Suki Kim is an investigative journalist and a novelist, and the only writer ever to have lived undercover in North Korea for immersive journalism. Born and raised in South Korea, Kim has traveled to North Korea since 2002.
In 2011, she lived in Pyongyang undercover for six months with the country's future leaders during the final year of Kim Jong-il’s reign, Suki Kim's New York Times bestseller Without You, There Is No Us: Undercover Among the Sons of North Korea’s Elite (Crown, Penguin Random House) is unprecedented literary documentation of the world's most secretive gulag nation.&nbsp;
Kim’s first novel, The Interpreter (Farrar, Straus &amp; Giroux), was the winner of a PEN Open Book Award and a finalist for a PEN Hemingway Prize, and her nonfiction has appeared in The New York Times, The New York Review of Books, Washington Post, Harper's, Atlantic, The New Yorker, and The New Republic where she is a contributing editor. One of her most acclaimed essays, "The Reluctant Memoirist" (The New Republic, 2016), exposed racism and orientalism in publishing as well as the systematic undermining of female expertise, and brought the publishing giant, Penguin Random House, her own publisher, to formally correct the mislabelling of her book.
Her investigation for New York Magazine (voted “Best Investigative Reporting 2017” by Longreads) of the sexual and racial harassment at the WNYC New York Public Radio, the nation's largest public radio station, led to its internal shakedown, from the dismissal of its longest-serving program hosts to the stepping down of its President and CEO after 23 years in her job, as well as ushering the first woman of color, in the station's 100-year history, as a solo host of a national news program.
In 2018, the Best American Essays series published her essay on fear. In 2020, for a New Yorker feature, Kim broke an interview with Adrian Hong, the elusive leader of the first-ever North Korean opposition who spoke to her while on the run from the US Department of Justice.
Kim is a recipient of a Guggenheim, a George Soros Open Society fellowship, a Fulbright Senior Scholar Grant, a New America national fellowship, the Berlin Prize at the American Academy as well as serving as a Ferris professor of Creative Nonfiction at Princeton University.
Her TED Talk has drawn nearly 6 million viewers, and she was the 2020 Convocation Keynote speaker for Barnard College, Columbia University. She has been featured in the media around the world, from CNN, BBC, and MSNBC, including shows ranging from CBS This Morning, Christian Amanpour Show, and The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.
A 2021-2022 Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study fellow at Harvard University, she is at work on a nonfiction book (to be published by W.W. Norton), which was shortlisted for a J. Anthony Lukas Work-in-Progress Prize, given by Columbia School of Journalism and Harvard’s Nieman Foundation for Journalism.

Suki

Neil Richard Gaiman was born on November 10, 1960, in Portchester, England. He originated from a family of Eastern European Jewish descent. His father, David Bernard Gaiman, worked at their family chain of stores, while his mother, Sheila Gaiman, was a pharmacist. In 1965 the family moved to East Grinstead, West Sussex, where Neil grew up with a profound love for reading, beginning as early as age 4.&nbsp;
Some of his favorite childhood books include J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, C. S. Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia, Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Batman, and other comics. Gaiman received early education at various church schools, including Fonthill School in East Grinstead, Ardingly College, and Whitgift School in Croydon.
When Gaiman began to outgrow comic books in his teenage years, he realized the lack of comic books for an older mature audience. He, therefore, decided to fill the gap himself. Although he wanted to write comic books, Gaiman had little idea how to go about it. Following his graduation from high school in 1977, Gaiman became a journalist writing articles for a number of renowned publications such as the Sunday Times, the Observer, Knave, and Time Out.&nbsp;
In March 1985, Gaiman married McGrath after the birth of their son Michael in 1983. The couple had two more children, Holly and Madeleine. In 1984, Gaiman wrote his first book, a biography of the band Duran Duran. He continued writing articles and interviews in magazines under pseudonyms. However, in 1987, Gaiman waved goodbye to journalism, stating, “British newspapers can make up anything they want and publish it as fact.”&nbsp;
Also, in the late 1980s, Gaiman published Don’t Panic: The Official Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy Companion. Gaiman started writing comic books, continuing the series of Marvelman after its original creator and Gaiman’s friend Alan Moore abandoned it. After his impressive work on Marvelman, Gaiman was offered to write the limited series of Black Orchard and also to re-write an old character, The Sandman. From December 1988 to March 1966, Gaiman produced work on The Sandman, which was later collected in 12 volumes.&nbsp;
More significant comic works by Neil Gaiman include The Books of Magic (1989), Lady Justice, and Mr. Hero. The Newmatic Man, Teknophage, Tales of the White Wolf, Whatever happened to the Caper Crusader, as well as contributions to Wednesday Comics.

Neil

Edward Joseph Snowden (born June 21, 1983) is an American and naturalized Russian former computer intelligence consultant who leaked highly classified information from the National Security Agency (NSA) in 2013 when he was an employee and subcontractor.&nbsp;
His disclosures revealed numerous global surveillance programs, many runs by the NSA and the Five Eyes intelligence alliance with the cooperation of telecommunication companies and European governments. They prompted a cultural discussion about national security and individual privacy.
In 2013, Snowden was hired by an NSA contractor, Booz Allen Hamilton, after previous employment with Dell and the CIA. Snowden says he gradually became disillusioned with the programs with which he was involved and that he tried to raise his ethical concerns through internal channels but was ignored.&nbsp;
On May 20, 2013, Snowden flew to Hong Kong after leaving his job at an NSA facility in Hawaii. In early June, he revealed thousands of classified NSA documents to journalists Glenn Greenwald, Laura Poitras, Barton Gellman, and Ewen MacAskill. Snowden came to international attention after stories based on the material appeared in The Guardian, The Washington Post, and other publications.&nbsp;
Snowden also made extensive allegations against the GCSB, blowing the whistle on their domestic surveillance of New Zealanders and acts of espionage under John Key's government. On June 21, 2013, the United States Department of Justice unsealed charges against Snowden of two counts of violating the Espionage Act of 1917 and theft of government property, following which the Department of State revoked his passport.

