Jonathan Gottschall

Jonathan Gottschall writes books at the intersection of science and art. His most recent work, The Storytelling Animal: How Stories Make Us Human (a New York Times Editor’s Choice selection), draws on the latest research in neuroscience, psychology and biology to show how storytelling has evolved as a fundamental human instinct. Jonathan teaches in the English Department at Washington & Jefferson College in Pennsylvania and blogs about the mysteries of storytelling at Psychology Today. His work has been featured in outlets like The New York Times, Nature, Scientific American, The New Yorker, The Atlantic, Oprah Magazine, and NPR’s Morning Edition and All Things Considered. Described by Steven Pinker as “a brilliant young scholar,” Jonathan is the author or editor of six books, including The Rape of Troy: Evolution, Violence and the World of Homer and Literature, Science, and a New Humanities.