9 questions with Laleh Khadivi

This week, Laleh Khadivi — the Iranian-American novelist, filmmaker, and author of A Good Country — answers our questions.

What’s the first piece of media you consume every day?

The NYT front page followed by the local public radio, which somehow takes the same headlines and makes them seem less end-of-the-world.

Name a writer or publication you disagree with but still read.

Harper’s and the New Republic.

Who is the person who has most influenced the way you think?

My parents. As a parent now myself, I am witness to the ways in which my ideas and emotions, passions and furies, affect my children. It is without structure or intention that we are formed by our parents.

When was the last time you changed your mind about something?

Two minutes ago, as I answered the last question.

What’s your worst intellectual habit?

Binary thinking.

What inspires you to learn?

Beauty.

What do you need to believe in order to get through the day?

That a personal dedication to moment-by-moment goodness — in the face of the desire to be petty, selfish, hurried, or tired — will culminate in better weeks, months, years.

What’s a view that you hold but can’t defend?

Procreation. In an era of climate demise.

What book have you recommended the most?

As I Lay Dying, Buddha in the Attic, and Exit West.

You can read last week’s edition of 9 Questions with Courtney Maum here.