The author of Charles Dickens: A Life on what happens "when you live with Dickens for years."

Talking Mailer, Kipling, and Tranströmer with the author of The Cat's Table.

The singer on the tracks that have built a legendary career.

The advertising veteran and author of Brandwashed spills Madison Avenue's secrets.

The creator of Inspector Wexford discusses her fictional alter ego.

A time-traveling journey through an urban landscape and the writers it's sustained.

The author of The Pacific talks about the book, the HBO series, and the dark side of the "Good War."

In his latest book, The Social Animal, New York Times columnist David Brooks explores who we are and how we got that way. He discusses his findings in a conversation with James Mustich.

The economics of a happy marriage.

The comedian talks about his new book, '80s nerd nostalgia and what makes a terrible stand-up comic.

Nuclear war, bioterrorism, nanorobots: What poses the greatest threat to our planet? An expert explains the facts.

Our ancestors were stronger and faster than we are. What happened? An expert explains.

A conversation with Stacy Schiff about her new biography of the woman who once held the fate of the Western world in her hands.

A conversation with neurologist and bestselling author Oliver Sacks about his latest book, The Mind's Eye, an exploration of the mysteries of vision.

The novelist and critic discusses the "ecology of terror" and the challenge of writing with honesty.

A joint interview with historian Sean Wilentz (Bob Dylan in America) and music critic Greil Marcus (Bob Dylan by Greil Marcus: Writings 1968-2010) on Dylan's career and the courses through history it traces.

Why are some people more susceptible? Does any cure work? An author explains the latest, fascinating discoveries.

Salon's Rebecca Traister explains what we missed about Hillary, Palin and Michelle -- and how 2008 made history.

An interview with the legendary reporter on the occasion of the publication of The Silent Season of a Hero, collecting six decades of his sports writing.

Psychologist Hal Herzog talks about the paradox of a meat-eating society horrified by animal suffering.

Germany's workers have higher productivity, shorter hours and greater quality of life. How did we get it so wrong?

Modern day adventures in Utopian living.

A rising number of Americans—political extremists and normal folks—are living without gas, phones or power.

A video interview with the author of The Shallows on the perils posed by our immersion in a world of online distractions.

Where have all the muscle men gone?

With America set to phase out incandescent bulbs, our eyes will have to adjust to a colder new reality.

A conversation (with videos) with the author of a new memoir about youth, heartbreak, and the music of the MTV generation.

How air conditioning changed the American landscape, transformed our politics, and is endangering our health

New York makes the cut, but Miami and Oakland are endangered. An expert explains our grim, watery future

A conversation with the author of Cognitive Surplus on the past, present, and future of books, and other matters of culture and technology.