fiction/non/fiction

By fiction/non/fiction

What's fiction/non/fiction about?

Hosted by Whitney Terrell and V.V. Ganeshananthan, fiction/non/fiction interprets current events through the lens of literature, and features conversations with writers of all stripes, from novelists and poets to journalists and essayists.

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fiction/non/fiction episodes:

04.18.2024
S7 Ep. 29: There’s Going to Be Trouble: Jen Silverman on Generational Divides in American Politics
As the presidential election heats up and President Joe Biden struggles to keep young voters’ support, novelist Jen Silverman joins co-host V.V. Ganeshananthan to discuss generational divides in U.S. politics. Silverman, whose new book, There’s Going to Be Trouble, follows...
04.11.2024
S7 Ep. 28: How We Talk About Cancer: S.L. Wisenberg on Kate Middleton and the Language of the Big C
In the wake of the news that Kate Middleton, the Princess of Wales, has cancer, author S.L. (Sandi) Wisenberg joins co-hosts Whitney Terrell and V.V. Ganeshananthan to talk about the control that public—and private—figures should have over the disclosure of...
04.06.2024
REDUX: S7 Ep. 27: David Baron on What Literature Tells Us About the 2024 Eclipse
In anticipation of the total solar eclipse forecast for April 8, author and journalist David Baron joins co-hosts Whitney Terrell and V.V. Ganeshananthan to discuss his award-winning book, American Eclipse, which chronicles the remarkable solar eclipse of 1878. Baron, a...
04.04.2024
S7 Ep. 27: David Baron on What Literature Tells Us About the 2024 Eclipse
In anticipation of the total solar eclipse forecast for April 8, author and journalist David Baron joins co-hosts Whitney Terrell and V.V. Ganeshananthan to discuss his award-winning book, American Eclipse, which chronicles the remarkable solar eclipse of 1878. Baron, a...
03.28.2024
S7 Ep. 26: En Vogue: Sally Franson on Fashion and Literature
Novelist Sally Franson joins co-hosts Whitney Terrell and V.V. Ganeshananthan to talk about Fashion Week 2024, the role fashion plays in characterization, and how stylish authors and characters have modeled and influenced tastes and trends. Franson reflects on her time...
03.21.2024
S7 Ep. 25: Ivy Pochoda on Iowa Basketball Star Caitlin Clark and Women Athletes in Popular Culture
Following a record-smashing performance by University of Iowa basketball star Caitlin Clark, now the all-time leading scorer in NCAA Division I basketball, novelist and former professional squash player Ivy Pochoda joins host V.V. Ganeshananthan to talk about portrayals of women...
03.14.2024
S7 Ep. 24: Lessons for Survival: Emily Raboteau on Mothering and Climate Change
Writer Emily Raboteau joins co-hosts Whitney Terrell and V.V. Ganeshananthan to talk about mothering in the face of climate change and systemic inequality. Raboteau discusses the difference between “resilience” and “trauma-informed growth,” and considers which one more realistically describes how...
03.07.2024
S7 Ep. 23: Alabama’s Embryos: Briallen Hopper on the Personal and Political Consequences of the New IVF Court Decision
Writer Briallen Hopper joins co-hosts Whitney Terrell and V.V. Ganeshananthan to talk about in vitro fertilization and the recent Alabama State Supreme Court ruling declaring that frozen embryos have the same rights as children. Hopper speaks about the science and...
02.29.2024
S7 Ep. 22: Hit ’Em Where It Hurts: Rachel Bitecofer on Democratic Strategies to Counter Republicans in the 2024 Election
Rachel Bitecofer, author of the new book Hit ’Em Where It Hurts: How to Save Democracy by Beating Republicans at Their Own Game, joins co-hosts Whitney Terrell and V.V. Ganeshananthan to talk shop about the election strategies Democrats should implement...
02.22.2024
S7 Ep. 21: The Road From Belhaven: Margot Livesey and What Literature Can Tell Us About The Future
As the 2024 Presidential race heats up, award-winning fiction writer Margot Livesey joins co-hosts Whitney Terrell and V.V. Ganeshananthan to discuss the value of seeing the future in politics and in family life. Are the polls right? Will Donald Trump...
02.15.2024
S7 Ep. 20: ‘They Want What We Have’: Matt Gallagher on Supporting Ukrainians' Struggle for Liberation
Two years after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, novelist, journalist, and veteran Matt Gallagher joins co-hosts Whitney Terrell and V.V. Ganeshananthan to discuss the current state of the Russo-Ukrainian war and why the country desperately needs the emergency aid in a...
02.08.2024
S7 Ep. 19: American Fiction: Jacinda Townsend and James Bernard Short on the Joy, Pathos, and Complexity of Black Experience in the Oscar-Nominated Film
Novelist Jacinda Townsend and writer James Bernard Short join co-hosts Whitney Terrell and V.V. Ganeshananthan to talk about the movie American Fiction, which is based on the novel Erasure by Percival Everett. Townsend and Short discuss how the film addresses...
