James Gleick — The Telephone: A New History - with Jennifer Ouellette

James Gleick presents *The Telephone: A New History*, a sweeping account of how the telephone transformed technology, communication, industry, and intimate life. Beginning with Alexander Graham Bell’s first voice transmission in 1876, Gleick examines an invention shaped not only by ingenuity but also by rivalry, fraud, speculation, and uncertainty about its eventual purpose.

The book follows the telephone’s continuing revolution: the rise of telephone operators, the growth of the Bell System into a vast monopoly, the development of technologies at Bell Labs, and the telephone’s influence on skyscrapers, warfare, assembly lines, corporations, government, friendship, and romance. Gleick also considers how telephones changed language and human behavior, and how their legacy persists in today’s networked, information-driven world. He will discuss the book with science and culture journalist Jennifer Ouellette.

When: Friday, November 13, 2026

Showtime: 7:00 p.m.

Venue: Politics and Prose at 5015 Connecticut Avenue NW, 5015 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008

Format: In-person conversation, with a livestream option available

Participants: James Gleick, in conversation with Jennifer Ouellette

About James Gleick: Gleick is a historian and biographer whose books include *The Information*, which won science-writing prizes from the Royal Society and PEN/America, and *Chaos*, a finalist for both the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award. His books have been translated into 30 languages, and he lives in New York and London.

About Jennifer Ouellette: Ouellette is a senior reporter at Ars Technica, where she covers the intersection of science and culture, including physics and interdisciplinary subjects as well as film and television. She has written professionally about physics and related topics for more than two decades and served as founding director of the National Academy of Sciences’ Science and Entertainment Exchange from 2008 to 2010.

Tickets: Free admission with first-come, first-served seating

Accessibility: Requests for accommodations and accessibility questions should be sent to events@politics-prose.com, ideally at least one week before the event. The organizers will try to accommodate requests made up to the event time.

Featured book: *The Telephone: A New History* by James Gleick is available for preorder in hardcover for $35.00. It is scheduled for publication on November 10, 2026, and has ISBN 9780374618940.