Interviews & Features
PEN America produces a breadth of interviews and features throughout the year.
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
The PEN Ten: An Interview with Mateo Askaripour
“The way I see it, if I allow someone to take away my freedom of expression even for a second, then I am agreeing to be enslaved, and there’s… More
The PEN Pod: On the Capitol Hill Insurrection and Conspiracy Treadmill with Suzanne Nossel
“This is the image—these horrifying images of looting and pillaging of the Capitol, just rank lawlessness, derisiveness, chaos. That’s what [Trump] sowed from the beginning.” More
The PEN Ten: An Interview with Robert Jones Jr.
“[Writing the book] showed me my limitations and forced me to grow. It showed me myself—with every flaw and every beauty—and encouraged me to confront all of it.” More
The PEN Ten: An Interview with Nathaniel Popkin
“What we take the question to mean—what is a human life worth?—can be challenged and changed. For all life and lives are connected.” More
The PEN Ten: An Interview with Deesha Philyaw
“Writers speak truth to power. Writers disrupt white supremacist narratives with truer, more just narratives. Tenderness, joy, humor, and imagination are among our weapons of resistance.” More
The PEN Pod: On Leaving Trump Behind and Free Speech Among the Young with Suzanne Nossel
“Whatever [Trump’s] latest antics are, they’re outrageous. His legal claims, his protestations, his tweets—that seems to suck up all the air from a new administration.” More
The PEN Ten: An Interview with Emily Hashimoto
“What I brought with me into my own life-turn as a novelist was the importance of representation. . . I’m really proud to be a part of the wave… More
The PEN Pod: The Pandemic’s Impact on Journalism with Sandy Mui
“Furloughs, layoffs, and newsrooms shuttering entirely directly affects the wellbeing of everyone who brings us the news and powers the newsrooms—and they’re the journalists themselves.” More