Edward

Emily Ratajkowski is an American model and actress known for her appearances in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue and her role in the music video for Robin Thicke's "Blurred Lines." She has been featured in magazines such as Vogue, GQ, and Elle, as well as in campaigns for brands such as DKNY and Balmain. In addition to modeling and acting, Ratajkowski is also an advocate for women's rights and has been involved in the Me Too movement.
Ratajkowski was born in London and raised in California. She began her modeling career at the age of 14 and has since appeared in numerous magazines and campaigns. She has become known for her curvaceous figure and for her willingness to embrace her sexuality. Ratajkowski has stated that she loves being a "sexy, curvy woman" and that she enjoys being able to express her femininity through her work.
Ratajkowski made her acting debut in the film Gone Girl and has since appeared in several other films, including Entourage and We Are Your Friends. In 2017, she starred in the film In Darkness, as well as a lead role in the television series Easy. She made her Broadway debut in 2019, playing the lead role in the musical adaptation of The Spoils.
Ratajkowski is also an outspoken feminist and advocates for women's rights. She has been involved in the Me Too movement and has spoken out against the objectification of women in the media. She has also been vocal about her support for the Women's March and the Black Lives Matter movement and has spoken out in support of the LGBTQ+ community.
Ratajkowski is a multi-faceted and ambitious individual who has used her platform to speak out on a range of social issues. She is an inspiration to many, and her success and advocacy have made her an icon of modern feminism.

Emily

Antonio García Martínez is an entrepreneur, investor, writer, and tech industry veteran. He has had a long and varied career, beginning in the early days of the dot-com boom and continuing today. Early in his career, Antonio worked in a variety of roles at companies such as Apple, Microsoft, and Goldman Sachs.
At Apple, Antonio held a variety of positions, including working on the retail side of the business, developing software, and helping to launch the Apple Store. At Microsoft, Antonio was involved in the development of a number of products, including Windows 95 and Windows 98. After leaving Microsoft, Antonio founded Adify, a venture-backed ad network that WPP eventually acquired.
More recently, Antonio has become an investor, author, and thought leader in the technology and venture capital industries. He has invested in a variety of startups, including Twitter, Uber, and Stripe. He is also the author of the book Chaos Monkeys: Obscene Fortune and Random Failure in Silicon Valley, which chronicles his experiences in the tech industry.
In addition to his work as an investor and author, Antonio is a sought-after speaker and thought leader. He has appeared on the TED stage, as well as at conferences including SXSW, DLD, and TechCrunch Disrupt. Antonio is often called upon to provide his expertise and insight into the tech industry, as well as his views on the current state of venture capital and startups.
Overall, Antonio García Martínez is an accomplished entrepreneur, investor, author, and thought leader. His wealth of experience and knowledge from working in and around the tech industry, combined with his excellent communication skills, make him a highly sought-after individual in the industry.

