Dan & Eric Read The New Yorker So You Don't Have To

In the first of a series of episodes, Eric explores JD Salinger's history in the magazine as he recounts his own experiences reading Salinger and tries to figure out the impact that New Yorker editors Gus Lobrano and William Maxwell had on the writer. Eric speaks with Ben Yagoda, author of ABOUT TOWN: THE NEW YORKER AND THE WORLD IT MADE about Salinger's history with the magazine. The actor Michael Shannon reads as Salinger.

This week: Dan and Eric discuss bad-ass journalist and executive editor of newyorker.com David Rohde's in-depth take on ultra-conservative protector of Trump, William Barr.  Dan and Eric briefly argue about whether or not the American experiment is about to fail. And, finally, the two writers discuss Louis Menand and his remarkable piece on the history of Affirmative Action. Enjoy. 

As Dan and Eric discuss Michael Shulman's wonderful piece about contemporary fandom, they get into the author's earlier work and how Dan & Eric Read the New Yorker is, in fact, an act of fandom.  The two hosts then get into Nathaniel Heller's piece on director James Gray and his newest film, Ad Astra.  Finally, Dan and Eric discuss Garth Greenwell's exciting new story in the magazine, "Harbor." 

This week, Dan and Eric have an extensive conversation about Jonathan Franzen's take on climate change and his history as a provocateur; Dan Piepenbring's vivid account of spending time with Prince before his death; and Louise Erdrich's beautiful, strange and far-reaching telling of a woman's life.  Lots of debate and discussion!

Dan and Eric talk about Evan Osnos's long take on the protests in Hong Kong; Nick Paumgarten's piece on vaccines and anti-vaxxers; Kate Walbert's moving short story, "To Do"; and Dan Chiasson on the history and future of reading.

This is an exciting episode because the New Yorker put out the first story by George Saunders in several years.  This gives Dan and Eric a lot to talk about: the history of the American short story and Saunders' contribution to it.  They also talk about David Remnick weaving together Toni Morrison's Nobel Prize acceptance speech with some thoughts on the language of our current president and a Jelani Cobb piece about Stacey Abrams and politics in Georgia.  

Dan and Eric discuss the nature of criticism this issue as well as where the New Yorker tends to situate itself in today's cultural climate.  They start out talking about Jane Meyer's detailed investigation into the allegations against Al Franken.  Dan and Eric move on to talk about Jill Lepore's incisive and expansive essay on Herman Melville, his life and legacy.  They end this episode with a discussion of Hilton Als' criticism of Hannah Gadsby's new performance, "Douglas."  So much to talk about this week as Dan and Eric engage about an extraordinary issue of the magazine. 

Dan and Eric talk about Dan's recent surgery, from which he's still recovering; Sarah Larson's Talk piece on Lynn Shelton, Marc Maron, and a current exhibit at the Met; Dana Goodyear's insightful piece about presidential candidate, Kamala Harris; an excellent story by Hanif Kureishi; and an online story by Alex Kotlowitz about the beauty of the Boundary Waters (between Minnesota and Canada) and how they are imperiled.  

Eric talks to fiction writer and New Yorker contributor Mary Gaitskill about getting started as a writer; publishing Bad Behavior; Philip Roth and Richard Yates; her perceptions of Eric when he studied with her at the Syracuse University MFA program; redemption in "Secretary" and "Romantic Weekend"; her parents' opinions of her work; writing as a spiritual practice; and so much more.

This was a great week at the New Yorker and on the pod.  Dan and Eric talk about: Amy Davidson Sorkin's excellent and unique piece about the Democratic debates; Dan Chiasson's insightful close reading of James Tate's most final collection of poetry; and a transcendent piece of fiction by playwright and novelist David Rabe.  A great episode, a celebration of literature.

Dan and Eric actually just met up in New York for a good friend's wedding, so they reminisce, briefly, about their mutual, now-married friend, and their debauchery over the long weekend.  The conversation moves onto Kadir Nelson's cover, "Wheel Life"; Robyn Wright's terrifying piece about conflict with Iran; Lauren Collins deeply reported piece about Emmanuel Macron and the political scene in France; and, finally, Hollywood fiction by Emma Cline.  

