Fifteen Questions
Fifteen Questions: Reginald Dwayne Betts on Vulnerability, Collective Memory, and Freedom Reads
The visiting professor of English sat down with Fifteen Minutes to discuss poetry, prison literature, and collective memory.
Fifteen Questions: Theda Skocpol on The Election, The Ivory Tower, and The New England Patriots
The sociologist sat down with FM to discuss U.S. authoritarianism, campus protest, and her favorite football team.
Fifteen Questions: Gaia Bencini on Egyptology, Hieroglyphics, and ‘Dreaming the Sphinx’
The Egyptology PhD candidate sat down with FM to discuss Ancient Egyptian artifacts, translating hieroglyphs, and misconceptions about the ancient Near East.
Fifteen Questions: Arthur Brooks on Barcelona, Baldness, and the Science of Happiness
The HBS professor and happiness columnist say down with FM to discuss his time as a professional french horn player, his conversion to Catholicism, and escaping workaholism.
Michael Pollan 15Q portrait
Michael K. Pollan is a Lewis K. Chan Arts Lecturer and Professor of the Practice Non-Fiction. He teaches science journalism and has written books about food, plants, and psychedelics.
Fifteen Questions: Michael Pollan on Psychedelics, Consciousness, and Journalism
The English professor and science journalist Michael Pollan sat down with Fifteen Minutes to talk about his research on food, psychedelics, and consciousness.
Fifteen Questions: Finale Doshi-Velez on AI Decision Making, Novel Writing and Unicorns
Computer Science Professor Finale Doshi-Velez sat down with Fifteen Minutes to talk about artificial intelligence in healthcare decision making, the dangers of “boring AI,” and writing what may be her first novel.
Fifteen Questions: Spencer Weinreich on Solitary Confinement, Religious Violence, and Quizbowl Grooming
Junior Fellow Spencer Weinreich sat down with FM to discuss the history of solitary confinement, the meaning of his tattoos, and being a “textual omnivore.”
Fifteen Questions: Bruce H. Mann on Legal History, Studying Debt, and Owning Golden Retrievers
Legal Historian Bruce Mann sat down with FM to discuss socratic teaching, the pervasiveness of debt, and supporting his wife, Senator Elizabeth Warren, on the campaign trail.
Serhii Plokhii portrait
Serhii Plokhii, History professor and director of the Ukrainian Research Institute, studies Ukranian history and recently published a book about Chernobyl.
Fifteen Questions: Serhii Plokhii on Atlantis, Chernobyl, and the Dangers of Writing History
History professor and Ukrainian Research Institute director Serhii Plokhii sat down with FM to discuss his newly-published book on Chernobyl, his role as a historian of the Russo-Ukrainian war, and how searching for the lost city of Atlantis pulled him into academia.
.Maya Jasanoff 15Q Portrait
Jasanoff is the Coolidge Professor of History at Harvard. Her research has taken her from the city of Calcutta to the worlds of Joseph Conrad; she interests herself in subjects as varied as the workings of the British Empire and our obsession with ancestry.
