting on Lara Logan’s attack.
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Runner
Jasmin Ramsey interviews Salah Ameidan, March 2011Would you run in the Olympics for the country that occupied your birth country and refused to allow its independence? The subject of a forthcoming documentary on his contested homeland, the Western Sahara.
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Capturing the Queen
Stacy Schiff in conversation with Lis Harris, March 2011The Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer discusses her latest book on Cleopatra that looks beyond tired mythologies surrounding the powerful queen.
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Trans-Formative Change
Meaghan Winter interviews Dean Spade, March 2011America’s first openly transgender law professor on the power of zines, the sacrifice social movements require, and the limits of legal reform.
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The Un-Victim
Amitava Kumar interviews Arundhati Roy, February 2011In the wake of sedition threats by the Indian government, the writer and activist describes the stupidest question she gets asked, the cuss-word that made her respect the power of language, and the limits of preaching nonviolence.
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For a Coming Extinction
Joel Whitney interviews W.S. Merwin, February 2011The U.S. poet laureate, W.S. Merwin, discusses his role in the antiwar movement, the quagmire of U.S. military occupations, today’s extinction rate, and efforts to conserve nature on Maui.
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Palestine’s Great Book Robbery
Arwa Aburawa interviews Benny Brunner, February 2011The Israeli filmmaker on the need to reclaim Palestinian books looted by Israeli forces in 1948 and why Israel’s internal conflict gives him hope for peace.
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We Are All Going to Die
Nathalie Handal interviews Edwidge Danticat, January 2011One year after the earthquake that devastated her native Haiti, the novelist on rebuilding the island, art in a time of trouble, and inhabiting bodies.
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Nearer to Truth than History
Gabrielle Calvocoressi interviews Reza Aslan, January 2011Reza Aslan on his groundbreaking anthology, the failure to build bridges between the West and Middle East, how poets can help, and the internet can’t.
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Doing Everybody
Nathan Englander and Zadie Smith in conversation, January 2011Two star novelists on bringing back wrong and right, micro and macro writing, and David Foster Wallace.
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Listen to the Banned
Joel Whitney interviews Deeyah, December 2010Just in time for the holidays, a new CD compiles a who’s who of banned musicians from around the world.
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The Wrong Question
Chris Lombardi interviews Joshua E. S. Phillips, December 2010Journalist Joshua Phillips on the left media’s standard torture story, untrained soldiers making it up as they go, and becoming a suicide hotline.
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The Earth is a Mosque
Ibrahim Abdul Matin in conversation with Imam Khalid Latif, December 2010Two New York City Muslims discuss the Islamic imperative to care for the earth.
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Updike Redux
Lila Azam Zanganeh interviews John Updike, November 2010In a previously unpublished interview, John Updike talks about Nabokov and his other literary heroes, why he wrote a book about a terrorist, and why he never expected to be a novelist.
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A Kind of Flag-Planting
Sarah Layden interviews Aimee Bender, November 2010On the heels of her second novel and fourth work of fiction, Bender considers magic and math, craft and discipline, and the influence of other writers and artists on her work.
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The Wrong Side
Jesse Tangen-Mills interviews Lawrence Ferlinghetti, November 2010The unrepentant revolutionary poet and Beat godfather, now 91, looks back at friendships with Ginsberg, Pablo Neruda, Fidel, and the Sandinistas—and asks when The Nation will publish his next poem.
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Blood Without Guts
Jake Whitney interviews Andrew Bacevich, October 2010Why fight wars our president doesn’t believe in and we can’t pay for? asks retired colonel and military historian Andrew Bacevich.
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Droning On
Joel Whitney interviews Tariq Ali, October 2010From stepped up drone attacks, backsliding on torture, the Afghan surge, has Obama doubled down on Bush’s bets? Editor Joel Whitney interviews Tariq Ali on his new book. Recorded live at Asia Society.
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Wolf in the Heart
Chris Lombardi interviews Evan Thomas, September 2010The historian and departing Newsweek editor on how he (like Remnick and Keller) caught war fever after 9/11, the obsession with being a man, and how his dad glowed in Navy whites.
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It Wasn’t a War
Kate Perkins interviews Norman Finkelstein, August 2010The Israel critic and Holocaust heir on the “Gaza massacre,” the Goldstone Report, the public turn against Israeli policy, and the difference between “of” and “in.”
