Are we in a crisis of narration? And what kind of stories cancarry us through?
In this episode, I begin with a personal story from Mongolia — a climb up the Khongoryn Els dunes where I gave up too early, not knowing the breathtaking view waiting on the other side. That memory still reminds me how vision and endurance are tied together, and how much we need stories that show us what lies beyond the struggle.
From there, I explore philosopher Byung-ChulHan’s The Crisis of Narration. Han distinguishes between narrative — a deep anchor shared across generations and communities — and storytelling or storyselling — polished, fleeting tales built for fast consumption.He warns that our society is flooded with stories but increasingly deprived of orientation, continuity, and meaning.
But are narratives truly vanishing? Or are they shifting —from lone heroes to choirs, from the center to the margins, from urgency to shared visions of what lies beyond the dune?
Mentioned:
Amitav Ghosh’s The Great Derangement: Climate Change and the Unthinkable https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/oct/28/amitav-ghosh-where-is-the-fiction-about-climate-change-
Other interesting authors on the topic: