"He moves in the dry chaff among the dust and slats of sunlight with a constrained truculence. Saxon and Celtic bloods. A child of God much like yourself perhaps."

Today's episode is a singular one, for a singular writer. This is a conversation about Cormac McCarthy, and his novel Child of God. This novel explores the uttermost depravity of humanity, and wrestles with the idea that "perhaps" Lester Ballard is a child of God like me...

Joining me for this conversation is the incomparable Joel J. Miller, of Miller's Book Review. http://millersbookreview.com/

Joel J. Miller is a former publishing executive with a twenty-year career in writing and editorial. Today he serves as chief content officer of Full Focus https://fullfocus.co/

and he publishes Miller's Book Review, a popular Substack celebrating literary culture. 

He is the author of several books, including The Idea Machine: How Books Built Our World and Shape Our Future (forthcoming, November 2025). His writing has appeared in Reason, the Washington Post, American Spectator, and National Review. He lives outside Nashville, Tennessee, with his wife, kids, dogs, and more books than space. 

Pre-Order Joel's latest book here:

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