Thomas Cathcart

Tom Cathcart spent most of his career in health care, including directing a boarding home for people with HIV/AIDS in Portland, Maine. His old college pal, Danny Klein, enlisted him as co-author of a book about how jokes can illuminate philosophical ideas. To their shock, after being rejected by 40 publishers, "Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar" became an international bestseller. Three more joint books followed. In the meantime, Cathcart published two solo books, "The Trolley Problem, or Would You Throw the Fat Guy Off the Bridge?" and "There is No God, and Mary Is His Mother," a serious exploration of "religionless Christianity." Tom is married to Eloise Balasco Cathcart, who coordinates the graduate program in nursing administration at NYU. His daughter Esther is a mental health worker in western Massachusetts.