Mr. Labatut, a Chilean who has also lived in Europe, will be known to American readers for his unlikely breakthrough “When We Cease to Understand the World” (2021), a collection of essays and ...

BENJAMIN LABATUT: Thank you so much for having me. SIMON: You begin with a very tough and tragic episode from history, the Austrian physicist Paul Ehrenfest and his 15-year-old son, Vassily.

BENJAMIN LABATUT: Thank you so much for having me. SIMON: You begin with a very tough and tragic episode from history, the Austrian physicist Paul Ehrenfest and his 15-year-old son, Vassily.

BENJAMIN LABATUT: Thank you so much for having me. SIMON: You begin with a very tough and tragic episode from history, the Austrian physicist Paul Ehrenfest and his 15-year-old son, Vassily. Please ...

BENJAMIN LABATUT: Thank you so much for having me. SIMON: You begin with a very tough and tragic episode from history, the Austrian physicist Paul Ehrenfest and his 15-year-old son, Vassily.