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Landslide
Rebecca Gould interviews the descendants of Titsian Tabidze, August 2010The Soviets were a menace to Georgian poet Titsian Tabidze’s generation. As his daughter and granddaughter recount, the legacy continues.
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Between Riddle and Charm
Anna Ross interviews Marie Ponsot, July 2010The acclaimed poet, just before her stroke, on oil, the oral supremacy of poetry, and (what else?) the end of the world.
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Part of Us that Can’t Be Touched
Joshua Lukin interviews Jennifer Egan, July 2010The novelist on Goon Squad, the drug-taking intensity of high school kids, and the Gothic novel.
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Close-Up
Christopher Finch interviews Chuck Close, July 2010The photorealist painter on how art collided with his learning disability, his first paintings after paralysis, and why you shouldn’t think he’s an asshole.
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Captive
Laura Stefani interviews Clara Rojas, June 2010The former prisoner of the Colombian FARC on life in the jungle, coming to forgive, and Emmanuel, her son born in captivity.
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Love in the Time of Capital
Jesse Tangen-Mills interviews Eva Illouz, June 2010The rising intellectual star on how commodities create feelings, the modern lingua franca of therapy-speak, and Israel’s emotional style.
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Sanctioning Disaster
Joel Whitney interviews Morten Pedersen, June 2010The Burma expert Morten Pedersen defends aid, diplomacy, and “understanding” Burma’s dictators in order to improve human rights, sway softliners, and save lives.
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Nazi Sheikhs
Joel Whitney interviews Paul Berman, May 2010The polemicist discusses Tariq Ramadan’s love of extremist sheikhs, Islamism’s ties to Hitler, and the intellectual confusion of liberal journalists.
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Black Sheep and Exploding Turbans
Alina Bronsky, Peter Stamm, Janne Teller, Sadanand Dhume and Paul Berman in conversation, moderated by Jamal Mahjoub, May 2010Europe is struggling to come to terms with its Muslim minority. What are the consequences of the intolerance and the violence for the continent and for literature? Paul Berman and a lauded panel chime in.
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Economics for the Rest of Us
David Cay Johnston interviews Moshe Adler, May 2010Columbia professor Moshe Adler on why Main Street needs to take economics back from Wall Street.
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A War You Can Commute To
Wes Enzinna interviews Ted Conover, May 2010Immersion journalist Ted Conover on how roads can be both a path to opportunity and a way bad things can arrive.
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The Diversity Test
Lorraine Adams, Esther Allen, Alex Epstein, Norman Rush, moderated by Claire Messud, April 2010Why were there only 8 women on the Modern Library’s 100 Best Novels of the 20th Century? Why is only 3% of the literature Americans read in translation? A video reprise of our spring discussion
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The 700 Club
Jake Whitney interviews Joseph Romm, April 2010Skeptics cite 700 “scientists” who doubt global warming. Except few are climatologists. And Joseph Romm says they’re conducting the greatest disinformation campaign in history.
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Byrne, Baby, Byrne
Michael Archer interviews David Byrne, April 2010The rock icon on song cycles, cycling, and escaping the past with Imelda Marcos. And you may ask yourself, is this my beautiful new business model?
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Everything and Nothing
Rudolph P. Byrd interviews Alice Walker, April 2010The iconic writer and activist on the similarities between Tibet and Palestine, womanism versus feminism, and Carl Jung.
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A Carefully Crafted F**k You
Nathan Schneider interviews Judith Butler, March 2010Gender-theorist-turned-nonviolence-philosopher Judith Butler discusses the choices that make people expendable, the violent foundation of nonviolent activism, and the role grief can play in setting a new course.
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Generation, Gap
Harry Kreisler interviews Elizabeth Warren, March 2010The financial watchdog on the trouble the American middle class is in, who’s responsible for it, and what needs to be done to get out of it.
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Sweet Nothings
Chris Lombardi interviews David Mixner, February 2010The civil rights champion on his battle to end “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” why the February 2nd Congressional hearings were a bust, and how the policy fosters sexual harassment of women soldiers.
