Interviews

Behind the Shadow: Alan Strauss-Schom Unveils the True Face of Napoleon III
Behind the Shadow: Alan Strauss-Schom Unveils the True Face of Napoleon III
On the morning of September 2, 1870, the Emperor of France climbed into a carriage at Sedan and was driven to deliver his sword in person to the King of... Read more...
Chasin’ the Trane: Lewis Porter Discusses the Life and Music of John Coltrane
Chasin’ the Trane: Lewis Porter Discusses the Life and Music of John Coltrane
On the night of December 9, 1964, John Coltrane led his quartet into Rudy Van Gelder's recording studio in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, and recorded A Love Supreme in a... Read more...
Roger Ariew
Descartes' Mind-Blowing Ideas: An Interview with Roger Ariew on Descartes' Impact on Western Thought
In November 1633, Descartes was putting the finishing touches on a treatise he had been working on for several years and preparing to send it to his publisher when news... Read more...
From Stratford to Shanghai: An Interview with the Globetrotting Shakespeare Expert, Professor Michael Dobson
From Stratford to Shanghai: An Interview with the Globetrotting Shakespeare Expert, Professor Michael Dobson
Pull back the curtain on the most famous literary biography in the English language, and you find: almost nothing. No letters. No diaries. No manuscripts in his hand beyond six... Read more...
Robert Barsky
Beyond the Surface: A Close Look at Noam Chomsky’s Ideas with Robert Barsky
In 1971, two of the most formidable intellectual presences of the 20th century sat down across from each other on Dutch television for a debate that has since become one... Read more...
Joseph Auner
The Enigmatic Arnold Schoenberg: Unraveling the Mysteries with Joseph Auner
In the evening of March 31, 1913, the Musikverein in Vienna erupted. The concert had been planned as a celebration of the Viennese avant-garde, featuring new works by Alexander Zemlinsky,... Read more...
Frank Burke
Decoding Fellini: Discovering the Secrets of Federico Fellini with Frank Burke
In the winter of 1959, a filmmaker sat in a Roman hotel room, staring at a blank page, and seriously considered abandoning the film he had promised to make. Federico... Read more...
The Categorical Imperative and Beyond: A Discussion with Markus Kohl on Kant’s Philosophy
The Categorical Imperative and Beyond: A Discussion with Markus Kohl on Kant’s Philosophy
In 1766, Immanuel Kant published a short book mocking the Swedish mystic Emanuel Swedenborg, who claimed to communicate with spirits and angels. The book was sharp, witty, and unsparing in... Read more...
Simon Keefe
In the Footsteps of a Genius: A Conversation with Simon Keefe on Mozart's Final Decade in Vienna
In the summer of 1791, a stranger appeared at Mozart's door in Vienna with a commission and a request for secrecy. The visitor, who refused to identify himself, wanted Mozart... Read more...
Paul Halpern
Unraveling the Quantum World: Paul Halpern on Erwin Schrödinger’s Enduring Influence
In the summer of 1933, Erwin Schrödinger fled Nazi Germany with little more than his manuscripts and a domestic arrangement that scandalized almost everyone he met. He was traveling with... Read more...
Out of Kafka: Ruth Gross Appraises Franz Kafka’s “Dark and Wry” but Humorous World
Out of Kafka: Ruth Gross Appraises Franz Kafka’s “Dark and Wry” but Humorous World
One morning in the summer of 1912, Franz Kafka sat down at his desk in Prague and wrote a story in a single unbroken session that lasted through the night... Read more...
Bruce J. Hillman
Dueling Physicists: Bruce J. Hillman on the Nobel Physicist who Challenged and Antagonized Albert Einstein
There is a photograph taken at the 1927 Solvay Conference in Brussels that has become one of the most reproduced images in the history of science. Gathered around a table... Read more...