Bunch of Amateurs

You probably know some amateurs, people driven by a singular passion for whatever, birdwatching, maybe, or home brewing or space elevators. The writer Jack Hitt certainly knows the type. He’s written a book about semi-professional people in the grip of passion, and he argues that they've powered America’s success and innovation. From Benjamin Franklin to a young Bay Area woman trying to splice a fish’s glow-in-the-dark gene into yogurt, Hitt has documented American amateurs, and Monday we're rebroadcasting our conversation with him.

GUEST

• Jack Hitt is a contributing editor to the New York Times Magazine, Harper's  and This American Life. He also writes for Rolling Stone, GQ and Garden and Gun – and he’s written a solo theater performance called Making Up the Truth. his new book is called Bunch of Amateurs: A Search for the American Character.