Hey, this is Justin Richmond, host of the Broken Record podcast. Every week, I or my co-host,

Leah Rose, sit down with the artists you love to get unparalleled creative insight. Our new series

is looking at one of the most influential jazz labels ever, Blue Note Records. You'll hear from

artists like legendary bassist Ron Carter, singer-songwriter Noah Jones, and guitarist Julian Lodge.

Listen on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts. From PRX, this is songwriter, the podcast that turns stories into songs.

My name is Ben Arthur.

Today, we have a brand new story written by Turkish journalist and author and my old friend,

Asli Perker, and a song written in response by musician, poet, and author, Tuna Kidmichie.

Like all episodes in season six, this was made possible by a grant from Templeton World Charity Foundation.

And as part of that, I'll be speaking with Dr. Etyr-Air-Hart

about empathy, forgiveness, and polarization.

We begin with a conversation I had with Asli

at her Istanbul apartment.

When I'm writing my books, once I moved to the next book, I forget about the previous one.

Sometimes the names or the places.

But I remember when I first wrote this, as I said here, it is very honest, I really cried because it was the first

time I actually thought about how it all happened, how I started writing. I did not remember

that till you kind of gave gain this assignment, you know?

Isn't it funny that what you're describing is also what you're describing in the story,

which is to say the way that you make sense of your life, the way that you perceive your life,

is only...

When I'm writing. It has always been is only when I'm writing it has always

...