During Readercon weekend, Christopher Brown rejoined the show for our first conversation since the 2020 release of his novel Failed State. We talk about the nonfiction project he's working on, tentatively titled THE SECRET HISTORY OF EMPTY LOTS, the surprising reach of his FIELD NOTES weekly newsletter, tribes' creation myths and how they manage to justify dominion over the land, why the outdoors is one of America's most segregated spaces, and why he thinks calling Washington, DC "The Swamp" is an insult to swamps. We get into the differences and similarities between his fiction and nature writing, the impact of Tesla and the Gigafactory on life in/around Austin, TX (esp. for its neighbors in unincorporated land), the tensions of child-rearing at a time of ecological disaster, what it means to read science fiction through nature-lens (esp. Annihilation and Neuromancer), the natural world's response to COVID lockdowns and capital's post-COVID snapback, and what it was like to vacation in South Padre Island, TX during the hottest week in history. Plus, we discuss the fun of coming back to Readercon, the old semi-hip days of psychogeography, our backup plans to bug out of the failed state, and plenty more. (And go listen to our past talks: 2018, 2019, 2020 + COVID Check-In) Follow Chris on Twitter, Bluesky and Instagram • More info at our site • Support The Virtual Memories Show via Patreon or Paypal and via our Substack