Hey, I'm Dylan Marin and welcome back to Conversations with People Who Hate Me, the

show that takes conflict and turns it into conversation.

Now as you listen to this, my book is out in the world. You can go into a bookstore

and buy it. You can borrow it from your local library. And I am so, so excited that you

can finally read it. I've worked on this for so long. I have been spending years trying

to figure out how to best distill the things I've learned from making this show and weaving

it into a book that you can consume ideally in an afternoon. Or if you're a slow reader

like me, it's in pieces throughout a week. It is conveniently also called Conversations

with People Who Hate Me. And all I can say is that I hope you read it.

Now since this is the week that my book comes out, it feels only appropriate to speak

to someone who criticized my book. And actually has been critical of this whole project since

its inception. A mere is a friend of mine. We've known each other digitally for many years.

And a few months ago when I sent out a big email telling all of my friends about the book,

he responded. And he said, among other things, quote, I really wish you the best with your

book. I do hope it does well for you. Please forgive me if I buy it, read 30 pages, and

throw it in the fire. Now, of course, this statement will be contextualized and explained

in our conversation. But when I read that line that he was going to throw my book in the fire,

it hit me like it really hurt. But it didn't surprise me because as I said, he has been critical

of conversations with people who hate me since it began. After the show's first season,

he wrote me this long email where he called this project, quote, fascinating and well-made,

but and then in all caps, fucking infuriating. End quote. And then, later in the email, he asked,

what is the point of this? This email, and specifically his question, what is the point of this,

...