David Foster Wallace interview and call-in Q&A on The Connection w Michael Goldfarb (2004)

David Foster Wallace discusses and reads from "Oblivion" and also talks about "Infinite Jest," grammar, and more.
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The Life of David Foster Wallace: geni.us/7xzix
Conversations with David Foster Wallace: geni.us/HHYcGBe
Infinite Jest: geni.us/RwhKG
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[@ManufacturingIntellect]

Check out these David Foster Wallace books on Amazon! The Life of David Foster Wallace: geni.us/7xzix Conversations with David Foster Wallace: geni.us/HHYcGBe Infinite Jest: geni.us/RwhKG Join us on Patreon! www.patreon.com/ManufacturingIntellect Donate Crypto! commerce.coinbase.com/checkout/868d67d2-1628-44a8-b8dc-8f9616d62259 Share this video! Get Two Books FREE with a Free Audible Trial: amzn.to/313yfLe Checking out the affiliate links above helps me bring even more high quality videos to you by earning me a small commission on your purchase. If you have any suggestions for future content, make sure to subscribe on the Patreon page. Thank you for your support!

[@noahwezensky9515]

Stop advertising Amazon you schmutts. Think about what you’re promoting. Buy in-person.

[@doctorwhofan1989]

@@noahwezensky9515 It's getting harder to buy in person when actual stores are either dying or already out of business, especially bookstores. Soon places like Amazon will be the only place to buy books. Or any site online. I don't like it, but it is what I observe.

[@noahwezensky9515]

William M. Favor 1: walk out your door; Favor 2: ask anybody at your local coffee shop if they read Favor 3: Ask to borrow a book Favor 4: educate yourself so you may have a shot at understanding not only communities but individuals have opportunity to hedge against hegemonic consumer giants like Amazon. What you say is what the indifferent individual in a rising-ocean zone like Miami could say when detritus washes up on his front steps: “Well, soon we’re all going to be dead. The ocean is just too strong and big. This is what I observe.” Don’t be jejune, Mr. William M. Go borrow and buy and read. Get off your wet porch. Read David Wallace’s set of Oblivion stories.

[@iuseitToo]

...Libraries also exist.

[@roc7880]

he would have been the best author to describe a world dominated by VR, AI, Meta, cloud computing, and deep machine learning. if only he had a better day on his last.

[@DarkAngelEU]

Hard agree. There are some Dutch writers who attempt to describe such a world, but they can't resist turning it into either a moralistic tale or a detective story - which imo is very detrimental to anyone who is genuinely interested in how these technologies shape our understanding and actions in the world. This is why I love Houellebecq though. He started writing novels that poke fun at this idea, that novels need to keep the reader entertained even though it tries to educate them (The Map and The Territory is an amazing satire on the art world, and it purposefully segways into a detective narration where the author is mysteriously killed), yet his latest novels (Submission, Sérotonine and Anéantir) have the same feel as reading Foster Wallace. It's about humans dealing with current technologies, it encompasses politics, private life, social life, professional life, and it's simply amazing how Houellebecq knows how to pull this off in such a dry, boring manner that it becomes entertaining in its own right. He trusts describing the absurdity of the world we live in is enough to keep the reader entertained. That's confidence. It's admirable.

[@charlietexastraildog9830]

He predicted and commented regarding a lot of this in the 90’s. See or hear David Lipsky’s Although Of Course You End Up Becoming Yourself for comments outside of writing and fiction. Some of DFW’s direct quotes (from David’s recorder) are fascinating and quiet prophetic IMO.

[@9000ck]

i wonder what he would have made of resurgent fascism and stupidism.

[@maryann7619]

@@9000ck What resurgent fascism are you writing about? These catch phrases, or talking points, do not add to the conversation.

[@Intestine_Ballin-ism]

@@9000ck resurgent?

[@pikminhero]

13:20 "I hear the music, meaning I should trail off in a meaningful way..." Such wit!

[@ratchetboo]

LOL

[@HomeAtLast501]

You're easy to impress!

[@markknoop777]

I could listen to this guy talk forever.

[@llebieck]

The exchange between DFW and the caller from about 44:15 to 44:35 is heartbreaking considering his suicide a mere four years later. What a loss!

[@I.II..III...IIIII.....]

Very late comment, but did you get what she said right at the end? I just can't hear it.

[@mattjames9866]

@@I.II..III...IIIII..... 'Well that's just what all artists have to face as they grow'

[@I.II..III...IIIII.....]

​@@mattjames9866 Thank you!

[@92bellea]

Thank you so much for all these interviews. You rock

[@shrimpflea]

What a great mind and an enormous loss.

