Michael Kimball is the guest. He is the author of four books, the latest of which is a novel called Big Ray, now available in hardcover from Bloomsbury. The Wall Street Journal calls it "[An] astonishingly moving novel... We're left gasping for air... Danny's emotions unfold as slowly as the carefully dispensed facts of the story, and to mesmerizing effect... Big Ray is an appalling tale told with anger, dark humor and surprising tenderness." And Sam Lipsyte raves "Michael Kimball has been writing innovative, compelling and beautifully felt books for years, but Big Ray seems a break-through and culmination all at once. It's funny and terrifying and it's his masterpiece, at least so far.” Monologue topics: existential questioning, polar bears, the ocean, eating a burrito on the air, Board, fear of finishing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.