In The Genius Dialogues, Bob Garfield boldly asks smart, stupid and vaguely rude questions of ingenious souls accomplishing remarkable things in wildly disparate fields -- from organic chemistry to choreography to neurophilosophy to online language instruction. Altogether, the answers are spellbinding -- and the basis of not just an interview series but a groundbreaking multimedia digital-publishing format.

Help us get it off the ground! Be part of the publishing revolution! Get more Bob Garfield! And free advance copies of the ebooks we'll produce based on the conversations!

"I've never seen anything like The Genius Dialogues. Ever. Bob Garfield explores the perfect combination of great minds and good works. It's inspiring, illuminating, entertaining...and quite ingenious in its own right."

--Morgan Spurlock, Film Director (Super Size Me, Freakonomics), Host & Producer (CNN's Inside Man)

"Bob Garfield is a reliably entertaining interviewer with really interesting judgment. He's gonna try to figure out what makes geniuses different from the rest of us?  I'm in! Where do I donate?"

--Ira Glass, Public Radio Host & Producer (This American Life)

"The first Genius Dialogue is with the man who invented Captcha, a technology I hate with every fiber of my being. I wanted to hate him, too. But it was riveting, and he charmed me. This project is going to roar."

--Gene Weingarten, Washington Post

Full Project Description: 

Each year, the MacArthur Foundation famously taps two dozen of the most compelling scientists, educators and artists in the world from out of the blue and awards them $625,000 fellowships, no strings attached. We know, because we read about them every fall: the so-called “Genius Grants." But who are these people? Can you name a single MacArthur Genius? Apart from the windfall, why should we care about them and their accomplishments?

Well, we should – because their work is remarkable and often surprising, and so are their personal stories. The Genius Dialogues are about illuminating innovation and innovators on the leading edge of science, art, education, and every other discipline that defines and expands our world. 

We've produced one episode to test the concept and so far so good. In tone, style, depth and narrative arc, if we say so ourselves, it sounds like no interview you’ve heard before. Because it isn’t an interview at all; it’s a conversation unburdened by the conventions of broadcast decorum – respectful, but unstilted, rigorous, but informal and very personable. As Bob says, "Think of Terry Gross. Now imagine if she was pathologically unfiltered…that's me."

We'll spend time talking with MacArthur Fellows in a wide variety of fields and produce for you a series of videos, audio recordings and ebooks that share their stories. On our website we'll blend text, audio, video, illustration and infographics into a seamless multimedia experience so you can deeply understand their work and their personal trajectory before and after being honored by the MacArthur Foundation. 

This is a passion project for us -- Bob Garfield, known best for his work as co-host of NPR's show ON THE MEDIA, and Molly Barton, former Global Digital Director of Penguin books, and now independent digital media producer and publisher.

Our first episode is with Luis von Ahn, the man who created Captcha, ReCaptcha (sold to Google), and now DuoLingo (a remarkable language learning app with the potential to revolutionize education worldwide). If you have a favorite MacArthur Fellow you think we should include in the series, let us know! We appreciate your ideas and your support.

The Genius Dialogues is produced entirely independent of the MacArthur Foundation, and receives no funding from it.