This collection of brief essays by Siddhartha Shankar Joarder, first published in newspapers over the last three years, provides an example worth emulating, of a scholar stepping out of the ivory tower and into the world of everyday life. A philosopher by training and profession, Dr. Joarder offers critical discussion of an extraordinary wide variety of issues that is characterized by the virtues of philosophy: intellectual humility, precision, and cogency. Topics covered range from the lives and legacies of Bertrand Russell and Rabindranath Tagore, the philosophy of anti-natalism, the state of education in Bangladesh, and the role of science and philosophy in maintaining peace and facilitating development to the history of democracy in Bangladesh, with all its challenges and achievements, the democratic ideals of equality and liberty, the rise of terrorism, the seductive lure of power, and sexual violence against women. As is clear from this list, Dr. Joarder does not shy away from issues that are difficult and often controversial, which is why many readers will not find themselves able to agree with all that he writes. I myself disagree, for example, with his views on the limits of free speech, as laid out in his discussion of the 2018 arrest of Shahidul Alam. But rather than being a shortcoming of the book, this shows its importance. Thoughtful and civil conversations about issues over which we disagree are the ones that really matter.