Fun news this week—writing professor Joseph Lemelin, who is right now teaching a First-Year Writing Seminar called Beyond Nature, is the subject of a “Talk of the Town” piece in The New Yorker: “When Kids Philosophize.” Writer Rebecca Mead finds Joe talking with kids about philosophy, chewing gum, and asking the big questions.

Here’s a great one-liner.

“Does liking mushrooms make me who I am?” Lemelin asked. “What makes me me?”

“Look it up,” one boy replied.