Ed Simon

Public Humanities Special Faculty/Editor-in-Chief, Carnegie Mellon University/Rust Belt Magazine

Ed Simon is a public humanities lecturer in the English Department of Carnegie Mellon University and the founding editor of The Pittsburgh Review of Books. He is also the editor-in-chief for Rust Belt Magazine, a contributing editor to The Montreal Review, and a staff writer at LitHub. His most recent book is Devil’s Contract: The History of the Faustian Bargain (2024), named one of the best books of 2024 by The New Yorker. He lives in Pittsburgh, PA.

Written by Ed Simon

Black and white photo of a person walking on a wavy striped surface creating an optical illusion.

Reality shifting opens portals to the weirdness of our world

It’s easy to denounce ‘reality shifting’ as a shared delusion. But there is value in making the world feel unfamiliar

by Ed Simon

Illustration of a medieval trial with a sow and piglets in court, featuring people in robes and a judge in the background.

If animals are persons, should they bear criminal responsibility?

Were medieval trials of animal criminals not a sign of backwardness, but in fact strangely progressive?

by Ed Simon