Claudia Dreifus

‘I Walk Through My Fear’

The artist became known for her images of a circle that would be decimated by AIDS. Today, she’s using ACT UP-style activism to highlight the Sacklers’ part in the opioid crisis—and stop museums taking their money.

Dismantling the ‘Citadels of Pride’

After long witness of the way sexual harassment creates an “atmosphere of indignity,” the feminist philosopher sees the solution in the law, strong rules, due process—and tenure.

‘Democracy Is at Stake’

The expert elections lawyer knocked down scores of pro-Trump lawsuits challenging the 2020 results. Now, he says, we’re in a struggle to save the republic.

‘Comic Terrorism Works’: An Interview with John Waters

The avant-garde filmmaker who wanted to be the filthiest person alive has ended up becoming a national treasure. How did that happen?

‘I Never Imagined the Lying’

After this extraordinary period of high political drama, the writer of The West Wing and The Trial of the Chicago 7 reflects on what he foresaw and what he did not.

‘Social Media Reward Bad Behavior’

The former head of Reddit on how platforms like Facebook have amplified disinformation—and don’t want to stop—because attention equals profit.

An Interview with Jerry Mitchell

Among the murder cases that Jerry Mitchell investigated and got reopened were the 1963 assassination of Mississippi NAACP Field Secretary Medgar Evers, and the 1964 murders of three civil rights workers.

An Interview with Russ Feingold

Russ Feingold: It’s not that I think that Neil Gorsuch isn’t otherwise qualified to be a justice, but his seat was obtained illegitimately. It was not Donald Trump’s to fill. This was a theft of the Supreme Court.

An Interview with Naomi Oreskes

Naomi Oreskes: I think it was hard to accept that the climate change deniers were excellent at communicating. But once people recognized what they were up against, one saw more scientists willing to stand up to defend the integrity of science, to speak to journalists, to go on television.

An Interview with Ira Glass

Claudia Dreifus: What did you want to be? Ira Glass: An astronaut. This was the 1960s. And later, in my teens, I think I had some vague notion of being around accomplished people. My parents were gunning for me to go to medical school.

An Interview with Jennifer Doudna

Jennifer Doudna: No one can take away those moments in the lab when we saw something in nature that had never been seen before. You go into the lab, do an experiment, and get a little bit of knowledge about the world that unravels another piece of the mystery of nature. That’s what I love about science.

An Interview with April Ryan

April Ryan: When I asked it, I knew I had done something. I realized that it’s a sad day when you have to ask a US president if you’re a racist. It hurt me.

An Interview with John Dean

John Dean: Do I believe that Trump’s in a whole world of trouble? I do! Do I think Trump will resign? Not likely! And unlike Nixon, who honored the rule of law and actually in his bones believed in it, I think Trump is the kind of guy who would do anything to get around the rule of law.

An Interview with David Simon

David Simon: Frankly, I’ve never been good at writing to the common denominator. I’m still not. I haven’t done one show that was a huge ratings hit. What I never do is raise my hand and say, “This could be a hit. Make this because this could be a hit.” The minute I do that, I’m done as me.

An Interview with Art Spiegelman

If you were drawing Donald Trump as an animal, who would he be? A very conventional part of my brain goes, “He’s a… wild boar.” Except that pigs are intelligent. Now I have drawn him as bloated frog. More recently, I drew him as a large turd.

An Interview with Robert Caro

Robert Caro: My first three or four drafts are handwritten on legal pads. For later drafts, I use a typewriter. I write by hand to slow myself down. People don’t believe this about me: I’m a very fast writer, but I want to write slowly.