Episode 80 — Erik Larson

Summary: Erik Larson is the guest. He's the author of IN THE GARDEN OF BEASTS: LOVE, TERROR, AND AN AMERICAN FAMILY IN HITLER'S BERLIN, which hit #1 on the NY Times bestseller list and remained on the list for 35 weeks. The book was published in Britain, France, Italy, Poland, Australia and a number of other countries and is now available in paperback in the U.S., from Broadway Books. The New York Times raves: "By far his best and most enthralling work of novelistic history….Powerful, poignant…a transportingly true story." And Newsweek calls it "A stunning work of history." Topics of conversation include: Christopher Isherwood, psychosis, unbelievable history, media, Obama, Adolf Hitler, William Dodd, Martha Dodd, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Berlin, Nazis, tragedy, delusions of grandeur, history, hidden narratives, The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, the dark country of no ideas, research, Hermann Göring, Joseph Goebbels, Heinrich Himmler, Richard Nixon, epiphanies, outsiders, willful ignorance, objectivity, The Rise and Fall of the Old South, disappointment, University of Chicago, Wall Street Journal, journalism, details, OCD, writing, organization, anal-retentiveness, digital cameras, Germany, chronology, police, crime reporting, murder books, story, travel, experiential research, The Devil in the White City, geography, atmosphere, Gestapo, terror, remembrance, denial, Reichstag, Tiergarten, archival photographs, archival video, YouTube, perspective, evil, insanity, appeasement, complexity, war, Great Britain, The Great Depression, assassination, thin-sliced history, antisemitism, State Department, Jews, The Holocaust, depression, detachment, bifurcation, Nazi pathology, Tom Hanks, George S. Messersmith, nuance, The Night of the Long Knives, fiction, nonfiction, mediocrity, temperament, human nature, stupidity, and learning from experience. Monologue topics: overeating, carbs, caffeine, heartrates, giving, inconveniencing, helping, mourning, practicing. Today's episode of Other People is brought to you by Audible.com. And here's a special offer: Right now, listeners of this program can get a FREE audiobook download and a free 30-day trial. To get your free audiobook, please visit www.audiblepodcast.com/otherpeople