This week, Dan and Eric discuss recent experiences--Dan went to a Vermont conference for Jewish writers, Eric saw two concerts.  They discuss the shame a person in their 40s might feel when engaging in a purely recreational activity.  Then, onto the New Yorker.  D and E talk Sorkin Davidson on Biden and Trump; Sheelah Kolhatkar on policy dynamo Elizabeth Warren; and Peter Schjeldahl on American bard Walt Whitman.  Plus: the two hosts talk about the evolving editorial synchrony between the New Yorker magazine, its website and its podcasts.

Rebecca Curtis's short stories are often told by narrators who are unafraid to tell you exactly what they think--this is just one element of what's so great about her work.  Curtis has published five short stories in the New Yorker (plus a lot more elsewhere) and her work certainly breaks the mold of the "New Yorker" short story.  Her tales are bold, outrageous, and beautifully dark, almost gothic.  In this episode, Eric and Rebecca discuss Rebecca's long career publishing in the magazine and elsewhere; her hiatus from writing publishing short stories; the nature of 'frame' stories; belief in ghosts; what it's like working with different New Yorker editors; Rebecca's experience studying fiction and poetry at Syracuse University's MFA program; and so much more.  A long, candid conversation with one of the magazine's most distinct voices.     

It is the summer fiction issue, and this week Dan and Eric talk--lamely--about how exhausted they both are.  Apparently, parenting, teaching, writing and podcasting has caught up with them, and they spend a minute or two discussing the depths of their fatigue, like the two middle-aged Jewish men that they are.  They also discuss Amy Davidson Sorkin on European politics; Jennifer Egan's memories of 1980s adventures in China; an excerpt called "Conductions" from Ta Nehisi Coates's upcoming novel, about an abolitionist tasking for the underground railroad; and, to wrap things up, Dan and Eric discuss a 1975 issue of the New Yorker and a movie review written by Pauline Kael.  Enjoy, my friends, more next week. 

On this episode, Dan discusses how being a podcast host has led him to be overly confident about his knowledge of facts; Eric counters by reflecting on his over-enthusiasm and thoughtless reliance on broad adjectives.  They also discuss matters of greater substance: Margaret Talbot on US immigration policy; reporter William Finnegan and his thoughtful piece about presidential hopeful Beto O'Rourke; Pulitzer prize winner Emily Nussbaum on television in the #metoo era; and Rivka Galchen on the story behind the creation of Curious George.  A nice, long episode, with lots of good banter and discussion. 

Dan and Eric had a good time this episode.  They have a lengthy talk about Jeffrey Toobin's piece on Roe v. Wade and the abandonment of stare decisis; they chat about Mark Singer's profile of Deadwood showrunner David Milch; and they discuss Ben Lerner's novel excerpt.  To wrap things up, Dan talks about the New Yorker Radio Hour, and a conversation between David Remnick and Ta-Nehisi Coates; and Eric gives the rundown of Hilton Als' piece on a current production of Sam Shepard's "The Curse of the Starving Class."  A must-listen.  

Dan and Eric discuss Elizabeth Kolbert and her piece about the destruction of biodiversity and the change of the climate; essayist John Jeremiah Sullivan, and his profile of contemporary folk musician Rhiannon Giddens; and novelist Camille Bordas and the intricacies of her lovely short story, her third in the magazine.  Plus: D & E discuss the most recent episodes of the New Yorker Fiction podcast and the New Yorker Radio Hour.  Not to be missed!!!

In this exciting episode, Dan and Eric talk about: their yin and yang; Margaret Talbot on the spinelessness of Trump appointees and Jeffrey Toobin on the effectiveness of Trump's Roy Cohn-inspired approach to governing; Vinson Cunningham and his journey in getting to know comedian and actor Tracy Morgan; Lauren Goff's hard-edged new story, "Brawler"; an old Roger Angell piece about New Yorker fiction; and John Cassidy's series of insightful pieces about Donald Trump and the New York Times' revelations that he lost nearly a billion dollars in ten years.  Take a listen, you will enjoy!

