Reading Fictions Helps You Understand the World | Clay Greene episode artwork

EPISODE · Jan 7, 2026 · 55 MIN

Reading Fictions Helps You Understand the World | Clay Greene

from Conversations with Peter Boghossian

I love science fiction (fantasy's a distant second), but reading fiction always gnaws at me with guilt. That changed after talking with Clay Greene, Assistant Professor of Literature at the University of Austin (UATX). Clay dismantled my doubts, proving literature is far more than an escape. It is ammunition for the War. By helping me reflect on some of my favorites, Joe Haldeman's The Forever War and Hunter S. Thompson's Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Clay changed my view. Fiction tackles civilizational woes directly, and it is one of the many things worth fighting and dying for. Thanks to our conversation, I'm dusting off my sci-fi stack. Watch this episode on YouTube and read the accompanying Substack post. Follow Peter Boghossian

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Reading Fictions Helps You Understand the World | Clay Greene

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