Alice Dreger, author of "Galileo's Middle Finger"

Alice Dreger, Managing Editor for Heterodox Academy, earned her Ph.D. in History and Philosophy of Science from Indiana University. She is known variously for her hard-hitting investigative history and journalism, her advocacy for the rights of people born with unusual anatomies, and her promotion of First Amendment rights, particularly free speech and press freedoms. Dreger is a Guggenheim Fellow, an award-winning writer and educator, and recipient of Heterodox Academy’s inaugural Courage Award. She was also recently named one of the “25 Faces of Free Speech” by FIRE.

Dreger’s bylines include the New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Boston Globe, The Guardian, WIRED, Slate, the Atlantic, Pacific Standard, Aeon Magazine, the Chronicle of Higher Education, New Statesman, Quillette, the Los Angeles Times, and the Chicago Tribune. Her books have been published by Penguin Press, Harvard University Press, Cambridge University Press, the Association of American Medical Colleges, and Amazon Kindle Singles, among others.

Dreger’s best known work is "Galileo’s Middle Finger: Heretics, Activists, and One Scholar’s Search for Justice," which argues that the pursuit of evidence is the most important ethical imperative of our time. Published by Penguin Press, the book received praise in The New Yorker, Nature, Science, Forbes, New York Magazine, Human Nature, and Salon. "Galileo’s Middle Finger" was also named “Editor’s Choice” by The New York Times Book Review and recommended by Steve Pinker, Dan Savage, Jared Diamond, and E.O. Wilson, among many others.

More information can be found at alicedreger.com

Engagement as an HxA Member:
Presented at HxA Virtual Event, Summit, or Conference
Published on HxA: The Blog
Guest on HxA Podcast
HxA Writers Group Member or Veteran
Active Member of an HxCommunity
Active Member of an HxA Campus Community
Faculty Fellow at HxA Center for Academic Pluralism
Speaker's Title and Institutional/Organizational Affiliation: Managing Editor of Heterodox Academy
Event Type :
Lecture/Presentation
Fireside Chat
Book Talk
Constitution Day Event
Classroom Visit
Workshop
Podcast
Debate, Forum, or HxConversation
Speaking Topics - List up to 5 specific topics or titles, each separated by a semicolon: impingements on academic freedom
Blackout Dates (Dates speaker is unavailable, Days/Month/Year): 12/21/2024
Distance Willing to Travel: Any/No Limits to Travel Radius
Scholarly Area: Social Sciences
Modality of Event : In Person and/or Virtual
Willingness to be recorded: Willing
Speaking Fee (Not including travel/lodging expenses): $2,000-$5,000 USD
Recent Appearance (1 of 5) -title, host institution, year: "Science Communications and Other Oxymorons in the Algorithmic World," University of Chicago, 2025
Recent Appearance (2 of 5) -title, host institution, year: "Debate on Sex and Gender," MIT, 2024
Recent Appearance (3 of 5) -title, host institution, year: “Ten Years after Galileo’s Middle Finger, What Have We Learned from a Decade of Campus Conflicts?”, Marshall University, 2024
Recent Appearance (4 of 5) -title, host institution, year: "Being a Public Scholar Now: Obligations, Opportunities, and Dangers," American Association for the History of Medicine @ University of Michigan (plenary panel), 2023
Recent Appearance (5 of 5) -title, host institution, year: "Free Speech and Open Inquiry," University of Delaware, 2023
Link to Speaker's Professional Website (to include sample writings and more extensive bio): https://alicedreger.com/