LECTURES

Jane Mayer has been a staff writer for The New Yorker since 1995. Based in Washington, DC, she writes about politics for the magazine, and has distinguished herself with her coverage of the “war on terror.” Recent subjects include Alberto Mora and the Pentagon’s secret torture policy, how the United States outsources torture (rendition), the prison at Guantánamo Bay, and the legality of CIA interrogations. She has also written about George W. Bush, the bin Laden family, Sarah Palin, and the television show 24. Mayer is the author of the best-selling 2008 book The Dark Side: The Inside Story of How the War on Terror Turned Into a War on American Ideals, which was chosen by the New York Times as one of the ten best books of the year, and by the Economist, Salon, Slate, and Bloomberg as one of the best books of the year. She is currently writing about elections and campaign reform. Presented by the Lowell Humanities Series.