Ted Chiang Uses Science to Illuminate the Human Condition
I think science and religion could more peacefully coexist if we could agree that they are trying to answer different questions; science is investigating the question, “how does the universe…
Martha Wells, “Rogue Protocol: The Murderbot Diaries”
Wells has incorporated aspects of herself in Murderbot, a fact that resonates with readers. “I have some problems with anxiety and OCD and I’ve put those into the character… and…
Emily Wilson talks about translating ‘The Odyssey’
Maybe now, after all the media coverage of my work, interviewers might finally start asking cisgender men about how gender impacts their work. It would be about time
Imaginary Worlds: Robot Collar Jobs
Are we prepared for a future where robots are the most sought after employees? In her debut novel Autonomous, Annalee Newitz imagines a future where humans take designer drugs to try and…
Interview: Meg Elison on “Big Girl”
““Big Girl” came to me as a reaction to the fact that women are always the wrong size, no matter where they are in life. There is no way to…
Grandma Turned Me into a Ghost
Who were the very first people who helped solidify your identity? The people who really influenced the way you see yourself and how you interact with the world? For most of us,…
Christianity and the classical world
Classicist and journalist Catherine Nixey talks about her new book The Darkening Age with Professor Edith Hall. Their discussion explores the momentous changes that occurred when Christianity became the dominant…
“It’s the Language, Stupid.”
Matthew Zapruder discusses the role of language and meaning in poetry and his book of criticism, Why Poetry. {listen}
The Poetry of Everyday Life
How we use poetry to find meaning and to bring disparate aspects of life together. {listen}
Free Thinking: Will Self, R. D. Laing and Mandy.
the mind, consciousness, ADHD, Alzheimer’s and PTSD