George Saunders has long been hailed as one of the great short story writers of our time. Of his 1996 debut CivilWarLand in Bad Decline, Zadie Smith called Saunders “a prophecy and the voice of the American berserk.” Thirty years later, Saunders is still turning to the page in search of answers.

Watch this conversation on YouTube.

We sit today to discuss his latest novel, Vigil (6:25), why he felt drawn to this story circling the afterlife (9:55), and his own brush with death in the early 2000s (12:40). Then, Saunders reflects on a life-changing moment in Singapore (20:45), his instinct toward peacemaking (25:00), and what he makes of this fraught moment in America (27:00).

On the back-half, we talk about his 2016 reporting for The New Yorker (40:00), the formation of Saunders’ signature literary style (43:00), and the idea of inevitable occurrences (52:00). To close, Saunders revisits his 2020 short story “Love Letter” (1:11:00), looks toward the future (1:15:00), and shares a tribute to his wife, Paula (1:17:00).

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