I Wish I Made That: Kurt Andersen, author of ‘The Breakup’

Episode notes

(Photo: Random House Publishing)

I Wish I Made That is a segment where we invite some of our favorite creative folks to dive deep into a piece of culture. This time around we are joined by Kurt Andersen.

Kurt is a writer and editor. In 1986, he and E. Graydon Carter co-founded Spy Magazine – a  satirical magazine that probably did more to impact the culture of ’80s and ’90s New York than any other publication. Anderson has also written about a dozen books, covering both fiction and nonfiction.

His latest novel is called The Breakup. It’s a novel, set about 20 years into the future. After 21 years of marriage, protagonists Natalie and Asher are separated. Only, in this future: the US is separated, too. He lives in San Francisco. She lives in the Free American Republic. And their kid is 17 so… you know… time for a college tour! What could possibly go wrong?

When we asked Kurt about what he wishes he made, he picked a book: The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test by Tom Wolfe. The book chronicled the San Francisco counterculture movement of the ’60s. It did not make Kurt more of a hippie than he already was, but it did make him want to be a writer. It’s how he learned to write. 

The Breakup will be out August 18th, look out for it in the bookstores near you and pre-order now.