S6 Ep. 37: Lights, Camera, White House: Matt Quirk on the Enduring Power of the West Wing in Fiction, Nonfiction, and Film

fiction/non/fiction

Novelist Matt Quirk joins co-hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell to discuss what makes the White House such a popular place to set stories—including scenes in his newest thriller, Inside Threat, as well as a previous book, The Night Agent, which is now a hit Netflix series. Quirk suggests that the White House is a unique space where the domestic sphere intersects with the seat of world power. He examines the idea that readers desire a “classic president” character, particularly in times when the real commander in chief falls short. He also reads from Inside Threat and reflects on shifting settings from the White House to Raven Rock, a real-life government doomsday bunker. Finally, he talks about what it’s been like to see The Night Agent adapted for the screen.

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.

Matthew Quirk

• Inside Threat
• Red Warning
• Hour of the Assassin
• The 500
• The Directive
• Cold Barrel Zero
• Dead Man Switch
• The Night Agent

Others:

• How Shawn Ryan Adapted 'The Night Agent' from the Page to the Screen By Jean Bentley
• The West Wing
• White House Down
• Olympus Has Fallen
• Murder at 1600
• Scandal
• Seven Days in May
• Commander in Chief
• The American President
• Max 2: White House Hero
• William Faulkner
• King Kong
• James Bond
• Fiction/Non/Fiction Season 3 Episode 9: “All the President’s Henchmen: Susan Choi and Garrett Graff on the Citizens of the Swamp”
• Raven Rock by Garrett Graff
• Agatha Christie
• Die Hard
• The Pelican Brief by John Grisham
• Law & Order
• “More secret service agents expected to lose jobs over Colombia scandal”
• “Secret Service agents sent home after one found passed out in Amsterdam” by Evan Perez
• “Reports: Secret Service agent on Pence detail consorted with prostitute” By Melanie Eversley
• Clint Eastwood
• Air Force One
• First Daughter
• Chasing Liberty
• Curtis Sittenfeld
• Ellen Emerson White

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