[@hissingflora5245]

couldn’t agree more

[@fmcneece6953]

When DFW said “and now I’m supposed to trail off in a meaningful way?” at the ad-break music while in a literal discussion about genre tropes, I absolutely lost it.

[@HueyTheDoctor]

Thank you for uploading this.

[@adonirammccarthy3994]

This is a great find. I have heard what I think is most the DFW stuff that is floating around out there, and this was new to me. Thanks!

[@jackofallfades2656]

Shoutout to Jennifer and her perfect question.

[@aisle_of_view]

I always feel pressure to be especially witty and profound whenever I comment on DFW.

[@The_Pedal_Guy]

Hot damn this guy was a real genius,

[@itstoogooditswaytoogood3211]

that first passage DFW read (which i didn't even realize was a single sentence even when i first read it) i remember getting halfway through and being angry at how Schmidt's conception of his BEST CASE scenario was a sort of transactional relationship where love is a function merely of how much slack you cut the other person ("it was probably only in marriage that partners allowed each other to be consented to be truly known [...] even perhaps every once in a while sobbing in each other's arms late at night [...]") and nothing more. AND THEN on the very next page, Schmidt says, "which is to say [a true marriage of souls] appeared not as a goal to expect ever to really reach or achieve but as a kind of navigational star, as in in the sky, something high and untouchable and miraculously beautiful in the sort of distant way that reminded you always of how ordinary and unbeautiful and incapable of miracles you your own self were," which repeated back to me all of my anger about Schmidt's (DFW's?) pessimistic mindset. it's a testament to the fullness of DFW's characters that I can get so worked up over such a tiny implication in Schmidt's mindset that eventually turns out to be a deep-seated anxiety.

[@SupposedlyFunThing]

37:41 Even more relevant today than it was in 2004.

[@jonathandeardorff6854]

even more relevant TODAY than it was in 2018

[@cbalmori]

Love this post… thank you

[@user-oe9le7lp8o]

The world is poorer without him.

[@universalmeditation8631]

When you have brilliant guys like David, there’s a catch-22 when trying to live a normal life because you’re too busy analyzing what a normal life is or if what you’re feeling is genuine happiness.

[@malaysianpear]

Love the techno right at the end there

[@sharpiemcsharp]

I think it's an Orbital track, from their In Sides album.

[@nickilovesdogs8137]

David is the sexiest man in history.

[@kate9341]

Omg yes

[@JJ-fr2ki]

Good stuff. My take on DFW. Don’t start with Infinite Jest. In some ways it is his worst work and much of it has been absorbed into popular consciousness. The best of DFW is his application of analytic philosophical thinking to enlarge empathy. When words fail, he breaks down a character’s state of mind with short stories to illustrate parts of a mind state/emotion. These brilliant empathetic acts, making explicit the seemingly impossible, are where he shines and I think even surpasses Virgina Woolf.

[@christophergiofreda564]

"Oblivion" is a fantastic place for people to start. Every single story in that feels like it could only have been written by DFW. Exquisite.

[@sykorabsurd]

I painted sets for tv commercials in 90s Los Angeles. Clients, producers, directors, art directors (who give me my orders) behaved as if we were not just making another 30 second spot (that looked like the last) to sell a car or a 'new' beer favor but we were curing cancer. Nothing, not sleep, decent food, over-all health, missing life by working 18 hour days was more important than the lame commercial.

[@DarkAngelEU]

@@j92so It's the same everywhere. I used to dream of being a camera man on movie sets, but considering the bulk of my working days would be made up of doing commercials, and seeing how this deteriorated any motivation towards creative work in some of my colleagues, I just gave up and kept it as a hobby. I'm much happier doing a regular job that gives me room for my creative process to remain untouched, or even inspire it, instead of having it crushed on a daily basis. I live in Belgium, but I know this is the same for the entire continent. Creative art, even when subsidized, provides little opportunity to remain completely separated from the commercial side of the business. You really need to be one of the big shots to live from your art and in Europe movies simply aren't big enough to provide that opportunity to anyone active in the industry. That's why so many of them go to make movies in Hollywood and then come back as millionaires.

[@benjammin4840]

Phenomenal phone call at 38:00

[@andrewbaker7610]

26:40 "Yeah I got hate mail about that"

[@RADFLIKINCRRQT13]

That caller, guy from Boston at around 39:00 was dead on. Over saturation of misinformation or at least information slanted one way or another, leaves the waters so murky it makes it nearly impossible to make a calculated decision on mostly anything.

[@outdevo]

Indeed as was Wallace’s reframing of it that conservative injection of skepticism into politics is dangerous as skepticism is unfalsifiable since there is no way to prove whether something is real or not ultimately. You could say they were anticipating the rise of Donald Trump.

[@fratt41]

WOW! Some amazing prescience.

