Emily St. John Mandel on Fact, Fiction, and the Familiar

Emily St. John Mandel on Fact, Fiction, and the Familiar

When Tyler requested an interview with novelist Emily St. John Mandel, he didn't expect that reality would have in some ways become an eerie mirror of her latest books. And Emily didn't expect that it'd be boosting sales: "Why would anybody in their right mind want to read Station Eleven during a pandemic?" she wondered to Tyler. Her reaction was pure bafflement until she found herself renting Contagion and thought about why. "There's just such a longing in times of uncertainty to see how it ends." Narratives, especially familiar ones, soothe us. It's fitting then that her latest book has been suggested as "the perfect novel for your survival bunker."

She joined Tyler to discuss The Glass Hotel, including why more white-collar criminals don't flee before arrest, the Post Secret postcard that haunts her most, the best places to hide from the Russian mob, the Canadian equivalent of the "Florida Man", whether trophy wives are happy, how to slow down time, why she disagrees with Kafka on reading, the safest place to be during a global pandemic, how to get away with faking your own death, how A Canticle for Leibowitz influenced her writing, the permeability of moral borders, what surprised her about experiencing a real pandemic, how her background in contemporary dance makes her a better writer, adapting The Glass Hotel for a miniseries, her contrarian take on Frozen II, and more.

Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links, or watch the full video.

Recorded March 27th, 2020

Other ways to connect

Tämä jakso on lisätty Podme-palveluun avoimen RSS-syötteen kautta eikä se ole Podmen omaa tuotantoa. Siksi jakso saattaa sisältää mainontaa.

Jaksot(288)

David Brooks on Youth, Morality, and Loneliness (Live at Mason)

David Brooks on Youth, Morality, and Loneliness (Live at Mason)

For two hours every morning, David Brooks crawls around his living room floor, organizing piles of research. Then, the piles become paragraphs, the paragraphs become columns or chapters, and the proce...

6 Kesä 20181h 22min

Nassim Nicholas Taleb on Self-Education and Doing the Math (Plus special guest Bryan Caplan)

Nassim Nicholas Taleb on Self-Education and Doing the Math (Plus special guest Bryan Caplan)

Though what Taleb was really after was a discussion with Bryan Caplan (which starts at 51:50), the philosopher, mathematician, and author most recently of *Skin in the Game* also generously agreed to ...

23 Touko 20181h 37min

Bryan Caplan on Learning across Disciplines (Live at Mason Econ)

Bryan Caplan on Learning across Disciplines (Live at Mason Econ)

"No single paper is that good", says Bryan Caplan. To really understand a topic, you need to read the entire literature in the field. And to do the kind of scholarship Bryan's work requires, you need ...

9 Touko 20181h 11min

Balaji Srinivasan on the Power and Promise of the Blockchain

Balaji Srinivasan on the Power and Promise of the Blockchain

When Balaji Srinivasan sat down for his conversation with Tyler he was the CEO of Earn.com. Today he is the CTO at Coinbase, which acquired his company in the intervening weeks (congrats Balaji!). But...

25 Huhti 201854min

Agnes Callard on the Theory of Everything

Agnes Callard on the Theory of Everything

Is a written dialogue the best way to learn from philosopher Agnes Callard? If so, what does that say about philosophy? Is Plato's Symposium about love or mere intoxication? If good people lived forev...

11 Huhti 201859min

Martina Navratilova on Shaping Herself (Live at Mason)

Martina Navratilova on Shaping Herself (Live at Mason)

Martina Navratilova is one of the greatest tennis players of all time. No one has won more matches than her thanks to an astonishing 87 percent win rate in a long and dominant career. In their convers...

28 Maalis 20181h 5min

Chris Blattman on Development, Conflict, and Doing What's Interesting

Chris Blattman on Development, Conflict, and Doing What's Interesting

Chris Blattman's made his career as a development economist by finding a place he likes and finding a reason to live there. Not a bad strategy considering the impact of the work he's done in Liberia, ...

14 Maalis 20181h

Robin Hanson on Signaling and Self-Deception (Live at Mason Econ)

Robin Hanson on Signaling and Self-Deception (Live at Mason Econ)

If intros aren't about introductions, then what's this here for? Is not including one a countersignal? Either way, you'll enjoy this conversation — and that says a lot about you. This episode was reco...

28 Helmi 20181h 5min

Suosittua kategoriassa Koulutus

rss-murhan-anatomia
psykopodiaa-podcast
voi-hyvin-meditaatiot-2
adhd-podi
rss-rahamania
rss-valo-minussa-2
rss-luonnollinen-synnytys-podcast
rss-narsisti
rahapuhetta
kesken
rss-liian-kuuma-peruna
rss-tietoinen-yhteys-podcast-2
rss-niinku-asia-on
filocast-filosofian-perusteet
ihminen-tavattavissa-tommy-hellsten-instituutti
rss-arkea-ja-aurinkoa-podcast-espanjasta
aamukahvilla
jari-sarasvuo-podcast
dear-ladies
rss-vapaudu-voimaasi