When I read the article, I was thinking, "why couldn't the US have someone like this?" After reading your post, it jogged my memory, and I realised we sort of

When I read the article, I was thinking, "why couldn't the US have someone like this?" After reading your post, it jogged my memory, and I realised we sort of do (or did): Martin Gardner's writing is a lot like that (though without the fictional Persian frame-story).