On this week's episode, I had a wide-ranging, bracing conversation with Stephen Marche on Some Things Considered—a writer I've admired since his Esquire days, and one whose work feels more urgent by the year.

We focused on two recent books that feel both timely and enduring: The Next Civil War and On Writing and Failure.

A few key threads from our conversation:

• The Next Civil War now reads less like prophecy and more like reportage. What once felt foreboding increasingly feels like documentation.

• What's changed in America isn't belief so much as amplification—fear and grievance supercharged by media, money, and political incentives.

• Narrative matters more than facts. The stories a society accepts eventually become its reality.

• Incoherence is not a weakness of extremist movements—it's often part of the appeal. Hidden knowledge and insider logic create devotion.

• Trump wasn't an aberration so much as an apotheosis of forces long ignored.

• Liberals and progressives continue to underestimate the power of story—and often lose not on policy, but on narrative.

• On Writing and Failure is essential reading for writers: unsentimental, clarifying, and strangely encouraging.

• All writers fail. Most writers struggle. The only variable that matters is perseverance.

• "No whining" isn't cruelty—it's honesty.

• We're all writing in the aftermath of an industry that no longer exists, and pretending otherwise only leads to confusion and resentment.

• Essays expire quickly; great stories and poems lodge themselves somewhere deeper and stay.

Stephen doesn't offer comfort. He offers clarity. Right now, that feels like a necessary gift.

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Award-winning author Sean Murphy in conversation with creative thinkers, spanning the literary, music, art, politics, and tech industries. As a cultural critic, professor, founder of a literary non-profit, Sean is always looking to explore and celebrate the ways Story is integral to how we define ourselves, as artists and human beings. This Substack newsletter and weekly podcast peels back the layers of how creativity works, why it matters, how our most brilliant minds achieve mastery. Join us to explore how our most successful and inspired storytellers engage by discussing craft, routines, brand, and mostly through authentic and honest expression.

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