Christopher Beha‘s The Index of Self-Destructive Acts is a sharp family portrait, a masterful evocation of New York City and its institutions, and an exploration of how each generation’s failure helped land us where we are today. He’s speaking with Greg Jackson, whose debut fiction work Prodigals is populated by strivers, misfits, and children of privilege, all hewing to passion and perversity in their quest for a sense of meaning and even just a sliver of authenticity.