The stereotypical obituary is a formulaic recitation of facts — dry, boring, and without craft. But Margalit Fox has shown the genre can produce some of the most memorable and moving stories in journalism. Exploiting its “pure narrative arc,” Fox has penned over 1,200 obituaries, covering well-known and obscure subjects with equal aplomb.
In her conversation with Tyler Cowen, Fox reveals not only the process for writing an obituary, but her thoughts on life, death, storytelling, puzzle-solving, her favorite cellist, and how it came to be that an economist sang opera 86 times at the Met.
Ray Dalio on Investing, Management, and the Changing World Order
Ruth Scurr on the Art of Biography
David Rubenstein on Private Equity, Public Art, and Philanthropy
David Salle on the Experience of Art
Stanley McChrystal on the Military, Leadership, and Risk
Claudia Goldin on the Economics of Inequality
Amia Srinivasan on Utopian Feminism
David Cutler and Ed Glaeser on the Health and Wealth of Cities
Zeynep Tufekci on the Sociology of The Moment (Live)
Andrew Sullivan on Braving New Intellectual Journeys
Niall Ferguson on Why We Study History
Alexander the Grate on Life as an NFA
Richard Prum on Birds, Beauty, and Finding Your Own Way
Elijah Millgram on the Philosophical Life
David Deutsch on Multiple Worlds and Our Place in Them
Mark Carney on Central Banking and Shared Values
Pierpaolo Barbieri on Latin American FinTech
Daniel Carpenter on Smart Regulation
Shadi Bartsch on the Classics and China
Dana Gioia on Becoming an Information Billionaire
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