Aug 5, 2026 · 43 min · 10 segments
Nathan Maharaj spoke with musician and novelist David Baerwald, author of *The Fire Agent*. It's a story spanning the world wars of the 20th century viewed through the eyes of Ernst Baerwald, a bright…
David BaerwaldGuest
Nathan MaharajHost
Ernst Baerwald, the protagonist of The Fire Agent, is based on your grandfather.
Well, when I really discovered the real truth, uh, it was relatively recently, uh, uh, it was about eight years ago [laughs] uh, when I was closing up an old family home and, uh, there had been boxes stored in storage cabinets, uh, for probably 70, 80 years.
And, um, I went through them and discovered all these details of this insane [laughs] life that this man lived.
And, and so I, I really took his, uh, his timeline, his lifeline as a, uh, as the spine.
Among the things that happened, he's recruited into espionage, corporate, and then sort of geopolitical.
How much did you go in knowing about, and how much was, was a revelation as you went through these papers?
All I really knew about him growing up was that he was a good violinist, and that he played in this, uh, prison camp orchestra, uh, where they debuted Beethoven's Ninth in Japan, that he sold ink, that he was very erudite.
he could poke you in the arm and, uh, a- and it would paralyze your arm for a good bit of time.
Ernst Baerwald, the protagonist of The Fire Agent, is based on your grandfather.
Well, when I really discovered the real truth, uh, it was relatively recently, uh, uh, it was about eight years ago [laughs] uh, when I was closing up an old family home and, uh, there had been boxes stored in storage cabinets, uh, for probably 70, 80 years.
And, um, I went through them and discovered all these details of this insane [laughs] life that this man lived.
And, and so I, I really took his, uh, his timeline, his lifeline as a, uh, as the spine.
Among the things that happened, he's recruited into espionage, corporate, and then sort of geopolitical.
How much did you go in knowing about, and how much was, was a revelation as you went through these papers?
All I really knew about him growing up was that he was a good violinist, and that he played in this, uh, prison camp orchestra, uh, where they debuted Beethoven's Ninth in Japan, that he sold ink, that he was very erudite.
he could poke you in the arm and, uh, a- and it would paralyze your arm for a good bit of time.
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