Ezra Klein

I didn't write the book. I didn't raise the question.

I didn't write the book. I didn't raise the question.

Well, I wonder if that's because we expect happiness to be simpler and pure. I think sometimes there are periods in my life that I'm certain I will look back on them as virtually perfect. That the problems were small. Nobody I loved was sick in that moment.

Well, I wonder if that's because we expect happiness to be simpler and pure. I think sometimes there are periods in my life that I'm certain I will look back on them as virtually perfect. That the problems were small. Nobody I loved was sick in that moment.

I was surrounded by family and friends, my work was satisfying, even as my experience of that period is often exhausted, overstretched, overscheduled, anxious. This question of maybe one reason people don't write about those middles is that the middle is always more of everything.

I was surrounded by family and friends, my work was satisfying, even as my experience of that period is often exhausted, overstretched, overscheduled, anxious. This question of maybe one reason people don't write about those middles is that the middle is always more of everything.

Your description of your first kiss with your partner, which is functionally cosmic in its language, is probably going to be different than the way you experience a Tuesday when everybody's on deadline and everybody needs to be on the table, even if you'll probably look back on that as a beautiful period. I think we think the feeling of it should be simpler maybe than it ends up being.

Your description of your first kiss with your partner, which is functionally cosmic in its language, is probably going to be different than the way you experience a Tuesday when everybody's on deadline and everybody needs to be on the table, even if you'll probably look back on that as a beautiful period. I think we think the feeling of it should be simpler maybe than it ends up being.

What is different about the relationship between happiness and duty from happiness and fun?

What is different about the relationship between happiness and duty from happiness and fun?

One thing that I really enjoyed about the book is the emphasis on the connectivity of all of these things. That part of just the human experience is you don't get any of them all at once, and you couldn't have any of them in a way without the others. You have an interesting section on how the philosopher William James thought about our thoughts.

One thing that I really enjoyed about the book is the emphasis on the connectivity of all of these things. That part of just the human experience is you don't get any of them all at once, and you couldn't have any of them in a way without the others. You have an interesting section on how the philosopher William James thought about our thoughts.

And particularly, I guess, the connectivity between them, the sort of shadowy substructure of our thoughts. Can you talk a bit about that?

And particularly, I guess, the connectivity between them, the sort of shadowy substructure of our thoughts. Can you talk a bit about that?

Did you feel like you came to an answer to that? What is the feel of and?

Did you feel like you came to an answer to that? What is the feel of and?

I'm struck how much you're talking about the feeling in a way of the word and. The way it connects things, the way it implies procession. I guess I'm interested in the feeling of the experience. I mean, so much of the book is about holding these two extremes of experience at the same time. The loss of your father, the finding of your partner, and that love.

I'm struck how much you're talking about the feeling in a way of the word and. The way it connects things, the way it implies procession. I guess I'm interested in the feeling of the experience. I mean, so much of the book is about holding these two extremes of experience at the same time. The loss of your father, the finding of your partner, and that love.

And I think that's been what I've been interested in. I feel, in my own attention, a desire to constantly be choosing a lane of sensation or feeling. I should feel badly about things right now. I should feel good about them. As if I'm running some calculation in my head that ends with where on the sentiment scale I'm supposed to net out. And that also, some part of me realizes that's wrong.

And I think that's been what I've been interested in. I feel, in my own attention, a desire to constantly be choosing a lane of sensation or feeling. I should feel badly about things right now. I should feel good about them. As if I'm running some calculation in my head that ends with where on the sentiment scale I'm supposed to net out. And that also, some part of me realizes that's wrong.