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Exile on Any Street
Irina Reyn and Aleksandar Hemon in conversation, February 2010Are American readers insular, as the secretary of the Swedish Academy famously quipped? If so, why has immigrant fiction taken such a pivotal role in American letters? Novelist Irina Reyn hashes it out with lauded Bosnian author Aleksandar Hemon.
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On the Emancipation of Women
Katherine Dykstra interviews Sheryl WuDunn, January 2010Just as the 1800s were ripe for the abolition of the slave trade, this century will bring forces to bear on the freeing of women from violence, from slavery, from oppression, argues Sheryl WuDunn, co-author of Half the Sky.
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Worse than Cannibals
Harry Kreisler interviews Daniel Ellsberg, January 2010America’s most famous whistleblower on his willingness to go to jail, the pervasiveness of presidential lying, and why war is prolonged.
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Taking Care of Wall Street
Jake Whitney interviews Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur, December 2009The Ohio Congresswoman (and the House’s longest-serving woman) on the vested interests in our broken system, how the bailout made things worse, and if she traded earmarks for donations.
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The Meth Whisperer
Kyle McAuley interviews Nick Reding, December 2009Nick Reding on his book Methland, why newspapers got the meth crisis wrong, and how the “middle of America” will pull itself out of a twenty-five year bust.
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Chomsky Half Full
Joel Whitney interviews Noam Chomsky, November 2009The controversial critic of U.S. foreign policy discusses his forthcoming book, the hypocrisy of neoliberalism, where he feels hopeful about democracy despite U.S. terrorism, and his friendship—okay, passing acquaintance—with Hugo Chavez and other “pink tide” presidents.
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I Don’t Want To Fight
A conversation with Amitava Kumar and V.V. Ganeshananthan, November 2009Guest fiction editors Amitava Kumar and V.V. Ganeshananthan discuss South Asian diaspora literature, war, and conflict—and their fiction selections for Guernica.
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Healthcare on the Moon
Jake Whitney interviews Stan Brock, October 2009If Stan Brock, creator of Remote Area Medical, can deliver health care to the furthest corners of the developing world (and large swaths of the U.S.) why can't Congress?
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Wise Latina
Joel Whitney interviews Lila Downs, October 2009Genre- and language-blending Mexican-American singer Lila Downs may never be hip in the U.S. But her songs might be the most eloquent response yet to the likes of Joe “You Lie” Wilson.
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Coming to Amreeka
Michael Archer interviews Cherien Dabis, September 2009Filmmaker Cherien Dabis on her feel-good (sort of) movie, Palestinians in the Windy City, and how personal experiences can trump political arguments.
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Shoot for the Legs
Jane Ratcliffe interviews Robert Thurman, September 2009Robert Thurman, the West’s first Tibetan Buddhist monk, on his friend the Dalai Lama, the nuance of forceful resistance, and how Hitler could have been defeated without violence.
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Art and Arms
Melodie Edwards interviews Sara Houghteling, September 2009On the 70th anniversary of the start of WWII, Sara Houghteling discusses the oral histories of Jewish survivors, the Nazi looting of art, and Pictures at an Exhibition.
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Last Temptation
Jake Whitney interviews Wendell Potter, August 2009Wendell Potter, the former mouthpiece for insurance giant Cigna, divulges his role in misleading the public, the emotional day that led to his whistle-blowing, and what should really scare you.
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Nerdsmith
Adriana Lopez interviews Junot Diaz, July 2009Before he disappears from the spotlight once more, Junot Diaz sets the record straight on immigration, identity, family, and the brief and wondrous origins of his novel’s title character.
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In My Place
Joel Whitney interviews Fatima Bhutto, July 2009Fatima Bhutto, 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).
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On the Beauty of Violence
Mateo Hoke interviews Katherine Dunn , June 2009On the twentieth anniversary of Geek Love, author Katherine Dunn discusses her new book, the cultural value of boxing, and why some sports are superior to the arts.
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Going Too Far
Jake Whitney interviews Michela Wrong , June 2009Longtime Africa correspondent Michela Wrong 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.
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A Lousy Deal
Michael Archer interviews Wuer Kaixi, June 2009On the twentieth anniversary of Tiananmen Square, Wuer Kaixi, 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.
