Jascha Hoffman

"I don't understand exactly what happens when a word enters my imagination," said documentary playwright Anna Deavere Smith as she prepared to portray biologists Edward O. Wilson and James Watson at the World Science Festival in New York... [text] [pdf]

Magic is not limited to the tricks performed at children's parties. It can refer to anything that resists explanation, from cognitive illusions to high-tech wizardry. This broader sense of magic was in the air in Lima, Peru, earlier this spring, when engineers and artists converged to explore the intersection of magic and technology, with awe-inspiring results... [pdf] [text]

"What's in the fridge?" may not seem a weighty question. But food is one of our oldest and most advanced technologies. Over the centuries, armies and empires have stood and fallen on the strength of their provisions. And as two new books and a documentary film show, we all have a stake in what we eat. [pdf]
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