b'\\u201cStation Eleven\\u201d by Emily St. John Mandel was published in 2014. That book imagined the world after a pandemic had wiped out, well, almost everyone. It\\u2019s a gorgeous novel with a particular emotional power: it helps you grieve a life you still have. But then came a real pandemic, not as lethal as the one Mandel imagined, but a shock nonetheless. And \\u201cStation Eleven\\u201d \\u2014 already a beloved international best seller \\u2014 found a second life. Mandel became known as a pandemic prophet. \\u201cStation Eleven\\u201d became an acclaimed HBO Max series.\\n\\n\\u201cSea of Tranquility\\u201d by Mandel is written from within the hothouse of that strange kind of celebrity. The author put a version of herself in there, struggling with fame and parenthood and quarantine and too much travel. But there are also moon colonies, and time travel, and hints that we live in a computer simulation. If \\u201cStation Eleven\\u201d explores how calamity could change the world, \\u201cSea of Tranquility\\u201d wonders what happens if it doesn\\u2019t.\\n\\nThis conversation begins in the weirdness of the simulation hypothesis, but winds its way to much more fundamental questions of being human right now. There is so much we could lose, so much we already have lost; why is it so hard to live with the gratitude our lives should inspire, or the seriousness the moment demands?\\n\\nMentioned:\\n\\n\\u201cThe Power of Patience\\u201d by Jennifer L. Roberts\\n\\nThis Time Tomorrow by Emma Straub\\n\\n\\u201cAre We Living in a Computer Simulation?\\u201d by Nick Bostrom\\n\\nBook recommendations:\\n\\nScary Monsters by Michelle de Kretser\\n\\nIll Will by Dan Chaon\\n\\nSuite Fran\\xe7aise by Ir\\xe8ne N\\xe9mirovsky\\n\\nThoughts? Guest suggestions? Email us at ezrakleinshow@nytimes.com.\\n\\nYou can find transcripts (posted midday) and more episodes of \\u201cThe Ezra Klein Show\\u201d at nytimes.com/ezra-klein-podcast, and you can find Ezra on Twitter @ezraklein. Book recommendations from all our guests are listed at https://www.nytimes.com/article/ezra-klein-show-book-recs.\\n\\n\\u201cThe Ezra Klein Show\\u201d is produced by Annie Galvin, Jeff Geld and Rog\\xe9 Karma; fact-checking by Michelle Harris; original music by Isaac Jones; mixing by Jeff Geld; audience strategy by Shannon Busta. Our executive producer is Irene Noguchi. Special thanks to Kristin Lin and Kristina Samulewski.'