Antonio García

Robert Kinloch Massie III (January 5, 1929 – December 2, 2019) was an American journalist and historian. He devoted much of his career to studying and writing about the House of Romanov, Russia's imperial family, from 1613 to 1917. Massie was awarded the 1981 Pulitzer Prize for Biography for Peter the Great: His Life and World. He also received awards for his book Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman (2011). His book Nicholas and Alexandra (1967) was adapted as a British film by the same name that was released in 1971. It starred Laurence Olivier, Michael Jayston, and Janet Suzman.
Massie was born in Versailles, Kentucky, to Robert Massie, Jr., an educator, and Molly, née Kimball, an activist for progressive causes. He was raised there and in Nashville, Tennessee. He earned degrees in American studies from Yale University and as a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University. While at Oxford, Massie played on the Oxford University Men's Basketball Team. He served in the early 1950s as a nuclear-targeting officer in the United States Navy in the period around the Korean War.&nbsp;
Massie worked as a journalist for Collier's and from 1959 to 1962 for Newsweek before taking a position at the Saturday Evening Post. He also taught at Princeton and Tulane universities. In 1967, after leaving the Saturday Evening Post to concentrate on his historical writing, Massie published his breakthrough book, Nicholas and Alexandra, an authoritative biography of Tsar Nicholas II (1868–1918, reigned 1894–1917) and Alexandra of Hesse (1872–1918), the last Emperor and Empress of Russia.&nbsp;
His interest in the Russian imperial house had been inspired by the birth of his son, Robert Kinloch Massie IV, who was born with hemophilia. This hereditary disease also afflicted Nicholas's only son Tsarevich Alexei Nikolaevich, heir apparent to the imperial throne. His book was adapted for a film with the same title, released in 1971 and starring Laurence Olivier and Janet Suzman.&nbsp;
It won Academy Awards for Best Costume Design and Best Art Direction-Set Decoration and was nominated for four others, as well as several Golden Globes and BAFTA Awards. Massie and his wife Suzanne chronicled their personal experiences as parents of a hemophiliac child in Journey, published in 1975. They had moved to France, and the book also discussed differences between the healthcare systems in the US and France.
In the 1990s, much new information about the Romanovs and Russian governments became accessible following the opening of Russian and Soviet archives after the end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1990. In addition, the remains of the Tsar, his wife, and their children were exhumed from unmarked, hidden forest graves near their execution site. Their identities were confirmed by DNA analysis.&nbsp;
Massie conducted additional research based on all this new information and published The Romanovs: The Final Chapter (1995). In 1998 the Romanov family was reinterred after a state funeral in the restored Russian Orthodox cathedral at the Peter and Paul Fortress in St. Petersburg, whose traditional name had been restored. Massie continued to write biographical books on the Russian Imperial family. He won the 1981 Pulitzer Prize for Biography for Peter the Great: His Life and World.
This was the basis of an NBC television network miniseries, Peter the Great (1986), which won three Emmy Awards and starred Maximilian Schell, Laurence Olivier, and Vanessa Redgrave. In 2011 Massie published Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman, about Tsarina Catherine the Great. It won the 2012 inaugural Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction and the 2012 PEN/Jacqueline Bograd Weld Award for Biography.
He also published two books in the early 20th century: Dreadnought: Britain, Germany, and the Coming of the Great War (1991) is a diplomatic history over four decades on the causes of World War I. Castles of Steel: Britain, Germany, and the Winning of the Great War at Sea (2003) on the role of the ships in the war. In other activities, from 1987 to 1991, Massie was President of The Authors Guild, and he served as an ex officio council member.
While president, he called on authors to boycott any store that refused to carry Salman Rushdie's The Satanic Verses, which had been threatened by Islamic religious leaders. Massie was married to Suzanne Rohrbach from 1954 to 1990. They divorced after having a son and two daughters. He later married Deborah Karl in 1992; she was his literary agent. They also had a son and two daughters together. Massie died from complications of Alzheimer's disease on December 2, 2019, at the age of 90.

Robert

Paul Graham is an entrepreneur, programmer, and essayist. He is the co-founder of Y Combinator, a startup accelerator that has funded over 2,000 companies including Dropbox, Airbnb, and Reddit. His career has been focused on technology and startups. He began his career as a programmer and software developer, working on various projects and startups. In 1995, he co-founded Viaweb, one of the first web-based companies that allowed users to create their own online stores. The company was later sold to Yahoo in 1998 for $49 million.
After the sale of Viaweb, Graham turned his attention to startup investing and mentoring. In 2005, he co-founded Y Combinator, a startup accelerator that provides funding, resources, and mentorship to early-stage startups. Y Combinator has since funded over 2,000 companies, many of which have gone on to become successful and valuable companies, such as Dropbox, Airbnb, and Reddit.
Paul Graham has several notable achievements in his career, including:
<ul>
<li>Co-founding Viaweb: Viaweb was one of the first web-based companies that allowed users to create their own online stores. The company was later sold to Yahoo in 1998 for $49 million.</li>
<li>Fellowship at Harvard's Society of Fellows: Graham is a Fellow at Harvard's Society of Fellows, a prestigious group of scholars who receive funding and support to pursue their research.</li>
<li>Helping launch successful startups: Graham has helped launch many successful startups through Y Combinator and has mentored many entrepreneurs. Some of the successful companies that came out of Y Combinator include Dropbox, Airbnb, and Reddit.</li>
</ul>
In addition to his work with Y Combinator, Graham is also known for his essays on technology and startups. He has written extensively on the startup ecosystem, the role of technology in society, and the future of the internet. His essays have been collected in two books, "Hackers &amp; Painters" and "Ansi Common Lisp." He continues to share his thoughts and insights on his website, paulgraham.com.

Paul

Erik Larson is the author of eight books, six of which became New York Times bestsellers. His latest books, The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz and Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania, both hit no. 1 on the list soon after launch. His saga of the Chicago World’s Fair of 1893, The Devil in the White City, was a finalist for the National Book Award and won an Edgar Award for fact-crime writing; it lingered on various Times bestseller lists for the better part of a decade.&nbsp;
Hulu plans to adapt the book for a limited TV series, with Leonardo DiCaprio and Martin Scorsese as executive producers. Erik’s In the Garden of Beasts, about how America’s first ambassador to Nazi Germany and his daughter experienced the rising terror of Hitler’s rule, has been optioned by Tom Hanks for development as a feature film.
Erik’s first book of narrative nonfiction, Isaac’s Storm, about the giant hurricane that destroyed Galveston, Texas, in 1900, won the American Meteorology Society’s prestigious Louis J. Battan Author’s Award. The Washington Post called it the “Jaws of hurricane yarns.” Erik is particularly pleased to have won the Chicago Public Library Foundation’s 2016 Carl Sandburg Literary Award for Non-Fiction.
He graduated summa cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania, where he studied Russian history, language, and culture; he received a master's in journalism from Columbia University. After a brief stint at the Bucks County Courier Times, Erik became a staff writer for The Wall Street Journal and later a contributing writer for Time Magazine. His magazine stories have appeared in The New Yorker, The Atlantic Monthly, Harper’s, and other publications.
He has taught non-fiction writing at San Francisco State, the Johns Hopkins Writing Seminars, the University of Oregon, and the Chuckanut Writers Conference in Bellingham, Wash., and has spoken to audiences from coast to coast. A former resident of Seattle, he now lives in Manhattan with his wife, a neonatologist, who is also the author of the nonfiction memoir, Almost Home, which, as Erik puts it, “could make a stone cry.”&nbsp;
They have three daughters in far-flung locations and professions. Their beloved dog Molly resides in an urn on a shelf overlooking Central Park, where they like to think she now spends most of her time.

