The Women Who Made George Saunders A Wife Guy

Growing up, George Saunders was the eldest boy with younger sisters, in a family full of women who gave him praise and special treatment. That created the confidence that fueled his ambition to become a great writer. In this lively interview, George talks about why that dream took decades to realize and what was essential to making it happen – including a karmic, three-week romance, a pivotal trip to the Afghanistan border during the Soviet war, and witnessing a “colossal fuck up” working in the oil fields of Indonesia. George’s newest novel, “ Vigil ,” is out now and his substack is called Story Club . Podcast production by Andrew Dunn. Death, Sex & Money is now produced by Slate! To support us and our colleagues, please sign up for our membership program, Slate Plus ! Members get ad-free podcasts, bonus content on lots of Slate shows, and full access to all the articles on Slate.com. Sign up today at slate.com/dsmplus . And if you’re new to the show, welcome. We’re so glad you’re here. Find us and

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The Women Who Made George Saunders A Wife Guy is an episode from Death, Sex & Money by Slate Audio.

This episode is 59:35 long.

This episode was published on Feb 3, 2026.

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