284 – Tom Lin & Who Wants to Live Forever?
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What question about death frames the whole conversation?
Hello and welcome to Talking Scared. I'm your host, Neil McRobert, and it's another fine week to talk about death. Many of you wrote to me to say how much you enjoyed the recent episode with CJ Leed. Thank you for saying so. You particularly seem to enjoy our discussion of mortality. Well happily in a weird way, this week's conversation offers another perspective on the topic, specifically how death may not be a thing that ever actually happens to us, only to those who love us. Our guest is Tom Lynn, author of the new novel Babylon South Dakota. It's a miniature epic, at once an Uber American rural family saga, also a novel of the immigrant experience, and somehow also a mind-bending philosophical science fiction story with a truly chilling concept at its heart.
And it's all about life and death, 'cause all the best stories are, and Tom and I talk at some length about all of the stuff I just mentioned, as well as his own wider research expertise on the interface between fiction and nuclear weapons and his own profound experience with a deer in an abandoned missile silo. Lots to cover, and if you enjoy the chat, please get Tom's book and review this show wherever you listen, and please consider supporting me in making this podcast by signing up as a patron. You get all episodes ad-free and an onslaught of bonus listening and exclusive episodes and access to the Discord and it's all at patreon.com slash talking scared pod. And I thank you. But now, come with me to a farm in South Dakota.
But if you hear a humming from the fields, beware. Because life is long and sometimes it is worse than death. Let's talk scared.
Hi Tom, a very warm welcome to Talkin' Scared. How are you doing, man? I'm doing fantastic. Thanks for having me. No, p thanks for doing it, 'cause I I'm guessing you're quite deep into the interview train now. Well I've been I've been doing a lot of flying.
Um Going from city to city, uh and and doing readings, which I thought would be very glamorous. And it is. Um, but I think I was basing it on uh George Clooney and up in the air, and so I think I expect it to be this real jet setter and uh and economy I think just doesn't have the same feel to it.
No, I I I'm doing a lot of flying this movie. My my my carbon footprint is terrible. I'm doing two long haul flights to the States and yeah it's not a glamorous life. It's mostly sweaty and being dehydrated and watching terrible movies. But yeah, so where are you now? So right now I'm in Los Angeles. Uh and I got a reading tomorrow with uh Tima Lew. Oh oh nice. Nice. Yeah. Is cat that's the guy so just to check, that's the guy from um the Marvel films, right? Yep, that's Shangqi. Uh uh from Shangxi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, yeah. I'm guessing you're not coming on tour to the UK. I am not, no. Uh it's not on the docket. T tell us why you wouldn't be coming on tour to the UK, 'cause I you've hinted at something off air that I have to know about.
Yes. Alright, so this is a story it goes back I I got uh God now almost nine years. So in twenty seventeen, um I uh I was I was a college student and I wanted to um wanted to kind of like Travel the world and so I found this thing called Woof, which is Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms.
Yeah.
And it I mean it's it's it's it's a racket, but it it works out great for everybody, which is uh I've done it myself. Yeah. Someone Yeah, yeah. You you go to a farm, you work there, they give you room and board, you get to like live there for free, you know. Um, and then you come back and you have a little experience of and so I wanted to do it in the Shetland Islands. Um and I had like contacted these these very kind farmers. We had set up a whole thing and I was gonna be there for two months. Um and I, you know, packed my bags. I like had this whole I was gonna like go camping and explore the islands. I flew into Heathrow um and I was pulled by Border Force. Uh and and they asked me, you know, what's the purpose of your visit?
And I said, I'm gonna go volunteer on a farm.
Mm.
Um, and immediately they took me out of line.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What question about death frames the whole conversation?
0:11–11:21
2
How does Tom Lin explain the concept of quantum immortality?
11:21–24:18
3
Why does the novel focus on the immigrant experience in South Dakota?
24:18–34:28
4
What role do the nuclear missile silos play in the story’s themes?
34:28–45:48
5
How did Borges’ thought‑experiments influence the book’s structure?
45:48–56:05
6
What happened during the deer‑in‑the‑silo incident and why is it important?
56:05–1:05:23
7
How does the novel balance horror with optimism and hope?
1:05:23–1:13:29
8
Which other books does the host recommend for listeners interested in these ideas?
1:13:29–1:27:00
Speakers
1 identifiedMore from Talking Scared
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290 – Liam Higginson & Awful Things in Lonely Farmhouses
289 – Annie Jacobsen & Be Afraid… Be Very Afraid
Let Us Palaver #10 – Wolves of the Calla Debrief
The Dark Tower Deep Dive #10 – Wolves of the Calla
288 – Danielle Giles & A Spoonful of Skulldust (Makes the Medicine Go Down)