02.01.2024
S7 Ep. 18: AWP 2024 Preview: Glenn North on Kansas City’s Jazz, Poetry, and Barbeque
With AWP’s annual conference headed to Kansas City next week, poet and activist Glenn North joins co-hosts Whitney Terrell and V.V. Ganeshananthan to tell incoming writers where to find the best food and coolest hangouts in the city. North discusses...
01.25.2024
S7 Ep. 17: ‘What is History?’: Ed Park on Korea’s Past, Real and Imagined
Novelist Ed Park joins co-hosts Whitney Terrell and V.V. Ganeshananthan to discuss the role of alternate histories and counternarratives in popular culture, public record, and the general consciousness, via his new novel, Same Bed Different Dreams. Park talks about depicting...
01.18.2024
S7 Ep. 16: Former Biden Speechwriter Nate Rawlings on Claudine Gay, Neil Gorsuch, and the Politics of Plagiarism
Journalist Nate Rawlings, who spent a stint as a speechwriter for then-Vice President Joe Biden, joins co-hosts Whitney Terrell and V.V. Ganeshananthan to talk about the politics (and nuances) of plagiarism. Rawlings discusses how plagiarism accusations derailed Joe Biden’s presidential...
01.11.2024
S7 Ep. 15: Bookstores Against Bans: Lauren Groff on Opening The Lynx in Florida
Novelist Lauren Groff joins co-hosts Whitney Terrell and V.V. Ganeshananthan to discuss the new independent bookstore she and her husband are planning in Gainesville, Florida. The Lynx, which Groff aims to open this spring, will feature banned books, an act...
01.04.2024
S7 Ep. 14: Nikki Haley, Vivek Ramaswamy, and the Model Minority Myth: Prachi Gupta on the Rise of Indian American Presidential Candidates
As Nikki Haley and Vivek Ramaswamy vie for the Republican presidential nomination, Indian American reporter and memoirist Prachi Gupta joins co-hosts Whitney Terrell and V.V. Ganeshananthan put these politicians into historical perspective. She discusses how the myth of Indian American...
12.28.2023
S7 Ep. 13: Holiday Archives: Danez Smith on Poetry, Blackness, and Friendship
In this holiday re-broadcast of an episode from April 23, 2020, acclaimed poet Danez Smith discusses the role friendship plays in their most recent collection of poetry, Homie. Smith talks to Fiction/Non/Fiction podcast co-hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell about...
12.21.2023
S7 Ep. 12: The Best Books Machine: Lydia Kiesling on Making the Lists—or Not
Novelist and critic Lydia Kiesling joins co-hosts Whitney Terrell and V.V. Ganeshananthan to discuss the creation and the spirit of year-end book lists. She talks about list culture getting its start at the small, online literary magazine, The Millions, and...
12.14.2023
S7 Ep. 11: The Free and the Freed: Tracy K. Smith on Liberty
Pulitzer-Prize winning writer Tracy K. Smith joins co-hosts Whitney Terrell and V.V. Ganeshananthan to discuss the difference between being “free” and being “freed.” She suggests that citizens of the United States fall into one category or the other. The first...
12.07.2023
S7 Ep. 10: Chicago in Verse: Taylor Byas on Writing About Her Hometown
Poet Taylor Byas joins co-hosts Whitney Terrell and V.V. Ganeshananthan to discuss writing about Chicago, which she does in her Maya Angelou Book Award-winning collection of poetry, I Done Clicked My Heels Three Times. She talks about growing up in...
11.30.2023
S7 Ep. 9: American Farce: Timothy Schaffert on the Literary Parallels for the House GOP Clusterf**k
Novelist Timothy Schaffert joins co-hosts Whitney Terrell and V.V. Ganeshananthan to discuss how the concept of farce relates to today’s GOP-controlled House of Representatives. Schaffert describes the lack of self-awareness in both fictional and real-life characters, including politicians like Marjorie...
11.22.2023
S7 Ep. 8 Indigenous Imaginations: Native American Writers on Their Communities
On Thanksgiving, the show returns to an episode with playwright Rhiana Yazzie and novelist Brandon Hobson, who joined hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell in February 2019 to discuss Native literature. These interviews were recorded in the wake of viral...
11.16.2023
S7 Ep. 7: American Precariat: Zeke Caligiuri on the Incarcerated Writers Who Edited An Anthology on Class
Writer and editor Zeke Caligiuri joins co-hosts Whitney Terrell and V.V. Ganeshananthan to discuss American Precariat: Parables of Exclusion, a new collection of essays on class he co-edited along with eleven other incarcerated writers. The volume’s contributors include Eula Biss,...
11.09.2023
S7 Ep. 6: Jordan Peele’s Out There Screaming: Lesley Nneka Arimah on Why Black Horror Speaks to Us Now
Fiction writer Lesley Nneka Arimah joins co-hosts Whitney Terrell and V.V. Ganeshananthan to discuss how Black horror writing speaks to our current cultural moment. She talks about editor/director Jordan Peele’s new anthology, Out There Screaming: An Anthology of New Black...
