A conversation with the chairman of the Jim Henson Company

The most thrilling thing as a designer is making something that becomes a cultural phenomenon and impacts people.

Magazines are supposed to be leading the culture by “telling people what the hell you think is exciting and dynamic and thought provoking.”

Angry letters from congressmen. Death threats. Lost advertising. In the 60’s, these were often the result of a provocative cover image.

Forget about culture-busting significance on the newsstand. The covers of today’s magazines just aren’t memorable.

Inspiration isn’t a bolt of lightening—it comes out of your own sensibilities and understanding of the world.

The ’60s “was the most heroic age in media communications since the twelve apostles,” but the AMC show doesn’t really get it.

A conversation with the design guru.

The way copyright law is written doesn’t reflect the “rip, mix, burn kind of scenario” that is the modern age.

“Music is writing. Writing is art. Art is music. Simple,” says the DJ.

Standardized technology “deadens a lot of amazing stuff,” but it also allows people to customize their sensory landscape in new ways.

“My work is just trying to make sense of the disorienting and overloaded world that we inhabit,” says the DJ.

Miller remixed D.W. Griffith’s “Birth of a Nation” as a critique on racial politics. His Antarctica project touches on many of the same ideas, differently.

“Go to the most remote place that you can imagine, set up a studio and see what music comes out of it.”

DJing is like being a conductor, and a composer of collage—you get to “mess around with people’s memories of songs.”

Paul Miller is more of a nuts and bolts kind of guy, while DJ Spooky can be wilder.

A conversation with the sound artist.

The author of the classic writing guide “Bird by Bird” shares some of her favorite ways to get the creative juices flowing.

Unlike Faulkner, the “Imperfect Birds” author doesn’t believe you should be willing to run over your grandmother for the sake of a great novel.

Anne Lamott embraces her reputation as a popular novelist, but admits that she sometimes gets caught up in the pretentious side of her profession.

A story of meditation, black coffee, and Safeway cakes.

Anne Lamott used to seek inspiration in “drugs, alcohol, and poetry.” But writing her novels has always been more like arduous manual labor than an ecstatic high.

Creating fictional people that seem real requires, among other things, writing a final draft in which you “take out all the lies.”

Some social problems are too complex to attack in a 1,500-word editorial.

“The difference between a writer who toughs it out and one who doesn’t is that you push through the parts where you know that you’ve just written seven pages when […]

A conversation with the novelist.

The 21st century economy will evolve from a U.S.-dominated landscape to a “multiple power” system whose success will hinge on cooperation, not competition.

With competitive local search companies waiting in the wings, will Chinese users really mourn Google’s absence?

The financial meltdown caught China off guard—and may make the country hesitate to follow Japan and other East Asian neighbors into full-fledged capitalism.

Will China’s future economic success hinge on its willingness to democratize? Or will U.S. debt make the country a superpower sooner than we think?