Teddy Wayne joins Some Things Considered to discuss his new novel, The Au Pair, a psychological thriller about a once-celebrated novelist whose obsession with his family's au pair leads to scandal, public scrutiny, and personal collapse. But beneath the book's propulsive plot lies a deeper exploration of ambition, desire, insecurity, and the precarious state of literary culture.

Teddy discusses how the novel began with an idea inspired by Anatomy of a Fall and evolved from a short story originally conceived as potential film IP into a full-fledged novel. The conversation explores the challenges of writing complex characters in an era of heightened sensitivity around sex, power, and gender, as well as the difficulty of creating a character like Astrid who can never be reduced to a simple victim-or-villain narrative. Teddy reflects on the realities facing contemporary novelists, the shrinking market for literary fiction, and the increasingly difficult economics of building a sustainable writing career.

Throughout the conversation, he offers a candid look at the changing landscape of publishing, teaching, and storytelling—and what it means to pursue a creative life when the traditional paths to success are becoming harder to find.

Some key topics of discussion include:

• The influence of Anatomy of a Fall

• Writing sex from a male perspective

• Literary fame and irrelevance

• The shrinking market for literary fiction

• The collapse of traditional teaching opportunities

• Adapting novels for film and television

• Status, masculinity, and creative ambition

• The blurry line between victim and villain

• Why ambiguity remains essential to fiction

Teddy Wayne is the author of the novels The Au Pair, The Winner, The Great Man Theory, Apartment, Loner, The Love Song of Jonny Valentine, and Kapitoil. He is the winner of a Whiting Writers' Award and an NEA Creative Writing Fellowship as well as a finalist for the Young Lions Fiction Award, PEN/Bingham Prize, and Dayton Literary Peace Prize. A former columnist for the New York Times and McSweeney's and a frequent contributor to The New Yorker, he has taught at Columbia University and Washington University in St. Louis. He has developed films and series from his novels with Columbia Pictures, HBO, MGM Television, and others. He lives in Brooklyn with his wife, the writer Kate Greathead, and their children.

X (formerly Twitter): @TeddyWayne1999
Website: teddywayne.com

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.

Website: seanmurphy.net
Substack: seanmurphy.live
X: @bullmurph
Instagram: @bullmurph
Facebook: facebook.com/AuthorSeanMurphy
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/sean-murphy-4986b41

On this episode of Some Things Considered, I spoke with Walt Hunter — senior associate dean at Case Western Reserve University, professor of 20th- and 21st-century literature, poetry editor at The Atlantic, and author of the poetry collection Some Flowers.

The conversation began with the Atlantic essay that prompted the invitation: "Stop Meeting Students Where They Are."

It's a provocative title — but the thesis is bracing rather than punitive. Hunter argues that in an era defined by devices, distraction, AI, and cultural impatience, educators must resist the impulse to lower expectations in the name of accessibility. Instead of asking what students already consume, he asks what they might rise to.

Sometimes "meeting students where they are" really means: don't risk difficulty. Don't demand depth. Don't make anyone uncomfortable.

We're living in a moment of ambient anti-intellectualism — where if something doesn't monetize, scale, or optimize, it's treated as ornamental. The arts are expected to justify themselves in ways business or athletics never are.

Walt's pushback is simple but disruptive:

Raise the bar.

Don't assume students can't handle complexity. Don't pre-digest poetry because you're afraid they won't "get it." Don't panic about AI before reconsidering whether your assignments are worth doing.

If a student doesn't understand calculus on the first day, we don't scrap calculus. We teach it.

Why do we treat poetry differently?

The deeper issue isn't devices. It's belief.

Belief that difficulty is formative.
Belief that rigor is respect.
Belief that students can rise.

Poetry, Walt argues, is an analog act in a culture obsessed with optimization. It tracks what matters — not to improve our efficiency, but to deepen our humanity.

Walt Hunter is senior associate dean for the College of Arts and Sciences and a professor of 20th- and 21st-century literature in the department of English at Case Western Reserve University. Hunter is fiction and poetry editor for The Atlantic. In addition to two books of literary criticism, Hunter is also the author of a collection of poetry, Some Flowers.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/althunter/?hl=en

Website: https://walthunter.com/

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.

Website: seanmurphy.net
Substack: seanmurphy.live
X: @bullmurph
Instagram: @bullmurph
Facebook: facebook.com/AuthorSeanMurphy
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/sean-murphy-4986b41

In this episode of Some Things Considered, the conversation centers on icon, actor, performer, and now memoirist Gina Gershon — a career artist whose new book, Alpha Pussy, reflects on four decades in the entertainment industry and the life that shaped it.

Rather than a conventional Hollywood tell-all, this book reveals something deeper: Gershon's career has been defined as much by what she refused as by what she accepted.

Key points in this conversation:

• Autonomy is not rebellion for its own sake — it's maintenance of self.

• Longevity in creative fields requires boundaries.

• Not every opportunity is worth taking.

• Interesting people seek interesting environments.

• Aging can amplify spirit rather than diminish it.

• Storytelling is strongest when it's honest without being exploitative.

Gina's career has been defined as much by the roles she didn't take as the ones she did. That takes a particular kind of clarity — and a tolerance for risk. The industry rewards proximity to power. She prioritized proximity to self.

We talked about artists who seem allergic to the path of least resistance — the Neil Youngs and Joni Mitchells of the world — creatives who would rather stay interesting than stay comfortable. Gina has that energy. Rebel and Girl Next Door. Old soul and downtown kid.

Her early life reads almost like a lost film reel — youth, freedom, ambition, experimentation — but what carries through is balance. Fierce independence without bitterness. Humor without self-betrayal.

And perhaps most refreshing: she doesn't weaponize her stories. The memoir could have leaned into scandal. It doesn't. She was too busy building a life to curate outrage.

That feels radical right now.

In an era when oversharing is currency and access is everything, autonomy still matters.

The artists who last aren't the loudest.

They're the ones who know exactly where to draw the line.

Gina has been starring on stage, screen, and television for over 40 years, known for her work in Cocktail, The Player, Showgirls, and the beloved sitcom Curb Your Enthusiasm. She has recorded albums and toured, including performing at Carnegie Hall. She is now a published author with a must-read memoir Alpha Pussy: How I Survived the Valley and Learned to Love my Boobs.

Instagram: ginagershon

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.

Website: seanmurphy.net
Substack: seanmurphy.live
X: @bullmurph
Instagram: @bullmurph
Facebook: facebook.com/AuthorSeanMurphy
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/sean-murphy-4986b41