11.02.2023
S7 Ep. 5: Shir Alon and Joseph Farag On How Palestinian and Israeli Literature Has Handled the Ongoing Conflict
In the wake of the recent violence in Palestine and Israel, the show returns to an interview taped in June 2021 with scholars Shir Alon and Joseph Farag, who join co-hosts Whitney Terrell and V.V. Ganeshananthan to discuss how Palestinian...
10.26.2023
S7 Ep. 4: Writing Gentrification: Jonathan Lethem on Brooklyn Now and Then
Novelist Jonathan Lethem joins host Whitney Terrell live at the Cider Gallery in Lawrence, Kansas. Lethem discusses his new book, Brooklyn Crime Novel, which is set in the neighborhood where he grew up—and where he also set his 2003 novel...
10.19.2023
S7 Ep. 3: Freeman’s: Conclusions: John Freeman and Omar El Akkad on a Literary Magazine’s Final Issue
Poet, editor, and writer John Freeman and novelist Omar El Akkad join co-hosts Whitney Terrell and V.V. Ganeshananthan to talk about the final issue of Freeman’s, a literary magazine founded in 2015. El Akkad, a contributor to the volume, describes...
10.12.2023
S7 Ep. 2: The Return of #MeToo: Rebecca Makkai on New Allegations and the Progress of the Past Five Years
Novelist Rebecca Makkai joins co-hosts Whitney Terrell and V.V. Ganeshananthan to talk about new accusations of sex crimes or sexual misconduct, this time leveled against comedian Russell Brand, actor Danny Masterson, and Spanish Soccer Federation president Luis Rubiales. Makkai observes...
10.05.2023
S7 Ep. 1: The AI Pirates: The Atlantic’s Alex Reisner on Books3, Copyright, and How Big Tech is Stealing Our Books
Writer, programmer, and tech consultant Alex Reisner joins co-hosts Whitney Terrell and V.V. Ganeshananthan to talk about his recent Atlantic articles on Books3, a massive data set that includes hundreds of thousands of pirated e-books, and that Meta and other...
09.28.2023
S6 Ep. 52: Librarians Against Book Bans: Brooklyn Public Library’s Leigh Hurwitz on Helping Young People Resist Censorship
In anticipation of Banned Books Week, Brooklyn Public Library’s collections manager Leigh Hurwitz joins co-hosts Whitney Terrell and V.V. Ganeshananthan to discuss how the recent, dramatic rise in book bans disproportionately affects young people, and why BPL has chosen to...
09.21.2023
S6 Ep. 51: Art Under Fire in Ukraine: Tetyana Ogarkova and Volodymyr Yermolenko on How Artists Are Responding as the Fighting Drags on
Eighteen months into the invasion of Ukraine, Tetyana Ogarkova and Volodymyr Yermolenko, hosts of the podcast Explaining Ukraine, return to talk to co-hosts Whitney Terrell and V.V. Ganeshananthan about how the war has affected Ukrainian artists and how they’re responding....
09.14.2023
S6 Ep. 50: The African Coups: Leila Aboulela on Why They Happen, and the Violence in Sudan
Novelist Leila Aboulela joins co-hosts Whitney Terrell and V.V. Ganeshananthan on their 200th episode to talk about the fighting between rival military factions in her native Sudan, which has displaced millions of civilians. She compares the situation of Sudan, which...
09.07.2023
S6 Ep. 49: Georgia’s Fani Willis Takes on Trump: Maurice Carlos Ruffin on the History of Powerful Black Women Challenging the Establishment
Fiction writer Maurice Carlos Ruffin joins co-hosts Whitney Terrell and V.V. Ganeshananthan to talk about the literary and historical antecedents to Fani Willis, the Georgia prosecutor who has filed a RICO case against Trump and 18 co-defendants for their illegal...
08.31.2023
S6 Ep. 48: Is Kansas the Future of Press Censorship?: Sherman Smith on the Police Raid at a Small-Town Newspaper
Kansas Reflector editor-in-chief Sherman Smith joins co-hosts Whitney Terrell and V.V. Ganeshananthan to talk about the police raid on the tiny Marion County Record. He explains the newspaper’s investigation of the DUI history of a local restaurant owner who’d applied...
08.24.2023
S6 Ep. 47: Lit Hub’s American Vacation: Novelist Julie Schumacher on How We Travel Now
As summer draws to an end, Thurber Prize-winning novelist Julie Schumacher joins co-hosts Whitney Terrell and V.V. Ganeshananthan to talk about the state of the American vacation and how holidays are portrayed in literature. Schumacher discusses her new comic novel,...
08.17.2023
S6 Ep. 46: How Progressives Win: Journalist Samuel G. Freedman on What Hubert Humphrey’s Fight for Civil Rights Can Teach Us Today
Award-winning journalist and professor Samuel G. Freedman joins co-hosts Whitney Terrell and V.V. Ganeshananthan to talk about what progressives today can learn from an unexpected source: Democratic politician Hubert Humphrey. Freedman explains how today’s battles against far-right bigotry parallel the...
08.10.2023
S6 Ep. 45: The Kids Are Not All Right: Celeste Ng on the GOP’s War on Children
