In this week’s episode of Fiction/Non/Fiction, co-hosts Whitney Terrell and V.V. Ganeshananthan talk to acclaimed novelist Jess Walter and award-winning essayist Jerald Walker. First, Walter unravels the literary elements of the Trump administration and discusses how his newest book, The Cold Millions, a historical novel touching on unions and feminism at the turn of the century, has many parallels to today’s politics. Then, Walker talks about centering Black courage vs. white cruelty, both in literature and this election, and how he works to find common ground in his writing, including his newest collection of essays, How to Make a Slave, which is a finalist for the National Book Award.

To hear the full episode, subscribe to the Fiction/Non/Fiction podcast through iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app (include the forward slashes when searching). You can also listen by streaming from the player below. And check out video excerpts from our interviews at LitHub’s Virtual Book Channel and Fiction/Non/Fiction’s YouTube Channel.

This podcast is produced by Andrea Tudhope.

Selected readings:

Jess Walter

Jerald Walker

Others:

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S4 Ep. 4: Life After Trump: Jess Walter and Jerald Walker on the Aftermath of Election 2020