Why people recommend it
The Years of Rice and Salt by Kim Stanley Robinson is an epic alternate history novel that imagines a world where the Black Death wiped out most of Europe, shifting the trajectory of global civilization. On Pod Save America, the hosts used the podcast platform to discuss separate literary works, including a book by a friend, while touching upon political reflections. On The Ezra Klein Show, Ezra Klein referenced a different prominent climate-focused novel by the same author, The Ministry for the Future, to explore society's impending confrontations with ecological crisis. Lovett similarly mentioned reading The Ministry for the Future on Pod Save America, expressing deep admiration for Kim Stanley Robinson's speculative writing style. Although these podcast discussions spanned various literary offerings by Robinson, they collectively highlighted the author's remarkable ability to construct expansive, thought-provoking futures that engage deeply with sociology, economics, and planetary survival.
Who recommended it
- Ezra Klein Discussed
Ezra Klein — 1 mention
“and the idea that kept coming to my head about this was from Kim Stanley Robinson's book the ministry for the future which takes place sort of in the near future as societies come to grips with climate change”
Mentioned on the show without a named speaker — 3
“Our friend Terry Slat has a new book out, and I was doing a book event with him. In his book, he talks about how the only time in his life he'd ever been disappointed with Barack Obama was during that speech.”
“Our friend Terry Slat has a new book out, and I was doing a book event with him. In his book, he talks about how the only time in his life he'd ever been disappointed with Barack Obama was during that speech.”
“and then I'm reading the ministry for the future by Kim Stanley Robinson I love Kim Stanley Robinson”
Also mentioned in the same episodes
Other mentions (1: passing, ad reads, own books)
“he has his new book an unusual foray into non-fiction for him which is about his lifelong relationship right and I mean that in the the more human sense of the term with the Sierra Nevada's and it's right there in the title The High Sierra a love story”