The Great Big Beautiful Podcast, Episode 147: Max Brooks
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This week, we talk zombies and the metaphorical use of zombies (and islands) to discuss disaster preparedness and our future as a species. Intrigued? We welcome the one and only Max Brooks to the show and get in the weeds geeky. You probably know Brooks as the author of World War Z and The Zombie Survival Guide, among others.
Brooks’s new book, which might initially seem like a surprising departure for him, is Minecraft: The Island—the first novel set in the video game world. The more you hear him talk about the book and its premise, though, the more it becomes obvious that it’s absolutely 100% in his wheelhouse. Essentially, the book is about our ability to prepare for and adapt to major unexpected change, which is familiar ground for Brooks to be sure.
On this episode, we talk to Brooks about his creative upbringing, how his zombie fiction naturally segued into the Minecraft book, incorporation of a player mentality into two different audio versions of the book (one narrated by Jack Black and another narrated by Samira Wiley), his work with the Modern War Institute, how ready we are as a species to face a disruptive planet-wide change… and fatherhood.
Connect:
- Max Brooks is on Twitter here.
- The show is on Twitter here and Facebook here.
- Jamie is on Twitter and Instagram as @theroarbots.
- Justin is on Twitter and Instagram as @140JustinC.
