Matthew Liao on writing about whether we have a moral duty to leave Facebook

S. Matthew Liao is Director of Center for Bioethics at New York University, where he is Arthur Zitrin Professor of Bioethics. He has also given a TED talk in New York and been featured in the New York Times, The Atlantic, The Guardian, and other numerous media outlets. The author and editor of four books, Dr. Liao provides the academic community with a collection of human rights essays. In this episode of Line Edit, he speaks with New York Times opinion editor James Ryerson about a piece titled “Do You Have a Moral Duty to Leave Facebook?”, the experience of being commissioned to write a piece in 48 hours, advice for academics appearing on TV, and his work as a moral philosopher in the analytic tradition.

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.