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The Genocide Myth
Joel Whitney interviews Mahmood Mamdani , May 2009In his latest book, Mahmood 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.
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Standing Before History
Ken Wiwa, Jr., and Richard North Patterson in conversation, May 2009On May 27, Royal Dutch Shell goes to court over the 1995 execution of Nigerian writer and eco-activist Ken Saro-Wiwa. His son, Ken Wiwa, Jr., and bestselling novelist Richard North Patterson discuss Saro-Wiwa’s legacy, and the upcoming landmark trial.
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Finding the Comfortable Spots
Craig Morgan Teicher interviews Jesse Ball, May 2009Author Jesse Ball on the ideal reader, Abraham Lincoln as a shaman, how poetry and fiction go together, and the greatness of a mongoose.
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We Need to Win
Michael Archer interviews Severn Suzuki, April 2009Environmental child prodigy Severn Suzuki 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.
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Our Reality Has Not Been Magical
Wes Enzinna interviews Horacio Castellanos Moya, April 2009With 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.
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Aiding Is Abetting
Jake Whitney interviews Dambisa Moyo, April 2009African author and economist Dambisa Moyo on ending western aid to Africa, what Bono and Geldof don’t get, and the stifling of African independence and entrepreneurship.
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Farmers and Chickens
Joel Whitney interviews Luis Moreno Ocampo, March 2009ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo 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.
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Tikkun Olam, Repairing the World
A conversation with Irshad Manji and Edgar M. Bronfman , February 2009Edgar M. Bronfman and Irshad Manji challenge Judaism and Islam to embrace doubt, democracy, and openness.
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The Limits to My Self-Importance
Joel Whitney interviews David Frum, January 2009Neo-con David Frum, 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.
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I’m a Liberal, But...
Joel Whitney interviews Bernard-Henri Lévy , November 2008Celebrity polemicist Bernard-Henri Levy 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.
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Christ Über Alles
Nancy Rawlinson interviews Jeff Sharlet, November 2008The religion reporter talks about his experiences with "the Family," the secret Christ-loving, Hitler-quoting powerbrokers of the modern world.
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Baghdad Nights
Joel Whitney interviews John Agnew, November 2008What can a California geographer possibly teach us about the American troop surge and ethnic cleansing in Iraq?
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How Soft is Smart
Joel Whitney interviews Joseph Nye, October 2008Author Joseph Nye 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.
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No Exit
Brendan Cooney interviews Steven Freeman, September 2008Election watchdog Steve Freeman dissects why U.S. voting machines have less oversight than Las Vegas slot machines, and claims that Hillary Clinton's New Hampshire primary victory was rigged. Not to mention the last two presidential elections.
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Cracked, Not Shattered
Katherine Dykstra interviews Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, August 2008Congresswoman & author Carolyn Maloney on the impact of Hillary's candidacy and the utter shortsightedness of voting for McCain, the next big goal for women, and the importance of supportive fathers.
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Roll Deep
Suzanne Menghraj interviews Luc Sante, August 2008Kill All Your Darlings and Low Life author Luc Sante on the majesty of rhythm, the primacy of surprise, and his cluelessness toward plot.
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Crisis Darfur
A conversation with Mia Farrow and Bernard-Henri Lévy, moderated by Dinaw Mengestu, August 2008Part 3: A conversation between actor/activist Mia Farrow and French intellectual Bernard-Henri Lévy on the Darfur genocide, boycotting the Olympics, and what to do after the Games; moderated by Dinaw Mengestu.
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Crisis Darfur
A conversation with Mia Farrow and Bernard-Henri Lévy, moderated by Dinaw Mengestu, 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
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Crisis Darfur
A conversation with Mia Farrow and Bernard-Henri Lévy, moderated by Dinaw Mengestu, June 2008(Part 1) French philosopher Bernard-Henri Lévy on how 3 great ideas of the political left have backfired on the people of Darfur
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Healthscare
Jake Whitney interviews Peter Rost, June 2008Former Pfizer veep-turned-whistleblower, Peter Rost, on how the pharmaceutical industry is like the mob, the sad state of U.S. healthcare, and his fruitless attempts at finding work.
