We are living in interesting times, a turning point in history.
Are we entering a dark authoritarian era or are we on the brink of a technological golden age or the apocalypse?
No one really knows, but I'm trying to find out from New York Times opinion.
I'm Ross Douthat and on my show Interesting Times,
I'm exploring this strange new world order with the thinkers and leaders giving it shape.
Follow it wherever you get your podcasts from the New York Times, this is the Interview.
I'm Gilbert Cruz.
I'm guest hosting this week filling in for lulu.
If you don't know me,
I'm the editor of the New York Times Book Review and the host of the Book Review podcast.
And I'm very happy to be getting the chance to talk with author Isabel Allende.
At 82, Allende is one of the world's most beloved beloved and best selling Spanish language authors.
Her work has been translated into more than 40 languages and 80 million copies of her books have been sold around the world.
Allende's newest book is called My Name is Emilia del Valle and it's about a dark period in Chilean history,
the 1891 Chilean Civil War.
Like so much of Allende's work,
it's a story about women in tough spots who figure out a way through.
It's not that far off from Allende's own story.
She was raised in chile, but in 1973,
when she was 31 and working as a journalist with two small children, her life was upended forever.