Internationally-acclaimed writer Rabih Alameddine shares the few things he’s learned about the elasticity of identity and imagination.

Isabel Allende, one of the most widely read and acclaimed authors in the world, shares the Five Things She’s Learned about writing fiction, discovering your voice, and writing the work you were born to...

Author and activist Ashton Applewhite shares the Five Things She’s Learned about ageism – and about cheering up, pushing back, and living the life you want to live.

Doctor, educator, professor of medicine, and Pulitzer Prize Award finalist Louise Aronson shares the Five Things She’s Learned about improving our shared healthcare system, aging, and the decades of old...

Acclaimed scientist, professor, and author Dr. Nir Barzilai shares the Five Things He’s Learned about the scientific hacks that can improve your health, increase your life span, and make it possible for...

Celebrated film historians and writers Jeanine Basinger and Sam Wasson share the Five Things They’ve Learned about the people and values that shaped the movie business – and all they uncovered while...

Singer-songwriter Perla Batalla shares the Five Things She’s Learned about the essential role women played again and again in Leonard Cohen’s life and music.

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Cara Black shares the Five Things She’s Learned about the ways that a strong sense of place anchors readers and draws them into the story.

Acclaimed teacher, scholar and public historian David W. Blight shares the Five Things He’s Learned about the ways that biography can help us better learn about thinking, writing, and living well.

Award-winning author and professor Nicholas Buccola shares the Five Things He’s Learned about the meaning and value of freedom by studying the life and writing Frederick Douglass.

Award-winning author and professor Nicholas Buccola shares the Five Things He’s Learned about the meaning of love from the life and thought of James Baldwin.

Singer-songwriter Hayes Carll shares the Five Things He’s Learned about songwriting – through five great songs that helped give voice to his heartaches, joys, and aspirations.

Writer, author, and professor Myisha Cherry shares the Five Things She’s Learned about the essential roles that rage and anger play in public life – and in our principled responses to all forms of...

Legendary singer-songwriter Judy Collins shares the Five Things She’s Learned about Leonard Cohen – from her unique position at start of his music career to her current-day view of his enduring artistic...

Writer, speaker, and founder Nina Collins shares the Five Things She’s Learned about the richness and promise that shape the second half of women’s lives.

Celebrated President and Publisher of the HarperOne Group, Judith Curr shares the Five Things She’s Learned about the power of storytelling and the joys of publishing – plus the behind-the-scenes...

Entrepreneur, professor, MacArthur Fellow, and President Obama’s first appointment to the National Council on the Arts, Aaron Dworkin shares the Five Things He’s Learned about the life-changing power of...

Acclaimed writer and historian Thomas Dyja shares the Five Things He’s Learned about how we can use our city’s structures and energies to improve our well-being and help create a better place for all.

Grant Faulkner, Executive Director of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) and Brooke Warner, Publisher of She Writes Press, share the Five Things They’ve Learned about the essential mindsets that...

Film-maker and producer James Fox shares the Five Things He’s Learned about all that’s certain – and all that remains unknown – in light of the U.S. Defense Department’s continuing investigation...

Social entrepreneur and author Marc Freedman shares the Five Things He’s Learned about the great things that happen when generations come together.

Singer, recording artist, instrumentalist, composer, and songwriter Robbie Fulks shares Five Things He’s Learned about some of the essential elements that enable music to communicate, cohere, and endure.

Singer-songwriter, troubadour, and author Mary Gauthier shares the Five Things She’s Learned about song’s unique power to bring hope in the face of deep trauma – inspiring lessons from her own life...

New York Times bestselling author Elizabeth George shares the Five Things She’s Learned about self-editing can help you to recognize what works in your own writing – and to fix what doesn’t.

Author of How to Be a Travel Writer, Lonely Planet’s best-selling guide to travel writing, Don George shares the Five Things He’s Learned about what makes a great travel story — and how to maximize...

Multi-award winning journalist and author Janine di Giovanni shares the Five Things She’s Learned about writing — and appreciating — narrative non-fiction and memoir.

Multi-award winning journalist and author Janine di Giovanni shares the Five Things She’s Learned about understanding and surviving the moral injury individuals suffer when forced to witness an event that...

Writer, author, and professor Dr. Eddie S. Glaude Jr. shares the Five Things He’s Learned about keeping connected to the voices and visions of our country’s past – and about James Baldwin’s America...

Award-winning writer and director James Gray shares the Five Things He’s Learned about the personal and professional craft of moviemaking.

Professor Timothy Hampton shares the Five Things He’s Learned about the historic roots of cheerfulness, and about how our control this essential tool of emotional life lies not in our deepest selves but...

Writer, scholar, and teacher Timothy Hampton shares the Five Things He’s Learned from a lifetime of listening to the greatest songwriter of our time: How some of Bob Dylan’s most famous songs work, and...

Acclaimed author and film critic Molly Haskell shares the Five Things She’s Learned about loving film and film criticism during the golden age of film appreciation.

Songwriter, singer, recording artist, and Grammy-winning record producer Joe Henry shares the ways he’s found that the process and progress of our lives – like Song – knows more than we do.

Author and senior fellow at the Milken Institute Paul Irving shares the Five Things He’s Learned about how each of us can make the most of the unprecedented potential and possibility that awaits our...

Acclaimed writers and interviewers Pico Iyer and Michael Shapiro share the Five Things They’ve Learned from experience about the Art of the Interview.

Internationally-acclaimed writer Pico Iyer shares the Five Things He’s Learned about opening up space in our heads, and in our days.

