Future Tense Fiction: Who Gets to Escape the Climate Crisis?
b'On this month\\u2019s episode of Future Tense Fiction, host Maddie Stone talks to Matt Bell about his short story \\u201cEmpathy Hour.\\u201d\\n\\nIn the story\\u2019s climate-change-ravaged future, society\\u2019s wealthiest are whisked away to luxurious, self-contained cities. Once there, they entertain themselves with a carefully crafted reality show meant to assuage their guilt about the climate refugees they\\u2019ve left behind. But then, someone breaks into their airbrushed world, lifting the lid on what hides underneath it.\\xa0\\n\\nAfter the story, Matt and Maddie discuss the promises and pitfalls of climate fiction\\u2013and why we want to feel empathy, but never too much.\\xa0\\n\\nGuest: Matt Bell is the author of several books, including the novel Appleseed, a New York Times Notable Book of 2021. He is a professor of creative writing at Arizona State University.\\xa0\\n\\nStory read by Josh Bloomberg\\n\\nPodcast production by Tiara Darnell\\n\\nYou can skip all the ads in Future Tense Fiction by joining Slate Plus. Sign up now at slate.com/plus for just $15 for your first three months.\\n\\nCheck out AWS Insiders here: https://link.chtbl.com/awsinsiders?sid=podcast.futuretensefiction\\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices'