Brendan I. Koerner is a contributing editor at Wired and the author of The Skies Belong to Us.

"It was this big review in The New York Times and I was terrified that it was going to say something awful about the book or about me as a writer. And my son said to me — he's 5, I should say — "If it's bad, you won't die." That's a good point, you know? So I always think of that when I pick up a new review and take that risk of someone slamming something that I've genuinely poured my heart and soul into."

Thanks to TinyLetter and the Literary Reportage Department at NYU's Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute for sponsoring this week's episode.

Show notes:

@brendankoerner

microkhan.com

[3:30] The Skies Belong to Us: Love and Terror in the Golden Age of Hijacking (Crown • 2013)

[5:15] Now The Hell Will Start: One Soldier's Flight from the Greatest Manhunt of World War II (Penguin • 2009)

[7:45] "Piano Demon" (The Atavist • Jan 2011)

[37:45] Koerner's archive at Slate

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