Hi there, I'm Jason Gautz, and you're listening to Think Again a Big Think podcast.

Since 2008, Big Think has been bringing you big ideas in small, concentrated doses from some of the most creative thinkers alive.

On the Think Again podcast, we step outside of our comfort zone, surprising

myself and my guests with unexpected clips from our interview archives, ideas that we didn't

necessarily come here prepared to discuss. I'm very happy to be sitting here today with T.C. Boyle,

whose short stories and novels I've been enjoying for a couple decades now on a

recommendation from my father. T.C. is actually the one author that my father and I really have

in common. He's the author of 26 books of fiction, including The Tortilla Curtain, the

Harder They Come, and World's End, which won the Penn Faulkner Award and many, many more.

His latest is The Terranauts. It's about an ill-fated, very expensive, and highly publicized

experiment in which four men and for women try to live together for two years in

a biodome in the Arizona desert. Welcome to think again, T.C. Well, it's great to be

here, Jason, but first I have to compliment your father on his literary taste and praise him for turning you on.

Yes, this was many years ago. I think it was the tortilla curtain that he told me to read first, which was delightful and is, I'm sure still, although I haven't read it in many years.

Well, I haven't read it in many years either.

But I imagine it remains delightful. I imagine the

words are essentially the same as they were the last time. As with you, I have a vague memory.

It's pretty good and it's time. So I wanted to start, you know, let me talk, let's talk a little

bit about your work in general first, and then we'll get to Terranauts, which is great and fascinating. You know, I've always thought about your work in general first and then we'll get to terra knots which is great

and fascinating um you know i've always thought about your work that it compared to other literary

writers it's extremely diverse extremely colorful you know surreal sometimes satirical you could

call it cartoonish at moments and and sometimes more recently, I guess,

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