discussions
A Discussion with Nathaniel Rich on His New Book Odds Against Tomorrow
Maggie Lange · 04/12/13 11:39AMNathaniel Rich's second novel, Odds Against Tomorrow, traces the life of Mitchell Zukor, a young mathematician obsessed with predicting apocalyptic natural disasters. After college he finds himself working for a secretive insurance firm in New York City, where his ability to predict these cataclysms becomes his job. After his predictions are realized, Zukor is proclaimed a prophet in this new world, ravaged by natural disasters.
A Discussion With Anarchist Activist and Scholar David Graeber, Author of The Democracy Project
Adrian Chen · 04/11/13 12:31PMIt's been over a year and a half since Occupy Wall Street took over the streets and the internet. At the time, David Graeber was pegged as the "anti-leader" of the leaderless movement, a prominent scholar and activist in whom many of the intellectual and social strains of the movement came together.
A Discussion With Salman Rushdie and Midnight's Children Director Deepa Mehta
Rich Juzwiak · 04/10/13 10:45AMGawker is very excited to host a Q&A with author Salman Rushdie and filmmaker Deepa Mehta. Salman has adapted his classic 1981 novel Midnight's Children into a screenplay and the resulting film, directed by Deepa, will be in select U.S. theaters on April 26. For those who haven't read the book or need a refresher, here is the film's official synopsis:
A Discussion With Tracey Thorn, Bedsit Disco Queen and Author
Rich Juzwiak · 03/25/13 11:30AMLast week songwriter Tracey Thorn, who's best known for her work in the musical duo Everything But the Girl, released her memoir, Bedsit Disco Queen: How I Grew Up and Tried to Be a Pop Star in the U.S. It's a witty and charming chronicle of a career full of happy accidents and success found in the least likely of places — like clubland, which the formerly acoustic-based duo took by storm in 1995 when legendary house producer Todd Terry remixed their "Missing" and the results yielded a global smash.
A Discussion With Evgeny Morozov, Silicon Valley's Fiercest Critic
Adrian Chen · 03/14/13 02:30PMDoes each mention of "the power of crowdsourcing" fill you with blind rage? Are you sick of geeks foisting the latest Kickstarter-funded self-tracking weight loss gadget upon you as if your main problem is a lack of awareness of just how lazy you are? Think memes are horseshit? You will love Evgeny Morozov.
Who's Going to Win an Oscar This Year—and Who Deserves to Win One?
Max Read · 02/23/13 12:33PMTomorrow night, Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane will take the stage to host the 85th Academy Awards. There are a lot of deserving nominees—and just as many, if not more, undeserving ones. Our own Rich Juzwiak will have some pre-Oscar predictions tomorrow (we'll also be here and on Twitter during the red carpet and the ceremony itself), but this is your chance to put yours on the record. Who's going to win? Who should win? Who should've been nominated, but wasn't? (You can find a full list of nominations here.)
A Discussion With Neil Drumming, Writer and Director of Big Words
Hamilton Nolan · 02/06/13 12:45PMNeil Drumming is a veteran journalist who's written and edited for the Washington City Paper, Entertainment Weekly, and elsewhere. Last year, he decided to turn his screenplay into a movie, and—unlike many other would-be filmmakers—actually made it happen. His film Big Words is making its NYC premiere at BAM next Friday.
A Discussion with Accused CIA Agent Sabrina De Sousa
Adrian Chen · 01/31/13 01:45PMAre Nuts Salty or Sweet?
Hamilton Nolan · 11/28/12 12:00PMLet us stipulate, as gentlemen and gentlewomen, that food can generally be divided into two separate and distinct categories: Sweet foods, and Salty (or Savory) foods. Accepting momentarily this fundamental bifurcation, we turn our attention, as we do so often, to nuts. Nuts. Are they a salty food, or a sweet food? The answer is not so simple.
Black and Blue and Bloody Friday: Share Your Shopping Battle Stories
Caity Weaver · 11/23/12 12:00PMAnthony Bourdain Is Here to Take All of Your Questions, Turkey-Related or Not
Emma Carmichael · 11/20/12 11:45AMAnthony Bourdain is a man of many talents and many curse words: For the past 30 years, he's been a successful chef, then author, and television host, traveling the world for his Travel Channel series, No Reservations, and eating at some of the most loved restaurants in the world (as well as its least-known food stalls and noodle stands). In short, for at least the past decade, he's held down everyone's dream job.
Bruce Author Peter Ames Carlin is Here to Talk Springsteen
John Cook · 11/15/12 12:45PMPeter Ames Carlin, the former television critic for the Portland Oregonian, has made something of a second career out of detailed, carefully crafted, empathetic narratives of the lives of songwriting titans: First 2006's Catch a Wave, a gorgeous and thoroughly researched recounting of the strange tale of Brian Wilson, then 2009's Paul McCartney: A Life.
What's the Most Annoying Thing Your 'Friends' Are Saying on Facebook and Twitter?
Max Read · 11/06/12 02:27PMHave You Seen Any Voting Irregularities Today?
Emma Carmichael · 11/06/12 10:27AMMost of You Won't Die in this Hurricane So Why Aren't You Drunk Yet?
A.J. Daulerio · 10/29/12 04:15PMThere are very few days 50 million people get permission by their employers and city officials to "stay home and be safe" which some people interpret as an open bar until Hurricane Sandy's temper tantrum ends. So please inform us in the discussion system what state of inebriation you're planning to be in once those gale-force winds start uprooting trees and stray cats across the city in the next few hours. If you plan on adding any illegal substances to your Emergency Stay-At-Home Pack please feel free to suggest your own concoctions since some Gawker editors are mulling how to best enjoy the Frankenstorm show but still maintain enough capacitation to evacuate in a makeshift canoe.
Ask Weather Underground's Atmospheric Scientist Angela Fritz About Hurricane Sandy
Emma Carmichael · 10/29/12 12:06PMVanderbilt Discussion
Emma Carmichael · 10/17/12 02:11PMA Conversation with The Writer Who Uncovered the Story Behind Ben Affleck's Argo
Adrian Chen · 10/11/12 12:05PMThe new, very well-reviewed Ben Affleck film Argo opens tomorrow. Argo tells the true story of how the C.I.A. cooked up a fake science fiction movie in order to sneak six Americans hiding in the homes of Canadian diplomats out of Tehran during the 1979 Iranian hostage crisis. Watch the trailer here.