In Episode 70 of Rewrite Radio, acclaimed author M.T. Anderson explores the sacred and the strange through riveting tales of stolen religious artifacts—from Nepal to Cambodia to the tomb of Saint Nicholas. With wit and insight, he examines the power of objects, cultural identity, and why returning sacred art matters.  

M. T. Anderson writes widely, for both children and adults, including the 2024 Newbery Honor Book, Elf Dog and Owl Head and The Pox Party, a Gothic novel of the American Revolution which won the National Book Award. His nonfiction book Symphony for the City of the Dead: Dmitri Shostakovich and the Siege of Leningrad was one of the Wall Street Journal’s Best Books of the Year. His most recent book, Nicked, is a historical heist story set in the eleventh century.  

This talk was recorded live in the 2024 Festival of Faith & Writing.