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Jonathan Franzen on Ambition, Plot, Childhood, Birdwatching, and Life-Changing Advice

Jonathan Franzen on Ambition, Plot, Childhood, Birdwatching, and Life-Changing Advice

FromOtherppl with Brad Listi


Jonathan Franzen on Ambition, Plot, Childhood, Birdwatching, and Life-Changing Advice

FromOtherppl with Brad Listi

ratings:
Length:
25 minutes
Released:
May 26, 2023
Format:
Podcast episode

Description

In today's flashback, an outtake from Episode 426, my conversation with Jonathan Franzen from August 2016.
He is the author of six novels, most recently Crossroads. He has also published five works of nonfiction, including The Discomfort Zone, Farther Away, and The End of the End of the Earth.
Over the course of his career, Franzen has received the National Book Award, the James Tait Black Memorial Award, the Heartland Prize, Die Welt Literature Prize, the Budapest Grand Prize, and the first Carlos Fuentes Medal awarded at the Guadalajara International Book Fair. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the German Akademie der Künste, and the French Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.
I spoke with Jonathan Franzen as the paperback edition of his bestselling novel Purity was being published.
Air date: August 10, 2016.
***
Otherppl with Brad Listi is a weekly literary podcast featuring in-depth interviews with today's leading writers.
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Released:
May 26, 2023
Format:
Podcast episode

Titles in the series (100)

Otherppl with Brad Listi is a weekly literary podcast featuring in-depth conversations with today's leading writers.    Books, literature, writing, authors, screenwriters, art, life, conversation.    PRAISE FOR THE OTHERPPL PODCAST:   “…[an] excellent literary podcast." -The Paris Review    “Fabulously smart.” -The Rumpus   “…fun, quirky, in-depth…” -NPR   “The perfect way to get the story behind your stories.” -Buzzfeed   “…the preplanned responses of NPR personalities sound somewhat counterfeit when stacked against the largely, if not completely, unscripted monologues that open rawer podcasts, such as Marc Maron’s ‘WTF’ and Brad Listi’s literary ‘Otherppl’ podcast. Mr. Listi, for instance, frequently allows for lengthy pauses in between sentences that convey, without stage directions, the process of someone thinking aloud.” -New York Times   “Good from the word ‘go.’…funny, pointed, thought-provoking. If there’s any justice in the world, this will become huge.” -McSweeney's    “Always engaging and often revelatory…one more cog in a burgeoning literary media empire.” -Filmmaker Magazine   “Listi’s interviews are somehow both more relaxed and more personal than the typical author conversation.” -The Millions   “In a world full of distractions — where almost everything I encounter is practically begging me not to write — Brad Listi’s podcast has made me hit the pause button on my iTunes, blow off social obligations, and sit my ass down in a chair and write. The show is funny, insightful, entertaining, affirming, and, more than anything — inspiring. It’s easily one of the best podcasts on the web.” -Electric Literature   “What’s awesome here is the personal questions, the open quality of the interviews…Listi is a damn good interviewer with an ability to discuss just about anything. His discussions of religion in particular make for an awesomely intimate environment that many other interview podcasts just don’t have.” -Book Riot   “The writers and book-relevant folks [Listi has] chosen to feature range from the up-and-coming to well-established. Indie presses and their authors are abundant, so it’s a great spot to hear about off-the-radar talent. I feel like I’ve gone into some of the episodes barely knowing a name, and I come out with a better understanding of the creative life and, usually, a new book on my to-read list.” -Bustle   ***   otherppl.com    @otherppl   Instagram   Support the show on Patreon   Proud Bookshop affiliate. Buy books here!