Fall Books and an Interview with Rachel Kushner

Dr. Christine Blasey Ford’s testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee—and Brett Kavanaugh’s irate response—was an excruciating bit of political theater, complete with righteous speeches from both sides of the aisle. (It also proved to be not much more than spectacle, as Kavanaugh was sworn in as an Associate Justice earlier this week.) Nevertheless, this event illustrated of how we are socialized to perform and understand gender, race, and class. In this week’s episode, new books columnist Lidjia Haas joins Web Editor Violet Lucca to discuss a handful of recent publications that deal with these issues: Lacy M. Johnson’s The Reckonings, Rebecca Traister’s Good and Mad, and Kristen M. Ghoddsee’s Why Women Have Better Sex Under Socialism. In the second segment, Rachel Kushner, the author of The Mars Room and Telex From Cuba joins Lucca to discuss an essay she wrote which was included in the October Readings section, pulled from her memories of the late Nineties New York art world. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit harpersmagazine.substack.com