Light On Light Through

Paul Levinson talks about politics, TV, movies, social media, outer space, good food, science fiction; occasionally reads from his science fiction stories, plays concerts of his music, interviews other authors

159.  Tiger King: A McLuhanesque Perspective

158. Why Did the Polls Get So Much Wrong Again in the 2020 US Presidential Election?

157. Review of The Crown, season 4

156. Why Did So Many People Vote for Trump?

155. Truth Wins in the Marketplace of Ideas

154. Grounds for Optimism the Day After the Election

153. US Senate vs. Twitter

152. Review of Borat Subsequent Moviefilm

151.Why US Gov Going after Google Not Good Idea

150. Running Scared

149. Review of Utopia

148. Review of Raised by Wolves 6-10

147. Trump Ban of TikTok Violates 1st Amendment

146. Review of Amazing Stories 1-5

145. Review of Raised by Wolves 4-5

144. Review of Raised by Wolves 1-3

143.  Report Day 2 GOP National Convention

142. Capt Phil interviews PL re: 2020 Dem Convention

141. Report Day 4 Dem National Convention

140. Report Day 3 Dem National Convention

139. Report Day 2 Dem National Convention

138. Report Day 1 Dem National Convention

137. Defending the Postal Service

136. Kamala Harris: 1st Step Back from Precipice

135. Why America Is Not Permanently Unraveling

134. Three Absentias

133. SpaceX Splashdown

132. The Safdies

131. The Return of Unsolved Mysteries

130. Survival of the Media Fit

129. Media Determinism

128. Justice in America: View from Jury

127. Problem of Police Authority

126. Politics and Media in History

125. Star Trek: Picard & Discovery Reviewed

124. Levinson Virtual Concert at HELIOSphere

123. Capt Phil Interviews PL about Welcome Up

122. Patrick Rands Debuts Welcome Up in Boston

121. The Crown Seasons 1-3: A Review

120. The Irishman: A Review

119. The Man in the High Castle: Review Season 4

118. PL Reads in 1999 from The Silk Code

117. Capt Phil Interviews PL about  His New Music

116. Trump and the Media

115. Captain Phil Interviews PL about Trump

114. The Village Voice Goes Silent

113. Making a Murderer: Frightening Reflection

112. The Man in the High Castle: Review Season 3

111: Captain Phil Interviews Paul Levinson 2

110. Captain Phil Interviews Paul Levinson 1

109. Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams: A Review

108. Paul Levinson Reads from Robinson Calculator

107. The Omnipotent Ear

106. Paul Levinson Reads from Marilyn & Monet

105. The Man in the High Castle: Review Season 2

104. The Affair season 2

103. Interview w/ Linda Kaplan

102. Interview w/ John Glenn

101. Philip K. Dick on TV

100. Predestination 12 Monkeys

99. The Affair season 1

98. Bones 100 and 200

97. Why I Oppose Net Neutrality

96. Three Time Travel Movies

95. Outlander: First Half Season

94. The Sopranos Revisited

93. The Selfie & McLuhan

92. I Stand with Amazon

91. Last Train to Margaretville

90. Marshall McLuhan & Kindle

89. Science Fiction & Music

88. Reading Unburning Alexandria

87. Occupy Wall Street Chronicles 1

86. Voicemail from McLuhan, 1978

85. Unconstitutional Wars

84. Goodbye to Nuclear Energy

83. China Bans Time Travel

82. Kojo Nnamdi & PL on NPR

81. MSNBC Wrong To Suspend KO

80. Chronology Protection Case

79. Levinson Talks About His Music

78. Lincoln, VDB, Iskowitz

77. First Amendment Kagan Concerns

76. Arizona Immigration Law: Unconstitutional

75. Astronauts vs. Obama

74. FlashForward 1-10 reviews

73. My Prius is Fine

72. Memo to ABC & Cablevision

71. New New Media & Religion

70. Jan 2010 TV Review Sampler

69. Leno, Conan, New New Media

68. Weep Not for Newspapers

67. How Does It Feel to Publish?

66. Interview with Rob Sawyer

