Kurt Andersen talks with Walter Isaacson, whose landmark biography of Apple CEO Steve Jobs reveals the insufferable perfectionism of the innovator. Jesmyn Ward imagines a family bracing for Hurricane Katrina in her novel Salvage the Bones. Sandra Bernhard finds her muse in Carol Channing. And we peek into the unglamorous ...

This week, William Shatner tells Kurt Andersen how he’s fine-tuned playing the role of William Shatner and why he likes going at warp speed. And we hear about another actor named William — last name Shakespeare — who may or may not have written some plays. The new film Anonymous ...

This week, Björk releases an album too advanced for a CD: each track is also an interactive app. Kurt heads down to Wall Street with an architecture critic to see how protestors have created the space they’re occupying. And our reporter seeks a shortcut to creative ability, talking to scientists who ...

This week, the new culture of surveillance. Kurt Andersen talks to technologist and philosopher Jaron Lanier about why we have to watch the watchers. An artist meticulously tracks government spy satellites crossing the night sky. A computer scientist explains what goes into building a facial recognition system. And sitting silently ...