1028. Jung Yun

March 31, 2026·1 hr 24 min·5 clips

Jung Yun describes being locked in Brad Listi's garage, fearing for her safety, which later inspired her 9/11 novel.

The cruise is already missing people. The guest explains that a travel insurance policy would not have helped much, since acts of terrorism abroad were not covered. Fear has thinned the passenger list, and the empty space gives the fictional ship a strange little charge, like the ghost of the trip everyone expected. The host catches the dark joke in it: a cruise with half the crowd gone does sound, for a second, like the only cruise worth taking. But the people who do board are stuck with each other. Families and roommates rub against old irritations, old obligations, and the stuff nobody wants to say out loud. Franny and Doug bring their damage onto a ship built to keep escape just out of reach. Lucy's trouble is different. She is younger, so her story pulls harder toward desire, pushback, and the miserable business of deciding what she wants. The guest says she made Lucy uncomfortable on purpose. Lost luggage, sunburn, and seasickness strip away comfort until Lucy has to pay attention. The host keeps circling that idea, how setting makes private conflict show itself when nobody can leave. The talk stays literary, but loose. It gets at the book through discomfort, proximity, and the nasty usefulness of being trapped with yourself.

As heard by us

A patient literary conversation that uses a half-empty cruise and Lucy's rough trip to sharpen its coming of age arc.

The episode follows a cruise-set novel and keeps coming back to the same pressure point: a half-empty ship after 9/11, with families and roommates crowded together until old faults start to show.

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Why you'd press play

You want a smart, patient conversation about a cruise-ship novel shaped by 9/11 fallout.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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