Walter Isaacson

Why Elon Musk Will Go Down in History

Elon Musk has already earned himself a spot in the pantheon of history’s great innovators, Walter Isaacson writes

By Walter Isaacson December 13, 2021

How mRNA Tech Gave Us the 1st COVID-19 Vaccines

The remarkable scientific discoveries behind the new COVID-19 Vaccines

By Walter Isaacson January 11, 2021

Walter Isaacson on How Book Editor Alice Mayhew Shaped Stories Like All the President's Men

Insiders' edition

By Walter Isaacson February 6, 2020

Walter Isaacson on How Cokie Roberts Came to Love American Politics

The voice of D.C.

By Walter Isaacson September 19, 2019

Remembering Leah Chase Who Transformed New Orleans and Its Food

She died on June 1 at age 96

By Walter Isaacson June 2, 2019

How America Risks Losing Its Innovation Edge

A version of this piece appears in a book published this month by the Aspen Strategy Group titled “Technology and National Security.” For the past fifty years, the rational exuberance of the American economy has...

January 3, 2019

How America Loses Its Edge

For the past 50 years, the rational exuberance of the American economy has been propelled by the combination of three innovations: the computer, the microchip and the Internet. The research and development that produced each...

By Walter Isaacson January 3, 2019

Why the Mississippi Remains the South’s Most Vital Artery

The Mississippi remains the South's most vital artery

By Walter Isaacson July 26, 2018

Remembering Ella Brennan, the Matriarch of New Orleans Cuisine

In her memoir of the culinary arts in New Orleans, Ella Brennan proclaimed, "I don't want a restaurant where a jazz band can't come marching through." At Commander's Palace, her vibrant stage for creole cuisine,...

By Walter Isaacson June 7, 2018

What Makes a Genius? The World's Greatest Minds Have One Thing in Common

Franklin, Einstein, Jobs, da Vinci. How history's greatest thinkers broke with tradition and solved problems nobody else could see.

By Walter Isaacson November 16, 2017

Time to Build a More Secure Internet

Yes, anonymity is empowering. But escalating hacks and scams show that we need a safer alternative

By Walter Isaacson January 8, 2015

Big Idea 2015: The Coming Micropayment Disruption

A flourishing digital economy based on easy payments could help save journalism and encourage the invention of new forms of media

By Walter Isaacson December 22, 2014

The Price of Genius

Alan Turing, the man who pioneered computing, also forced the world to question what it means to be human

By Walter Isaacson November 20, 2014

How Bitcoin Could Save Journalism and the Arts

Micropayment systems have the potential to reward creativity and exceptional content—on a realistic scale

By Walter Isaacson October 7, 2014

Apple's Watch Will Make People and Computers More Intimate

The new device will bring us one step closer to human-machine symbiosis

By Walter Isaacson September 10, 2014

Henry Kissinger Reminds Us Why Realism Matters

In his new book, the 91-year-old statesman strikes a note of humility

By Walter Isaacson September 6, 2014

How Your Uber Rating Can Make You a Better Person

If we all thought we were subject to being reviewed by the people around us, we might work harder to be on our best behavior

By Walter Isaacson August 21, 2014

Obama Can Still Secure His Legacy

If he plays his last two years like the final quarter and not the back nine

By Walter Isaacson August 8, 2014

A Modest Proposal for Exploiting Corrupt Politicians

Why not have a more creative way of dealing with convicted pols?

By Walter Isaacson July 10, 2014

The New York Times' New Boss

Former TIME and CNN chief Walter Isaacson on the new leader of the country's most influential newspaper

By Walter Isaacson May 14, 2014

How to Save Your Newspaper

It's now or never for America's dailies. A former TIME managing editor offers a way to return journalism to prosperity: charge for it, a nickel at a time

By Walter Isaacson February 5, 2009

Andrew Grove: Man Of The Year

The microchip is the dynamo of a new economy...driven by the passion of intel's andrew grove

By Walter Isaacson December 29, 1997