Smoke 'Em If You Got 'Em Podcast
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Pillow Talk: Why Did Capote Blow Up His Life?
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Pillow Talk: Why Did Capote Blow Up His Life?

"Answered Prayers" made him a pariah with the women he loved, but that was the childhood story he kept repeating. An audio riff of literary speculation, armchair therapy, and one sweet, stubborn cat.
Smoke 'Em If You Got 'Em
Mar 10, 2024
∙ Paid
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by Sarah Hepola

Irving Penn portrait of Truman Capote, June 1965

A listener asks: Why did Truman Capote blow up his life? Nobody knows, probably not even Truman Capote, but your narrator has theories. Get ready for a solo audio journey of best guesses and armchair diagnoses that hop-scotch along the following:

  • In Cold Blood

  • Alcoholism

  • Phillip Seymour Hoffman

  • Feud: Capote vs. The Swans

  • New Journalism

  • Young Truman Capote: Proto-twink?

  • Wallace the cat

  • writer’s block

  • Tom Wolfe and happiness

Happy Birthday Truman Capote
The author photo that changed authors photos

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Journalistas Nancy Rommelmann and Sarah Hepola on what's burning through the culture right now. Flirtatious banter for serious times.
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