"What makes you think a writer isn't a salesman?" —Kurt Vonnegut
I've had the great fortune to interview some of the brightest minds and some of my biggest idols. I like to get to know my subjects, letting them talk irrespective of time or word count. Though that usually ends with me tearfully cutting great lines and poignant observations, it always results in a fascinating profile and a great read.
Mike Kinsella chows down his complimentary meal before playing at The Sinclair in Cambridge, Mass. while John interviews him through fanboy anxiety. Photo by Sasha Padro
Mike Kinsella of American Football
To a certain subset of millennials, Mike Kinsella is bigger than Jesus. A foundational member of seminal emo bands Cap'n Jazz and American Football (among many others), Kinsella sat down with me as rumors of the elusive second album from American Football had reached a fever pitch.
Vanessa Zoltan and Ariana Nedelman of the "Harry Potter and the Sacred Text" podcast. Photo by Kris Snibbe/Harvard University
The Sacred in Harry Potter
Following their meteoric rise to the top of the iTunes podcast charts, I talked with 2/3 of the podcast "Harry Potter and the Sacred Text" to discuss finding the sacred in the things we love.
Marcus Briggs-Cloud is an indigenous Maskoke person and language preservationist. Photo by Stephanie Mitchell/Harvard
We Speak, So We Are
Following his lecture as part of Harvard Divinity School's Native American Speaker Series, Marcus Briggs-Cloud recorded an interview with me for the Harvard Gazette's "Heard at Harvard" podcast.
Georgetown Professor and editor of Dissent Magazine Michael Kazin. Phil Humnickey/Georgetown University
The End of the Left?
Like many, Michael Kazin woke up on November 9, 2016, feeling like the world was falling out from under him. He talked with me ahead of his Radcliffe lecture on the future of left politics in America and Europe.
Zachary Davis is the host of the podcast "Ministry of Ideas." Photo by Kris Snibbe/HarvardUniversity
Secular Sermons
In our interview for the Harvard Gazette, "Ministry of Ideas" host Zachary Davis talked to me about the need to be religiously literate in America and its relation to being a good citizen.