Ben Sasse on How to Live While Dying

The former senator wants to heal the America he’s leaving behind.

Hosted by Ross Douthat

Produced by Victoria Chamberlin

Mr. Douthat is a columnist and the host of the “Interesting Times” podcast.

How would you live if you knew when you were going to die?

When Ben Sasse announced last December that he had been diagnosed with Stage 4 pancreatic cancer, he called it a death sentence, but he noted that he’d had one before the cancer too. We all do.

Sasse served the state of Nebraska in the U.S. Senate for eight years as a high-minded and, by his own account, sometimes ineffectual conservative. Then he quit politics to become the president of the University of Florida, pursuing a different model of civic reform.

Now he’s facing mortality.

For Sasse, the advance of his cancer has brought clarity, sharpening his focus on his wife and three children, and the God whom he expects to shortly meet.

At the same time, he’s doing a lot of talking. He’s running his own podcast, titled “Not Dead Yet,” and he’s doing interviews like this one about what life is like on the threshold of the undiscovered country.

Ben Sasse on How to Live While Dying

Below is an edited transcript of an episode of “Interesting Times.” We recommend listening to it in its original form for the full effect. You can do so using the player above or on the NYTimes app, Apple, Spotify, Amazon Music, YouTube, iHeartRadio or wherever you get your podcasts.

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Ross Douthat has been an Opinion columnist for The Times since 2009. He is also the host of the Opinion podcast “Interesting Times.” He is the author, most recently, of “Believe: Why Everyone Should Be Religious.” @DouthatNYT • Facebook

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