We're delighted to present our conversation with the remarkable Benjamín Labatut for Episode 81, in which we primarily discuss his 2023 non-fiction novel The MANIAC, its primary figure John von Neumann, the madness and magic of fiction, and the limits and future of science and the human mind. 

Run, don't walk to buy Benjamín's two English-language books: 

When We Cease to Understand the World 

The MANIAC

Extra special thanks to Cameron Waller of Penguin Random House Canada (@cameronsbookshelf) for (a) putting us onto Benjamín's work in a personal way, and (b) making this conversation with Benjamín possible. 

Contact Dave & Matt: 

Email - [email protected]

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Twitter - https://twitter.com/ConcavityShow

Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/concavityshow

Threadless Merch Store - https://concavityshow.threadless.com/

For episode 80, we welcome Jessica Anthony back to the show. She has long been one of our favorite writers and she returns this month with a new novel titled The Most (out July 30 from Little Brown).

Jessica Anthony is the author of three books of fiction, most recently the novel Enter the Aardvark, a finalist for the New England Book Award in Fiction. Her debut, The Convalescent, won the inaugural McSweeney’s Amanda Davis Highwire Fiction Award in 2004. A recipient of the Creative Capital Award in Literature, Anthony wrote The Most while guarding the Mária Valéria Bridge in Štúrovo, Slovakia. She lives in Portland, Maine.

Preorder the book on Bookshop: https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-most-jessica-anthony/20862156?ean=9780316576376

You can see some of the upcoming events for the novel here: https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/contributor/jessica-anthony/

Contact Dave & Matt: 

Email - [email protected]

Twitter - https://twitter.com/ConcavityShow

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/concavityshow/

Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/concavityshow

Threadless Merch Store - https://concavityshow.threadless.com/

In this episode, Matt Bucher interviews Matt Lowell of the band Lo Moon. 

They discuss the genesis of Lo Moon's new hit song, "Water." Lowell shares how he discovered David Foster Wallace's writing and he also breaks down his collaborative writing process. Later, he digs into some of his literary influences and the two Matts discuss Salinger, Fitzgerald, Knausgaard, and more.

You can order the new album on vinyl here: https://www.lomoonofficial.com/ and there you can learn more about Lo Moon’s 2024 tour schedule here: https://lomoon.komi.io/.

 Check out their private fan community, Raincoat Chronicles.

You can keep up with Lo Moon on X: https://twitter.com/lomoon

Contact Dave & Matt: 

Email - [email protected]

Twitter - https://twitter.com/ConcavityShow

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/concavityshow/

Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/concavityshow

Threadless Merch Store - https://concavityshow.threadless.com/

In this episode, Matt interviews Don Hough. Don is the author of a collection of short stories titled The Funeral Girl, a collection of essays called The Exact Right Word, and a new correspondence collection called All the Best. They discuss how The Funeral Girl is influenced by David Foster Wallace’s work, how Don discovered DFW, James Cameron’s Titanic, Labute’s In the Company of Men, Alexander Theroux, Jonathan Franzen, Taylor Swift, and much much more.

You can follow Don on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/DHSayer

His blog is here: http://donhoughauthor.blogspot.com

And be sure to order his books:

The Funeral Girl: https://www.amazon.com/Funeral-Girl-Don-Hough/dp/1541008553

All The Best: https://www.amazon.com/All-Best-Correspondence-Don-Hough/dp/B0D251Q6NK

Contact Dave & Matt: 

Email - [email protected]

Twitter - https://twitter.com/ConcavityShow

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/concavityshow/

Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/concavityshow

Threadless Merch Store - https://concavityshow.threadless.com/

In this episode, Dave and Matt sit down with Adam Levin to discuss the publication of the Bar Mitzvah edition of that great novel, The Instructions. They discuss growing up in the land of Bar Mitzvahs, the writing process, and what happens to Gurion, among other things.

Adam Levin's website is: https://www.adamlevinadamlevin.com/

You can order the new edition of the book direct from McSweeney's here: https://store.mcsweeneys.net/products/the-instructions-bar-mitzvah-edition?taxon_id=1

Adam Levin is the author of the novels The Instructions, Bubblegum, and Mount Chicago, as well as the story collection, Hot Pink. His writing has appeared in numerous publications, including The New Yorker, McSweeney’s, and Playboy. He has been a New York Public Library Young Lions Fiction Award winner, a recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship, and a National Jewish Book Award finalist. He lives in Chicago.

