I mean it as both a compliment and a criticism when I say that the opening of this piece should come with a suggested reading list. Attiyah's questions were pointed enough and Jack Beatty's responses were provoking enough to hold my interest despite their reliance on references to books and personalities I was not familiar with. The latter part of Beatty's interview is more accessible and very compelling, as they discuss the triumph of the private persona in the public sphere and the toll that has taken on the quality of American political discourse.