John Wilson

And then finally, in limited release this upcoming weekend is a documentary called The History of Concrete.

It's from John Wilson, who had a three-season show on HBO called How To with John Wilson.

This was one of the most talked about movies at Sundance, but it was so popular despite being there for, what, 10 days or whatever, I was never able to get into a screening.

So I'm looking forward to seeing this because it was one of the few movies at Sundance that I tried to go see and absolutely could not get a ticket to.

And thank you, everybody.

This podcast is a production of johnreadscomics.com, home of virtually all of the podcasts produced by me, John Wilson.

Each show has its own feed on your favorite podcatcher, or the whole group can be followed under the name John Reads Comics.

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[upbeat music] Welcome to This Cultural Life, the series in which some of the world's leading creative figures reflect upon the influences and experiences that have most inspired their own work.

I'm John Wilson, and my guest in this episode is the theater and film director Nicholas Hytner.

Over a four-decade career, he's directed Shakespeare, contemporary drama, and musicals, including Miss Saigon, which ran for over a decade in London and on Broadway.

He served as artistic director of the National Theatre for 12 years, overseeing more massive box office hits, including The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time and War Horse.

You can hear them and every other guest from all of our previous 14 series on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts internationally.

And please do subscribe so that you never miss an episode.

From me, John Wilson, and series producer Edwina Pittman, thank you very much indeed for listening to This Cultural Life.

The Moral Maze on BBC Radio 4.

Speaking from her home in the Los Angeles area, she explains why.

Orlean also discusses, at what point does a topic reach critical mass to become a book? Is reporting easier or harder now with so much material available at one's fingertips, yet so few people answering their phones? Does she do all of her reporting first, or does she report a bit, write a bit, report a bit, and write a bit? Does she have a daily writing routine? How important has affirmation been in her career? Has she earned the right to do whatever she wants, or does she get pushback if an idea isn't deemed commercial enough? How does she gauge how much of herself to put into a narrative? Was it difficult to write about herself in Joyride? What did being played by Meryl Streep do for her career? What was it like being in the writer's room for a season of the TV series How To with John Wilson? What's happening with the movie of the library book? And finally, what animals are in her life now? I've always loved reading her, so I'm not surprised that I love talking with her too.

Please enjoy this Carol Pop conversation with Susan Orlean.

It's a pleasure to talk to you here.

And you've not like worked on the screenplays of any of those, right?

No, I'm working on the adaptation of the library book, but I haven't worked on the other.

And you were on the writing staff of how to with John Wilson for its second season.

Yeah.