Contact Dave & Matt: 

Email - [email protected]

Twitter - https://twitter.com/ConcavityShow

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/concavityshow/

Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/concavityshow

Threadless Merch Store - https://concavityshow.threadless.com/

It's our favorite annual episode on the show, when we get to look back at the best of our year in reading with someone else who has read cool stuff. This time it's with Ben Diamond, a very keen listener and patron from London, who for three years running has sent us an annual best of his year recording, always full of interesting books, shows, music, and films. We had an awesome conversation with Ben that we hope you'll enjoy. 

Stay tuned for the Patreon bonus episode in two weeks that covers all other things we liked this year in pop-culture.

As always, this episode comes with a playlist of our favorite songs of 2023:

Apple Music - https://music.apple.com/ca/playlist/best-of-2023/pl.u-yZyVDNACYq2akv

Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6Uq1526MP5mLBVI4zM0e5j?si=59d0bc52f08e41aa

Quick reference Top Fives

Ben: 

1. The Instructions by Adam Levin

2. Something Happened by Joseph Heller 

3. Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan

4. Porn: An Oral History by Polly Barton

5. Anything that Moves by Jamie Stewart

Dave: 

1. THE MANIAC by Benjamín Labatut

2. The Netanyahus by Joshua Cohen

3. The Rabbit Hutch by Tess Gunty

4. Magnetic Fields by Ron Loewinsohn

5. The Passenger & Stella Maris by Cormac McCarthy

Matt:

Contact Ben Diamond: [email protected]

Contact Dave & Matt: 

Email - [email protected]

Twitter - https://twitter.com/ConcavityShow

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/concavityshow/

Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/concavityshow

Threadless Merch Store - https://concavityshow.threadless.com/

In Episode 75 we welcome poet Diego Báez back onto the show, to discuss his fantastic forthcoming book of poetry, Yaguareté White, which releases from University of Arizona Press on February 20, 2024. 

You can pre-order it directly from the publisher

or from Bookshop.org

Follow Diego on Twitter

Contact Dave & Matt: 

Email - [email protected]

Twitter - https://twitter.com/ConcavityShow

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/concavityshow/

Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/concavityshow

Threadless Merch Store - https://concavityshow.threadless.com/

In this episode with speak with bestselling writer and journalist David Lipsky. To David Foster Wallace fans, Lipsky is, of course, familiar as the author of Although Of Course You End Up Becoming Yourself which was the basis of the 2015 film The End of the Tour.

David Lipsky is a contributing editor at Rolling Stone. His fiction and nonfiction have appeared in The New Yorker, Harper's, The Best American Short Stories, The Best American Magazine Writing, The New York Times, The New York Times Book Review, and many others. He contributes to NPR's All Things Considered, and is the recipient of a Lambert Fellowship, a Media Award from GLAAD, and a National Magazine Award. He's the author of the novel The Art Fair; a collection, Three Thousand Dollars; and the bestselling nonfiction book Absolutely American, which was a Time magazine Best Book of the Year.

His new book,  The Parrot and the Igloo: Climate and the Science of Denial is out now from Norton. The book examines the roots of climate change in popular thought, reaching back to the invention of electricity and the global impacts of technology. Lipsky profiles the scientists and characters who have taken up climate science and those who work to deny the effects of carbon and warming.

The New York Times described the book, saying Lipsky "spins top-flight climate literature into cliffhanger entertainment."

The extensive notes to the book, which he mentions in this episode, can be found at https://www.theparrotandtheigloo.com/

(Thank you to Kory Hill for technical assistance.)

In this bonus episode, we have a special audio production from British literary scholar Saul Leslie and American writer Wendy Liu. 

What do you think David Foster Wallace was really like in a tennis match? You are invited to listen to a tennis commentary of a fictional match played between David Foster Wallace and Martin Amis. This audio piece was part of DFW2023, held in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. It was written and presented by Saul Leslie, and features commentary by fictional Wimbledon champion and writer Elsa Canetti (voiced by Wendy Liu), and a guest 'courtside' appearance from literary academic Beci Carver. Hopefully this gives you a sense of what it would be like if Amis and Wallace really did play against one another. As for who is ultimately triumphant, you’ll have to listen to find out!

Be sure to check out this pamphlet for more details about the tennis match and the audio production.

Follow Saul: 

Email - [email protected].

Twitter - @postpost_its

Follow Wendy:

Twitter - @dellsystem

Website - https://dellsystem.me/