65. Intro to New New Media

64. Moon 40

63. Sotomayor vs. Doninger

62. Star Trek: Reset, Resplendent

61. Author/Critic Symbiosis

60. Foundation and Dune

59. The Future of Media

58. Town Supervisor and Blogger

57. I'm A Progressive Libertarian

56. 24 Season 6 Plus Redemption

55. Cyberbullying

54. Lost 4 and 13

53. Lost 4 and 8

52. Science Fiction on TV

51. Obama and Clinton

50. Interview with Stan Schmidt

49. Ken Hudson: Second Life

48. Interview with Rich Sommer

47. First-Year Anniversary Party!

46. Support Best in Both Parties

45. Celebrating Sputnik

44. Interview with Ben Relles

43. Violence & Videogames: Truth

42. Media on Ron Paul

41. Sedition and Mark Shanahan

40. Media Misreporting Ron Paul

39. Harry Potter: View from NY

38. Harry Potter the iPhone

37. Conversation with Rob Sawyer

36. Lost New Questions

35. Predictions for TV Finales!

34. Harry Potter Refutes Illiteracy

33. Memo to Nets: Prez Debates

32. My Sweet Prius, Part II

31. John Edwards' Favorite Book

30. Four Imus Fallacies

29. The Tudors and Rome

28. Galactica Dylan

27. Cops Step on Journalists

26. The Four Phils

25. Free Josh Wolf

24. Gore Back On Center Stage

23. Dummy in the HOV Lane

22. Lost: Anatomy of a Loss

21. Ancient History for Fiction

20. Blockbuster & Netflix

19. Ship of Free Speech?

18. Olbermann, Bauer, Coleridge

17. Poor Pluto

16. diGGin' Round

15. The Stuff of the Cosmos

14. Trader Joe's and Mo'

13. The Goldplated Globes

12. The Wire Season 4 in 20 Mins

11. Almost Walkin' on Sunshine

10. Eye's a Camera, Ear's a Mike

9. New Bond: No Golden Pun

8. Time Travel in Fiction and Fact

7. TV Roundup in Mid-November

6. Elective Media

5. The Wire Without Stringer

4. A Cranky Look at Standard Time

3. Wikipedia: Open Gates

2. Battlestar Galactica

1. Prius and Bluetooth

Ask Lev

under 9 minutes of advice to writers - from writing to publishing to marketing

Episode 5: Collaboration

Episode 4: Trunk Stories

Episode 3: How to Read a Royalty Statement

Episode 2: Kindle Create

Episode 1: Selling Your Kindle Books as Printed Editions

Kindle Editions of Six of My Novels and Three of My Stories

Book-Doc about The Plot to Save Socrates

Joan Walsh, Editor-in-Chief of Salon.com, says

Paul Levinson takes you on a walking tour – actually, it's more like a running tour – of the media innovations that are transforming our world. He's not just a scholar, he's an explorer, immersing himself in MySpace, Facebook, Twitter and multiple blogging platforms to help us make sense of the galloping changes in media. Have we entered a glorious new era of media democracy, or are these innovations leveling standards of fairness and authority? Levinson remains an optimist without being blind to the dark side of change. Whether you want to learn to blog, podcast or Twitter yourself, or just keep track of the way such tools are remaking the world around you, the "New New Media" is an indispensable guide.

Jeff Jarvis, Director of New Media Program, City University of New
York's Graduate School of Journalism; Founder, Entertainment Weekly; Creator, BuzzMachine blog, says

Paul Levinson provides an invaluable and encyclopaedic guide to the newest of new media invented so far.

Mignon Fogarty, creator of the award-winning Grammar Girl podcast, and author of the New York Times bestseller Grammar Girl's Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing , says

Insightful and comprehensive. The overviews are great for people who want to quickly get up-to-speed on the entire landscape or more experienced Web addicts who want to branch out, and the anecdotes and history will delight people who consider themselves old-timers.