Erik

Lena Dunham is an American writer, director, actress, and producer. She is known as the creator, writer, and star of the HBO television series Girls (2012–2017), for which she received several Emmy Award nominations and two Golden Globe Awards. Dunham also directed several episodes of Girls and became the first woman to win the Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – Comedy Series.&nbsp;
Prior to Girls, Dunham wrote, directed, and starred in the semi-autobiographical independent film Tiny Furniture (2010), for which she won an Independent Spirit Award for Best First Screenplay. Her second feature film, Sharp Stick, written and directed by Dunham, was released in 2022. Her third film, Catherine Called Birdy, had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 12, 2022.&nbsp;
It was released in a limited release on September 23, 2022, by Amazon Studios, prior to streaming on Prime Video on October 7, 2022. In 2013, Dunham was included in the annual Time 100 list of the most influential people in the world. In 2014, Dunham released her first book, Not That Kind of Girl: A Young Woman Tells You What She's "Learned."&nbsp;
In 2015, along with Girls showrunner Jenni Konner, Dunham created the publication Lenny Letter, a feminist online newsletter. The publication ran for three years before folding in late 2018. Dunham briefly appeared in films such as Supporting Characters and This Is 40 (both 2012) and Happy Christmas (2014).&nbsp;
She voiced Mary in the 2016 film My Entire High School Sinking Into the Sea, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. On television, aside from Girls, she has played guest roles in Scandal and The Simpsons (both 2015). In 2017, she portrayed Valerie Solanas in American Horror Story: Cult. Dunham's work, as well as her outspoken presence on social media and in interviews, have attracted significant controversy, praise, criticism, and media scrutiny throughout her career.

Lena

Henry Alfred Kissinger was sworn in on September 22, 1973, as the 56th Secretary of State, a position he held until January 20, 1977. He also served as Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs from January 20, 1969, until November 3, 1975. In July 1983, he was appointed by President Reagan to chair the National Bipartisan Commission on Central America until it ceased operation in January 1985. From 1984-1990 he served as a member of the President’s Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board.
&nbsp;From 1986-1988 he was a member of the Commission on Integrated Long-Term Strategy of the National Security Council and Defense Department. He served as a member of the Defense Policy Board from 2001 to 2016. Dr. Kissinger is Chairman of Kissinger Associates, Inc., an international consulting firm.&nbsp;
He is also a member of the International Council of J.P. Morgan Chase &amp; Co.; a Counselor to and Trustee of the Center for Strategic and International Studies; an Honorary Governor of the Foreign Policy Association; and an Honor Member of the International Olympic Committee. Among his other activities, Dr. Kissinger served as a member of the Board of Directors of ContiGroup Companies, Inc. from 1988-2014 and remains an Advisor to the Board, a position he also held at American Express Company since 2005, after serving on the Board from 1984.&nbsp;
He is also a Trustee Emeritus of the Metropolitan Museum of Art; a Director Emeritus of Freeport-McMoRan Copper and Gold Inc.; and a Director of the International Rescue Committee. Among the awards Dr. Kissinger has received have been a Bronze Star from the U.S. Army in 1945; the Nobel Peace Prize in 1973; the Presidential Medal of Freedom (the nation’s highest civilian award) in 1977; and the Medal of Liberty (given one time to ten foreign-born American leaders) in 1986.
Dr. Kissinger was born in Fuerth, Germany, came to the United States in 1938, and was naturalized as a United States citizen in 1943. He served in the Army from February 1943 to July 1946. He graduated summa cum laude from Harvard College in 1950 and received M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from Harvard University in 1952 and 1954.
From 1954 until 1969, he was a member of the faculty of Harvard University in both the Department of Government and the Center for International Affairs. He was the Director of the Harvard International Seminar from 1952 to 1969.

Henry

Barack Obama is a former American politician who served as the 44th President of the United States from 2009 to 2017. He is the first African American to have held office and the first to have been elected to two consecutive terms. He was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, on August 4, 1961, to a Kenyan father and an American mother.
Barack Obama attended Harvard Law School, where he graduated with honors in 1991. He then practiced law in Chicago and taught constitutional law at the University of Chicago Law School from 1992 to 2004. Obama was elected to the Illinois State Senate in 1996 and to the U.S. Senate in 2004. He was the Democratic Party's nominee for President of the United States in the 2008 election and won the election with over 52% of the popular vote.
As President, Obama was known for his progressive policies and his ability to bring people together to tackle difficult issues. He passed the Affordable Care Act, providing health care to millions of Americans and expanding access to preventative care. He also signed the Paris Climate Agreement, which committed the U.S. to reduce carbon emissions.
Obama's foreign policy focused on counter-terrorism, the use of drones, and the promotion of democracy and human rights. He was instrumental in the US-led campaign against ISIS in Iraq and Syria and in the US-led nuclear deal with Iran. He was also a strong advocate for LGBT rights, and his administration supported marriage equality.
Barack Obama left office with a high approval rating, seen by many as a successful two-term President. He is now a public speaker, author, and philanthropist. In 2019, Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to promote nuclear disarmament and world peace.
Barack Obama is also a strong supporter of education and has been vocal about the importance of education reform. He increased funding for Pell Grants and supported the expansion of college access and affordability. He also championed the expansion of Head Start, a program that helps children from low-income families prepare for school.
In addition to his work in politics and government, Obama is a bestselling author. His books include Dreams From My Father, The Audacity of Hope, and A Promised Land. He also founded the Obama Foundation, which works to inspire and empower citizens to create change in their own communities.

