This week, we revisit a soulful conversation around climate change and the restorative power of nature with author Richard Powers.

We begin by defining the thematic through-line between The Overstory and Bewilderment (5:06), the eco trauma articulated in each text (9:10), how we may redefine hope today (16:08), and what the pandemic taught us about the climate crisis (26:18). Powers also details the ecological shortcomings of capitalism (29:00) and our myopic interpretation (and fear of) death (30:56).

On the back-half, we unpack why he writes (33:48), the need for “productive solitude” (40:40), and the singular way he writes analytical and emotional characters (44:42). To close– a fitting scene from one of Powers’ earlier works, Plowing the Dark (50:30), in which an older man enters an used bookstore, unable to find the book intended. And in the absence of that book, Richard Powers will continue to do so (52:50).

Thoughts or future guest ideas? Email us at sf@talkeasypod.com.

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Writer Jia Tolentino (The New Yorker) became a literary sensation in 2019 upon the release of her best-selling essay collection, Trick Mirror: Reflections on Self-Delusion. She joins us this week to ring in 2025.

We start by discussing the erosion of privacy online (10:18), he potentially forthcoming TikTok ban (12:20), and how she circumvented self-surveillance technology in her Hidden Pregnancy Experiment for The New Yorker (14:20). Then, we unpack how data is monetized online (18:00), as depicted in an unsettling scene from Succession (20:50), the harmful effects of screen time on children (25:00), and her writerly upbringing in Houston (30:54).

On the back-half, Jia recounts a formative summer in Venice (40:30), her subsequent decade working at The Hairpin and Jezebel (49:00), the trad wife phenomenon (53:40), how she swings between pessimism and optimism (1:10:40), and why writing still retains the power to liberate (1:15:20).

Thoughts or future guest ideas? Email us at sf@talkeasypod.com.

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To close out the holidays, our conversation with actor Harris Dickinson.

We discuss his latest role in Halina Reijn’s Babygirl (6:50), Nicole Kidman’s “disarming and generous” quality on set (9:27), and the exploration of masculinity in Harris’ roles— from Beach Rats (12:48) to Triangle of Sadness (13:03) to Babygirl (13:24). Then, we dive into the online discourse about his new performance (15:52), his upbringing in Walthamstow, England (17:10), and the early short films he made with his high school mates (20:20).

On the back-half, Harris unpacks his formative university years (24:45), his post-grad search for purpose, first in the military (30:20) then working at a hotel in east London (33:26), and the inspiration behind his forthcoming directorial debut (34:25). To close, we talk about the parallels between filming fight scenes (43:50) and intimate scenes (44:48) and the Charles Bukowski poem that keeps him creating (52:25).

Thoughts or future guest ideas? Email us at sf@talkeasypod.com.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.