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Healing, Connection & Creativity in the Age of AI - ETGAR KERET on Why We Need Stories in Times of Crisis - Highlights

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Sep 10, 2025

Guest

Etgar Keret

Etgar Keret, an acclaimed Israeli writer and filmmaker, discusses the vital role of storytelling in coping with the complexities of modern life. He emphasizes how sharing our narratives helps us navigate crises like the pandemic and societal upheaval. Keret reflects on his personal experiences, illustrating how empathy and connection can transform fear into resilience. He advocates for conscious storytelling as a means to preserve our humanity in an increasingly automated world, reminding us that our chosen stories shape our very existence.

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INSIGHT

Writing As Imagined Escape

Etgar Keret writes to imagine an escape rather than to solve life’s problems.
Imagining a way out reduces the feeling of being trapped and gives mental relief.

INSIGHT

Humanity Over Politics

Keret values humanity over political alignment when judging people.
He trusts those who see and listen to you, even if their ideas fail.

ANECDOTE

Blacklisted At Home And Abroad

Keret describes being blacklisted at home and losing tours because he is Israeli.
He experiences professional penalties tied to nationality and political backlash.

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“I feel that when you don't tell your story, it's as if you have a limited existence. We can always have some kind of choice, but I'm saying that the story we choose may be the most crucial choice that we make, because this story will affect all the other choices.”

Etgar Keret is one of the most inventive and celebrated short story writers of his generation, a voice that captures the absurdities and profound loneliness of modern life with a deceptive, almost casual wit. His work, translated into dozens of languages, uses fantastical premises—from alien visitations to parallel universes—to illuminate the most human of truths. His new collection, Autocorrect, explores a world grappling with technology, loss, and the aftershocks of a global pandemic and, more recently, war. His awards include the Cannes Film Festival’s Caméra d’Or (2007), the Charles Bronfman Prize (2016), and the prestigious Sapir Prize (2018). Over a hundred short films and several feature films have been based on his stories. Keret teaches creative writing at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. He now has a weekly newsletter on Substack called Alphabet Soup. He's also the new MFA Director of the Jewish Theological Seminary, where he's pioneering a new approach to storytelling. Joining me today from Tel Aviv is the great Israeli writer and filmmaker Etgar Keret.

“When I write my stories, I don't want to solve things in life. I just want to persuade myself that there is a way out. Maybe I am in a cell, maybe I'm trapped. Maybe I won't make it, but if I can imagine a plan for escape, then I'll be less trapped because at least in my mind, there is a way. I think that my parents are survivors. They always talked about this idea of humanity. My parents always said to me, when you look at people, don't look at their political views; that's not important. Look at the way that they look at you. If they see you, if they listen to you, if they can understand your intention, even if it's a failing one, they're your people. And if they can't, it doesn't matter.

I think that when I came with my mother and father, they thought there are people, there are human beings, and there are people who want to be human beings but are still struggling. And you go with humanity; you go with the person who can go against his ideology if his heart tells him something.”

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