"Believe me, there probably was not a day that went by where I didn't say to myself, What on earth am I doing? And why did I take this on? Early on in the process, I was talking with a Churchill expert over breakfast in Washington, DC, and he was basically asking me, Why on earth are you doing this? And my answer to him, which stuck throughout the whole project, is that it's all in the telling." The Splendid and the Vile spent most of 2020 and '21 on top of the bestseller charts, and it's just out in paperback. Erik Larson joins us on the show to talk about the craft of writing, how his background in journalism prepared him for a career writing bestselling books, how he conducts his research, the fiction that inspires him, the surprises he uncovered while writing about one of the world's most-documented men, and more.

Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional bonus episodes on Saturdays).

Featured books:

The Splendid and the Vile by Erik Larson

Isaac's Storm by Erik Larson

The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson

The Alienist by Caleb Carr