# Erik Larson on the Story Behind Devil in the White City, Churchill & Why He Won't Tell You His Next Book

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/hungry-dogs-with-james-patterson-7542312/erik-larson-on-the-story-behind-devil-in-the-white-city-churchill-why-he-won-t-tell-you-his-next-book
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/hungry-dogs-with-james-patterson-7542312/erik-larson-on-the-story-behind-devil-in-the-white-city-churchill-why-he-won-t-tell-you-his-next-book.md
Podcast: [Hungry Dogs with James Patterson](https://stenobird.com/podcast/hungry-dogs-with-james-patterson-7542312)
Published: 2026-03-11T10:02:00+00:00
Episode link: https://pscrb.fm/rss/p/claritaspod.com/measure/prfx.byspotify.com/e/mgln.ai/e/796/traffic.megaphone.fm/GEMINIMEDIA6799436962.mp3?updated=1773176823
Audio file: https://pscrb.fm/rss/p/claritaspod.com/measure/prfx.byspotify.com/e/mgln.ai/e/796/traffic.megaphone.fm/GEMINIMEDIA6799436962.mp3?updated=1773176823
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Duration seconds: 2365

## Resource

On this episode of Hungry Dogs, James Patterson sits down with Erik Larson, the bestselling author behind Devil in the White City, The Splendid and the Vile, and Thunderstruck. Larson reveals how he stumbled onto the Devil in the White City story through an encyclopedia of murder and a PhD dissertation with incredible footnotes, and why he was convinced the book would end his career the night before it published. They get into why he does all his own research with no assistants, how he discovered secret diary entries about a heartbroken Churchill aide during the Blitz, and the family reunion where his sister told him she wasn't interested in reading his next book. Erik also discusses why Hollywood has optioned his work for over 20 years and still hasn't made the movie and the one rule he never breaks when it comes to upcoming projects. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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