Conversation in English with available subtitles in English, Dutch and French.

Paolo Giordano (1982) is an Italian writer who won the Premio Strega literary award with his first novel The Solitude of Prime Numbers, that has sold over a million copies and was translated into thirty languages. Giordano studied physics and holds a PhD in theoretical particle physics. His recently published essay How Contagion Works is one of the first to be written on the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I am interested in art and literature that tries to expand empathy little by little. To me that is the very act of writing a fictional story: putting yourself in the shoes of someone who is different to you. It reminds us that the basics of our existence are exactly the same. No matter where we live, where we grew up, with whatever values in whichever part of the world, there is a common core that we all share. And I think literature is really an act of faith.”

“Let's not forget - or at least let's not forget too quickly - what has happened, because that is exactly what we tend to do after a collective trauma like this. We tend to rush back to how things were, try to forget everything and move forward. But I think this will be very disrespectful towards all the pain that has been around in this moment.”