Dr. Daniel J. Levitin, a neuroscientist and musician, discusses his book I Heard There Was a Secret Chord, which explores the profound effects of music on the brain and body. Drawing on neuroscience and aesthetics, he explains how music...

Scott Ellsworth is a writer and historian based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where he also teaches at the University of Michigan. His new book, Midnight on the Potomac: The Last Year of the Civil War, the Lincoln Assassination, and the...

Holocaust survivor Irene Butter reflects on the person who had the greatest impact on her life: Manuel Antonio Muñoz Borrero, the Ecuadorian consul in Stockholm. During the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands, Butter’s father sought to...

Dr. Irene Butter is a Professor Emerita at the University of Michigan’s School of Public Health, where she taught for over 36 years. A Holocaust survivor, she was born in Berlin and lived an idyllic early childhood before her family fled...

Earl Lewis reflects on the profound impact mentors and teachers have had on his life, highlighting two figures in particular. His first-grade teacher, Mrs. Cassell, encouraged him to dream big despite the constraints of segregation in...

Earl Lewis, founder and director of the Center for Social Solutions at the University of Michigan, created the center to address pressing issues such as diversity and democracy, slavery and its aftermath, water equity, and the dignity of...

Claire Bond Potter, Professor Emeritus at The New School, reflects fondly on her third-grade teacher, Doris Balant, as the most special educator in her life. Balant, who still lives in upstate New York, created a relaxed and supportive...

Claire Bond Potter, Professor Emeritus of History at The New School for Social Research, discusses her book Political Junkies, a history of how politicians have used media—especially social media—to gain power. Inspired by Donald Trump’s...

Ari Weinzweig reflects on a powerful influence in his life—Emma Goldman, someone he never met but considers a teacher through her writings and ideas. Goldman, a Lithuanian-born anarchist who immigrated to the U.S. in 1885, championed...

Ari Weinzweig, co-founding partner of Zingerman’s Community of Businesses in Ann Arbor, Michigan, shares his journey from studying Russian history and anarchism at the University of Michigan to co-founding a local food business in 1982...

Erica Chenoweth credits their middle school English and homeroom teacher, Joyce Jarboe, with making the biggest difference in their life. Recognizing that Erica had a different learning style and was often bored in class, Ms. Jarboe...

Erica Chenoweth, a political scientist at Harvard University, explains that civil resistance is a nonviolent strategy where ordinary people coordinate to demand and protect democracy. Successful movements typically rely on four key...

Maria Stephan shares that she’s had many influential teachers throughout her life. In sixth grade, Tom Smith inspired her curiosity and creativity with his warm presence and inventive teaching style. In high school, biology teacher...

Maria Stephan is a civil resistance scholar and co-lead of the Horizons Project, which focuses on strengthening democracy in the United States. With over 25 years of global experience supporting movements for rights and freedoms, Stephan...

John Schmitz, a history professor at Northern Virginia Community College, reflects on the many teachers who shaped his life. From his kindergarten teacher Mrs. Shepherd to Father Hail, a high school world cultures teacher who blended...

John Schmitz, a history professor at Northern Virginia Community College, discusses the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, one of four controversial laws passed during President John Adams' administration amid fears of foreigners. The Act...

John Schmitz, a history professor at Northern Virginia Community College, discusses his book Enemies Among Us, which explores the relocation, internment, and repatriation of German, Italian, and Japanese Americans during World War II....

Kati Marton credits two influential teachers for shaping her passions. Vladimir Petrov, a Russian refugee and professor at George Washington University, inspired her love for international relations through his lived experiences and...

Kati Marton is the author of ten books, currently working on her eleventh. She focuses on uncovering lesser-known historical figures to illuminate broader political and historical themes. Her debut was a biography of Raoul Wallenberg, a...

Kati Marton discusses her 10th book, The Chancellor: The Remarkable Odyssey of Angela Merkel, her first biography of a woman. She highlights Merkel’s extraordinary rise as a triple outsider—a woman, a scientist, and an East German...

Gopal Krishnamurthy reflects on three transformative teachers who deeply shaped his thinking and practice. Dr. S. Ramanathan, a master of Karnatic music, taught him to listen differently—valuing a child’s “wrong” note as a doorway to...

Gopal Krishnamurthy reflects on his journey in teacher education and the concept of transformative education—not just seeking new answers, but learning to ask new and deeper questions. He is turning his PhD dissertation into a book...

Gopal Krishnamurthy, founding director of a transformative education center and faculty member at Antioch University, challenges conventional frameworks of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). Using the familiar visual metaphor of...

Mary Anne Franks, professor of law at George Washington Law School, recently published Fearless Speech: Breaking Free from the First Amendment. In the book, she explores the concept of "fearless speech," drawn from the ancient Greek idea...