This week!  Dan and Eric dicuss Jeffrey Toobin's piece about Michael Cohen, his history, his illegal deeds and how he turned on Trump; Rivka Galchen on the past, present and future of lunar travel and moon mythology; Adam Kirsch on Jewish philosopher Martin Buber and his beliefs about intimacy with God; Benjamin Wallace-Wells critique of David Brooks' most recent book; and Eric's experience seeing Hilton Als speak with poets Brenda Shaughnessy and Michael Dickman.  Plus: the Goose shows up, on the pod and on the potty.

Dan and Eric talk about Dan's recent hosting of Yiyun Li at Bryn Mawr College, and how she knows when a short story is complete; Amy Davidson Sorkin on the Mueller report and the profanity of Trump and his cronies; Rebecca Mead's piece about Airbnb in Barcelona; Greg Jackson's current story, "Poetry," and his earlier story, "Wagner in the Desert"; Nicholas Lemann on a new biography of John Hersey; Amanda Petrusich on a Jewish jazz trumpeter who performed for the Nazis, and spent the rest of his life in gratitude to jazz for saving him, in many ways; and Dan talks about recent reading of short story writer, William Trevor.  Plus, as always, so much more.

This week, Dan and Eric have a wide-ranging conversation.  They discuss their respective Passover weekends, Dan's spend in DC, Eric's on Long Island; David Remnick's piece on the osmotic relationship between Donald Trump and Bibi Netanyahu; Ben Taub's remarkable piece on a relationship formed in Guantanamo Bay (plus a lot more.)  The two also revisit last week's conversation about Isaac Chotiner's New Yorker Interview with Brett Easton Ellis; discuss Catherine Lacey's Gogolian new short story and the New Yorker's history of eschewing 'writer-consciousness'; and Eric recaps D.T. Max's profile of playwright Lucas Hnath.  That's a lot for one episode!

Dan and Eric talk about how tired they tend to get every April; Toobin's reporting on William Barr (is he just doing Trump's bidding?  All signs point to yes.); Jonathan Dee's excellent review of a Nelson Algren biography; Pat Barker and her harrowing yet witty short story; the Isaac Chotiner/Bret Easton Ellis interview that went viral; and Hilton Als' very critical review of Sam Gold's production of King Lear.

This week, Dan and Eric talk about Steve Coll's assessment of American news and reporting; Rachel Aviv's wonderful piece on the difficulties of getting off anti-depressants; Te-Ping Chen's short story about a young Chinese gamer's account of  watching his twin sister become a political dissident; and Tyler Foggat's talk piece about the literary merits of the Mueller report. Plus, in light of the recent tragedy in New Zealand, Dan thinks about New Yorker fiction writers who depicted real life tragedies in short stories (e.g. Eudora Welty and Martin Amis.)

This week on the pod, Dan and Eric discuss John Cassidy's piece on William Barr's letter; how they're both feeling about the release of the Mueller report; Elizabeth Kolbert's piece about the sinking bayou; James Wood's piece on Amy Hempel's newest collection; and Emily Nussbaum's second piece on "Billions."

Dan and Eric talk about: their summit at a Starbuck's in East Brunswick, New Jersey, the halfway point between Brooklyn and Philadelphia; Zach Helfand's piece on Bubba the Love Sponge and his vile radio antics; Ed Caesar's long, winding and jaw-dropping story about Arron Banks, the 'bad boy' of Brexit; Lore Segal's spectacular short story, beautiful writing, and long history with the magazine, as well as her new collection of short stories; Hilton Als' return to the mag and his discussion of the current Broadway production of "Kiss Me Kate"; and the work and life of W.S. Merwin, whose death inspired Dan to revisit his extraordinary poetry.  

Dan and Eric talk about the weight of the podcasted word versus the written word; Adam Gopnik's piece on whether or not Dems should pursue impeachment (as well as an accompanying web piece on the same topic by Amy Davidson Sorkin); Tad Friend on Bill Hader and his show "Barry"; Sally Rooney's short story; Masha Gessen on Hampshire College; and Vinson Cunningham on Jeremy O. Harris.  

Dan and Eric discuss their 15-year friendship; Evan Osnos's piece on North Korea, in which he compares Michael Cohen to North Korean defector, Tae Young Ho; Jane Mayer's breaking news story about Fox News and the Trump white house; Yiyun Li's use of the first person in her new short story; David Remnick's profile of Buddy Guy (in which the editor in chief includes a bit of autobiography); and former Harper's editor James Marcus about his father's death.