Barack

Jeanne Theoharis is a distinguished professor of political science at Brooklyn College and the author of numerous books and articles on the Black freedom struggle, including the recent award-winning The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks. Three years ago, seeing the need for more spaces for the public to learn and discuss new work in Black history, she co-created a monthly series at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture with Sarah Lawrence professor Komozi Woodard.&nbsp;
That series—Conversations in Black Freedom Studies—features a roundtable of scholars and writers on the first Thursday of each month on a topic in Black history, usually centered around a new book(s) in the field. Theoharis has also worked as a faculty leader in the Narrating Change, Changing Narratives research group of the 2014-2016 Seminar on Public Engagement and Collaborative Research.

Jeanne

Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson, commonly known as Richard Branson, is a British business magnate, investor, and philanthropist. He is the founder and chairman of the Virgin Group, which comprises more than 400 companies.
Branson was born in 1950 in Surrey, England, and began his career as a young entrepreneur, starting a student magazine called Student at the age of 16. He then went on to launch a record store, Virgin Records, which eventually became a record label and grew into the Virgin Group. The Virgin brand now encompasses a diverse range of industries, including aviation, hospitality, health, and renewable energy.
Branson is well-known for his adventurous and ambitious spirit, having made several attempts to break world records and make ambitious technological advancements. In 1986, he made an unsuccessful attempt to circumnavigate the globe in a hot air balloon. He later succeeded in this goal in 1991 and also set a new record for the fastest Atlantic Ocean crossing in a powerboat.
In addition to his business ventures, Branson is also actively involved in philanthropy and social causes. He is a strong advocate for environmental sustainability and has invested in a number of renewable energy projects through the Virgin Group. He also established the Virgin Unite foundation, which aims to make a positive impact on people and the planet by bringing together individuals, businesses, and non-profits to tackle social and environmental issues.
Branson is also known for his charismatic and flamboyant personality. He has been featured in numerous media outlets and is considered one of the most recognizable and respected entrepreneurs in the world. He has also been awarded several honors, including a knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II in 2000 for "services to entrepreneurship."
In summary, Richard Branson is a highly successful and influential British entrepreneur, philanthropist, and adventurer. He is the founder and chairman of the Virgin Group, a conglomerate of over 400 companies, and is well-known for his ambitious spirit, philanthropy, and environmental advocacy. His charismatic personality and media presence has made him one of the most recognizable business figures in the world.

Richard

Professor Andrew Roberts, who was born in 1963, took a first-class honors degree in Modern History at Gonville &amp; Caius College, Cambridge, from where he is an honorary senior scholar and a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.). He is presently the Roger and Martha Mertz Visiting Fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, a Visiting Professor at the War Studies Department at King’s College, London, and the Lehrman Institute Lecturer at the New York Historical Society.
He has written or edited twenty books, which have been translated into twenty-eight languages, and appears regularly on radio and television around the world. Based in London, he is an accomplished public speaker (see Speaking Engagements). He has delivered the White House Lecture, as well as speaking at Oxford, Cambridge, Yale, Princeton, and Stanford Universities, and at The British Academy, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Sandhurst, Shrivenham, and the US Army War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.
In 2011, NBC commissioned him to commentate alongside Meredith Viera on the Royal Wedding of Prince William to Kate Middleton, following his broadcasts at the funerals of Diana, Princess of Wales and Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, and the wedding of Prince Charles to the Duchess of Cornwall. He also commentated for NBC on The Queen’s Diamond and Platinum Jubilees, the birth of Prince George of Cambridge, and the funerals of Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth II.

Andrew

Assata Olugbala Shakur (born JoAnne Deborah Byron; July 16, 1947;[a]) is an American political activist who was a member of the Black Liberation Army (BLA). In 1977, she was convicted of the first-degree murder of State Trooper Werner Foerster during a shootout on the New Jersey Turnpike in 1973. She escaped from prison in 1979 and is currently wanted by the FBI, with a $2 million reward for her apprehension.
Born in Flushing, Queens, she grew up in New York City and Wilmington, North Carolina. After she ran away from home several times, her aunt, who would later act as one of her lawyers, took her in. She became involved in political activism at Borough of Manhattan Community College and City College of New York.&nbsp;
After graduation, she began using the name Assata Shakur and briefly joined the Black Panther Party. She then joined the BLA, a loosely knit offshoot of the Black Panthers, which engaged in an armed struggle against the US government through tactics such as robbing banks and killing police officers and drug dealers.
Between 1971 and 1973, she was charged with several crimes and was the subject of a multi-state manhunt. In May 1973, Shakur was arrested after being wounded in a shootout on the New Jersey Turnpike. Also involved in the shootout were New Jersey State Troopers Werner Foerster and James Harper and BLA members Sundiata Acoli and Zayd Malik Shakur.&nbsp;
State Trooper Harper was wounded; Zayd Shakur was killed; State Trooper Foerster was killed. Between 1973 and 1977, Shakur was charged with murder, attempted murder, armed robbery, bank robbery, and kidnapping in relation to the shootout and six other incidents. She was acquitted on three of the charges, and three were dismissed. In 1977, she was convicted of the murder of State Trooper Foerster and of seven other felonies related to the 1973 shootout.&nbsp;
Her defense had argued medical evidence suggested her innocence since her arm was damaged in the shootout. While serving a life sentence for murder, Shakur escaped in 1979, with assistance from the BLA and members of the May 19 Communist Organization, from the Clinton Correctional Facility for Women in Union Township, NJ, now the Edna Mahan Correctional Facility for Women.&nbsp;
She surfaced in Cuba in 1984, where she was granted political asylum. Shakur has lived in Cuba since, despite US government efforts to have her returned. She has been on the FBI Most Wanted terrorist list since 2013 as Joanne Deborah Chesimard and was the first woman to be added to this list.

