Kwame Anthony Appiah on the nuances of public philosophical writing, pop culture, the narrative (or lack thereof) aspect of thought experiments, and more

Kwame Anthony Appiah is, among many things, a Professor Of Philosophy And Law at New York University. He has published widely in literary and cultural studies, with a focus on African and African-American culture. You can read his popular writing in the New York Times, where he is currently the weekly Ethicist columnist. On this episode, he sits down with James Ryerson to discuss his career as a thinker and writer, his thoughts on public philosophical writing and its complexities and simplicities, and his New York Times piece, "What Does It Mean to ‘Look Like Me’?", published in September 2019. You can find Prof. Appiah on Twitter at @KAnthonyAppiah, Line Edit at @the_line_edit, and Joseph Fridman at @joseph_fridman.

Om Podcasten

Line Edit, supported by the John Templeton Foundation and hosted by long-time editor James Ryerson, is a show about writing short pieces for wide audiences about the big questions. Ryerson has been an editor at the New York Times since 2003, and before that, edited pieces for Legal Affairs, Lingua Franca, and Feed. On each episode of Line Edit, Ryerson sits down with an academic to discuss the life cycle of a popular piece they've published, from conception to pitching, writing, editing, publication, and response. Along the way, they'll discuss advice for academics looking to communicate their work to the public, and dive into the details of the academic's background, current, and future work.