34. Nada Alic

34. Nada Alic

Hello everyone. Today’s guest is the brilliant Nada Alic. She has a new book out called Bad Thoughts (Vintage). It's her debut collection. Buy it wherever books are sold.  Selected Prose highly recommends Bad Thoughts. Nada is a refreshingly original writer. Her voice is unique, she's wise beyond her years, and she's hilarious. My favorite stories in here were The Intruder, Daddy's Girl, and Earth To Lydia. Some people have compared Nada Alic to Miranda July or Sally Rooney. I don’t really know what that means.  Nada Alic is Nada Alic. And she’s very good. This debut is quite an achievement. And I'm happy to have learned we can expect a novel from her in the near future... Enjoy!  As always, if you like this podcast, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts or support on Patreon.

Reading Series | I Was Promised A Hot Dog by Patrick Doerksen

Patrick Doerksen reads his short story, ‘I Was Promised A Hot Dog,’ for the Selected Prose Reading Series. Patrick holds an MFA from NYU. His stories have appeared in Mysterion, Aurealis, and Penguin Canada's Journey Prize Anthology. He lives in Brooklyn. 

33. Brandon Gauthier

Our next guest is professor Brandon Gauthier. Brandon completed his doctorate in Modern History at Fordham University in 2016. He is the Director of Global Education at The Derryfield School and an Adjunct Professor of History for Fordham University. His first book, BEFORE EVIL: Young Lenin, Hitler, Stalin, Mussolini, Mao, and Kim came out in April of 2022, from Tortoise Books. Here is a brief summary of this compelling examination of the lives of the 20th century's worst dictators:

"Historian Brandon K. Gauthier has created a fascinating work—epic yet intimate, well-researched but immensely  readable, clear-eyed and empathetic—looking at the lives of these six  dictators, with a focus on their youths. We watch Lenin’s older brother executed at the hands of the Tsar’s police—an event that helped  radicalize this overachieving high-schooler. We observe Stalin grappling  with the death of his young, beautiful wife. We see Hitler’s mother  mourning the loss of three young children—and determined that her first  son to survive infancy would find his place in the world.

The  purpose isn’t to excuse or simply explain these horrible men, but  rather to treat them with the empathy they themselves too often lacked.  We may prefer to hold such lives at arm’s length so as to demonize them  at will, but this book reminds us that these monstrous rulers were also  human beings—and perhaps more relatable than we’d like."

*Content Warning* - We discuss online radicalism, mass murder, and specifically the horrendous and evil mass shooting carried out by a fanatical white supremacist that occurred in Buffalo, New York, on May 14, 2022. 

If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a REVIEW on Apple Podcasts. It helps a lot. If you really liked this episode, please SUBSCRIBE to our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/selectedprose

32. Bud Smith

Bud Smith is today's guest. His latest novel is called TEENAGER and its from Vintage Books. Make sure to follow Bud on twitter. Make sure to read the book and spread the good word on the internet. What Else?  I've been reading a wonderful little book of poems called OMG THE DAY by Theo Thimo. Big Recommend! What Else?  If you enjoy the show, please leave a review on APPLE PODCASTS and consider supporting the podcast on PATREON. Goodbye. ***INTRO MUSIC BY SIGHPILOT***

Reading Series | The Good Morrow by Ryan Napier

Ryan Napier is the author of Four Stories about the Human Face (Bull City Press). He lives in Massachusetts. More at ryannapier.net and @ryanlnapier on Twitter.