Author interviews

We strive to enhance our understanding of disruption and progress by exploring fresh perspectives. And by interviewing authors who inspire us, we can share their ideas with you.

Conversations with inquiring minds

  1. John Vaillant in fire-ravaged Spences Bridge, British Columbia (52–53)

    A warning on warming

    Author John Vaillant’s prize-winning Fire Weather spells out the lessons of a Canadian inferno.
    March 2024
    Article6 minutes
  2. The elements behind everything

    Material World author Ed Conway shares insights on six commodities crucial to our progress.
    December 2023
    Article
  3. Exposing AI’s costs

    Prof Kate Crawford on artificial intelligence’s environmental and social impacts.
    October 2023
    Article4 minutes
  4. Shakespeare: Elizabethan entrepreneur

    James Shapiro sheds new light on the life of the Bard.
    September 2023
    Article
  5. Nuts and Bolts: engineering progress

    How seven small often overlooked inventions shape our lives in remarkable ways.
    July 2023
    Article
  6. The future of cybersecurity

    Veteran data security expert Mikko Hyppönen on cyberwarfare and AI’s challenge.
    March 2023
    Article
  7. Author interview: Closing the gap

    Sally Magnusson interviews Mary Ann Sieghart about her argument that bias can undermine professional women.
    November 2022
    Article
  8. Frames of mind

    Viktor Mayer-Schönberger discusses the human advantage of decision making in the age of big data.
    September 2022
    Article
  9. The storyteller: Tony Fadell

    After his book on succeeding in tech, the man behind the iPod and Nest is investing to solve climate change.
    September 2022
    Article
  10. The story of science retold

    It's wrong to credit a handful of western geniuses with revealing the secrets of the universe, according to James Poskett. The science historian introduces Alice Ross to the pioneers left out of our history books.
    June 2022
    Article
  11. Cogs and monsters

    Virtual goods and the value of digital data pose unresolved challenges to economists, investors and regulators.
    May 2022
    Article
  12. The OxyContin empire

    Tile description: Patrick Radden Keefe charters the rise and fall of the Sackler dynasty.
    April 2022
    Article
  13. Tribal knowledge

    Companies that hire anthropologists to get inside customers' minds would do better getting them to look at their own corporate behaviour, Gillian Tett tells Pádraig Belton.
    February 2022
    Article
  14. Living for the long term

    Australian philosopher Roman Krznaric talks about putting our descendants’ best interests above our own instant gratification.
    November 2021
    Article
  15. Blurring the boundaries of our identity

    The definition of what makes you who you are was once a simple matter. But as Tracey Follows explains to Pádraig Belton, big tech has encroached on our personal space.
    October 2021
    Article
  16. Exponential change: minding the gap

    Tech advances are outpacing older institutions’ ability to adapt, says author Azeem Azhar.
    September 2021
    Article

The Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction

Find out about the latest nominees and past winners and of the annual award for the best in contemporary non-fiction writing.

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