Bestselling novelist Celeste Ng joins co-hosts Whitney Terrell and V.V. Ganeshananthan to talk about the wide range of GOP policies and initiatives hurting children. This includes recent news of Ron DeSantis pushing anti-LGBTQ+ legislation that authorizes Florida to take emergency...
08.03.2023
S6 Ep. 44: The Summer of Love or Hate: Dawnie Walton on American Concert Culture
Journalist and novelist Dawnie Walton joins co-hosts Whitney Terrell and V.V. Ganeshananthan to talk about U.S. concert culture. Why are live concerts so popular this summer and why have they so often become violent? Walton discusses how recent examples of...
07.27.2023
S6 Ep. 43: X Marks the Spot: Robin Sloan on Social Media After Twitter
Bestselling novelist and former Twitter employee Robin Sloan joins co-hosts Whitney Terrell and V.V. Ganeshananthan to talk about how Elon Musk’s ownership of Twitter and the rise of new platforms like Mastodon, Bluesky, and Meta’s Threads are shaping a new...
07.20.2023
S6 Ep. 42: SCOTUS vs. MFA: Jaswinder Bolina on How the End of Affirmative Action Will Affect Writing Program Admissions
Poet Jaswinder Bolina joins co-host Whitney Terrell and V.V. Ganeshananthan to talk about how the Supreme Court’s decision to outlaw the consideration of race in college admissions will affect MFA programs. The group reflects on why diversity is a crucial...
07.13.2023
S6 Ep. 41: Owner of a Lonely Heart: Beth Nguyen on Memoir, Mothering, and Refugeedom
Novelist and nonfiction writer Beth Nguyen joins co-hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell to talk about her new memoir, Owner of a Lonely Heart, which is about her separation from and connection to her mother. Nguyen explains how when she...
07.06.2023
S6 Ep. 40: In Memory of Cormac McCarthy: Oscar Villalon on an Iconic Writer’s Life, Work and Legacy
Editor and literary critic Oscar Villalon joins V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell to celebrate the life and legacy of the novelist Cormac McCarthy, who died last month. The hosts and Villalon reflect on McCarthy’s vast vocabulary and cinematic descriptions, in...
06.29.2023
S6 Ep. 39: The Kids Are at Work: Jean Kwok On Recent Efforts to Loosen Child Labor Laws and Her Years as a Child Worker in New York
Novelist Jean Kwok joins co-hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell to discuss recent changes to child labor laws in the U.S., as more than 10 states have proposed or enacted legislation that would loosen restrictions on minors working. The three...
06.22.2023
S6 Ep. 38: Everybody Hates Joe: Jacinda Townsend on Why Democrats Are Skeptical of President Biden—and What He Must Do To Win Them Back
Novelist Jacinda Townsend joins co-hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell to discuss Joe Biden’s stubbornly low poll numbers among Democrats, which persist despite his legislative accomplishments. Townsend talks about the administration’s struggles to communicate its goals and achievements and explains...
06.15.2023
S6 Ep. 37: Lights, Camera, White House: Matt Quirk on the Enduring Power of the West Wing in Fiction, Nonfiction, and Film
Novelist Matt Quirk joins co-hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell to discuss what makes the White House such a popular place to set stories—including scenes in his newest thriller, Inside Threat, as well as a previous book, The Night Agent,...
06.08.2023
S6 Ep. 36: Time, Trump, and Trauma: Matt Bell Talks Living on a Political Mobius Strip
Writer Matt Bell joins co-hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell to discuss the eerily familiar run-up to the 2024 presidential race, as well as his latest novel, Appleseed. Referencing his recent craft book, Refuse to Be Done, Bell talks about...
06.01.2023
S6 Ep. 35: Cancel Club: Jane Roper on Online Shame, Responsibility, and Fame
Writer Jane Roper joins co-hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell to discuss cancel culture and her new book, The Society of Shame. Roper teases out some of the similarities and differences between the group in her novel and the real-life...
05.25.2023
S6 Ep. 34: Rising from the Ashes: Felix Salmon on the Debt Ceiling Crisis and the Surprising Resilience of the COVID Economy
Financial correspondent and podcast host Felix Salmon joins co-hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell to discuss the debt ceiling crisis and his new book The Phoenix Economy: Work, Life, and Money in the New Not Normal. Salmon unpacks the political...
05.18.2023
S6 Ep. 33: The Stakes of the Writers’ Strike: Benjamin Percy on the WGA Walkout, Streaming, and the Survival of Screenwriting
Novelist, screenwriter, and Writers Guild of America member Benjamin Percy joins co-hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell to discuss the Hollywood writers’ strike, which began May 2. Percy talks about several WGA contract proposals tied to streaming services’ rise in...

