Colum McCann is the guest. In 2009, he won the National Book Award for his novel Let the Great World Spin and this year published a new novel called Transatlantic. He is also the curator of a new anthology called The Book of Men, available now from Picador. The Book of Men is the official December selection of The TNB Book Club. From the publisher: To help launch the literary nonprofit Narrative 4, Esquire asked eighty of the world’s greatest writers to chip in with a story, all with the title, “How to Be a Man.”The result is The Book of Men, an unflinching investigation into the essence of masculinity. Monologue topics: the app, travel hell, TNB Book Club, kind mail, Narrative 4. 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.