[@EdDunkle]

One of the best books about "the world of work" is Gaddis' "JR"

[@tranzco1173]

Studs Terkels "Working"? I got fired from a job at a library reading that thing cover to cover during work

[@TylerBurkhart]

38:25, if only he could see us now

[@Chironex_Fleckeri]

I'm going into the business world in my mid 20s, and I already feel disgusted and repulsed by it... I don't know what to do

[@lamolambda8349]

Damn son, did you study business? Are you talented in other reguards? I guess the best you can do is try to find something somewhat ethical in your field of study my uncle for example has a dr in chemistry and instead of working for some industrial giant he works in a small company that tests baby clothing and toys and ground samples for toxins.

[@tranzco1173]

Just do lots and lots of cocaine. Seriously though, I went to law school and first year realized that not only were almost all lawyers awful people, they were really really miserable. Super unhappy. Not for me. I became an English teacher and taught in Latin America, and now here in the States. I am 45 and have no savings. I do, however, have a very hot Brazilian wife with a M.A., also a teacher, and together we've been surviving for 15 years, own a modest home, and send our kid to a good private school. You, however, are you, and I think the mid 20's are hard for anyone to navigate. Have a moral compass and you should be fine.

[@tatianas5637]

​@gemmyvidsno it wasn't useless

[@Intestine_Ballin-ism]

@@tranzco1173 stopped reading at cocaine. also hope all is well, thanks for the kind words. 27 feels like a nightmare that I can't wake up out of.

[@jamesbaldock4402]

Whats the song that starts at 32:00

[@isopodisopod6628]

Using this to sleep

[@lickitysplit3575]

Literally same rn

[@LiINammmm]

I need more foster talks!! What was his last? Tuning into him Is like being cradled w/ DFW love

[@idklol4197]

30:22 bruh

[@idklol4197]

44:20 saddest shit ever

[@coreycox2345]

The focus group can (once in a while) be used for good. It depends on intent. I left my career when I realised that it was a job for the young and idealistic. There is always a new crop of them.

[@kate9341]

Он волновался, когда читал отрывок из рассказа «Старый добрый неон»

[@LiINammmm]

24:00

[@mohameds3354]

"Human products by Human people" - Did he drift along the plainest? Hell No!!!!

[@dazykuri]

He said, "Do I drift along as a Platonist?" Meaning does he obsess about the purity of ideas. Of course he is not plain in any sense! Much love

[@anteyefolkzz7755]

I feel that the movie The End of The Tour is something that something that changed my life... Anyone want to say something ?

[@lamolambda8349]

Nah reading infinite jest did it for me

[@palbo4]

That movie inspired me to read all his stuff so I'd say the same! The books have had a heavier impact on me but the movie got me to the books. I know it's not the "coolest" way to discover his books or whatever but I'm very grateful for it. I hope I never come across anyone who has some weird issue with people who find him from watching that lol I just love The End of the Tour so much, it's pretty special to me

[@nononouh]

44

[@alexcthe]

Why does this interviewer sound exactly like Kevim Spacey

[@blondegirlsezthis8798]

I am a writer and not this blonde pictured, (sorry). Here's an insight on what kind of significance this man's mind has on my world and profession: Truly accomplished writers, master scriveners, make it to the edge of both zeitgeist and retrospective. David Foster Wallace went to the next edge.

[@blondegirlsezthis8798]

@Mr Heck You'll still be a boring incel though. maybe you should wish you had an actual D

[@nengelen]

"As a writer, I..."

[@UnderdogTactics]

Listener call-ins are just painful for the most part.

[@jterry92]

What was wrong with the 2nd caller?

[@peaceandllov]

Yeah, lol. I think that's true of every show that takes listener calls.

[@ExxylcrothEagle]

but the host is pretty obnoxious in this case too... a good radio voice shmoozer, but kind of a dbag most of the time, trying to be cool or something

[@idklol4197]

i think its charming to have an ordinary voice be heard, as well as a record of someone's opinion that you'd never hear otherwise, from a time you'll never see again.

[@DougerArt]

@@idklol4197 the really painful ones are often the most interesting ones to me really

[@oldsachem]

The head wrap looks like a bandage suggesting brain injury. I suppose the human brain could be called Mr. Squishy, especially after the skull is smashed against the southern California strip mall.

[@gp2860]

God damn, the radio host is really pretentious. He casts disregard in so many directions which close off his understanding, let alone appreciation, of the range of human experience. He is a fine interviewer ultimately. But he too often throws massive shade at regular people, he sort of betrays a personal disregard for people that live in suburbs and people who don’t listen to his precious NPR station! And I’m not even halfway through this thing.

[@brownsugar0000]

Where is the reverse reverb coming from?

[@EdDunkle]

He can't even admit that he lived in Claremont? What is that all about?