Assata

Robert Allan Caro is an American journalist and author known for his biographies of United States political figures Robert Moses and Lyndon B. Johnson. After working for many years as a reporter, Caro wrote The Power Broker (1974), a biography of New York urban planner Robert Moses, which the Modern Library chose as one of the hundred most excellent nonfiction books of the twentieth century. He has since written four of a planned five volumes of The Years of Lyndon Johnson (1982, 1990, 2002, 2012), a biography of the former President. Consequentially, he has been described as "the most influential biographer of the last century."&nbsp;
For his biographies, he has won two Pulitzer Prizes in Biography, two National Book Awards (including one for Lifetime Achievement), the Francis Parkman Prize (awarded by the Society of American Historians to the book that "best exemplifies the union of the historian and the artist"), three National Book Critics Circle Awards, the Mencken Award for Best Book, the Carr P. Collins Award from the Texas Institute of Letters, the D. B. Hardeman Prize, and a Gold Medal in Biography from the American Academy of Arts and Letters.&nbsp;
In addition, in 2010, President Barack Obama awarded Caro the National Humanities Medal. Due to Caro's reputation for exhaustive research and detail, he is sometimes invoked by reviewers of other writers called "Caro-Esque" for their extensive research. For his biographies of Robert Moses and Lyndon Johnson, Robert A. Caro has twice won the Pulitzer Prize for Biography, three times won the National Book Critics Circle Award for the Best Nonfiction Book of the Year, and has won virtually every other significant literary honor, including two National Book Awards (one for Lifetime Achievement), the Gold Medal in Biography from the American Academy of Art and Letters, and the Francis Parkman Prize.&nbsp;
In October 2007, Caro was named a "Holtzbrinck Distinguished Visitor" at the American Academy in Berlin, Germany, but could not attend. In 2010, he received the National Humanities Medal from President Obama, the highest award in the humanities given in the United States. Delivering remarks at the end of the ceremony, the President said, "I think about Robert Caro and reading The Power Broker back when I was 22 years old and just being mesmerized, and I'm sure it helped to shape how I think about politics."
In 2011, Robert Caro was the recipient of the 2011 BIO Award given each year by members of Biographers International "to a colleague who had made a major contribution in the advancement of the art and craft of real life depiction."

In his latest spy thriller, David E. Hoffman returns to the captivating story of Oleg Gordievsky, the man who helped bring down the Soviet Union. If anyone could be considered a Russian counterpart to the infamous British double agent Kim Philby, it was Oleg Gordievsky.&nbsp;
The son of two KGB agents and the product of the best Soviet institutions, the savvy, sophisticated Gordievsky grew to see his nation's communism as both criminal and philistine. He took his first posting for Russian intelligence in 1968 and eventually became the Soviet Union's top man in London, but from 1973 on he was secretly working for MI6.&nbsp;
For nearly a decade, as the Cold War reached its twilight, Gordievsky helped the West turn the tables on the KGB, exposing Russian spies and helping to foil countless intelligence plots, as part of a larger plan to hasten the collapse of communism.

Bill Gates is an American business magnate, investor, author, philanthropist, and humanitarian who co-founded Microsoft Corporation, one of the world's largest and most successful technology companies, in 1975. Gates has been regularly ranked as one of the world's wealthiest people and was the richest from 1995 to 2017. As of November 2020, Gates had a net worth of US$132.1 billion, making him the fourth-wealthiest person in the world.
Gates held the positions of Chairman, CEO, and Chief Software Architect at Microsoft until 2000 when he stepped down from day-to-day operations. After leaving Microsoft, Gates and his wife, Melinda Gates, co-chaired the Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation, a private charitable foundation dedicated to improving healthcare and education worldwide. Gates remains a board member of Microsoft and a Technology Advisor to its current CEO, Satya Nadella.
Gates is one of the most influential figures in technology and business. He has received numerous awards and honors for his philanthropic work, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Order of the Aztec Eagle. He is also a member of the Giving Pledge, an organization created by billionaires Warren Buffett and Gates to promote charitable giving.
Gates has been a passionate advocate for using technology to improve the world. His vision of a computer on every desk and home has been realized. He is one of the most vocal proponents of using technology to address social and environmental challenges. He has also been outspoken in supporting government funding for scientific research, particularly renewable energy and artificial intelligence.
Gates' philanthropic efforts have been focused on improving global health, providing access to technology for underserved populations, and promoting educational opportunities for children and young adults. He has made significant investments in initiatives to fight poverty and increase access to medical care, particularly in the developing world. In addition, the Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation has partnered with numerous organizations to promote improved sanitation, clean water, and disease prevention among the world's poorest people.
Gates' commitment to giving back has been an inspiration to many. His dedication to using technology and business to improve the lives of people around the world is an example of how successful people can use their resources to make a difference.
Gates has also been a vocal proponent of open-source technology, advocating for the development of software and hardware that is freely available to the public. He has also been a vocal proponent of the open internet and a leader in the fight against censorship and government surveillance. In addition, he has been a strong advocate for using technology to combat climate change and has invested in numerous renewable energy initiatives.
Gates has also been a vocal proponent of net neutrality and has spoken out in favor of increased competition in the technology sector. His efforts to improve people's lives worldwide have earned him the admiration of many, and his commitment to philanthropy and innovation has made him one of the world's most influential and respected figures.

