Chats

Paul Krassner on the New Meaning of Obscenity

Perennial rebel Paul Krassner founded counterculture magazine The Realist in 1958. He went on to party with Ken Kesey’s Merry Pranksters, found the Youth International Party (Yippies), and edit Lenny Bruce’s autobiography while becoming one of his protégés. The author, journalist, and comedian’s most recent book, Who’s to Say What’s Obscene?: Politics, Culture, and Comedy in America Today, is a collection of satirical essays. Below, Krassner discusses with Byron Perry the decriminalization of marijuana, pornography on the Internet, and Janet Jackson’s FCC faux pas.

Q. I haven’t read the book yet, …

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Gustav Niebuhr on Religious Tolerance

Gustav Niebuhr, a former religion reporter for The New York Times, is an associate professor of religion and the media at Syracuse University. Niebuhr is the grandson of H. Richard …

Giusto Traina on 428 AD

Giusto Traina, a professor at the University of Rouen, could have spent a decade more on his book about one year. 428 AD: An Ordinary Year at the End of …

Thom Hartmann on the Crisis of Western Culture

Thom Hartmann is the bestselling author of 19 books and host of a news and opinion show on XM and Sirius Satellite radio. Hartmann’s latest, Threshold: The Crisis of Western …

Patrick Radden Keefe on The Snakehead

Patrick Radden Keefe has written about international security, immigration, espionage, and the globalization of crime for The New Yorker, The New York Times Magazine, the Boston Globe, and Slate. He …

Sarah Garland on Suburban Gangs

Sarah Garland has reported on crime, immigration, and education for The New York Times, Newsweek International, and The New York Sun. She spent the last five years working on Gangs …


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