Jim Holt

Jim Holt (born 1954) is an American journalist, author in popular science and essayist. He has contributed to The New York Times, The New York Times Magazine, The New York Review of Books, The New Yorker, The American Scholar, and Slate. In 1997, he was editor of The New Leader, a political magazine. His book Why Does the World Exist? was a NYTimes bestseller for 2013.

Career

Holt hosted a weekly radio spot on BBC Wales called "Living in America, with Jim Holt" for ten years. He has appeared on William F. Buckley's Firing Line, NBC News with Tom Brokaw, CNN, and had a brief appearance in an episode of Billy on the Street in which he stormed out of an impromptu game show after he was asked about his sexuality.

Controversy

Holt attracted controversy while chairing the "Pondering the Imponderable: The Biggest Questions of Cosmology" panel at the 2017 World Science Festival. He spoke over the only female member of the panel, Veronika Hubeny, as she attempted to answer his questions, leading some to accuse Holt of mansplaining. Hubeny later downplayed the impact of sexism in science and encouraged women to pursue their scientific interests in spite of it.

Awards and honors

• 2012 National Book Critics Circle Award, finalist, Why Does the World Exist?
• 2012 The Philosophers Magazine named his book, Why Does the World Exist? as one of the best books of 2012.

Publications

• Stop Me If You've Heard This: A History and Philosophy of Jokes New York: W.W. Norton, 2008. ISBN 9780393066739, OCLC 181139422
• Why Does the World Exist?: An Existential Detective Story London: Profile, 2011. ISBN 9781846682445, OCLC 749995335
• When Einstein Walked With Gödel: Excursions to the Edge of Thought Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2018. ISBN 9780374146702, OCLC 1033594308