This is the reason interview with Nicholasby.

Is satire possible anymore in a world that strips our imagination on a daily, or maybe even an hourly basis?

My guests today are two young and extremely funny novelists who are redefining satire in the 21st century,

and they're doing a pretty fantastic job of it.

Lee Stein is the author of Self-Care, which is set at a woman's wellness startup where

things go very wrong, and Julie's Toronto is the author of How to Win a Nobel Prize,

set in a secretive university funded by a reclusive billionaire and staffed exclusively by faculty

have been canceled elsewhere.

We talk about the widely pronounced post-election vibe shift, in which artists feel emboldened

once again to slay sacred cows with impunity.

And we explore whether markets for books, movies, plays, music, and other forms

of creative expression are really capable of supporting a new era of satire, parody, and

self-examination. This interview was recorded at the Reason Speakeasy, a live monthly event in

New York City. Check this show notes for more information.

And please, rate and review this podcast wherever you are finding it.

Here is the Reason interview with Lee Stein and Julius Toronto.

Guys, thanks for talking to Reason.

Great to be here.

Thank you.

So let's start with a kind of meta question.

What do each of you think? And we'll start with you, Lee, and then go to Julius. What's the

social function of the novel, particularly both historically but today. Why do we write now?

...