We're delighted to present our conversation with the remarkable Benjamín Labatut for Episode 81, in which we primarily discuss his 2023 non-fiction novel The MANIAC, its primary figure John von Neumann, the madness and magic of fiction, and the limits and future of science and the human mind.

Run, don't walk to buy Benjamín's two English-language books:

When We Cease to Understand the World

The MANIAC

Extra special thanks to Cameron Waller of Penguin Random House Canada (@cameronsbookshelf) for (a) putting us onto Benjamín's work in a personal way, and (b) making this conversation with Benjamín possible.

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For episode 80, we welcome Jessica Anthony back to the show. She has long been one of our favorite writers and she returns this month with a new novel titled The Most (out July 30 from Little Brown).

Jessica Anthony is the author of three books of fiction, most recently the novel Enter the Aardvark, a finalist for the New England Book Award in Fiction. Her debut, The Convalescent, won the inaugural McSweeney’s Amanda Davis Highwire Fiction Award in 2004. A recipient of the Creative Capital Award in Literature, Anthony wrote The Most while guarding the Mária Valéria Bridge in Štúrovo, Slovakia. She lives in Portland, Maine.

Preorder the book on Bookshop: https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-most-jessica-anthony/20862156?ean=9780316576376

You can see some of the upcoming events for the novel here: https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/contributor/jessica-anthony/

Contact Dave & Matt:

Email - concavityshow@gmail.com

Twitter - https://twitter.com/ConcavityShow

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/concavityshow/

Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/concavityshow

Threadless Merch Store - https://concavityshow.threadless.com/

In this episode, Matt Bucher interviews Matt Lowell of the band Lo Moon.

They discuss the genesis of Lo Moon's new hit song, "Water." Lowell shares how he discovered David Foster Wallace's writing and he also breaks down his collaborative writing process. Later, he digs into some of his literary influences and the two Matts discuss Salinger, Fitzgerald, Knausgaard, and more.

You can order the new album on vinyl here: https://www.lomoonofficial.com/ and there you can learn more about Lo Moon’s 2024 tour schedule here: https://lomoon.komi.io/.

Check out their private fan community, Raincoat Chronicles.

You can keep up with Lo Moon on X: https://twitter.com/lomoon

Contact Dave & Matt:

Email - concavityshow@gmail.com

Twitter - https://twitter.com/ConcavityShow

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/concavityshow/

Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/concavityshow

Threadless Merch Store - https://concavityshow.threadless.com/