Discipline by Debra Spark - Desideratum

What this episode covers

This is a story full of secrets and surprises and suspense. In one of the first scenes, it's 2018, and you are stumbling through a snowstorm with an art appraiser who might just be freezing to death. You're not sure. Again and again, author Debra Spark caught me off guard and drew me in. She pulled together a storyline about a teenage boy sent to an abusive boarding school in the 1970s (based on a real school she researched). She ties that storyline back to the art appraiser's own messy relationship with her teenage son today, and to an art theft and mystery that the appraiser gets sucked into. The art mystery spirals around these three valuable portrait paintings of children from the 1930s. It wasn't easy for me to talk to Debra about her work without spoilers for you, but we did it and I hope you'll be intrigued enough after listening to seek out the rest of the story. The novel is called Discipline, and this is my conversation with author Debra Spark on the Desideratum Podcast.

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Frequently Asked Questions

How long is this episode of Desideratum?

This episode is 33 minutes long.

When was this Desideratum episode published?

This episode was published on April 22, 2025.

What is this episode about?

This is a story full of secrets and surprises and suspense. In one of the first scenes, it's 2018, and you are stumbling through a snowstorm with an art appraiser who might just be freezing to death. You're not sure. Again and again, author Debra...

Can I download this Desideratum episode?

Yes, you can download this episode by clicking the download button on the episode player, or subscribe to the podcast in your preferred podcast app for automatic downloads.