Books and authors

Prof. Susan Solomon speaks with Times Higher Education reporter Matthew Reisz about her work “researching, teaching and communicating climate science while also leading seemingly endless international environmental negotiations.” Solomon recently published a new book, “Solvable: How We Healed the Earth, and How We Can Do It Again,” in which she outlines her “hope for the planet.” Says Solomon: “We are in a world bursting with change. So it’s a perfect time to be a climate scientist and study all those things.”

Nature reporter Andrew Robinson reviews “The Heart and the Chip,” a new book by Prof. Daniela Rus and science writer Gregory Mone. The book “focuses on combining human and robotic strengths to pair ‘the heart and the chip’ in three interlinked fields: robotics, artificial intelligence and machine learning,” explains Robinson. 

Prof. Kieran Setiya speaks Sean Illing, host of Vox’s The Gray Area podcast, about how philosophy can be used as a tool when handling midlife crises. “There’s a real continuity between the literary and human description of phenomena like grief and philosophical reflection,” says Setiya. “Because often what philosophical reflection provides is less a proof that you should live this way and more concepts with which to articulate your experience and then structure and guide how you relate to reality. And seen that way, we can understand how philosophy can operate as self-help.”

Fast Company reporter AJ Hess spotlights “Slow Productivity: The Lost Art of Accomplishments Without Burnout,” a new book by Cal Newport SM '06, PhD '09. The book “traces the history of measuring workers’ output and the rise of knowledge workers’ stress and burnout,” explains Hess. “As an antidote, Newport proposes what some may argue is an oversimplified solution: simply do less.”

Writing for The New York Times, Deborah Blum, director of the Knight Science Journalism Program, reviews “Every Living Thing: The Great and Deadly Race to Know All Life,” a new book by Jason Roberts. “The author of ‘Every Living Thing,’ is not a fan of the founding father of taxonomy, whom he rather hilariously describes as ‘a Swedish doctor with a diploma-mill medical degree and a flair for self-promotion,’” writes Blum. “But the snark is not merely entertainment — the portrait is central to the main thesis of Roberts’s engaging and thought-provoking book, one focused on the theatrical politics and often deeply troubling science that shape our definitions of life on Earth.”

Writing for The Next Big Idea Club, Prof. Tali Sharot and Harvard Law School Professor Cass Sunstein cite their new book “Look Again: The Power of Noticing What Was Always There,” to share five insights on how to incorporate more joy into life. “If you need to complete an unpleasant task (household chores, administrative work) complete them in one go,” they write. “Habituation will help you motor through the yukky bits of life, making them feel less unpleasant. Swallow the bad whole but insert short breaks into pleasant experiences to increase pleasure.”

Boston.com reporters Zipporah Osei, Alex Svenson, Annie Jonas, and Kristina DaPonte spotlight the MIT Press Bookstore in their guide to independent bookstores in the Greater Boston area. “In the heart of Kendall Square, MIT Press Bookstore is ‘one of the only retail bookstores owned and operated by a university press,’” they write. “Part of the MIT Kendall Gateway, you’ll also find the MIT Museum, which ‘seeks to demystify some of the school’s opaque inner workings.’”

Emily Calandrelli SM '13 speaks with NPR host Adam Bearne about using her science background to encourage children to explore the world of science. Calandrelli has just published a new book of family friendly experiments called, “Stay Curious and Keep Exploring: Next Level.” 

Prof. Daniela Rus, director of CSAIL, speaks with Boston Globe reporter Evan Sellinger about her new book, “The Heart and the Chip: Our Bright Future With Robots,” in which she makes the case that in the future robots and humans will be able to team up to create a better world. “I want to highlight that machines don’t have to compete with humans, because we each have different strengths. Humans have wisdom. Machines have speed, can process large numbers, and can do many dull, dirty, and dangerous tasks,” Rus explains. “I see robots as helpers for our jobs. They’ll take on the routine, repetitive tasks, ensuring human workers focus on more complex and meaningful work.”

Joy Buolamwini PhD '22 speaks with MSNBC reporter Daniela Pierre-Bravo about her new book, Unmasking AI: My Mission To Protect What is Human in a World of Machines, which explores the intersection of AI development and the, “dangers of bias in its algorithmic systems.” Buolamwini emphasizes that: “We need legislation — at the federal level — because the legislation then puts in the guard rails for the tech companies. And also, we need to think about AI governance globally. I do think that all of our stories matter. When you share your experience with AI or your questions about it, you encourage other people to share their stories.”

Joy Buolamwini PhD '22 joins Tonya Mosley on NPR’s Fresh Air podcast to discuss her new book, Unmasking AI: My Mission to Protect What Is Human in a World of Machines. "With the adoption of AI systems, at first I thought we were looking at a mirror, but now I believe we're looking into a kaleidoscope of distortion," Buolamwini says. "Because the technologies we believe to be bringing us into the future are actually taking us back from the progress already made."

Financial Times reporter Andrew Hill highlights “The Geek Way,” a new book by Principal Research Scientist Andrew McAfee that explores the success behind “geek” culture in companies. Hill notes that McAfee has, “pinpointed some important norms sustaining the world’s most admired, and fastest growing, organizations.”

Principal Research Scientist Andrew McAfee speaks with Bloomberg hosts Carol Massar and Tim Steinbeck about his new book “The Geek Way” and the future of artificial intelligence. “I personally am not worried about the existential, the alignment risks of AI,” says McAfee. “All very powerful tools bring risks and harm with them, and they demand vigilance. We have got to be careful about it. I don’t think AI is any big exception to that trend or requires us to do radically different things, we just have to be vigilant and stop the bad uses.”

Prof. Adam Berinsky speaks with MSNBC’s Morning Joe about the impact of misinformation on democracy and the upcoming 2024 election. “The larger issue is that there is this climate of distrust,” says Berinsky. 

Principal Research Scientist Andrew McAfee speaks with CNBC about the contributing factors to a successful start-up company. “Incumbent industries and companies are so fond of really elaborate planning cycles and the geeks just build things, get feedback and do again on a fast cadence,” says McAfee.