S7 Ep. 42: Sally Franson and Emily Nussbaum on Reality TV

fiction/non/fiction

Novelist Sally Franson and critic Emily Nussbaum join host V.V. Ganeshananthan to talk about reality television. Franson, a recent reality TV show winner whose new novel, Big in Sweden, is from the point of view of a woman who joins the cast of a program in that country, reflects on transforming her real-life experience into fiction. Nussbaum, a staff writer at The New Yorker whose new nonfiction book, Cue the Sun!: The Invention of Reality TV, addresses the history of what she calls the “dirty documentary” genre, discusses the hundreds of interviews she conducted with reality show staff, as well as the form’s surprisingly early origins and the influence of The Apprentice on national politics. Nussbaum and Franson trade notes on how the relationships between people on camera and people behind the camera influence edited footage; the way race was and is handled on reality television; and what it’s like to be a contestant or producer. They also talk about poor labor conditions on sets and what that means to the genre. They read from their work.

To hear the full episode, subscribe through iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app (include the forward slashes when searching). You can also listen by streaming from the player below. Check out video versions of our interviews on the Fiction/Non/Fiction Instagram account, the Fiction/Non/Fiction YouTube Channel, and our show website: https://www.fnfpodcast.net/

This episode of the podcast was produced by Anne Kniggendorf.

Sally Franson

• Big in Sweden
• A Lady's Guide to Selling Out

Emily Nussbaum

• Cue the Sun!: The Invention of Reality TV
• I Like to Watch: Arguing My Way Through the TV Revolution
• “Is “Love Is Blind” a Toxic Workplace?” | The New Yorker

Others:

• Fiction/Non/Fiction Season 7, Episode 26: “Sally Franson on Fashion and Literature”
• Fiction/Non/Fiction Season 6, Episode 33: “The Stakes of the Writers’ Strike: Benjamin Percy on the WGA Walkout, Streaming, and the Survival of Screenwriting”
• Allt för Sverige
• Big Brother
• The Real World
• Survivor
• Love is Blind
• An American Family
• The Amazing Race
• Heartburn by Nora Ephron
• Nora Ephron
• Carl Bernstein

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