Discussing Kirn’s novel “Mission to America”, which takes people living in a boonies Montana “cult” out into real world 2005. Not necessarily something I’d want to read, but very interesting discussion of those “types” of “religions” (mormonism, scientology, christian science, jehovah witness, seventh day adventists, etc.), and a feeling of nostalgia for 19th-century ideas we, as a culture, have “grown out of.”
America seems to be about this ceaseless business of coming up with crackpot ways to comfort itself.

The book sounds really funny. Also Charles Portis and his book “Masters of Atlantis” which they discuss as an influence. Both sound like a riot. Altho the Portis book I read a while ago (“The Dog of the South”) was more mildly humorous than drop dead funny.

It is dangerous to listen to these podcasts, they just add more, more and more things to my “possibilities” list and that list, and the pile of unread books, are both already deep enough.

But, man, I could definitely fall asleep to the sound of Michael Silverblatt’s voice.