How to Tame Your Monster with Claire Dederer

The acclaimed and wonderful author of Monsters: A Fan’s Dilemma helps us sift through the ugliness of monstrous behavior and the guilty feelings associated with being a fan of the art made by vile people. Is it okay to still watch those movies and listen to those songs? Claire Dederer tells A.J. what to do, plus a lot of great advice on writing memoir, and navigating the world of publishing. Links: Claire’s book Monsters: A Fan’s Dilemma, and Claire’s essay in the Paris Review. Listen to Swamp Dogg’s new album "Blackgrass" wherever you get music, or buy a hard copy at Ohboy.com. Thanks to Robo9418 for your recording of people cheering for a banana. In this episode: 0:38 Intro 3:49 Origins of the book, feeling conflicted about Polanski 7:17 The gift of distaster and monstrous perspective 9:23 Feeling shameful in early recovery 13:23 AJ's experience with judgment, shame 16:27 How recovery changed Claire's work, Responsibility 22:07 Two things for A.J. that came from the book 25:37 Ubiquity of biography online, public cancellations, notoriety 32:29 No longer identifying with who you were 43:47 What do you tell your kids about your own monstrousness? 54:40 Different types of monsters 57:27 Charles Bukowski, Gena Rowlands, and other forms 1:03:44 Whether you are your work, Derrida 1:07:21 Are writing retreats helpful? 1:09:45 Claire v. A.J.'s therapist 1:13:46 Balancing sober content, Dopey, TSB's philosophy 1:18:57 Where A.J. feels shaky with blurred lines, how he approaches the newsletter 1:23:23 False Ending 1:26:57 The half-life of Monsters, avoiding getting typecast as a subject matter expert 1:35:52 Outro