Gary Shteyngart

Writer Gary Shteyngart embarks on the biggest cruise ship to find 'real' America but discovers isolation instead. He details the bizarre characters, terrible food, and the pressure to keep up appearances. The podcast delves into the luxury, hierarchy, and reflections at sea, the social challenges of fitting in, and how the cruise ship experience reflects American identity and societal aspects like politics and status obsession.

Gary Shteyngart joins Deborah Treisman to read and discuss “Omakase,” by Weike Wang, which was published in *The New Yorker* in 2018. Shteyngart is the author of five novels including, most recently, “Lake Success” and “Our Country Friends.”  Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Leading futurists Rita McGrath, Esther Dyson, and Gary Shteyngart discuss past predictions, the digital age, social media, science fiction, and methods for sensing the future. They explore predicting future trends, dystopian inspiration, human connections, and methods for contemplating the future. The podcast also touches on challenges in Korea's advanced economy, re-enchantment, permissionless organizations, potential disruption in advertising, and upcoming books and foresight.

Gary Shteyngart, acclaimed author of "Vera, or Faith" and more, shares insights on a precocious 10-year-old Korean-American girl navigating a dystopian America. He discusses the impact of political climates on childhood anxieties and family dynamics. The conversation touches on the influence of AI on storytelling and the complexities of identity in a multicultural society. Shteyngart reflects on the challenges of parenting and cultural preservation amidst societal pressures, offering a humorous yet poignant exploration of modern family life.

Here are two classic conversations from This Is TASTE featuring two literary titans. George Saunders is the author of many works, including the Booker Prize–winning Lincoln in the Bardo. Here we talk about pizza and Italian delis on the South Side of Chicago, as well as lunch in the Texas oil fields. We discuss success in the kitchen and how intuition crashes together with luck, and we speculate on the shape of food in the year 2300.Also on the show is Gary Shteyngart, a New York Times best-selling novelist and food writer who has written memorable books including The Russian Debutante’s Handbook, Super Sad True Love Story, and his most recent work, the rollicking pandemic satire Our Country Friends. In this episode, we talk about some of Gary’s world travels, both as a hired gun and for fun, as well as what he’s eating and drinking in his Upstate New York home. We also remember New York City restaurants from the 1990s and early 2000s, including fond memories of the long-lost Meatpacking District bistro Florent, which plays a role in Gary’s most recent novel.More from George Saunders & Gary Shteyngart:  Story Club with George Saunders [Substack] Eat, Memory: The Absolutely No-Anything Diet [New York Times Magazine] I Watched Russian Television for Five Days Straight [The Atlantic]