Editor’s Choice: The Best Interviews of 2018

A look back at our editor’s choices for our favorite Merion West interviews of 2018.

8. What Feminism Means Today: Speaking with Christina Hoff Sommers

In this August interview, Christina Hoff Sommers joined Merion West to describe her unique approach to feminism, how to keep politics out of the world of ideas as much as possible, and how segments of today’s feminist movement fail “to acknowledge that men struggle just as much as women.” She also took time to comment on the #MeToo campaign, invoking a story of Matt Damon’s ABC News appearance and subsequent controversy as an example of her belief in finding reasonable middle grounds when considering complex issues.

7. Politician Profile: An Interview with Lincoln Chafee

Former Rhode Island Senator and later Governor Lincoln Chafee joined Merion West in June to discuss the differences between serving as the head of a state’s government, as compared to being a United States Senator, the causes of polarization in national politics today, and his proudest accomplishments during his political career. Governor Chafee also argued that social and economic issues sometimes aren’t as separate as they might appear, and that the two very much can influence one another.

6. Nassir Ghaemi: Can Mental Illness Make More Effective Politicians?

Tufts University psychiatrist Nassir Ghaemi chatted with us about his 2011 book A First-Rate Madness: Uncovering the Links Between Leadership and Mental Illness, which contended that there is a link between certain mental disorders and effective political leadership. Dr. Ghaemi discussed the methods by which he developed his profiles of the mental states of past leaders and how he chose which political leaders to profile. Lastly, he commented on the so-called “Goldwater Rule” of whether psychiatrists should diagnose individuals they haven’t themselves examined, a topic that has been in the news due to conversations about President Trump.