>>ANNOUNCER: REPORT FROM SANTA FE IS MADE POSSIBLE, IN PART, BY GRANTS FROM THE NATIONAL EDUCATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF NEW MEXICO, AN ORGANIZATION OF PROFESSIONALS WHO BELIEVE THAT INVESTING IN PUBLIC EDUCATION IS AN INVESTMENT IN OUR STATE'S ECONOMIC FUTURE, FROM THE NEW MEXICO MUNICIPAL LEAGUE, A BETTER NEW MEXICO THROUGH BETTER CITIES AND FROM >>LORENE: HELLO, I AM LORENE MILLS AND WELCOME TO REPORT FROM SANTA FE .

I AM HONORED THAT OUR GUEST TODAY IS ONE OF MY VERY FAVORITE AUTHORS OF ALL TIME, DOUG PRESTON, THANK YOU FOR JOINING US.

>>DOUG: OH, LORENE, THANK YOU VERY MUCH, I AM DELIGHTED TO BE HERE.

>>LORENE: WELL, YOU WERE THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR BUT YOU HAVE WRITTEN 36 TOTAL BOOKS, A LOT OF THEM WITH YOUR COLLEAGUE, LINCOLN CHILDS.

BUT OUT OF THE 36 TOTAL BOOKS, 30 HAVE BEEN NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERS, CONGRATULATIONS.

>>DOUG: WELL THANK YOU, I FEEL LIKE A REAL HACK WRITER JUST CHURNING THEM OUT.

>>LORENE: BUT THEY DON'T FEEL LIKE THAT, I AM A HACK READER AND THESE ARE NOT HACK WRITTEN.

ONE OF THE REASONS I WANTED YOU TO COME, YOU STARTED A NEW SERIES FEATURING NORA KELLEY, WHO IS A ARCHEOLOGIST, ANTHROPOLOGIST, FORENSIC ANTHROPOLOGIST I GUESS AND CORY SWANSON WHO IS A NEW FBI AGENT AND THEY WORK TOGETHER SORT OF RELUCTANTLY THROWN TOGETHER AS A TEAM.

BUT IT IS A WHOLE NEW WRINKLE AND YOU ARE FOCUSING ON STORIES FROM THE WEST SO I LOVE THIS ONE, THIS IS CALLED OLD BONES , IT IS A LITTLE ABOUT THE DONNER PARTY, THE FAMOUS COLORADO CANNIBALISM, BUT WITH AN AMAZING TWIST IN IT.

AND THE ONE THAT JUST CAME OUT THIS YEAR, THE SCORPION'S TAIL AND IT IS FULL OF NEW MEXICO MYTH, LEGENDS, HISTORY AND IT WILL BRING PEOPLE TO NEW MEXICO.

JUST PEOPLE WHO READ THIS BOOK AND SAY, OH MY GOSH, BECAUSE THERE IS SO MUCH GOING ON AND YOU WEAVE IT SO INTRICATELY SO NOT ONLY IS IT ENTERTAINING AND DELIGHTFUL, YOU ARE REALLY TEACHING PEOPLE A LOT ABOUT NEW MEXICO HISTORY AND IN A BEAUTIFUL WAY, SO I WANT TO THANK YOU FOR THAT.

>>DOUG: WELL THANK YOU.

I REALLY DID, I POURED MY LOVE OF NEW MEXICO AND ITS HISTORY INTO THAT BOOK THE SCORPION'S TAIL AND I AM SO GLAD I WAS ABLE TO GET SO MUCH IN THERE.

IT'S GOT LEGENDS OF TREASURE AND IT HAS GOT THE HISTORY OF THE WHITE SANDS MISSILE RANGE, THE TRINITY TEST, THERE ARE ALL KINDS OF INTERESTING BITS OF NEW MEXICO HISTORY IN THAT BOOK.

>>LORENE: I KNOW AND FOR THOSE OF US WHO LIVE HERE KNOW THOSE STORIES, TO SEE THEM FLESHED OUT AND THEN TO BE SUCH AN INTRICAL PART OF THE PLOT, A VERY INTRIGUING PLOT THAT YOU DEVELOPED WAS ANYWAY WONDERFUL, SO PLEASE WRITE MORE OF THEM.

SO WE HAVE BEEN INTERVIEWING EACH OTHER FOR YEARS AND ONE OF OUR FIRST INTERVIEWS IN 2013 OR 2012, YOU WERE WRITING AND YOU STILL DO SOMETHING CALLED TECHNO-FICTION, WHICH IS BOOKS THAT ARE THRILLERS BUT HAVE A SCIENTIFIC BASIS AND THE MOST FAMOUS ARE PROBABLY JURASSIC PARK AND THE ANDROMEDA STRAIN , BUT YOU BRING SUCH A BALANCE OF SCIENCE AND FINE CRAFTED WRITING TOGETHER AND YOU ARE STILL DOING IT.

TALK A LITTLE ABOUT YOUR RELATIONSHIP TO TECHNO-FICTION.

>>DOUG: WELL YOU KNOW, I WAS ALWAYS A HUGE FAN OF MICHAEL CREIGHTON AND I REMEMBER READING THE ANDROMEDA STRAIN AND THINKING THIS IS JUST ONE OF THE MOST FABULOUS BOOKS I HAD EVER READ.

