Nick Hilden
@nickhilden.bsky.social
Culture, science & politics writer | Publishers Weekly, Washington Post, Scientific American, Esquire, Rolling Stone, Al Jazeera, Nautilus, Vanity Fair, etc | www.nickhilden.com
Frankly, I think claims by the Atlantic and anyone else that reading is dead are hooey. Reading may be dying in the US, but not everywhere... substack.com/home/post/p-...
What the Atlantic gets wrong about "the end of reading"
The U.S. is not the world, and focusing on American reading habits obscures an important geopolitical truth.
substack.com
My first for @playboy.com! A chat with the great, wry David Sedaris. www.playboy.com/read/enterta...
20 Questions: David Sedaris
In a 20 Questions interview with Playboy, David Sedaris addresses the absurdities of life, his political affiliation, and more.
playboy.com
New for @publisherswkly.bsky.social! Steven Pressfield on Walker Percy Alice Oswald on Homer www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/...
Writers Talking Writers: Steven Pressfield on Walker Percy and Alice Oswald on Homer
The historical novelist discusses Percy's piercing clarity and the prize-winning poet discusses how Homer helps us think politically.
publishersweekly.com
“Manipulation functions through systems of reward and punishment.” #AiWeiwei speaks with @nickhilden.bsky.social about censorship, public participation, Western media and the role of art in resisting repression.
Ai Weiwei on the “Catastrophic Status Quo” of Censorship
A conversation with the renowned artist on life in exile and his new book
inthesetimes.com
My chat with Ai Wei Wei for @inthesetimes.com: "Art is almost the only remaining possibility for spiritual activity and thinking beyond survival and competition." inthesetimes.com/article/ai-w...
Ai Weiwei on the “Catastrophic Status Quo” of Censorship
A conversation with the renowned artist on life in exile and his new book
inthesetimes.com
My latest for @publisherswkly.bsky.social is arguably my favorite installment in the series yet. www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/...
Writers Talking Writers: Benjamín Labatut on Roberto Bolaño
The National Book Award and International Booker–shortlisted novelist shares his passion for the late literary icon's enduring work.
publishersweekly.com
Editing my interview with Benjamin Labatut about Roberto Bolaño…
A chat with @ninabegus.bsky.social about the vital need for AI development infused with the humanities. nickhilden.substack.com/p/nina-begus...
Nina Beguš: “The responsibility of making these technologies is too big for the technologists to bear it alone"
An emerging discipline to "investigate AI from a literary, historical, and philosophical perspective."
nickhilden.substack.com
Awesome interviews I’m publishing in the coming weeks: Han Kang on her new book for Vogue Benjamin Labatut on Roberto Bolaño for Publishers Weekly Eluvium on his new album for Spin
This month we had a perfect pairing for the Writers Talking Writers series at @publisherswkly.bsky.social! Michael Pollan on Henry David Thoreau Elizabeth Kolbert on Rachel Carson @michaelpollan.bsky.social www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/...
Writers Talking Writers: Michael Pollan on Henry David Thoreau and Elizabeth Kolbert on Rachel Carson
The acclaimed journalists discuss the enduring power of classic works on civil disobedience and the environment.
publishersweekly.com
New for @rollingstone.com: I spoke with @michaelpollan.bsky.social about the rising threats to our consciousness. "I really think we need to defend this space of spontaneous thought, of daydreaming, of mind wandering. This is the fertile soil of creativity." www.rollingstone.com/culture/cult...
Michael Pollan on Psychedelics, Mental Health, and AI: 'Our Consciousness Is Under Siege'
In his new book 'A World Appears,' journalist Michael Pollan explores the mysteries of the human brain — and whether computers could ever catch up.
rollingstone.com
From Ai Weiwei's upcoming book On Censorship. Keep an eye out for my interview with him publishing at In These Times soon.
If they're not going to give us space for culture-building, we'll have to do it ourselves. seriousmoonlightxyz.substack.com/p/destroying...
Destroying Culture So a Few Bad Men Get Clicks
Bezos cut Bookworld because his enrichment trumps our cultural poverty.
seriousmoonlightxyz.substack.com
I'm bad at social media but good at picking books! open.substack.com/pub/seriousm...
Galley Stack: 6 Upcoming Books I'm Excited to Read
My literary cup runneth over.
open.substack.com
New for Writers Talking Writers at @publisherswkly.bsky.social! Daniyal Mueenuddin on Ivan Turgenev Claire Messud on Albert Camus www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/...
Writers Talking Writers: Daniyal Mueenuddin on Ivan Turgenev and Claire Messud on Albert Camus
The Pulitzer finalist and the Booker nominee discuss the social and philosophical impact of two classic authors.
publishersweekly.com
New for @nautil.us - a chat with novelist Megha Majumdar about her book and our rapidly approaching climate calamity. nautil.us/can-morality...
Can Morality Survive Climate Collapse?
Can Morality Survive Climate Collapse? Megha Majumdar’s acclaimed novel A Guardian and a Thief explores a near-future where scarcity forces hard choices
nautil.us
After years of reviewing hotels, gear, bikes, and random tech for Afar, Populars Science and Mechanics, Runner's World, and so on, I'm starting my own review Substack! Say yes to reviews written by humans! First up: this romantic Seattle hotel. realcoolstuff.substack.com/p/fantastic-...
Fantastic F#cking View: the Edgewater Hotel, Seattle
Nestle in for the coziest of panoramas.
realcoolstuff.substack.com
Thanks to @nickhilden.bsky.social for talking with me about "Until the Last Gun Is Silent" and Coretta Scott King's important antiwar activism for @jacobinmag.bsky.social jacobin.com/2026/01/core...
Don’t Overlook Coretta Scott King
Coretta Scott King condemned the brutality of the Vietnam War and criticized how it drained money from housing, health care, and jobs.
jacobin.com
I chatted with historian Matthew Delmont about his excellent book Until the Last Gun Is Silent @jacobinmag.bsky.social jacobin.com/2026/01/core...
Don’t Overlook Coretta Scott King
Coretta Scott King condemned the brutality of the Vietnam War and criticized how it drained money from housing, health care, and jobs.
jacobin.com
“Trump, Erdogan, Netanyahu, Putin,” the driver—who according to the app is named Adem but introduced himself as Dominic Toretto—declares with a decisive hand gesture. “All are shit. They fuck everything up.” It is the beginning of two weeks in Istanbul... New on my substack! tinyurl.com/bdctzk4t
Taksi Rides in Istanbul. Prices Are High Everywhere. Reframing the Global Community. Bombing Syria.
If we are serious about addressing the omni-crisis, we must admit to our own role in creating it -- and seek global solutions.
tinyurl.com
I had an inspiring talk with @sanders.senate.gov for @vanityfair.com about oligarchy, authoritarianism, and the need for everyday people to run for office. www.vanityfair.com/news/story/b...
Bernie Sanders on Trump’s AI Slop Storm and Why You Should Run for Office
“This is a guy who puts up an AI image of him in an airplane defecating on American cities—not quite the image of the president of the United States that I was educated to respect,” the senator and au...
vanityfair.com
