Interviews By Topic

Person doing magic

Nate Staniforth spent thousands of hours learning the craft of stage magic. But he was really looking for wonder. And he says real magic is not smoke machines or stage tricks; it's creating a moment of genuine astonishment.More

Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque Center, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

Religious scholar Michael Muhammad Knight thinks that most religions, including his own Islamic faith, have a secret history of magical practice.More

The original 1947 cover of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists

In 2018, we have a lot more to be anxious about than just nuclear weapons.More

Time

James Gleick, a science writer with a special interest in the cultural impact of technology, recently sat down with Steve Paulson to talk about the cultural history of time travel and its enduring appeal.More

The Velvet Hours

Alyson Richman is the author of six historical novels. Her latest is called "The Velvet Hours" and it was inspired by a recent newspaper story in the Paris press.More

an hourglass

We all think about time but probably not as deeply as the groundbreaking theoretical physicist Lee Smolin. Smolin has created a radical new view of the nature of time and the cosmos. He lays it out in a book called "Time Reborn: From the Crisis in Physics to the Future of the Universe."More

Coyote in Yellowstone

Unlike their canine relatives, coyotes have thrived in the U.S. Despite having been hunted just as intensely as wolves, coyotes have survived.  Somehow, coyotes just spread, everywhere. Dan Flores told Steve Paulson how.  More

Ursula K. Le Guin

The trailblazing author passed away this week at the age of 88. She was known for marrying the tropes of science fiction and fantasy to big ideas drawn from spirituality, economics, sociology and beyond. That eclectic mix made for impactful and relevant stories that transcended genre.More

"My Friend Dahmer" by Derf Backderf

What do you do when your buddy in high school turns out to be the serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer?More

Still from "My Friend Dahmer"

So can we empathize with people who become monsters? Derf Backderf — whose teenage self appears in Meyers' film — certainly thinks so.More

basketball rivals

During basketball camp in Fargo, North Dakota, cultural critic Chuck Klosterman made an enemy — for life. And maybe that was a bad idea.More

Eyes everywhere

The personal devices we live with and depend on — our computers, tablets, smartphones and more— all share information about us. Randolph Lewis tells more stories about how we’re being watched in a book called “Under Surveillance.”More

Still from trailer for "Voyeur" (Netflix)

A couple of years ago, journalist Gay Talese published “The Voyeur’s Motel,” the true story of a motel owner who spent more than 30 years spying on his guests while they had sex. The case is now the subject of a Netflix documentary called “Voyeur.”More

The Trial of Saddam

The young American soldiers who protected Saddam Hussein during his trial spent hours alone with the “Butcher of Baghdad” and unexpectedly grew to like him. They were devastated by his execution and its violent aftermath. More

Siri listening in

Do you ever get the feeling that your digital devices are eavesdropping on you?
 More

Hackers and phishers, who can abuse surveillance gathering

In a world filled with devices that could be used to listen in on our daily lives, how do you take back control of your privacy? Steve Paulson asked security reporter Lily Hay Newman.More

Surrounded by jerks.

TTBOOK producer Doug Gordon wonders if he's surrounded by a**holes.More

"That guy" at the office

Robert Sutton talks with Anne Strainchamps about his book, "The No Asshole Rule: Building a Civilized Workplace and Surviving One That Isn't."More

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