Bill

Casey Neistat is an American YouTuber, filmmaker, vlogger, and co-founder of the multimedia company Beme. He first gained mainstream attention in 2003 with a film titled "iPod's Dirty Secret," which criticized Apple Inc. for not replacing batteries in their iPod devices. Since then, Neistat has become well-known for his unique and creative videos, which often explore topics related to technology, travel, fashion, and his life. He has also directed two feature films and created several television shows.
Neistat began his career in 2001 when he and his brother Van started a production company called "Spike &amp; Co." After releasing several low-budget skateboarding films, Casey's breakout film, "iPod's Dirty Secret," was released in 2003 and quickly went viral. The film brought him into the public eye and earned him a TED Talk in 2015.
Neistat's YouTube channel launched in 2010 and has since gained over 11 million subscribers. On his channel, he often posts vlogs, short films, and social experiments. Many of his videos have become viral, such as "Make It Count," which received over 28 million views in its first week. In 2016, he released his first feature film, "The Circle," which won the Grand Jury Prize at SXSW.
Neistat has also created several television shows, including "The Neistat Brothers" on HBO and "Breakfast Time" on Vice. In 2015, he launched his own multimedia company, Beme, which produces content for YouTube, Instagram, and Snapchat. In 2016, he sold Beme to CNN for a reported $25 million.
Neistat is an outspoken advocate for the use of technology in storytelling and filmmaking. He has spoken at several conferences and universities, including TED, SXSW, and Harvard. He also regularly partners with tech companies, such as GoPro, to help promote their products.

Casey

Daniel Petre is an Australian technology entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and philanthropist. He is the founder and partner at AirTree Ventures, an Australian technology venture capital fund. Petre is known for his long and successful career in the technology industry, including his tenure as the Managing Director of Microsoft Australia.
Petre was born in Romania and moved to Australia with his family when he was five years old. He studied at the University of Melbourne, where he earned a degree in engineering and computer science. After completing his university studies, Petre began his career as a software engineer at IBM in Australia. He then moved to the United States to join Microsoft, where he served as Bill Gates’ personal lieutenant for four years.
During his time at Microsoft, Petre was responsible for launching Microsoft products such as Windows 95, Office 95, Internet Explorer, and Outlook. He also worked on the development of Microsoft’s strategy for the Asia Pacific region and was instrumental in the successful launch of Microsoft’s first Australian subsidiary.
In 1997, Petre returned to Australia to become the Managing Director of Microsoft Australia. During his tenure at Microsoft Australia, the company grew from a small start-up to a multi-million dollar business with more than 900 employees. Petre was also responsible for the launch of several of Microsoft’s major products in Australia, including Windows 2000, Office 2000, and Xbox.
In 2005, Petre left Microsoft to pursue his entrepreneurial dreams and founded Netus, an online retail venture. He also served as a director on the board of several Australian companies, including SEEK, REA Group, and Hoyts.
In 2010, Petre founded AirTree Ventures, an Australian technology venture capital fund. The firm has invested in more than 80 companies across the world, including Canva, Culture Amp, and Prospa. Petre has become a highly respected figure in the venture capital industry and is regularly sought after for advice by start-ups.
In addition to his professional career, Petre is a passionate philanthropist. He and his wife, Susan, established the Petre Foundation, which has donated millions of dollars to support educational and health initiatives in Australia. The Foundation also supports research into childhood cancer and funds scholarships for disadvantaged students in Australia.
Overall, Daniel Petre is a highly respected figure in the technology industry. With his impressive career at Microsoft, his successful entrepreneurial ventures, and his commitment to philanthropy, Petre is an inspiring figure who has made a mark on the Australian technology landscape.

Daniel

John le Carré

William Boyd

Lee Child

David Ignatius

Peter Bergen

In The Spy and the Traitor, Ben Macintyre explores the concept of loyalty in depth. He shows us how Oleg Gordievsky, the protagonist, was torn between his loyalty to his country and his moral compass. This book will make you question your own loyalties and what you would do in a similar situation.

The Power of Loyalty

Macintyre takes us on a thrilling journey into the world of espionage. He gives us a detailed look into the life of a spy, the risks they take, and the sacrifices they make. If you've ever wondered what it's like to live a life of secrets and lies, this book is a must-read.

The Intricacies of Espionage

The Spy and the Traitor shows us how one person's actions can have a massive impact on world events. Gordievsky's decisions and actions played a significant role in ending the Cold War. This book will make you see how even small actions can have big consequences.

