Gay Talese, who wrote for Esquire in the 1960s and currently contributes to The New Yorker, is the author of several books. His latest is A Writer's Life.

"I want to know how people did what they did. And I want to know how that compares with how I did what I did. That's my whole life. It's not really a life. It's a life of inquiry. It's a life of getting off your ass, knocking on a door, walking a few steps or a great distance to pursue a story. That's all it is: a life of boundless curiosity in which you indulge yourself and never miss an opportunity to talk to someone at length."

Thanks to TinyLetter and Warby Parker for sponsoring this week's episode.



Show notes:


[14:30] "The Crisis Manager: A profile of Joe Girardi" (The New Yorker • Sep 2012) [pdf]
[16:30] "Frank Sinatra Has a Cold" (Esquire • Apr 1966)
[22:30] "Frank Sinatra Has a Cold: Annotated" (with Elon Green • Nieman Storyboard • Oct 2013)
[16:30] "The Silent Season of a Hero" (Esquire • July 1966)
[24:00] "Mr. Bad News" (Esquire • Feb 1966)
[31:00] The Kingdom and the Power: Behind the Scenes at The New York Times, The Institution That Influences the World (1969)
[34:45] Honor Thy Father (1971)
[34:45] Thy Neighbor's Wife (1981)
[43:00] Talese's first story: "Times Square Anniversary" (The New York Times • Nov 1953)
[51:15] "Peter O'Toole on the Ould Sod" (Esquire • Aug 1963)
[104:15] Unto the Sons (1992)