To the Best of Our Knowledge: Writing Fiction vs Non-Fiction

In this hour, William Gibson talks to Jim Fleming about his first collection of nonfiction, Distrust That Particular Flavor, and about the differences between writing fiction and nonfiction.

Next, author John D'Agata and fact-checker Jim Fingal talk to Anne Strainchamps about the boundaries of literary nonfiction as chronicled in their book, The Lifespan of a Fact. D'Agata and Fingal spent seven years going back and forth about factual inaccuracies in an essay D'Agata wrote about a boy who committed suicide in Las Vegas.

Then, Jonathan Lethem talks to Steve Paulson about his role as a novelist, which he explores in his new book, The Ecstasy of Influence: Nonfictions, etc.

And finally, Joan Didion talks to Steve Paulson about her new book, Blue Nights, which explores her thoughts about children, illness and growing old in the wake of the death of her daughter, Quintana. [Broadcast Date: December 28, 2012]