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Donald Trump¡¯s election as president in 2016 prompted a slew of academic books grappling with how such a figure could have been chosen to lead the free world. But what are the chances that any of those bleak tomes will dissuade American voters from re-electing him next month, asks Matthew Reisz

Play celebrates the turbulent career of a pioneering female astronomer

Having brokered some of the world¡¯s biggest pacts on global warming, MIT climate scientist Susan Solomon tells Matthew Reisz why she is optimistic that environmental damage can be reversed

A radical new manifesto for science communication is warning about the dangers of making arrogant claims that academic knowledge can explain the mysteries of the universe. Matthew Reisz meets its authors

The feted urban sociologist Richard Sennett tells Matthew Reisz about how his former career as a cellist inspired his latest trilogy of books, why his ideal university would be more night school than Oxbridge college and why it helps him to imagine his readers as female biologists

Barack Obama¡¯s favourite political thinker Yascha Mounk has made his career attacking right-wing populism. His latest target ¨C identity politics fostered on US campuses ¨C will surprise many of his acolytes, he tells Matthew Reisz

Studying flocks of starlings helped Giorgio Parisi crack some of physics¡¯ deepest mysteries. The Nobelist talks to Matthew Reisz about his unconventional methods, missed eureka moments and being Italy¡¯s most in-demand scientist

The UK¡¯s ¡®rock star historian¡¯ Peter Frankopan talks to Matthew Reisz about his ambitious follow-up to his Silk Roads chronicle and the perils of being seen as a modern-day sage

For academics trained to plough a narrow, deep, heavily footnoted field, writing for a more general audience can be difficult. But the rewards, both personal and financial, can be considerable. Matthew Reisz picks the brains of publishing professionals for their dos and don¡¯ts

The Italian physicist known for making complex science intelligible explains how radical student politics, hallucinogenic drugs and hitch-hiking around America helped him become one of science¡¯s foremost thinkers

Thirty years after his breakout book declared democracy to be an unstoppable force, the End of History author explains to Matthew Reisz why a new defence of liberal values is urgently needed, and why scholars must share some responsibility for destabilising them