In a Q&A with The Boston Globe’s Sarah Shemkus, Prof. Yossi Sheffi discusses his new book, Balancing Green, which examines “the challenges and benefits of ‘going green’ in a multilayered global economy.” Sheffi suggests green practices can be advantageous for companies because “certain things also cut costs and increase profit, like energy savings.”
Gradute student Jonny Sun speaks with Seth Myers on Late Nate with Seth Meyers about his new book, “Everyone's a Aliebn When Ur a Aliebn Too.” The book, which follows an alien who comes to earth and learns to celebrate people’s differences, features intentional typos to emphasize “a common theme throughout the story…that it’s ok to be imperfect,” says Sun.
Former MIT Visiting Artist Pedro Reyes returns to the Institute with the premiere of his latest puppet play, “Manufacturing Mischief,” writes Jeremy Goodwin of The Boston Globe. Partially based on the writings of Prof. Emeritus Noam Chomsky, and featuring puppets of famous figures like Chomsky, Steve Jobs and Elon Musk, the play is “about staging a conflict between opposing worldviews and opposing ideologies,” says Reyes.
In his book The Longevity Economy, MIT AgeLab director Joseph Coughlin notes that on the rare occasion that aging is discussed, views of the elderly are mostly wrong. “The main point that Coughlin is making,” writes Joshua Kim for Inside Higher Ed, is that, “[r]ather than years of decline, life after 65 (or 75 or even 85) can be full of possibility, exploration, and learning.”
Steven Poole of The Wall Street Journal reviews The Biological Mind, a new book from Prof. Alan Jasanoff, which suggests that “a brain-centric view of who we are neglects the physiological, environmental and political determinants of our behavior.” Jasanoff “presents a lucid primer on current brain science that takes the form of a passionate warning about its limitations,” says Poole.
Research affiliate Jimena Canales writes for NPR’s "Cosmos & Culture" blog about historical perceptions of the possibility of time travel, including the idea that a refrigerator could reverse time. Canales ultimately concludes that, “if you want to really travel in time, you might try the old fashion way of doing it: Turn to history and literature.”
Hal Gregersen, a senior lecturer in MIT's Sloan School of Management, talks with Stephanie Vozza of Fast Company about his new book, Questions Are the Answer. “The best leaders in the world ask better questions, creating conditions and situations that cause them to be wrong or uncomfortable and quiet,” says Gregersen. “When that happens, they end up being almost forced to ask things other people wouldn’t ask.”
WBUR's Meghna Chakrabarti and Prof. Alan Lightman discuss his new book, Searching for Stars on an Island in Maine. On the impact of an experience detailed in it, Lightman says: "I suddenly understood in a deeper way than I had before, the longing for the permanent, the absolute, the indestructible, the eternal, and that, of course, contrasted strongly with my experience as a scientist."
Sean Illing of Vox speaks with Prof. Sherry Turkle about her insights on how the digital world is impacting our human relationships. “I’m not anti-technology,” said Turkle. “I’m pro-relationships and pro-conversations and pro-communities and pro-politics. I want people to be media-savvy and to use it to their best advantage.”
Sloan graduate student George Ward writes for WBUR’s Common Health about the decline in America’s “happiness” quotient since the UN began reporting data in 2012. He highlights research from the new book he co-authored, “The Origins of Happiness: The Science of Well-Being Over the Life Course,” which “provides a systematic account of what makes for a satisfying life.”
Prof. Junot Diaz appeared on CBS This Morning to speak about his new children’s book "Islandborn," which was partly inspired by his experience as a young immigrant from the Dominican Republic. "A lot of us can't remember our origins,” said Diaz. “We're shaped by places and people that we've never, ever met. And that's something important to recognize."
Prof. Junot Diaz speaks with Karen McPherson of The Washington Post about his new children’s book, Islandborn, about a girl from the Dominican Republic growing up in an urban immigrant community. “The best stories provide us with opportunities for recognition and estrangement — to be spoken to most directly, or to feel that we are eavesdropping,” Diaz says.
TechCrunch’s “Technotopia” podcast, hosted by John Biggs, features Prof. Nick Montfort, who has authored a new book, “The Future”. Montfort’s book identifies those whose work impacts the future of culture and technology.
Times Higher Ed reporter Matthew Reisz highlights Prof. Daniel Jackson’s book, “Portraits of Resilience.” Reisz writes that, “MIT and its press are to be congratulated on a book – given out free to all this year’s new students – that not only addresses head on the issue of mental health within higher education but is so frank about how this plays out within its own institution.”
Prof. Junot Díaz speaks with Boston Globe reporter James Sullivan about his new children’s book, “Islandborn.” The book was inspired by two of his godchildren, who asked him to write a book featuring kids that looked like them. Díaz related to their request, noting that as a child, he felt “the world I was immersed in wasn’t represented at all.”