he is really quite an extraordinary -- the man he reminded me of was pierre trudeau, the great canadian prime minister who was cosmopolitan and regal in that same kind of way, but a little bit aloof. but also charismatic. there is really a lot of similarities between them. and i was profoundly hopeful that his election represented some kind of turning point in the way we think about race. i'm less convinced of that now, actually. >> are you very political? >> i am not. like to say, i am canadian, so i have never quite wrapped my mind around american politics. >> of all the stories you have done since 1996, which one did you spend most time on? >> very easy one to answer. "late bloomers," which it took three years to get into the magazine. it went through so many drafts, i cannot even count how many. it was because i had a really interesting idea, which was, i read this book by an economist in chicago which i thought was so fascinating, in which he talked about how genius comes in two very different forms. we talk about the conceptual innovator, the big, bold idea, and the experimental i

he is -- the man he reminded me of was pierre trudeau who was a great canadian prime minister in the 1960's and early 1970's who was, -- who was cosmopolitan in that same way and a little bit aloof. there are similarities between the two of them. like many people, i was profoundly hopeful that his election represented some kind of turning point in the way we think about race unless -- i am bpqless convinced of that now. i was hopeful of that at the time. >> are you very political? >> i'm not. i rarely talk about politics in my pieces. i just don't i am canadian so i have never wrapped my mind around american politics. >> of all the stories that you have done since 1996, which one did you spend the most time on ta? >> there is a piece called "late bloomers" which took three years to get into "the new yorker." it went through so many drafts. i have this interesting idea. i read a book by an economist named dave gilson where he talked about how genius comes into quoted very different forms. he talked about the conceptual innovator who has a big old idea and he talks about the experiment