S5 Ep. 41: On Time and Meaning: Andrea Barrett on What the Past Tells Us about Today

fiction/non/fiction

Critically acclaimed fiction writer Andrea Barrett joins Fiction/Non/Fiction hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell to discuss her new collection of short stories, Natural History. Barrett explains her approach to writing about women studying science in the 19th century, reflects on the layers of intimacy in letters, and considers if online exchanges will make archives of correspondence obsolete. She also reads from Natural History and explains some of its connections to her previous work.

To hear the full episode, subscribe through iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app (include the forward slashes when searching). You can also listen by streaming from the player below. Check out video versions of our interviews on the Fiction/Non/Fiction Instagram account, the Fiction/Non/Fiction YouTube Channel, and our show website: https://www.fnfpodcast.net/.

This podcast is produced by Anne Kniggendorf.

Selected Readings:

Andrea Barrett

• Natural History
• Ship Fever
• Archangel
• Servants of the Map
• Voyage of the Narwal
• The Air We Breathe

Others:

• William Faulkner (via the Nobel Prize)
• Meet Rosalind Franklin, a sidelined figure in the history of DNA science | PBS NewsHour
• Daddy Long-Legs
• Harriet the Spy

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