Love, Loss and Mourning Paul Auster, with Siri Hustvedt

Intelligence Squared

News, Society & Culture, Arts, News Commentary

4.2 • 1.2K Ratings

🗓️ 16 May 2026

⏱️ 37 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

What does it mean to mourn a shared life? In this episode, essayist and novelist Siri Hustvedt speaks to book critic Mythili Rao about Ghost Stories. Her most personal work yet, it is a searing and intimate meditation on grief, memory and enduring love, written in the aftermath of the death of her husband, writer, poet and filmmaker Paul Auster. Weaving together journal entries, letters, emails and fragments of Auster’s final writing, Hustvedt reflects on four decades of love, intellectual companionship and family life in New York. Together they discuss grief not as a single event but as an altered experience of time, memory and presence. Hustvedt discusses the role of writing in mourning, the value of nurturing an inner life in an age of constant distraction, and the intersection of personal grief and political dread in contemporary America. Siri Hustvedt is a novelist, essayist and poet. Her books include What I Loved, The Blazing World and Memories of the Future. Her latest book is Ghost Stories. Mythili Rao is a journalist, book critic and podcaster. --- If you'd like to become a Member and get access to all our full conversations, plus all of our Members-only content, just visit intelligencesquared.com/membership to find out more. For £4.99 per month you'll also receive: - Full-length and ad-free Intelligence Squared episodes, wherever you get your podcasts - Bonus Intelligence Squared podcasts, curated feeds and members exclusive series - 15% discount on livestreams and in-person tickets for all Intelligence Squared events ... Or Subscribe on Apple for £4.99: - Full-length and ad-free Intelligence Squared podcasts - Bonus Intelligence Squared podcasts, curated feeds and members exclusive series … Already a subscriber? Thank you for supporting our mission to foster honest debate and compelling conversations! Visit intelligencesquared.com to explore all your benefits including ad-free podcasts, exclusive bonus content and early access. … Subscribe to our newsletter here to hear about our latest events, discounts and much more. https://www.intelligencesquared.com/newsletter-signup/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:25.5	For full details, visit gov.uk.ukh, forward slash clean energy. Welcome to Intelligence Squared
0:31.8	where great minds meet. I'm producer Mia Serenti. On today's episode, the novelist, essayist and poets, Siri
0:38.7	Hudson, sits down with Mitha Lee Rao to discuss her new book, Ghost Stories. It's a deeply
0:44.6	personal reflection and memoir on mourning, memory, and her life with the late writer,
0:49.8	Paul Oster. Let's join our host, Mitha Leeo, now with more. Welcome to Intelligence Squared. I'm
0:57.0	Mythalie Rao. Today I'm honored to be speaking to Siri about her new book, Ghost Stories.
1:02.5	Welcome to Intelligence Squared. Thank you so much for having me.
1:06.1	Siri, I first just want to offer my condolences for your loss. I first read your husband's writing more than 20
1:12.0	years ago when I first moved to New York, and I will always associate his work with New York
1:17.5	in the wonderful formative years I spent there. Ghost Stories is a remarkable book. It's about
1:23.0	grief, but it also feels like a very tender gift to the reader. You bring the reader into your home, into your marriage,
1:29.3	you introduce them to Paul the person, Paul the father, Paul, the partner,
1:34.3	someone you shared 43 years with, someone who deeply adored you
1:38.3	and always championed your work.
1:41.3	Paul, you write, wanted me and my work to be seen unobstured by his shadow.
1:46.8	And I think what's special about this book is that it shares not just how you saw him, but how
	...

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