Paul Levinson interviewed about New New Media -

September 2, 2009, interviewed by Mike McConnell, 700WLW Radio, Cincinnati, listen to podcast here ... September 15, 2009, interviewed on the Kojo Nnamdi NPR show, listen to podcast here ... throughout the day, September 20-21, 2009, segments of a 50-min interview on KNX Radio, Los Angeles ... October 8, 2009, interviewed by Barna Donovan and Ernabel Demillo, Culture Wars, WSPC Radio, Jersey City, NJ, listen to podcast here ... January 19, 2010, interviewed by Fred W. Hoffman, KCPS Radio, Burlington, Iowa, listen to podcast here ... February 24, 2010, interviewed by Gordon White, Social Media Podcast, Edinburgh, Scotland, listen here ... January 24, 2011, interviewed by Janet Babin on Marketplace, NPR, listen to podcast here, read transcript here ... July 19, 2011, interviewed by Phillip Adams on LateNightLive, ABC National Radio (Australia), listen to podcast here ... July 21, 2011, interviewed by Brian Lehrer on WNYC, NPR, listen to podcast here ... July 21, 2011, interviewed by Jim Fleming on To the Best of our Knowledge, Wisconsin Public Radio, listen to podcast here ... August 17, 2011, Voice of Russia Radio, interviewed about flash mobs and democracy ... October 6, 2011, At Issue, Wisconsin Public Radio, interviewed by Bill Merens about Steve Jobs (1 hour), listen to podcast here  ... October 16, 2011 Steele Talkin, WCCO Radio (CBS all-news, Minnesota), interviewed by Jearlyn Steele about social media, Occupy Wall Street, political bullying (1 hour), listen to podcast here ... =on television= December 10, 2009, on Fox Business Channel, Is AOL Obsolete? see video ... February 9, 2010, on NY  Nightly News, Mainstream vs. New New Media Coverage of Gov. David Paterson NY Times "story," interview by Chuck Scarborough and Melissa Russo, see video ... March 8, 2010, on Fordham Nightly News, How I Came to Write New New Media, and more, interview by Tom Gallagher, see video ... October 14, 2010, on Quarrymen News, "MyBodega Agency," interview by Tom Gallagher, see video ... May 22, 2011, on NBC Nightly News, "O-shaped hole opening in fans hearts"  I talk about Oprah Winfrey's significance (1:36-1:44 into video), see video ... July 16, 2012, on PBS WNET-TV "One on One" with Steve Adubato, 7-minute interview about New New Media, 2nd edition, see video ... July 27, 2013, on BBC World "Talking about Movies" with Tom Brook (I start about 50 secs into video), see video ... September 7, 2014: talking about Celebrity Photo Hacking, on Arise TV, see video

Praise for THE PLOT TO SAVE SOCRATES

"challenging fun"--Entertainment Weekly

"Da Vinci-esque thriller"--New York Daily News

"a fun book to read"--Dallas Morning News

"Levinson spins a fascinating tale ... An intriguing premise with believable characters and attention to period detail make this an outstanding choice for most science fiction collections. Highly recommended."--Library Journal [starred review]

"Light, engaging time-travel yarn . . . neatly satisfies the circularity inherent in time travel, whose paradoxes Levinson links to Greek philosophy."--Publishers Weekly

"intricately and intriguingly woven, lots of fun, and extremely thought provoking."--Stanley Schmidt

"This is a dazzling performance. . . .History as science fiction; science fiction as history."--Barry N. Malzberg

"Paul Levinson has outdone himself: The Plot to Save Socrates is a philosophically rich gem full of big ideas and wonderful time-travel tricks." --Robert J. Sawyer

"proves that excellent entertainment can and ought to be intellectually respectable--a glorious example to us all."--Brian Stableford

"as happens with Kurt Vonnegut's Billy Pilgrim . . . . the reader soon becomes unstuck in time . . . . Levinson presents one of the most unique books I've ever encountered. A highly recommended read."--Matt St. Amand

"quick-to-read, entertaining treatment of the problems inherent in time travel with style and flair"--Booklist

"readers are sure to enjoy his take on the paradoxes of time travel"--BookPage

"Paul Levinson's new novel is both very different from anything he has done before and very satisfying. . . . This, I think, is the first of Levinson's novels to deserve to be called a tour de force. Watch for it on award ballots."--Analog: Science Fiction and Fact

"it's exciting to see a book as daring with both its ideas and its approach to narrative structure as this one hit the shelves . . . It's an absolute treat to sit back and be wrapped up in a story that gives a retro SF premise like time travel such a brilliant new kick, and it's doubly delightful to find the story as fun and entertaining as it is thought-provoking."--SF Reviews.net

