S4 Ep. 8: Our Lies: Jenny Offill and James Plath on Conspiracy Theories in History and Literature

fiction/non/fiction

In this week’s episode of Fiction/Non/Fiction, co-hosts Whitney Terrell and V.V. Ganeshananthan are joined by author Jenny Offill and literary and film critic James Plath. First Offill shares her reaction to the insurrection and attempted coup at the Capitol last week, and discusses her latest novel, Weather, out in paperback next week. Then, Plath explores the origins of conspiracy theories in history and literature and how right-wing extremists have weaponized them under Trump, and talks about editing Critical Insights: Conspiracies.

To hear the full episode, subscribe to the Fiction/Non/Fiction podcast through iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app (include the forward slashes when searching). You can also listen by streaming from the player below. And check out video excerpts from our interviews at LitHub’s Virtual Book Channel and Fiction/Non/Fiction’s YouTube Channel.

This podcast is produced by Andrea Tudhope.

Selected readings:

Jenny Offill

• Weather
• Last Things
• Dept. of Speculation

James Plath

• Critical Insights: Conspiracies
• “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Conspiracy”

Others:

• “The American Abyss,” by Timothy Snyder, The New York Times Magazine
• On Tyranny by Timothy Snyder
• Hannah Arendt
• The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
• Three Days of the Condor (film) by Sydney Pollack
• Utopia (TV series) by Gillian Flynn
• “Stop Making Sense, or How to Write in the Age of Trump” by Aleksandar Hemon, The Village Voice
• “Jenny Offill: 'I don't miss the world as much as, perhaps, I should'” by Alex Preston, The Guardian
• JFK (film) by Oliver Stone
• Libra by Don DeLillo
• Gravity’s Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon
• V (TV series)
• Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
• “The Psychology of Conspiracy Theories” by Brielle A. Marino, Psychology Today
• Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
• “The Hull Case” by Peter Ho Davies
• “Teen Names Family Who Harassed A Black Woman On Video,” Buzzfeed

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