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Once upon a time, we were allowed to feel ambivalent about people. We were allowed to say, “I like what they did here, but that bit over there doesn’t thrill me so much.” Those days are gone. Today the rule is that if someone—a scientist, a writer, a broadcaster, a politician—does one thing we don’t…

This week, the Society for Midland Authors awarded my book, Galileo’s Middle Finger, their 2016 prize for Adult Nonfiction. I was delighted to go with the mate to Chicago to receive the honor at a dinner held at the Cliff Dwellers’ Club, a group whose membership gets to enjoy an astonishing view of the city. (That’s me on their…

Galileo’s Middle Finger is in the New York Times again this week, this time featured in Paperback Row, a special Book Review section dedicated to books of note just out in paperback. (When first out, the book got a great review in the Times from David Dobbs, and was named an Editors’ Choice.) The occasion has made me look back at the start of this…

I talked with Niala Boodhoo, host of The 21st, on Illinois Public Media on May 3, 2016, about free speech on campus. We covered my resignation from Northwestern University, which is explained in a new afterword in the paperback edition of Galileo’s Middle Finger. Have a listen.

Northwestern University invited me to give its inaugural TEDxNorthwestern lecture, and the TED folks liked it so much, they promoted it to the main TED site. So far it’s had almost a million views. Have a look.

In April 2016, I was honored to give a plenary address to the Society for Sex Research and Therapy (SSTAR) at their annual meeting in Chicago, Illinois. My friend and colleague James Cantor recorded the talk so that I could share it. You can listen to it by clicking here. In the talk, I refer to…

When Galileo’s Middle Finger came out in paperback, New Hampshire Public Radio had me on for their 10-Minute Writers’ Workshop to talk about writing the book and about being a writer. We went where I didn’t expect; it was a bit like psychotherapy. Click here to listen.

Note from Alice Dreger: Prof. Bruce Henderson of Ithaca College shared with me the letter he sent on March 25, 2016, to Tony Valenzuela, Executive Director of the Lambda Literary Foundation, about the withdrawal of my book from finalist status for a Lambda Literary Award. I asked Prof. Henderson whether I could reproduce his letter here, and…

March 24, 2016 Tony ValenzuelaExecutive DirectorLambda Literary Foundation Dear Mr. Valenzuela, I’m writing in response to your March 24 email informing me that, “After reviewing Galileo’s Middle Finger: Heretics, Activists, and the Search for Justice in Science, the organization has concluded the book is inconsistent with its mission of affirming LGBTQ lives. As a result, the decision was…

In September 2015, I was honored to give the Constance Holden Memorial Address for Distinguished Science Journalism at the annual meeting of the International Society for Intelligence Research in New Mexico. I spoke to the group about how to protect yourself if you do research in politically dangerous areas. You can view a videotape of…