Dave Eggers (writer and publisher)
7/8/20262 hr 3 min
Dave Eggers (Contrapposto, The Circle, and A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius) is a bestselling author, founder of McSweeney’s, and Pulitzer Prize finalist. Dave joins the Armchair Expert to discuss the strange family lore behind McSweeney’s, growing up in John Hughes-era Illinois, and falling in love with writing and designing books as a kid. Dave and Dax talk about moving to Berkeley to help raise his little brother after his parents died, shaking up literary readings with They Might Be Giants, and building a creative community out of rejected magazine pieces. Dave explains why kids should be published, how writing can give order to chaos, and why the happiest creative life might be the one with the least preciousness.
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First 90 secondsDax Shepard· Host0:00
Welcome, welcome, welcome to Armchair Expert, Experts on Expert. I'm Dan Shepherd, I'm joined by Lily Padman.
Monica Padman· Host0:05
Hi.
Dax Shepard· Host0:05
We have, um, one of my favorite authors on today, Dave Eggers. Uh, Dave Eggers is a best-selling author and founder of McSweeney's. Uh, his books are The Circle: A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, The Every, and of course my favorite book, What Is The What. He has a new novel out now, Contraposto. Please enjoy Dave Eggers. This episode is brought to you by American Beverage. We've probably all had that moment where someone says something about an ingredient in your drink and you're like, "Should I be worried about that?" And then you look it up and immediately end up in the wildest corners of the internet with completely contradicting information. All I want is clear, transparent information, and I bet you do, too. That's why American Beverage launched Good To Know. It's a site where you can look up over 140 common beverage ingredients, what they are, how they're used, how they've been reviewed for safety. No spin or judgment, just facts. You can decide for yourself. Visit goodtoknowfacts.org for more information. We get support from Quince.
Monica Padman· Host1:10
Have you been wearing the Quince linen shirts?
Dax Shepard· Host1:13
Uh, yeah. I've been wearing them a suspicious amount. Yeah. European linen ones, they're 34 bucks, which is genuinely insane for how nice they are.
Monica Padman· Host1:23
It doesn't even make sense.
Dax Shepard· Host1:24
Well, here's the deal. They work directly with the factories, cut out all the middlemen, so you're paying for the