Category: Author Interview

December 6, 2011

Neurogastronomy: Gordon Shepherd Discusses "Neurogastronomy: How the Brain Creates Flavor and Why It Matters"

Gordon Shepherd, author of Neurogastronomy: How the Brain Creates Flavor and Why It Matters, was recently interviewed in Salon. In the interview, Gordon Shepherd explains among other things why we overeat, how to do the nose-pinch test, how to get...

November 29, 2011

Interview with Alan Wallace, author of Meditations of a Buddhist Skeptic

The following is an interview with B. Alan Wallace, author of Meditations of a Buddhist Skeptic: A Manifesto for the Mind Sciences and Contemplative Practice. Question: How does Meditations of a Buddhist Skeptic differ from your previous books? B. Alan...

November 18, 2011

Interview with Genny Beemyn and Susan R. Rankin, Authors of The Lives of Transgender People

The following is an interview with Genny Beemyn and Susan R. Rankin, authors of The Lives of Transgender People. Sunday, November 20th is the Transgender Day of Remembrance, a day to memorialize those who have been killed because of their...

November 9, 2011

Mute Speech: New Directions in Critical Theory

Mute Speech: Literature, Critical Theory, and Politics, by Jacques Ranciere, is part of the series New Directions in Critical Theory. Below is an excerpt from an interview with Amy Allen, the series editor: Q: What does New Directions in Critical...

November 8, 2011

David Brotherton and Luis Barrios Discuss "Banished to the Homeland: Dominican Deportees & Their Stories of Exile"

David Brotherton and Luis Barrios authors of Banished to the Homeland: Dominican Deportees and Their Stories of Exile were recently on the Brian Lehrer Showon what they learned having followed thousands of Dominicans deported following the 1996 U.S. Immigration Reform...

November 3, 2011

Interview with David Celani, author of Leaving Home: The Art of Separating From Your Difficult Family

The following is a Q&A with David Celani, author of Leaving Home: The Art of Separating From Your Difficult Family. (You can download this book, rent it, or purchase individual chapters via Columbia University Press Online Access) Question: Your book...

October 25, 2011

Interview with Rosalind Barnett, Coauthor of The Truth About Girls and Boys: Challenging Toxic Stereotypes About Our Children

Earlier this year Rosalind Barnett was interview by the Boston Globe about her and Caryl Rivers’s new book The Truth About Girls and Boys: Challenging Toxic Stereotypes About Our Children. The interview can also be read at on the book’s...

October 18, 2011

Interview with Richard Locke, Author of Critical Children

The following is an interview with Richard Locke, author of Critical Children: The Use of Childhood in Ten Great Novels. Question: What were the criteria for selecting the characters? Did you consider discussing any children from more recent literature? Richard...

October 4, 2011

Paul Pillar Discusses Intelligence and U.S. Foreign Policy on Andrea Mitchell Reports to Discuss

Fresh off a review of his book Intelligence and U.S. Foreign Policy:Iraq, 9/11, and Misguided Reform, in the New York Times , Paul Pillar was a guest on Andrea Mitchell Reports on MSNBC. Among other issues, Pillar discusses not only...

October 3, 2011

Interview with Gianni Vattimo and Santiago Zabala, Authors of Hermeneutic Communism

The following is an interview with Gianni Vattimo and Santiago Zabala, authors of Hermeneutic Communism: From Heidegger to Marx. The interview took place in January, 2011. Question: How does one manage to write a book with another author? Santiago Zabala:...

September 30, 2011

Interview with Diana Lobel, author of The Quest for God and the Good

“We need to get away from the popular caricature of God as an old man in the sky seated upon a throne.”—Diana Lobel The following is an interview with Diana Lobel, author of The Quest for God and the Good:...

September 29, 2011

Interview with Kenneth Goldsmith, author of Uncreative Writing

The following is an interview with Kenneth Goldsmith, author of Uncreative Writing: Managing Language in the Digital Age: Q: You teach a course fittingly enough and intriguingly called “uncreative writing.” What do more conventional creative writing courses fail to do?...