Author Hari Kunzru on his latest book, ‘Red Pill’

9th October 2020

Hari Kunzru is a novelist and journalist. He is the author of several novels including: My Revolutions, Gods Without Men, and White Tears. His latest novel is called Red Pill. The book’s protagonist is an unnamed narrator. He’s a writer in Brooklyn, married with kids. In the back of his mind, he can’t shake this feeling: something bad is about to happen in the world. He gets a job in Berlin, a residency. The time alone only invites more demons in. It sends him on a journey around the internet, to reactionary message boards and old blogs. Then, it sends him on a journey around the world, into stone huts in Scotland and Parisian hotels. By the end of the book you might start to wonder if his fears were justified. Hari joins guest host Carrie Poppy to talk about where he got the idea for this new book, the dark web, online privacy, and similarities between his real life experiences and Red Pill‘s narrator.

Episode notes

Photo: Knopf Doubleday Publishing

Author Hari Kunzru on Red Pill
Hari Kunzru is a novelist and journalist. He’s the author of several novels including: My Revolutions, Gods Without Men, and White Tears.

His latest novel is called Red Pill. The book’s protagonist is an unnamed narrator. He’s a writer in Brooklyn, married with kids. And in the back of his mind, he can’t shake this feeling: something bad is about to happen. He doesn’t know what. He doesn’t know what he can do about it. But the growing terror is beginning to consume him.

He gets a job in Berlin, a residency. The time alone only invites more demons in: is he being watched? Is there an evil growing in the world? To the west, he sees Nazi ruins, to the East, the Stazi Museum.

It sends him on a journey around the internet, to reactionary message boards and old blogs. Then, it sends him on a journey around the world, into stone huts in Scotland and Parisian hotels. By the end of the book you might start to wonder if his fears were justified.

The book is a little bit satire, a little bit of a comment on politics, today. It’s also a gripping thriller.

Hari joins guest host Carrie Poppy to talk about where he got the idea for this new book, the dark web, online privacy, and similarities between his real life experiences and Red Pill‘s narrator.

In this episode...

Senior Producer
Producer
Maximum Fun Producer
Maximum Fun Production Fellow
Video Editor

Guests

  • Hari Kunzru

About the show

Bullseye is a celebration of the best of arts and culture in public radio form. Host Jesse Thorn sifts the wheat from the chaff to bring you in-depth interviews with the most revered and revolutionary minds in our culture.

Bullseye has been featured in Time, The New York Times, GQ and McSweeney’s, which called it “the kind of show people listen to in a more perfect world.” Since April 2013, the show has been distributed by NPR.

If you would like to pitch a guest for Bullseye, please CLICK HERE. You can also follow Bullseye on Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook. For more about Bullseye and to see a list of stations that carry it, please click here.

Get in touch with the show

People

Senior Producer

Producer

Maximum Fun Producer

Maximum Fun Production Fellow

Video Editor

How to listen

Stream or download episodes directly from our website, or listen via your favorite podcatcher!

Share this show

New? Start here...

Liked Author Hari Kunzru on his latest book, ‘Red Pill’? Listen to these next...