33:I[58016,["/_next/static/chunks/a10b49cc1be72925.js","/_next/static/chunks/b5ea50e123aa84a6.js","/_next/static/chunks/48003610e91209eb.js","/_next/static/chunks/de880ec5a0241b38.js","/_next/static/chunks/81ce7bf5f20dbd5a.js","/_next/static/chunks/49260bad4a6c1c3e.js","/_next/static/chunks/53f751967ccc7d59.js","/_next/static/chunks/15a1b1fbd3cf7d4a.js","/_next/static/chunks/9d18ca3107644c0d.js","/_next/static/chunks/88bed98e5cd5e639.js","/_next/static/chunks/2a1278cba709ea3b.js"],"ProcessEpisodeButton"] 37:I[56939,["/_next/static/chunks/a10b49cc1be72925.js","/_next/static/chunks/b5ea50e123aa84a6.js","/_next/static/chunks/48003610e91209eb.js","/_next/static/chunks/de880ec5a0241b38.js","/_next/static/chunks/81ce7bf5f20dbd5a.js","/_next/static/chunks/49260bad4a6c1c3e.js","/_next/static/chunks/53f751967ccc7d59.js","/_next/static/chunks/15a1b1fbd3cf7d4a.js","/_next/static/chunks/9d18ca3107644c0d.js","/_next/static/chunks/88bed98e5cd5e639.js","/_next/static/chunks/2a1278cba709ea3b.js"],"EpisodeTranscript"] 34:T4a3,

Last fall, George Saunders published Liberation Day, his first short-story collection in nine years. This week, we return to our conversation with the beloved author.

At the top, we discuss his process creating the book (3:40), the influence of Chekhov and Gogol (4:56), and a timely passage on democracy from “Love Letter” (8:35). Then, we unpack how he builds stories (13:30), a guiding philosophy from our first talk (14:58), and an excerpt from the titular story, “Liberation Day” (21:30).

On the back-half, we talk about the power of revision through “Elliott Spencer” (27:40), the seeds of the book’s moving final story, “My House” (36:34), the ‘failures in compassion’ it reveals (40:50), Saunders’ enduring relationship with his wife (45:08), and how he hopes to continue surprising himself as a writer, at 63 (48:40).

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A Human Conversation with Writer George Saunders

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