What's fiction/non/fiction about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

fiction/non/fiction episodes:

S7 Ep. 29: There’s Going to Be Trouble: Jen Silverman on Generational Divides in American Politics

S7 Ep. 28: How We Talk About Cancer: S.L. Wisenberg on Kate Middleton and the Language of the Big C

REDUX: S7 Ep. 27: David Baron on What Literature Tells Us About the 2024 Eclipse

S7 Ep. 27: David Baron on What Literature Tells Us About the 2024 Eclipse

S7 Ep. 26: En Vogue: Sally Franson on Fashion and Literature

S7 Ep. 25: Ivy Pochoda on Iowa Basketball Star Caitlin Clark and Women Athletes in Popular Culture

S7 Ep. 24: Lessons for Survival: Emily Raboteau on Mothering and Climate Change

S7 Ep. 23: Alabama’s Embryos: Briallen Hopper on the Personal and Political Consequences of the New IVF Court Decision

S7 Ep. 22: Hit ’Em Where It Hurts: Rachel Bitecofer on Democratic Strategies to Counter Republicans in the 2024 Election

S7 Ep. 21: The Road From Belhaven: Margot Livesey and What Literature Can Tell Us About The Future

S7 Ep. 20: ‘They Want What We Have’: Matt Gallagher on Supporting Ukrainians' Struggle for Liberation

S7 Ep. 19: American Fiction: Jacinda Townsend and James Bernard Short on the Joy, Pathos, and Complexity of Black Experience in the Oscar-Nominated Film

S7 Ep. 18: AWP 2024 Preview: Glenn North on Kansas City’s Jazz, Poetry, and Barbeque

S7 Ep. 17: ‘What is History?’: Ed Park on Korea’s Past, Real and Imagined

S7 Ep. 16: Former Biden Speechwriter Nate Rawlings on Claudine Gay, Neil Gorsuch, and the Politics of Plagiarism

