Conversations with Tyler1 Dec 2021

Ruth Scurr on the Art of Biography

The most challenging part of being a biographer for Ruth Scurr is finding the best form to tell a life. "You can't go in there with a workmanlike attitude saying, 'I'm going to do cradle to grave.' You've got to somehow connect and resonate with the life, and then things will develop from that." Known for her innovative literary portraits of Robespierre and John Aubrey, Scurr's latest book follows Napoleon's life through his engagement with the natural world. This approach broadens the usual cast of characters included in Napoleon's life story, providing new perspectives with which to understand him.

Ruth joined Tyler to discuss why she considers Danton the hero of the French Revolution, why the Jacobins were so male-obsessed, the wit behind Condorcet's idea of a mechanical king, the influence of Adam Smith's Theory of Moral Sentiments during and after the Reign of Terror, why 18th-century French thinkers were obsessed with finding forms of government that would fit with emerging market forces, whether Hayek's critique of French Enlightenment theorists is correct, the relationship between the French Revolution and today's woke culture, the truth about Napoleon's diplomatic skills, the poor prospects for pitching biographies to publishers, why Montesquieu's Spirit of the Laws would be her desert island read, why Cambridge is a better city than Oxford, why the Times Literary Supplement remains important today, what she loves about Elena Ferrante's writing, how she stays open as a biographer, and more.

Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links.

Recorded July 12th, 2021

Other ways to connect

Follow us on Twitter and Instagram
Follow Tyler on Twitter
Follow Ruth on Twitter
Email us: cowenconvos@mercatus.gmu.edu
Subscribe at our newsletter page to have the latest Conversations with Tyler news sent straight to your inbox.

Thumbnail photo credit: Dan White

Det här avsnittet är hämtat från ett öppet RSS-flöde och publiceras inte av Podme. Det kan innehålla reklam.

Avsnitt(288)

Bruno Maçães on the Spirit of Adventure

Political scientist Bruno Maçães has built a career out of crossing the globe teaching, advising, writing, and talking to people. His recent book, born out of a six-month journey across Eurasia, is on...

26 Sep 201857min

Michele Gelfand on Tight and Loose Cultures

Michele Gelfand is professor of psychology at the University of Maryland and author of the just-released Rule Makers, Rule Breakers: How Tight and Loose Cultures Wire Our World. In her conversation wi...

12 Sep 201856min

Claire Lehmann on Speaking Freely

Claire Lehmann is the founding editor of Quillette, an online magazine dedicated to free thought and open inquiry. Founded in 2015, the magazine has already developed a large and growing readership th...

29 Aug 201847min

Michael Pollan on the Science and Sublimity of Psychedelics

Michael Pollan has long been fascinated by nature and the ways we connect and clash with it, with decades of writing covering food, farming, cooking, and architecture. Pollan's latest fascination? Our...

15 Aug 201859min

Michelle Dawson on Autism and Atypicality

Perhaps no one else in the world more appreciates the challenges facing a better understanding of autism than Michelle Dawson. An autistic herself, she began researching her condition after experienci...

1 Aug 201853min

Vitalik Buterin on Cryptoeconomics and Markets in Everything

At the intersection of programming, economics, cryptography, distributed systems, information theory, and math, you will find Vitalik Buterin, who has managed to synthesize insights across those field...

18 Juli 201852min

Juan Pablo Villarino on Travel and Trust

Travel writer Juan Pablo Villarino had visited 90 countries before making the trek to exotic Arlington, Virginia for this chat with Tyler. Amazingly enough, this recording marked his first trip to the...

3 Juli 20181h 1min

Elisa New on Poetry in America and Beyond

Elisa New believes anyone can have fun reading a poem. And that if you really want to have a blast, you shouldn't limit poetry to silent, solitary reading - why not sing, recite, or perform it as has...

20 Juni 201854min