Acclaimed writers and interviewers Pico Iyer and Michael Shapiro share the Five Things They’ve Learned from their own experience — and from the experience of the many creative figures they’ve met —...

Best-selling author Steven Johnson shares the Five Things He’s Learned about the critical tools innovative thinkers use to nurture their creative practice – and the five key questions consistently...

Acclaimed historian and writer Catherine Grace Katz shares the Five Things She’s Learned about how to uncover and share the stories that challenge our ideas of history.

New York Times bestselling author Laurie R. King shares the Five Things She’s Learned about creating memorable characters who come to life for her readers.

U.S. Marine Corps veteran, writer, and teacher Phil Klay shares the Five Things He’s Learned about American citizenship – what it means, the obligations it places upon us, and the uglier way our shared...

New York Times bestselling author and Omega Institute co-founder Elizabeth Lesser shares the Five Things She’s Learned about what happens when women trust their instincts, dignify their values, and speak...

Acclaimed songwriter, producer, and arranger John Lissauer shares the Five Things He’s Learned about the inspiration, writing, and recording of some of Leonard Cohen’s most unforgettable songs.

Distinguished scientist, researcher, and professor Gordon Lithgow shares the Five Things He’s Learned about scientists’ remarkable recent efforts to slow aging and improve our chances of a healthy late...

Acclaimed author and editor Phillip Lopate — the celebrated central figure in the revival of the American essay —, shares the Five Things He’s Learned about the powerful legacy and continuing pleasure...

Bestselling author Julie Lythcott-Haims shares the Five Things She’s Learned about deepening her ability to love others, and the practical steps that help her build, maintain, and celebrate her most...

Acclaimed music critic Anne Midgette shares the Five Things She’s Learned about the women whose important work provides new ways to understand and enjoy the pleasures of classical music.

Acclaimed music critic and opera insider Anne Midgette shares the Five Things She’s Learned that make it easy to appreciate and enjoy this essential art form.

Hospice and palliative care specialist Dr. BJ Miller shares the Five Things He’s Learned anew about living and preparing for death after this year of shared loss, challenge, and renewal.

Writer, author, and professor Roosevelt Montás shares the Five Things He’s Learned about the transforming power of the Great Books—and why the ideas and passions within these ancient sources still...

Singer/songwriter, producer, and author Allison Moorer shares the Five Things She’s Learned about sharing her family’s stories in prose and in song – and about all that taking ownership of our most...

Celebrated novelist, essayist, short-story writer, and professor Peter Orner shares the Five Things He’s Learned about how worrying less, chilling out, and reveling (a little) in not writing makes all the...

Academy-Award-winning writer and director Alexander Payne shares the Five Things He Thinks He’s Learned about writing, directing, and editing films — as well as the joys that he’s certain accompany a...

Global-film community tastemakers Richard Peña and Phillip Lopate share the Five Things They’ve Learned about cinema’s rich history — and about the many ways to love the movies.

Pulitzer-Prize winning art critic and New York magazine columnist Jerry Saltz shares the Five Things He’s Learned about how artists and art lovers become really good at art.

New York Times bestselling writer Russell Shorto shares the Five Things He’s Learned about how the Dutch founding of New York City shaped the world’s most dynamic metropolis – and continues to impact...

New York Times bestselling writer Russell Shorto shares the Five Things He’s Learned about diving into your past and bringing the story you find there to life.

Author, journalist, biographer, and singer-songwriter Sylvie Simmons shares the Five Things She’s Learned about Leonard Cohen – and all she still learns from him five years after he passed away.

Journalist and author James Surowiecki share the Five Things He’s Learned about how to write about ideas – how to take complicated concepts and make them accessible; and how, in the process, to enlighten...

Journalist and author James Surowiecki shares the Five Things He’s Learned about how the Internet is reshaping the way we learn and think – and why, for all of its promise, social media seems to be...

Acclaimed producer, executive, professor, and author Jonathan Taplin shares the Five Things He’s Learned about the tenuous link between media and democracy – and what the continuing convergence of...

Scholar, writer, translator, and teacher Bob Thurman shares the Five Things He’s Learned about achieving reliable and lasting happiness during his lifetime learning and teaching the Buddha’s curriculum.

Multi-award-winning photojournalist Nicole Tung shares the Five Things She’s Learned about photos’ unique power to inform, to connect, and to document people’s lives.

Retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel Alexander Vindman shares the Five Things He’s Learned about this critical time in history from his years engaging with Russia’s military and political leadership.

Award-winning documentary filmmaker Lisa Immordino Vreeland — alongside her special guest Penelope Tree—, shares the Five Things She’s Learned about documenting and sharing the lives of some of the...

Editor and publisher Brooke Warner shares the Five Things She’s Learned during her nearly two decades of leading and championing women-only publishing about the ways that women writers work, collaborate,...

Writer and publisher Brooke Warner shares the Five Things She’s Learned about putting out the message you most want to share in the new year.

Celebrated author Sam Wasson shares the Five Things He’s Learned about Hollywood’s second golden age, and the ways that those few gorgeous years in the late sixties and early seventies illuminate the...

Photographer, archivist, curator, and teacher Lewis Watts shares the Five Things He’s Learned about photography’s power to trace, preserve, and celebrate the people and communities of the African diaspora.

Celebrated writer and raconteur Simon Winchester, author of The Professor and the Madman and The Meaning of Everything: The Story of the Oxford English Dictionary, shares the Five Things He’s Learned...

Investigative journalist Larissa Zimberoff shares the Five Things She’s Learned about how technology is reshaping our food and reimagining our food system – and what these changes mean for people who...