Club Online Zoom Event – Book Conversation: ‘The Scientist and the Spy’

ONLINE ZOOM EVENT Book Conversation: ‘The Scientist and the Spy’

SPEAKER MARA HVISTENDAHL Investigative Reporter, The Intercept Monday, November 23, 2020 8:00pm HKT on Zoom

Investigative reporter and Pulitzer Prize finalist Mara Hvistendahl tells a riveting true story in her second book, The Scientist and the Spy: A True Story of China, the FBI, and Industrial Espionage. Recounting a case in which the U.S. government pursued a Chinese-born scientist for allegedly trying to steal trade secrets from corporate giants Monsanto and DuPont Pioneer, Hvistendahl describes a long history of questionable counterintelligence on China, much of it tinged with racism. Following the many twists and turns of what ended up being a two-year FBI operation, The Scientist and the Spy also questions the role that corporations play in influencing trade secrets cases brought by the U.S. government. Moderated by FCC president Jodi Schneider.

Mara Hvistendahl is an investigative reporter with The Intercept and the author of The Scientist and The Spy: A True Story of China, the FBI, and Industrial Espionage (Riverhead 2020). The Washington Post called it “a riveting whodunit” and The Wall Street Journal described as “captivating and well-researched.” Her first book, Unnatural Selection, was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. Her work has been published in The Atlantic, The New York Times, Scientific American, WIRED, and other publications. She has testified before Congress, been a keynote speaker at conferences, and appeared on a number of radio and television outlets.