Jarrett Krosoczka is an author and illustrator best known for his Lunch Lady Series of books. In 2018, he published Hey Kiddo , a graphic memoir about growing-up with his grandparents because his mother was a heroin addict.

Marcelo Brodsky is an Argentine photographer and human rights activist. His recent work has explored violence in Mexico, South Africa and the United States.

Born in the Philippines, Grace Talusan is the 2017 Restless Books Prize winner for New Immigrant Writing for Nonfiction. She is the author of the memoir, The Body Papers , a courageous memoir that explores immigration, the trauma of abuse and the female body.

Christopher King is a collector of 78 RPM records and a producer and author specializing in pre-war rural American music and music from Eastern Europe, the Balkans and the Mediterranean. He is the author of Lament from Epirus: An Odyssey into Europe’s Oldest Surviving Folk Music and the compiler of several recent recordings specializing in the music from northern Greece.

Martha Nussbaum is a philosopher known for her work in ancient Greek and Roman philosophy, political philosophy, feminism and ethics. A teacher at the University of Chicago, she is the author of numerous books, the latest being The Monarchy of Fear: A Philosopher Looks at Our Political Crisis .

Andre Dubus III, author of the novels House of Sand and Fog and The Garden of Last Days and the memoir Townie , talks with Ilan Stavans about writing, reading and his latest novel Gone So Long .

Stephanie Houtzeel is a mezzo-soprano who is currently a member of the Vienna State Opera. Pianist John Milbauer is a Steinway artist and teacher at the University of Arizona.

Magos Herrera is a Mexican born jazz singer. Brooklyn Rider is a string quartet known for their performances of both the standard classical repertoire and for performances of new music. In 2018, Herrera and Brooklyn Rider collaborated on the recording “Dreamers.” Magos Herrera is joined by Brooklyn Rider violinist Colin Jacobsen for this interview with Ilan Stavans.

Merriam-Webster editors Peter Sokolowski and Emily Brewster talk about the words of 2018.

Amartya Sen is a noted economist and philosopher. The author of many books and articles including Development as Freedom and The Idea of Justice , Sen was awarded a Nobel Prize in economics in 1998.