Mark Danner talks to Hugh Eakin about the confidential International Committee of the Red Cross report on the CIA's secret prisons and reads excerpts from detainee Abu Zubaydah's firsthand account of torture.

Novelist Anita Desai speaks with Eve Bowen about Things I've Been Silent About, Iranian expatriate Azar Nafisi's new memoir.

Lorrie Moore speaks with Andrew Palmer about Hiding Man, Tracy Daugherty's new biography of Donald Barthelme.

J. Michael Lennon, who is at work on an authorized biography of Norman Mailer, speaks with Sasha Weiss about Mailer's letters and what they reveal about his ambitions, his relationships with other writers, and his enduring obsessions.

Critic Hilton Als speaks with Michael Shae about Van Sant's film in light of Harvey Milk's experiences as a gay man in the 1950s and 1960s, and about Milk's personal and political legacy.

Tim Flannery speaks with Eve Bowen about E. O. Wilson and Bert Hölldobler's The Superorganism, a new book on insect societies, and its implications for understanding humanity.

Alison Lurie speaks with Giles Harvey about John Updike's life, his work, and his place in American literary history.

Robert Malley speaks with Hugh Eakin about the war in Gaza, its political implications for the region, and the steps the Obama administration might take towards achieving peace between Israelis and Palestinians.

Frequent Review contributors Darryl Pinckney and Mark Danner speak with Sasha Weiss about Barack Obama's inauguration ceremony, his first few days in office, and the promise of his presidency.

William Dalrymple speaks with Sasha Weiss about the spread of radical Islam in Central and South Asia since September 11, 2001, and its implications for Pakistan's future.