Interviewer
Uri Bram
Interviews by Uri Bram
The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Debuts of 2023, recommended by Yume Kitasei
There’s nothing better than discovering an exciting new writer at exactly the moment they break onto the scene. Here novelist Yume Kitasei recommends brand new sci-fi and fantasy (SFF) novels by debut authors coming out in 2023.
The best books on Being Average, recommended by Eleanor Ross
All of us are ultimately average, says author Eleanor Ross, and we should find that liberating rather than saddening. In this interview, she recommends five books across fiction and nonfiction that can help us understand and embrace our averageness.
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1
The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life
by Erving Goffman -
2
Popular: The Power of Likability in a Status-Obsessed World
by Mitch Prinstein -
3
Quit: The Power of Knowing When to Walk Away
by Annie Duke -
4
The Person You Mean to Be: How Good People Fight Bias
by Dolly Chugh -
5
The Odyssey
by Homer and translated by Emily Wilson
The best books on Making A Good Impression, recommended by Övül Sezer
The best books on Making A Good Impression, recommended by Övül Sezer
From the classroom to the boardroom, everybody tries (and sometimes fails) to be liked and admired by others. In this interview, Övül Sezer—Assistant Professor of Management and Organizations at Cornell University—recommends five books that can help you make a good impression on everybody, including yourself.
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1
Noise: A Flaw in Human Judgment
by Cass Sunstein, Daniel Kahneman & Olivier Sibony -
2
But What If We're Wrong? Thinking About the Present As If It Were the Past
by Chuck Klosterman -
3
The Biggest Bluff: How I Learned to Pay Attention, Master Myself, and Win
by Maria Konnikova -
4
Money Games: The Inside Story of How American Dealmakers Saved Korea's Most Iconic Bank
by Weijian Shan -
5
Exhalation
by Ted Chiang
The best books on Making Good Decisions, recommended by Sebastian Park
The best books on Making Good Decisions, recommended by Sebastian Park
Good decision-making is a crucial skill not only in business but in life. In this interview, entrepreneur, investor and poker player Sebastian Park advises how to make good decisions in a world of uncertainty, how to evaluate past decisions for future improvement, and how fiction can help us reflect on the choices we make.
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1
A Hacker's Mind: How the Powerful Bend Society's Rules, and How to Bend them Back
by Bruce Schneier -
2
Survival of the Richest: Escape Fantasies of the Tech Billionaires
by Douglas Rushkoff -
3
Responding to the Right: Brief Replies to 25 Conservative Arguments
by Nathan Robinson -
4
Monopolized: Life in the Age of Corporate Power
by David Dayen -
5
Break 'Em Up: Recovering Our Freedom from Big Ag, Big Tech, and Big Money
by Zephyr Teachout
The best books on Chokepoint Capitalism, recommended by Cory Doctorow
The best books on Chokepoint Capitalism, recommended by Cory Doctorow
Modern market economies face a growing malaise, says activist and science fiction author Cory Doctorow: powerful actors creating ‘chokepoints’ between producers and consumers, causing untenable conditions for both. Here he picks out the best books he’s reviewed over the last two years and explains why they’re important.
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1
Kicking Away the Ladder: Development Strategy in Historical Perspective
by Ha-Joon Chang -
2
Creating the Cold War University: The Transformation of Stanford
by Rebecca Lowen -
3
Asia's Next Giant: South Korea and Late Industrialization
by Alice Amsden -
4
The Politics of Large Numbers: A History of Statistical Reasoning
by Alain Desrosières & Camille Naish (translator) -
5
The Collapse of Complex Societies
by Joseph Tainter
The best books on Industrial Policy, recommended by Danny Crichton
The best books on Industrial Policy, recommended by Danny Crichton
Government intervention in the economy played a key role in the East Asian economic miracle and, further back, the development of countries that have traditionally championed free markets around the world. As the merit of state leadership in key industries returns to mainstream debate, Danny Crichton of venture capital firm Lux Capital recommends five outstanding books for understanding industrial policy.
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1
The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers
by Ben Horowitz -
2
Crossing the Chasm: Marketing and Selling Disruptive Products to Mainstream Customers
by Geoffrey Moore -
3
Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead
by Sheryl Sandberg -
4
Brave, Not Perfect: How Celebrating Imperfection Helps You Live Your Best, Most Joyful Life
by Reshma Saujani -
5
Startup Leadership: How Savvy Entrepreneurs Turn Their Ideas Into Successful Enterprises
by Derek Lidow
The best books on Running a Business, recommended by Brian O'Kelley
The best books on Running a Business, recommended by Brian O'Kelley
Running a successful business is an endless series of impossible challenges, a constant mix of terror and euphoria, explains Brian O’Kelley, co-founder of the billion-dollar ad tech company AppNexus and now at Scope3. He tells us which books every entrepreneur needs to read and why it’s so helpful to learn from those who have gone before.
The Best Sci Fi Books on Space Settlement, recommended by Erika Nesvold
We look to the stars and imagine a new home for humanity, an escape from the troubles that plague us here on Earth, but as astrophysicist Erika Nesvold points out, many of our problems will join us on our voyage. Here, she selects five science fiction books that illuminate the challenges and possible conflicts we’ll face if we head for this new frontier.