The Impact of Individual Actions

Often, we think of spies as cold, calculating machines. But Macintyre shows us the human side of spies. He explores the emotional toll that living a double life can take on a person. This book will make you see spies in a new light.

The Human Side of Spies

In The Spy and the Traitor, the truth is a powerful weapon. Gordievsky's truth helped to bring about the end of the Cold War. This book will make you realize the importance of truth, even in a world full of deception and lies.

The Importance of Truth

The Spy and the Traitor

Macintyre is the elder son of Angus Donald Macintyre, Fellow and Tutor in Modern History at Magdalen College, Oxford (elected Principal of Hertford College, Oxford, before his death in a car accident), author of the first scholarly work on the Irish nationalist Daniel O'Connell, general editor of the Oxford Historical Monographs series from 1971 to 1979, editor of The English Historical Review from 1978 to 1986, and Chairman of the Governors of Magdalen College School from 1987 to 1990, and Joanna, daughter of Sir Richard Musgrave Harvey, 2nd Baronet and a descendant of Berkeley Paget. His paternal grandmother was a descendant of James Netterville, 7th Viscount Netterville.
Ben Macintyre is a columnist and Associate Editor of The Times. He has worked as the newspaper’s correspondent in New York, Paris, and Washington. He is the author of nine previous books, including Agent Zigzag. He was shortlisted for the Costa Biography Award and the Galaxy British Book Award for Biography of the Year 2008, and the no. 1 bestsellers A Spy Among Friends, Operation Mincemeat, Double Cross, and SAS: Rogue Heroes.
In 2019, The Spy and the Traitor, which tells the story of double KGB agent Oleg Gordievsky and was a No.1 Sunday Times Bestseller and shortlisted for the Baillie Gifford prize and National Book Awards. In 2020, Agent Sonya: Lover, Mother, Soldier, Spy told the story of Ursula Kuczynski – codename Sonya – the greatest female spy of the 20th Century. Ben’s new book Colditz: Prisoners of the Castle, will be published on the 15th of September 2022, telling the astonishing true story of history’s most infamous prison.

Who was Kim Philby? His compatriots knew him as a trusted friend and an unwavering ally. Philby was a brilliant and charming man who rose to head Britain’s counterintelligence against the Soviet Union. He stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the CIA’s head of counterintelligence, James Jesus Angleton, and his best friend since childhood, Nicholas Elliot, on the front lines of the Cold War.&nbsp;
But Philby betrayed them all: He was secretly working for the Russians the entire time. Every word uttered in confidence to Philby by his colleagues in the West made its way to Moscow, leading countless missions to their doom and subverting American and British attempts to subdue the Soviet threat.

Marc Andreessen is an American entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and software engineer. He is best known as the co-founder of Netscape Communications Corporation, which developed the first widely-used web browser, Netscape Navigator.
Andreessen's career began in the early 1990s as a software engineer and developer. In 1993, he co-founded Netscape Communications Corporation with Jim Clark. The company developed the first widely-used web browser, Netscape Navigator, which played a significant role in popularizing the internet in the 1990s.
In 1999, Andreessen and his business partner Ben Horowitz founded Loudcloud, a company that provided website infrastructure. The company later rebranded as Opsware and was acquired by Hewlett-Packard in 2007.
In 2009, Andreessen and Horowitz founded Andreessen Horowitz, a venture capital firm that invests in technology companies. The firm has invested in many successful technology companies like Airbnb, Facebook, and Twitter.
In addition to his work in technology, Andreessen has been active in philanthropy and politics. He is a board member of the Markle Foundation, which focuses on using technology to address social and economic issues. He has also been a vocal advocate for the potential of the internet to drive economic growth and has been involved in efforts to promote technology education and entrepreneurship.
In addition to his venture capital role, Andreessen has been a Board member of several companies such as Facebook, eBay, and HP. He is also a regular contributor to publications such as The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times. He is considered to be a leading thinker in the technology industry.

Marc

Walter Isaacson

Malcolm Gladwell

Robert McCrum

In A Spy Among Friends, Ben Macintyre explores the power of friendship and how it can be used to manipulate and deceive. The book tells the story of Kim Philby, a British intelligence officer and a double agent for the Soviet Union, who used his friendships to betray his country. It's a reminder to be careful about who we trust.

The Power of Friendship

Macintyre's book gives us a deep look into the world of espionage during the Cold War. It's not just about secret missions and coded messages, but also about the psychological warfare, the manipulation, and the high stakes involved. If you're interested in spy stories, this book is a must-read.

A Spy Among Friends doesn't just tell the story of a spy, but also the impact of his betrayal on his friends and colleagues. The book shows how Philby's actions shattered the trust within the British intelligence community and caused lasting damage. It's a lesson on the far-reaching consequences of betrayal.

The Impact of Betrayal

One of the key takeaways from the book is the complexity of human nature. Philby, despite his betrayal, is not portrayed as a simple villain. He is a complex character with his own motivations and justifications. The book encourages us to look beyond the surface and understand the complexities of human behavior.

The Complexity of Human Nature

The book serves as a reminder of the importance of vigilance in a world full of deception. Philby was able to deceive his friends and colleagues for years because they trusted him blindly. The book encourages us to always stay alert and question everything, even if it comes from a trusted source.

Ben Macintyre

Best author’s book

The Spy and the Traitor

Written books

The Spy and the Traitor

A Spy Among Friends

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