Podcast Summary

Podcast: The New Yorker Radio Hour
Host: David Remnick (WNYC Studios and The New Yorker)
Episode: Karl Ove Knausgaard on Near-Death Experiences, Raising Kids, Puberty, Brain Surgery, and Turtles
Date: October 3, 2017
Guests: Karl Ove Knausgaard, Josh Rothman

Episode Overview

This episode of The New Yorker Radio Hour is split into two segments. The first is a brief conversation about the lack of accountability for financial crimes post-2008 crash (featuring staff writers Patrick Radden Keefe and Sheila Kolhatkar). The main feature—and focus of this summary—is a reflective walk through Central Park with acclaimed Norwegian writer Karl Ove Knausgaard and New Yorker writer Josh Rothman. Their discussion covers the themes of Knausgaard’s new work, Autumn, fatherhood, childhood, the experience of time, witnessing brain surgery, contemplation of life and death, and the symbolism of turtles.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Being Present in Nature and the Ambiguity of Urban Parks

[14:06–16:25]

• Knausgaard offers a painterly description of Central Park, observing the "muddy green" water, yellow leaves, rocks, and contrasting colors of people’s clothing. He notes the artificiality of the park and the sadness he feels at its manufactured nature.
  • Quote:
    “And I would, if I'd been a painter, I would love to paint those people there... You are also a bit confused, because if you just sit down, it is like you are in a forest... And if you look up, it is—you are in a city. And those two perspectives is hard to get together.” – Karl Ove Knausgaard [14:24-15:24]
• The juxtaposition of nature and urban life in Central Park is discussed as both beautiful and slightly artificial.
  • Quote:
    “But it also makes me feel sad a bit. Just because it is in a city, you know ... if I should write about it, I would have written about that.” – Knausgaard [15:47]

2. Parenthood, Childhood, and the Perception of Time

[16:35–20:08]

• Knausgaard compares his daughter’s experience to a blossoming cherry tree, noting the unique awareness that emerges during adolescence.
  • Quote:
    “She's 13. And she's... kind of blossoming somehow. And she's... being aware of how beautiful she is. And that's the quality of a cherry tree somehow.” – Knausgaard [16:35]
• He discusses the difference in experiencing time as a child versus as an adult. Adults may consider days with children as unremarkable, while to a child, every moment is significant and slow.
  • Quote:
    “To me it is like nothing. It is like just time is just passing... And then I remember the summer days when I was a child myself, how important everything were... how slowly those days evolved somehow.” – Knausgaard [17:58-18:40]
• As a parent, he tries not to underestimate the inner lives of his children.
  • Quote:
    “They have a enormous, huge and independent inner life, which somehow I think the task as a parent is to be aware of that.” – Knausgaard [18:52-19:01]

3. Writing, Solitude, and Family

[19:01–20:08]

• Knausgaard remarks that, contrary to the myth of the isolated writer, parenthood has increased his productivity; the chaos lowers his self-criticism and the pressure for a “masterpiece.”
  • Quote:
    “You have to lower your, you know, self criticism... the notion of a masterpiece is no longer relevant. It's just have to write today what you can do.” – Knausgaard [19:45–20:08]

4. Brain Surgery as Art and Metaphor

[20:25–22:01]

• Knausgaard shares his experience witnessing brain surgery in Albania, inspired by neurosurgeon Henry Marsh’s book Do No Harm.
  • Quote:
    “It was extremely beautiful, which I didn't expect... it was like landscapes. The rivers were red and there was a kind of a white... looked like a glacier … and the red river coming flushing over it. It was incredibly beautiful. And the white glacier was, of course, you know, the cancer.” – Knausgaard [21:13–21:44]

5. The Turtle: Contemplations on Time and Existence

[22:25–23:42]

• Encountering a turtle in the park prompts reflections on the mix of ancient and the young, the continuity of life, and the strangeness of sharing time with such old species.
  • Quote:
    “It's the age. They're so incredibly old species. But that he or she is very young that kind of amazes me... I just feel it's so strange to be contemporary to sharks and turtles and snakes and frogs.” – Knausgaard [22:57–23:28]
• Rothman reflects that this contrast between the eternal and the transient is a central theme in Knausgaard’s book.

6. Near-Death Experience and the Nature of Death

[24:02–25:33]

• Knausgaard recounts a time he fainted at a hot, crowded party and his fleeting, disorienting near-death feeling.
  • Quote:
    “I didn't know I was fainting, of course, I just—like that ... When I came back, there was a lot of people above me looking at me... and I couldn't understand where I was. I didn't know who I... who I was. I had no idea... I must be dead and this must be something from my childhood I'm remembering. ..." – Knausgaard [24:02–25:25]
  • He continues, reflecting:
    “...It was so intense because I was also surrounded by darkness. It was like they were looking at you and I couldn't relate to anything. ... I think that's the closest I've come to... I think that must be how it is to be dead. Not looking back, but just the blackness that comes...” – Knausgaard [24:22–25:25]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments (with Timestamps)

• “And those two perspectives is hard to get together.” — Knausgaard, on the forest/city duality of Central Park [15:24]
• “I do have this sadness when I think of [the Internet]. It keeps my children indoor, unfortunately.” — Knausgaard [16:25–16:33]
• “They have a enormous, huge and independent inner life, which somehow I think the task as a parent is to be aware of that.” — Knausgaard [18:52–19:01]
• “The notion of a masterpiece is no longer relevant. It's just have to write today what you can do.” — Knausgaard [19:57–20:08]
• “It was incredibly beautiful. And the white glacier was, of course, you know, the cancer.” — Knausgaard, recalling brain surgery [21:44]
• “I just feel it's so strange to be contemporary to sharks and turtles and snakes and frogs.” — Knausgaard [23:26–23:28]
• “I think that must be how it is to be dead. Not looking back, but just the blackness that comes. ...then it is nothing. It's just gone.” — Knausgaard [25:16–25:33]

Timestamps for Important Segments

• [14:06] — Start of walk in Central Park; reflections on nature vs. artifice
• [16:35] — Knausgaard on cherry blossoms, his daughter, and adolescence
• [17:58] — Insights into the inner world of children and the flow of parental time
• [19:45] — How being around children changes his writing process
• [20:34] — Knausgaard witnesses brain surgery and compares it to art
• [22:25] — Observing a turtle and reflections on ancient species
• [24:02] — Recounting a near-death experience and philosophical musings on death

Conclusion

This episode delivers an intimate, philosophical conversation with Karl Ove Knausgaard, who applies his signature observational style not just to memory but to parenthood, nature, mortality, and art. The walk through Central Park becomes a meditation on time, self, and existence, punctuated by poetic vignettes—whether contemplating a turtle, a cherry tree, or the feel of near-death. For listeners, it's both a glimpse into Knausgaard’s mind and an invitation to see the everyday world with greater curiosity and care.