Vox’s Alex Abad-Santos sits down with Patrick Somerville, the creator and showrunner of HBO's critically-acclaimed series Station Eleven, adapted from the novel by Emily St. John Mandel. They talk about the weirdness of making a show about a pandemic during a pandemic, what it was like to craft the show's intricate web of storylines, and why Patrick's body of work — which also includes Maniac, Made for Love, and co-writing The Leftovers — tends toward the dystopian. There's also a reflective discussion about . . . hugs.

Host: Alex Abad-Santos (@alex_abads), Senior Culture Reporter, Vox

Guest: Patrick Somerville (@patrickerville), creator and showrunner, Station Eleven

References: 

• Station Eleven, created for television by Patrick Somerville (HBO Max; 2021)
• Station Eleven, novel by Emily St. John Mandel (Knopf; 2014)
• "A syllabus for a new world" by Alissa Wilkinson (Vox; Jan. 13)
• "In Station Eleven, the end of the world is a vibrant, lush green" by Emily St. James (Vox; Jan. 10)

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This episode was made by: 

• Producer: Erikk Geannikis
• Editor: Amy Drozdowska
• Engineer: Patrick Boyd
• Deputy Editorial Director, Vox Talk: Amber Hall

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