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Patriot Missile
Joseph DiPalo interviews Henry Rollins, May 2008Punk rock icon Henry Rollins on debating the soldiers in Iraq, Sean Hannity's lack of courage, and the incalculable influence of rapper Chuck D
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Houses at Night
Erica Wright interviews John Ashbery, February 2008Rock-star poet John Ashbery on pop art, manifestos, and feeling like a foreigner in America.
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Man with a Country
Amy DePaul interviews Seyed Mohammad Marandi, February 2008Iran's USA scholar, Seyed Mohammad Marandi, says it's not just American politics that demonize Iran, it's the culture, including books and films.
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Breaking into the Spell
Alexander Chee interviews Ursula K. Le Guin, February 2008Ursula K. Le Guin on war, the problem with literary realism and learning to write as a woman
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The Consequences
Anna Ross interviews Robert Hass, January 2008The recent National Book Award winner on how poets and poetry can best engage the world.
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Inequality is the Drug
Tara Bray Smith interviews John Bowe, December 2007It 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.
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Thrilling Difficulty
Gibson Fay-LeBlanc interviews Robert Pinsky, November 2007The poet who refuses to call himself a poet on his hatred of dumbing it down and the musician he might have been.
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Graffiti or Vermeer?
Joseph DiPalo interviews Aesop Rock, September 2007Aesop Rock on hip-hop, the intelligentsia, and being a mad scientist
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Intensity of a Plot
Mark Binelli interviews Don DeLillo, July 2007The author of the proto-9/11 novel deconstructs terrorism, fiction, and his inability to carry a tune.
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Powerful Acts
Joel Whitney interviews Mia Farrow , July 2007Actress Mia Farrow on her campaign to end genocide in Darfur, and how China, Steven Spielberg and Kofi Annan have stood in her way
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First Victims of Freedom
Amy DePaul interviews Iraqi feminist Yanar Mohammed, May 2007Iraqi feminist Yanar Mohammed says the U.S. war and its aftermath have completely disenfranchised women.
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Incoherence of Power
An interview with Ali Allawi, April 2007In his new book, Ali Allawi argues that the signs of disaster were all there, but the Bush administration chose not to look
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America's Century of Regime Change
An interview with Stephen Kinzer, March 2007Author Stephen Kinzer shows Iraq was not the first time, just the first time we all watched it happen.
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Infidel
Joel Whitney interviews Ayaan Hirsi Ali, February 2007Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Islam's toughest critic, discusses her new book, the Axis of Evil, and the neoconservatives' moral high ground
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Different Ways of Laughing
Gibson Fay-LeBlanc interviews Coleman Barks, February 2007An interview with translator Coleman Barks on the 800th anniversary of Sufi mystic poet Rumi's birth
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Unintelligent Design
Josh Jones interviews Sze Tsung Leong, January 2007Sze Tsung Leong, photographer, painter, and author, discusses the cost of hyper-rapid urban renewal in the midst of China's economic boom.
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Writing Without Borders
Chris GoGwilt interviews Ha Jin, January 2007Author Ha Jin discusses his decision to be a writer, the relationship between individual and nation, and his work as an opera librettist in the recent Zhang Yimou production of The Last Emperor at the Metropolitan Opera.
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This Mere Guy
Gibson Fay-LeBlanc interviews Dan Chiasson, October 2006Dan Chiasson on his apprenticeship to Bidart, developing an effective "camouflage" and where the self lives in poetry.
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Window
Dylan Fareed interviews Reiner Leist, September 2006Photographer Reiner Leist on working in series, the personal roots of his project, "Window," and September 11th.
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Giant Killer
Norman Solomon interviews Jonathan Tasini, August 2006The anti-Hillary candidate on the deaf media, war opportunism and building a progressive infrastructure.
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George Saunders: Dig the Hole
Joel Whitney interviews George Saunders, August 2006George Saunders on science fiction, collaborating with Ben Stiller, and how Ayn Rand almost made him an architect.
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Share the Wealth, or Share the Poverty
Josh Jones interviews William Powers, July 2006Author/activist William Powers on the politics of natural gas in Bolivia
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A Brisk Walk
An interview with Billy Collins, June 2006The former poet laureate on attacking pretension, daring to be accessible, and i-poetry.
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Who is John Conyers?
