The PEN Pod: On the Release of Loujain Al-Hathloul and Conscientiousness with Language with Suzanne Nossel
“We’re very aware that [Loujain Al-Hathloul is] not entirely free. . . even though she’s physically free, it’s not clear that her voice will really be free.” More
The PEN Pod: Writing as Medicine with Sandra Cisneros and Jane Marchant
“We need to remind other writers that they have a purpose. . . if I’m not there [as a judge], or if someone like me isn’t there, then possibly… More
The PEN Pod: Reckoning with Aftershocks with Nadia Owusu
“It was really important to me to write about. . . my struggles with depression and anxiety because there is a harmful, dominant narrative that holds that mental illness… More
The PEN Pod: On Myanmar, Russia, and Impeachment with Suzanne Nossel
“This question of what the story is—that is told in the halls of the Capitol, that is reported in our media. . . could be very consequential not just… More
The PEN Pod: Uncovering Underrepresented Realities with Lucas Rocha and Vitor Martins
“What I hope readers can get from this book is this message: It’s okay if you’re not there yet. It’s okay to ask for help. It’s okay to have… More
The PEN Pod: Hawley ‘Silenced,’ Facebook’s Oversight Board, and the State of U.S. Funded Media with Suzanne Nossel
“It comes down to the idea that there are benefits of free speech that are well understood. . . They’re the meat of many Supreme Court decisions upholding the… More
The PEN Pod: Challenging and Critiquing White Feminism with Koa Beck
“A broader initiative that needs to be taken. . . is teaching marginalized genders. . . We have cis women, trans women, nonbinary people, trans men, gender-variant people, two-spirit,… More
The PEN Pod: Reckoning and Reconciliation after the Trump Era with Suzanne Nossel
“What we’re confronting on, for example, issues of race is the lingering pain and trauma that persists when there isn’t a full reckoning.” More
The PEN Pod: Exploring the Impact of the Capitol Hill Insurrection on Free Speech with Suzanne Nossel
“We have seen that. . . the sense of grievance that certain voices are being shut down, excluded, and drowned out, is a potent message that the right uses… More
The PEN Pod: Learning from Russian Short Fiction with George Saunders
“What happens in a short story is that somebody concentrates for a long period of time to make their story as truthful and empathetic as possible, and then they… More