Pamela Paul
Columnist, "New York Times" | Author, "100 Things We’ve Lost to the Internet"
Pamela Paul is a bestselling author and a columnist at the New York Times, where as a weekly columnist for Opinion, she takes on the thorniest issues of our day. A trusted voice calling for more thorough, thoughtful discourse across the political spectrum, Paul is widely admired for her fearlessness in questioning the status quo and pushing back on ideological orthodoxy. She casts her critical eye on topics like free speech, identity, and gender, tracing their evolution through our society and critiquing the conversations around them—often with humor.
Previously, Paul served as Editor of the New York Times Book Review and oversaw all books coverage at The Times. During her 9-year tenure, the Book Review expanded in both in the scope of books it covered, and in the variety of writers who contributed. As the long-time host of the weekly NYT Book Review Podcast, Paul interviewed pop-culture icons, political leaders, and literary titans, from actor John Lithgow to Senator Amy Klobuchar to Booker Prize winner George Saunders and repeat guests like Colson Whitehead and David Sedaris. Throughout her time at the Book Review, Paul championed honesty, bravery, and intellectual independence—the same qualities that guide her columns.
Paul is the author of 8 books. Her most recent, 100 Things We've Lost to the Internet (2021), is 'at once an evocative swan song for a disappearing era, and perhaps a guide to reclaiming just a little bit more of the world IRL.' The Chicago Tribune named it one of the ten best books of the year.
How to Raise a Reader (2019) is a practical guide for parents who wish to instill in their children a lifelong love of reading. Addressing distinct developmental phases, Paul shares tips for establishing a strong reading foundation, such as creating special rituals and building a family library. Rather than fret about screen time, parents can make books a naturally appealing, fortifying alternative to mindless scrolling—a healthy, sustainable way for children to slow down, get lost, and grow their curiosity. Along with her memoir, My Life with Bob, she highlights the power of storytelling and the relationship between book and reader as a way to enrich peoples’ lives.
Pornified, named one of the best books of 2005 by the San Francisco Chronicle, proved prescient in its warning against the normalization and accessibility of extreme content, and how its proliferation affects individuals, relationships, and the very fabric of society.
Always a keen observer of shifting mores, Pamela Paul invites us to examine more closely our own rapidly changing habits and opinions, even if we welcome progressive change.
Her writing has appeared in the New York Times, New York Times Magazine,The Atlantic, Vogue, and The Washington Post. She was a contributing writer at Time and served as a contributor and columnist for The Economist. Paul has lived in New York, London, France and Thailand.
She is a graduate of Brown University.
Topics
How to Disagree: Moving from discord to discourse for a healthier society
Think logically. Build your case. Listen to your opponent.
Not every argument can or should result in a tally of points assigning a clear winner and loser, but the principles of formal debate might provide an antidote to our sound-bite culture.
How can we embrace the diversity of voices social media enables, but reject the shallowness and impulsivity online platforms tend to reward?
How should we expand healthy public discourse as traditional civic outlets shrink?
Lest we forget the difference between airing a complaint and making a point, Pamela Paul encourages us to escape our own echo chambers and initiate face-to-face discussions with our fellow neighbors, classmates, and even in-laws. Only when we emerge from behind our screens and make space for our full humanity can we truly begin to listen, articulate, respect, and learn.
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The Value of Unpopular Opinions
In an age when controversial guests face boycotts on college campuses, Pamela Paul encourages us all to show up for the discussion.
Shutting out unpopular opinions without granting them space to be heard, Paul argues, blocks our own opportunities for growth and further erodes our remaining platforms for civil discourse. Facing an opposing opinion challenges us to listen. By listening, we might even acknowledge the possibility of a cogent argument worthy of a respectful audience. If we're lucky, such an experience challenges us to rethink the arguments propping up our own views.
In this talk Pamela Paul shares her own journey, as a student at Brown University certain in her liberal politics, yet humbled by the arguments of a visiting conservative Supreme Court Justice, or as an adult yearning to spar intellectually with those outside her ideological bubble.
Whether in a lecture room, a town hall, or a favorite coffee shop, we owe it to ourselves and our communities to give the floor to those with whom we disagree.
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Life on Both Sides of the Internet
Inspired by her book, 100 Things We've Lost to the Internet, Pamela Paul reflects on what we've gained and lost as our lives have migrated online.
How did we live before the internet? How did we entertain our selves, and meet new people without Googling them first? And what about the physical spaces like libraries, offices, and movie theaters we relied on before so much of life moved to cyberspace? What is it, exactly, that lends IRL experiences their realness, and how can we preserve that essence while still moving forward?
Whether you are nostalgic for a seemingly simpler way of life, or share Paul's concern for younger generations of digital natives coming of age in the public eye of social media, here is an opportunity to take stock of our technological progress against the loss of how we used to live.
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