So said the New York Times headline when geologist Marie Tharp discovered the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, the gash in the earth that proved the theory of continental drift and helped establish the field of plate tectonics. Tharp made this discovery while producing the first comprehensive maps of the ocean floor. Author Hali Felt, who chronicled Tharp’s life in her book, Soundings, spoke to LQ about this remarkable and overlooked scientist.
Lewis Lapham talks with author Adam Hochschild about the struggles of the antiwar movement in World War I–era Britain. More
Willard Sterne Randall and Lewis Lapham talk about the life and adventures of Ethan Allen. More
Lewis Lapham talks with Nancy Isenberg about the language of poverty and American myths about class, work, and equality. More
Lewis H. Lapham talks with Maya Jasanoff, author of The Dawn Watch: Joseph Conrad in a Global World. More
Lewis H. Lapham talks with Stephen Greenblatt, author of The Rise and Fall of Adam and Eve. More
Lewis Lapham talks with historian Amanda Foreman about Britain’s role in the American Civil War. More
