Late Night Lit: Seth Meyers & 2020 Literary Reflections
Late Night with Seth Meyers Podcast
NBC
4.5 • 3.3K Ratings
🗓️ 28 December 2020
⏱️ 29 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
To end 2020, Late Night Lit concluded that only one guest would be suitable to reflect on the year in books and how literature has nourished us during the pandemic. Luckily, Seth Meyers said yes. Late Night producer Sarah Jenks-Daly talks to Seth about the role of authors on Late Night. Plus, they pay tribute to one of Seth's favorite authors, the late John le Carré.
Then, she talks to Late Night researchers Matt Reimann and Kat Spillane, who help out with all things related to literature on the show. They discuss what they've caught up on in 2020.
Mentioned in this episode:
Yaa Gyasi (who appeared on Late Night for "Transcendent Kingdom" and "Homegoing")
"A Brief History of Seven Killings" by Marlon James
"The Goldfinch" by Donna Tartt
"Blacktop Wasteland" by S.A. Cosby
"Mirror & The Light" by Hilary Mantel
"Monogamy" by Sue Miller
"The Vanishing Half" by Brit Bennett
"Sea Wife" by Amity Gaige
"Writers & Lovers" by Lily King
"Missionaries" by Phil Klay
"The Night Manager" by John le Carré
"Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" by John le Carré
"Slough House" by Mick Herron
Ta-Nehisi Coates (who has appeared many times on Late Night)
"The Sympathizer" by Viet Thanh Nguyen
George Saunders (who appeared on Late Night for "Lincoln in the Bardo")
Helen Oyeyemi (who appeared on Late Night for "What Is Not")
"Democracy in America" by Alexis de Tocqueville
"The Labyrinth of Solitude" by Octavio Paz
"The Theory of Moral Sentiments" by Adam Smith
"Emma" by Jane Austen
"Sense and Sensibility" by Jane Austen
"Persuasion" by Jane Austen
"Harry Potter" series by J.K. Rowling
"Moby-Dick" by Herman Melville
"Pachinko" by Min Jin Lee
"Memorial" by Bryan Washington
"Motherhood" by Sheila Heti
“Slaughterhouse-Five” by Kurt Vonnegut
Kurt Vonnegut's letter to his daughter Nanette (referenced on Gaslit Nation)
"Fake Accounts” by Lauren Oyler
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hi everyone, I'm Sarah Janks daily and welcome to Late Night Lit. |
| 0:09.0 | When we were trying to come up with the most fitting guests to close out the year of our |
| 0:12.4 | Late Night Literature podcast, we had one name on our list and thankfully he said yes. |
| 0:17.6 | I spoke to Seth Meyers at our Late Night offices in 30 Rock where we are taping new shows |
| 0:22.2 | but where most of our staff is still working remotely. |
| 0:25.1 | Seth's dedication to spotlighting novelists on the show and his level of literature have |
| 0:29.3 | been apparent since Late Night premiered in February of 2014. |
| 0:33.2 | We spent a little time reminiscing about the landscape then, now, and some of his favorite |
| 0:38.1 | memories of authors whom he has interviewed. |
| 0:40.8 | We are also publishing this podcast on Monday, December 28, which happens to be Seth's birthday, |
| 0:46.3 | which I totally wasn't alerted to five minutes before recording this intro and was entirely |
| 0:50.6 | planned in advance. |
| 0:52.1 | Now here's my chat with Seth Meyers. |
| 0:59.1 | Seth Meyers, welcome to Late Night Lit. |
| 1:00.8 | Thanks for doing this. |
| 1:01.8 | I'm so happy to be on Late Night Lit. |
| 1:03.9 | Thanks for having me. |
| 1:05.2 | I think that's the first time I've talked to you and said your full name. |
| 1:08.4 | Yeah, I think that's probably true. |
| 1:10.8 | Almost no one says Meyers almost ever. |
| 1:14.4 | I was one of those people that never got called their last name. |
| 1:19.0 | Whereas everybody here calls you Janks. |
... |
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