A conversation with Gail Pool, author of Faint Praise: The Plight of Book Reviewing in America.

A conversation about economics, evolutionary biology and Ayn Rand with Michael Shermer, publisher of Skeptic magazine and author of The Mind of the Market: Compassionate Apes, Competitive Humans and Other Tales from Evolutionary Economics.

A conversation about the interplay between early modern science and poetry with Angus Fletcher, Distinguished Professor Emeritus at the City University of New York Graduate School and author of Time, Space and Motion in the Age of Shakespeare.

A conversation about bridging the gap between history and prehistory with Daniel Lord Smail, professor of history at Harvard University and author of On Deep History and the Brain.

A conversation about using incentives, eating ethnic food and becoming a cultural billionaire with Tyler Cowen, professor of economics at George Mason University and blogger at Marginal Revolution.

A conversation about publishing, book criticism and LA literary culture with David L. Ulin, editor of the Los Angeles Times Book Review.

A conversation about literature, the human brain and umami with Jonah Lehrer, editor-at-large at Seed magazine and author of Proust Was a Neuroscientist.

A conversation about college towns, the importance of story and MFA programs with novelist Joshua Henkin, author of Matrimony.

A conversation about online journalism, travel writing and H.L. Mencken with Jason Wilson, editor of The Smart Set from Drexel University and The Best American Travel Writing series.

A conversation about consciousness, free will and toilet training with David P. Barash, professor of psychology at the University of Washington and author of Natural Selections: Selfish Altruists, Honest Liars and Other Realities of Evolution.