The sections of my book that are the most personal and heartfelt and wrenching and difficult

were the ones that I was most concerned about when it came to how the book would be received.

And of course, without fail, these are the sections of the book that people have responded to most strongly.

From the Ted Audio Collective, this is Design Matters with Debbie Milman.

For 18 years, Debbie Milman has been talking with designers and other creative people about what they do,

how they got to be who they are, and what they're thinking about and working on.

On this episode, novelist Brad Listy talks about his approach to writing.

Isn't this what we're all hungry for?

Is for somebody to drop the mask and really say what's on their heart and on their mind.

Of Brad Listy's many gifts, one of them is a gift for titles.

He is the founding editor of an online literary magazine called The Nervous Breakdown.

His first novel, a Los Angeles Times bestseller, is called Attention, Deficit, Disorder,

with periods separating each word.

His podcast, where for over a decade he has been doing fascinating, in-depth interviews with a wide variety of writers,

is called Other People Podcast.

He joins me today to talk about his podcast and his books, especially his latest,

a work of auto fiction with another great title.

Be brief and tell them everything.

Brad Listy, welcome to Design Matters.

Thank you so much, I'm glad to be here.

Brad, I understand you're quite the grateful deadhead.

I grew up on that music and it was significant to me in my late adolescence and the Midwest.

...