[@garrettwarrick4156]

No one, outside of Southern California, knows where Claremont is.

[@lonelycubicle]

39:45 - 41:30 pertinent to age of trump 12 years early

[@PACE_OUT]

What's interesting to me is that I just shared a meal with some "extreme left" friends of mine, and they were using identical tactics in our "discussion".

[@Stephen-wh7vl]

There is so much of DFW that is more relevant now than it was in 1997

[@ohwellwhateverr]

Blockworks The hard left and the hard right are virtually indistinguishable in tactics.

[@lurksnitchtongue8986]

Do you think other politicians are any better than Trump? If so, I'm afraid you've been shammed. You only hate Trump in particular because you were told to hate Trump by 'authority' figures on network television.

[@lonelycubicle]

@@lurksnitchtongue8986 I assume you’re kidding by repeating David’s point, but in case not, I started to dislike trump when he started blaming immigrants for everything. Blaming others (usually others with little political power) is a classic technique of authoritarian minded people to gain power.

[@DarkAngelEU]

I like the journalist, but this format is hostile to deep conversation. Commercial breaks, a sudden telephone call mid-sentence. No wonder David was obviously stressed during the interview lol

[@KingMinosxxvi]

What on earth is he wearing?

[@roofb1612]

Jirt

[@JK-vc7ie]

Fiction and make believe and cynicism

[@skyjuiceification]

yeah, right~

[@beetvalley]

eyem my kell gold fart

[@lamolambda8349]

What up mike

[@peteyg33]

David Foster Wallace STOLE EVER SINGLE LINE FROM ME! Hal? "Who"?* Killed "Who?"

[@anonb4632]

I've discovered this guy recently and warm to him. He should have ditched that stupid thing he wears on his head though.

[@dmann1115]

Agreed - makes him look a bit like he just underwent brain surgery. Apparently, he wore it because he thought he sweated too much? And his sister said he always washed his hair in soap, not shampoo, for some unknown reason, so his hair was stiff and dull.

[@anonb4632]

@@dmann1115 I suppose he picked it up from his love of tennis (sweatbands etc). Not a good look.

[@ohwellwhateverr]

Anon B It wasn’t a style choice; he wore it because a symptom of his anxiety was severe sweating.

[@anonb4632]

@@ohwellwhateverr There were other ways he could have dealt with that.

[@ohwellwhateverr]

@@anonb4632 Like what?

[@lxmoya11]

too frequently self-praising of his own "genius," his education and his supposed ability to be abstract yet nothing very abstract was discussed in much depth

[@Nick-rv1ts]

Self-praising? How so?

[@skyjuiceification]

@@Nick-rv1ts He was making it up!

[@wa8d4g8i7]

awful host

[@oggjoshua]

They fired the beloved original host Christopher Lydon in a contract dispute.

[@nickilovesdogs8137]

I think he was murdered to push up the publicity so that the publishers can profit more. I don't think he would ever kill himself in front of his dogs. David is a very advanced soul.

[@dmann1115]

I was 100% sympathetic and impressed by his devotion to dogs. Then I saw that he crated them. NG.

[@clayandputtyvideos1647]

@@dmann1115 I didn't know that. Most people are not aware of what crating dogs does to their nervous system. That's why it is important that we educate them on this subject.

[@lurksnitchtongue8986]

@@dmann1115 There's nothing wrong with crating your dog as long as you aren't leaving him there for longer than 8 or so hours. Dogs are natural den animals, and potty training without a crate is extraordinarily difficult. I would love to see some reliable sources that crate training is bad for a dog.

[@Gcssdvnkloiutesc]

@@dmann1115David was interested in abused dogs with serious problems who no one else wanted. Some of them were violent. the dogs would be dead if he didn’t take them in.

[@TerryStewart32]

He's clearly a highly intelligent and cultured man but he's seems forever in a boyish undergraduate psyche. It's almost as he has never evolved into a man. His demeanour was very child-like even his tone of voice which is sounds as if he's still in adolescent

[@nothing5850]

christ, go back to wendy williams you dunce.

[@riro1024]

Wallace’s sister Amy actually talks about this. DFW was, in her estimation, never feeling in any way adult until the last four or five years of his life. Cool it on sharpening swords for the guy’s honour - he was completely obsessed with feeling regressed or arrested.

[@nothing5850]

if you think this was an attempt to defend his persona, you're as lost as the op

[@burgwhich7706]

Stupid/intelligent is probably much more useful labeling than adolescent/adult

[@Artamia1]

... only someone with high Emotional IQ can fully percept DFW intelligence, humanity, thoughts, pain & predictions for American society's future...

[@craighorton3502]

Did you say snack cake?

[@craighorton3502]

Toe nail fungus. Onychomycosis..