Tim Wu is an author, policy advocate, and a professor at Columbia Law School. He also serves as the chairman of the media reform organization Free Press. Wu is best known for developing the term “net neutrality” and the theory behind it. Before taking the stage to talk about his book, The Master Switch: The Rise and Fall of Information Empires, Wu sat down for our In The Green Room Q&A.
Q. Where would we find you at 10 a.m. on a typical Saturday?
A. Asleep.
Q. What music have you listened to today?
A. Hip-hop mostly. Whenever I come to Los Angeles I take the excuse to rent a convertible and drive up the coast. I’m a regular gangster with my hip-hop and my car.
Q. What do you consider to be the greatest simple pleasure?
A. Sleep.
Q. What surprises you most about your life right now?
A. I’m surprised that I am able to get eight or nine hours of sleep a night. Sleep is a theme here.
Q. What do you wish you had the nerve to do?
A. Get up early.
Q. Who is your favorite fictional character?
A. Zhuge Liang, from Romance of Three Kingdoms.
Q. What is your favorite cocktail?
A. Manhattan.
Q. When do you feel most creative?
A. On the train.
Q. Who was your childhood hero?
A. My father.
Q. If you could take only one more journey, where would you go?
A. Into the wild.
Q. What is your most prized material possession?
A. My motorcycle.
Q. What should you throw away but haven’t been able to part with?
A. My motorcycle.
Q. Who is the one person living or dead you would most like to meet for dinner?
A. Kazuo Ishiguro.
To read more about Wu’s talk, click here.
*Photo by Aaron Salcido.