"Paul Levinson brings both intellectual heft and affection for his delightfully depicted characters to this highly original story of time travel . . . bringing all of its threads together in an ending that is emotionally satisfying and extremely moving. The Plot to Save Socrates will provoke thought long after readers have finished the book, at which point many may want to pick it up and read it again, to savor its twists and turns."--Pamela Sargent, SFWeekly

"Fast-paced and full of plot twists."--Davis Enterprise (California)

"an elaborately-reasoned temporal tale - a novelized thought experiment whose logic and ideas Socrates would have approved of"--John Joseph Adams, intergalacticmedicineshow.com

"a philosophically rich, engaging time travel story . . . a charming portrayal of Socrates"--Fantasybookspot.com

"a fun romp through 2500 years of Western history"--freshfiction.com

"resonates with the current political climate . . . . heroine Sierra Waters is sexy as hell . . . . there's a bite to Levinson's wit"--Brian Charles Clark, Curled Up With A Good Book at curledup.com

"There's a delightfully old-fashioned feel to The Plot to Save Socrates. . . . Levinson's cool, spare style reminded me of the writing of Isaac Asimov. . ."--Colin Harvey, Strange Horizons at strangehorizons.com

"I've never read anything like this before . . . The Plot to Save Socrates is highly, original, creative, and engaging. I enjoyed it from the first page."--Book.of.the.moment. at myspace.com/book_of_the_moment.com

"revels in the possibilities for paradoxes . . . . fresh and welcome. . . ."--Steven Silver's Reviews at www.sfsite.com/~silverag

"frankly, he [Levinson] is one of my 'read on sight' authors . . . The Plot to Save Socrates is a tapestry of times and characters and philosophies, with an excellent look at history. . . ."--Jerry Wright, Bewildering Stories at bewilderingstories.com

"A thinking person's time travel story... I felt like I was there."--John DeNardo, SF Signal

"a very intelligently written novel . . . ."--GF Willmetts, at SFcrowsnest.com

"Paul Levinson handles a complicated plot and a multitude of characters in a manner that can only be described as masterful. . . . I highly recommend this book, and I won't be surprised if it wins several awards."--Scott M. Sandridge, specmusicmuse

"a journey through time that’ll make you think as it thrills ... so accessible, even those generally put off by sci-fi should enjoy the trip."--Rod Lott, bookgasm.com

"This book was a lot of fun, and surprisingly poignant at the end. (Yes, I'll admit I cried a little.) . . . I was worried this would be a fairly cold sci-fi book, where I never got to like any of the characters, but somehow by halfway through I found I really cared about them. I'm not sure how Levinson managed that . . . but somehow they all just got inside me."--Lady Amalthea, eharlequin.com

". . . a new metaphor for the literary tradition of time travel."--Robert Blechman, blogcritics.org

"Socrates has always seemed a rather dour and dull figure to me but Paul Levinson breathes new life into this time."--Debbie, ck2skwipsandkritiques.com

"an extremely engaging, entertaining story. . ."--Laurie Thayer, Rambles.net

"truly a thought-provoking, breathtaking, and highly entertaining novel."--Lysette Brodey, PerpetualProse.com

"The Plot to Save Socrates turns on its head Plato's report of Socrates' poisoning ..." --Gerry Elman, Esq., Stanford Alumni Blog

"Doppelgangers, deception, and the sheer amount of historical reference alone make this novel magnificent, but that is not all!... Paul Levinson has created a historical text for all ages, making the plot flow like wine and pleasing to even the most hesitant of readers." --Jenna A, luxuryreading.com

"I was hooked by the second page." --Kanti Burns, Book Reviews and More

"A lively cast of historical figures populates this epoch-bending adventure, highly recommended especially for fans of alternate history novels!" --Midwest Book Review

"I was rapidly drawn into this tapestry ..." - Kath Middleton, Ignite Books 

"Cool stuff!" - Examined Worlds: Philosophy and Science Fiction 

"This single timeline approach is more elegant and more convoluted than other theories, and Levinson handles it extremely well, jumping the narrative through twenty-five hundred years without missing a beat." - Greg Hickey, Socrates, Time Travel, and Donald Trump 

In "one of my favorite novels, The Plot to Save Socrates by Paul Levinson ... the recovery of a previously unknown dialogue of Plato prompts an engaging time travel story ... " - Zachary Fruhling Blog