S7 Ep. 15: Bookstores Against Bans: Lauren Groff on Opening The Lynx in Florida

S7 Ep. 14: Nikki Haley, Vivek Ramaswamy, and the Model Minority Myth: Prachi Gupta on the Rise of Indian American Presidential Candidates

S7 Ep. 13: Holiday Archives: Danez Smith on Poetry, Blackness, and Friendship

S7 Ep. 12: The Best Books Machine: Lydia Kiesling on Making the Lists—or Not

S7 Ep. 11: The Free and the Freed: Tracy K. Smith on Liberty

S7 Ep. 10: Chicago in Verse: Taylor Byas on Writing About Her Hometown

S7 Ep. 9: American Farce: Timothy Schaffert on the Literary Parallels for the House GOP Clusterf**k

S7 Ep. 8 Indigenous Imaginations: Native American Writers on Their Communities

S7 Ep. 7: American Precariat: Zeke Caligiuri on the Incarcerated Writers Who Edited An Anthology on Class

S7 Ep. 6: Jordan Peele’s Out There Screaming: Lesley Nneka Arimah on Why Black Horror Speaks to Us Now

S7 Ep. 5: Shir Alon and Joseph Farag On How Palestinian and Israeli Literature Has Handled the Ongoing Conflict

S7 Ep. 4: Writing Gentrification: Jonathan Lethem on Brooklyn Now and Then

S7 Ep. 3: Freeman’s: Conclusions: John Freeman and Omar El Akkad on a Literary Magazine’s Final Issue

S7 Ep. 2: The Return of #MeToo: Rebecca Makkai on New Allegations and the Progress of the Past Five Years

S7 Ep. 1: The AI Pirates: The Atlantic’s Alex Reisner on Books3, Copyright, and How Big Tech is Stealing Our Books

S6 Ep. 52: Librarians Against Book Bans: Brooklyn Public Library’s Leigh Hurwitz on Helping Young People Resist Censorship

S6 Ep. 51: Art Under Fire in Ukraine: Tetyana Ogarkova and Volodymyr Yermolenko on How Artists Are Responding as the Fighting Drags on

S6 Ep. 50: The African Coups: Leila Aboulela on Why They Happen, and the Violence in Sudan

S6 Ep. 49: Georgia’s Fani Willis Takes on Trump: Maurice Carlos Ruffin on the History of Powerful Black Women Challenging the Establishment

S6 Ep. 48: Is Kansas the Future of Press Censorship?: Sherman Smith on the Police Raid at a Small-Town Newspaper

S6 Ep. 47: Lit Hub’s American Vacation: Novelist Julie Schumacher on How We Travel Now

S6 Ep. 46: How Progressives Win: Journalist Samuel G. Freedman on What Hubert Humphrey’s Fight for Civil Rights Can Teach Us Today

S6 Ep. 45: The Kids Are Not All Right: Celeste Ng on the GOP’s War on Children

S6 Ep. 44: The Summer of Love or Hate: Dawnie Walton on American Concert Culture

S6 Ep. 43: X Marks the Spot: Robin Sloan on Social Media After Twitter

S6 Ep. 42: SCOTUS vs. MFA: Jaswinder Bolina on How the End of Affirmative Action Will Affect Writing Program Admissions

S6 Ep. 41: Owner of a Lonely Heart: Beth Nguyen on Memoir, Mothering, and Refugeedom

S6 Ep. 40: In Memory of Cormac McCarthy: Oscar Villalon on an Iconic Writer’s Life, Work and Legacy

S6 Ep. 39: The Kids Are at Work: Jean Kwok On Recent Efforts to Loosen Child Labor Laws and Her Years as a Child Worker in New York

S6 Ep. 38: Everybody Hates Joe: Jacinda Townsend on Why Democrats Are Skeptical of President Biden—and What He Must Do To Win Them Back

S6 Ep. 37: Lights, Camera, White House: Matt Quirk on the Enduring Power of the West Wing in Fiction, Nonfiction, and Film

S6 Ep. 36: Time, Trump, and Trauma: Matt Bell Talks Living on a Political Mobius Strip

S6 Ep. 35: Cancel Club: Jane Roper on Online Shame, Responsibility, and Fame

S6 Ep. 34: Rising from the Ashes: Felix Salmon on the Debt Ceiling Crisis and the Surprising Resilience of the COVID Economy

S6 Ep. 33: The Stakes of the Writers’ Strike: Benjamin Percy on the WGA Walkout, Streaming, and the Survival of Screenwriting