About
I teach philosophy at UC Riverside, and before that was a professor for 16 years at Vassar College. I produce and host a podcast for Slate Magazine called Hi-Phi Nation.
My style is narrative nonfiction integrated with big ideas from philosophy. I have written a book with W.W. Norton, am writing a book with Farrar, Strauss, and Giroux, and have written short pieces for Slate, the Boston Globe, San Francisco Standard, Aeon and others, mostly related to philosophy, bureaucracy, or higher-education.
I ran a program for academic philosophers to enter into nonfiction writing and podcasting called Philosophy in Media, funded by the Mellon, Sloan, and Templeton Foundations. I am currently working on bigger philanthropically-funded projects connecting philosophy with the world.
Featured Work
Fewer Rules, Better People: The Case for Discretion
A philosopher argues that the proliferation of rules and mandates is making us dumber, less moral, more deceptive, and less able to govern important institutions.
