Hey, this is Ari Melber. Welcome to a special edition of The Beat with

Ari Melber podcast featuring renowned novelist Jonathan Franzen. We just sat down

together at the 2024 Rancho Mirage Festival, where they hosted many interesting conversations

and panels and this is a one-on-one conversation where we talk about writing, art, psychology,

family, his novels, his creative process, a little bit of politics, and it's really a

wide-ranging discussion.

I've read every Jonathan Franzen novel, I don't know if that qualifies me to do this, but I love doing it and what you're about to hear is my introduction of him before a live audience there and then our conversation which runs about 45 minutes.

Thanks for listening to the beat with Ari Melber here on MS NBC

and here is a live recording there of that event.

Good morning, how are you guys doing? Jonathan is here. I just wanted to say a couple

words before I bring him out. I'm so thrilled to be with you. I'm really excited.

And this particular session, all the sessions are interesting because obviously they do such a great

job but this one's quite special and so I wanted to say a few words why before Mr Franzen comes out.

You probably know he's a novelist you probably read some of his work, but I just wanted to mention who we're about to hear from,

for context, as we say in journalism.

He's the author of six novels, four collections in non-fiction, the

winner of the National Book Award, the John Gardner

Prize, the Harlan Prize.

In a time when we hear that maybe letters and maybe books

themselves are in decline, he has the kind of books that people still

find a way to rush out and read.

His books have sold over a million copies,

...