An interview with the congressman audacious enough to do his job, May 2006An interview with the congressman audacious enough to do his job
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Warming to Reality
Elyssa East interviews Elizabeth Kolbert, May 2006The author/journalist on climate change in a culture of denial
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Seeing Things Straight
Gibson Fay-Leblanc interviews Joan Didion, April 2006Joan Didion on giving up control, getting at the roots of grief and how she became a playwright
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Built Green
Rachel Postman interviews “green” designer Neil Chambers , April 2006Is post-September 11th New York on the verge of becoming the world’s greenest city?
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The Crossing Over
Andrew Varnon interviews Ted Kooser, April 2006The U.S. poet laureate on the aesthetic of the simple poem
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Gods of History
An interview with Eric Reeves, on failure in Darfur, March 2006They’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.”
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Fooled Again—Who Won in ’04 and Why It Matters Now
An interview with Mark Crispin Miller, February 2006“Americans aren’t so stupid, after all, as to re-elect this guy.”
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Spinning Us to Death
An interview with Norman Solomon, January 2006The columnist and author on the current war with Iraq and the next one with...
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Mask of the Critic
Peter Schjeldahl with Jonathan Santlofer, January 2006The critic and the artist on Christo, political art, and the toggle between looking and reading
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The Devil's Advocate
Joel Whitney interviews John Yoo, December 2005The former deputy assistant attorney general on his new book, the Geneva Conventions and the legal case for torture
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This Girl Is Taking Bets
Taya Mueller interviews Thea Gilmore, November 2005The British singer on the folk tradition, American politics, and the social responsibility of the artist.
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Yes
An interview with director Sally Potter, October 2005The innovative writer/director discusses her latest film, venturing into uncharted territory, and how A.O. Scott got her movie wrong.
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Telling Details
Joel Whitney interviews Russell Banks, September 2005Banks discusses his time in Students for a Democratic Society, finding a narrator's voice, and his (brief) acting career.
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Accumulation of Heartbreak
An interview with Yaroslav Trofimov, author of Faith At War, on covering Islam, August 2005What the Muslim gaze westward has seen during the invasion and occupation of Iraq.
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“The Legit Heir to the Throne”
Taya Mueller interviews Oscar Hernández of the Spanish Harlem Orchestra, August 2005The pianist and arranger talks about winning a Grammy, being an indy favorite and the state of salsa today.
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Jose Padilla? Indict Him Already
Joel Whitney interviews Donna Newman, counsel for American detainee Jose Padilla, August 2005Newman discusses Padilla's case, his state of mind and why the Bush administration's position sets an ugly precedent.
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The Distance Between Us
Joel Whitney interviews Jonathan Safran Foer, August 2005Jonathan Safran Foer, author of Everything is Illuminated, on the verge of a film release and an opera debut, talks about his new book.
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Nicholas Kristof: The Crisis of Our Times
Joel Whitney interviews Nicholas Kristof, 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."
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Writing the Playwright
Tony Kushner in conversation with Frederic Tuten, 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."
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Samantha Power: Witness to Genocide
Joel Whitney interviews Samantha Power, 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."
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Oscar Arias Sánchez: President of Peace
Joel Whitney interviews Costa Rica’s Nobel laureate & president, May 2005As he gears up for another term as president, Costa Rica’s Oscar Arias talks about waging peace, winning the Nobel, and quips, “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.”
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The Fragile Scaffolding of Human Rights
Joel Whitney interviews William Schulz, of Amnesty International USA, 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."
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On Translating the Prince of Wits
Joel Whitney interviews Edith Grossman, January 2005"Yes, I think we have to be faithful to the context," says the translator of the Quijote. "But it's very important to differentiate between fidelity and literalness."
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The Hard-To-Say
Joel Whitney interviews Stephen Dunn, 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."
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A People’s History of Howard Zinn
Joel Whitney interviews Howard Zinn, October 2004"Historians hate to make predictions."
Gang, Interrupted
Emily Brennan interviews Steve James
White on Noir
Suzanne Snider interviews Eve Sussman
Waiting for Nobody
Fortunato Salazar interviews Michelle Rhee
Robert Lipsyte: Four Reasons to Watch on Super Sunday February 2, 2012
“The Intrigue” February 1, 2012
John Sevigny: Central America to Rome and Back Again January 31, 2012