SO A LOT OF THE BOOKS THAT LINCOLN AND I WRITE START WITH A SCIENTIFIC THEME, SOMETHING QUITE UNUSUAL OFTEN, AND THEN WE KIND OF PUSH THE ENVELOPE AND EXTRAPOLATE OUT A LITTLE BIT.

IT DOESN'T EVER BECOME SCIENCE FICTION BUT IT REALLY DELVES INTO THIS SORT OF THE OUTER LIMITS OF WHAT IS POSSIBLE.

SO, FOR EXAMPLE, IN OLD BONES , WE FOCUSED ON PRION DISEASE.

>>LORENE: YES.

>>DOUG: WHICH PEOPLE MAY REMEMBER THE MAD COW SCARE.

WELL A PRION IS A MISFOLDED PROTEIN.

NOW IT DOESN'T SOUND VERY EXCITING, EXCEPT THAT IT IS DEADLY POISONOUS, IT DESTROYS YOUR BRAIN, IT DRIVES YOU CRAZY AND IT CAN'T BE STERILIZED.

>>LORENE: IT CAN'T BE DESTROYED.

YOU CAN AUTOCLAVE IT, IT SURVIVES, YOU CAN FREEZE IT, IT SURVIVES.

IT IS A REALLY TERRIFYING ELEMENT THAT IS CERTAINLY A PART OF LIFE, YOU KNOW.

>>DOUG: YES, AND IT IS NOT LIKE A VIRUS EITHER, THERE IS NO VACCINE FOR IT, IT IS NOT A LIVING THING.

IT'S JUST A REALLY, WE ALWAYS THOUGHT IT WAS REALLY A FRIGHTENING SCIENTIFIC IDEA, BUT IT TOOK US YEARS TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO MAKE THAT INTO A PLOT BECAUSE THERE IS A BIG GULF BETWEEN AN IDEA AND A STORY.

>>LORENE: YEAH.

>>DOUG: A HUGE GULF, PEOPLE THINK, "OH I HAVE GOT A GREAT IDEA."

WELL, A LOT OF PEOPLE HAVE GREAT IDEAS, TURN IT INTO A STORY THAT'S HARD.

>>LORENE: YEAH.

WELL YOU DO IT WELL AND PERHAPS YOUR MOST BELOVED SERIES ARE THE ALOYSIUS PENDERGAST SERIES.

WELL YOU HAVE CREATED A MOST AMAZING DETECTIVE FIGURE, I ADORE HIM AND HOW MANY PENDERGAST NOVELS ARE THERE?

>>DOUG: OH, I DON'T KNOW, MAY BE ABOUT 20.

>>LORENE: YEAH AND PEOPLE GOBBLE THEM UP, THEY JUST CAN'T WAIT.

BUT, SO I REMEMBER YOU TOLD ME THAT WHEN YOU WERE IN COLLEGE YOU TOOK A WHOLE LOT OF SCIENCE BUT YOU FINALLY SETTLED ON ENGLISH LITERATURE.

BUT THAT SCIENCE AND THE PHYSICS AND THE CHEMISTRY AND EVERYTHING HAS REALLY SERVED YOU SO THAT YOU REALLY UNDERSTAND THE TECHNOLOGY AND THE SCIENCE BEHIND THESE PLOT DEVICES THAT YOU INTRODUCE.

BUT I WANT TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOUR NONFICTION BECAUSE TO ME IT IS JUST AS EXTRAORDINARY.

SO THIS WAS ONE OF YOUR FIRST, CITIES OF GOLD , TELL US WHAT YOU DID IN THIS.

>>DOUG: WELL, THAT WAS KIND OF A CRAZY IDEA.

I DECIDED TO WRITE A BOOK ABOUT CORONADO'S 1540 TO 1542 EXPEDITION, CRAZY EXPEDITION LOOKING FOR THE SEVEN CITIES OF GOLD IN THE AMERICAN SOUTHWEST.

AND I REMEMBER SITTING IN THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY LOOKING AT THE CASTANEDA MANUSCRIPT WHICH IS ONE OF THE ORIGINAL REPORTS AND THINKING, YOU KNOW, THIS TELLS SOME OF THE STORY BUT I NEED TO GET OUT THERE, I NEED TO FEEL THE SUN ON MY FACE AND FEEL THE GRIT BETWEEN MY TEETH IN ORDER TO REALLY UNDERSTAND WHAT THE SPANISH WENT THROUGH.

WHAT IT WAS LIKE TO ENTER THIS NEW LAND AND ALSO IT WAS A VERY DIFFICULT MOMENT BECAUSE IT WAS THE FIRST MAJOR ENCOUNTER BETWEEN EUROPEANS AND NATIVE AMERICANS IN WHAT WOULD BECOME AMERICAN SOIL.

SO MY FRIEND, WALTER AND I GOT ON HORSEBACK AND WE RODE A THOUSAND MILES RETRACING CORONADO'S ROUTE AND WE JUST ABOUT KILLED OURSELVES.

WE PACKED OUR SUPPLIES ON HORSEBACK, WE HAD TO FIND WATER AND GRASS WHERE WE COULD AND WE DIDN'T FOLLOW ANY ROADS OR TRAILS.

WE MUST HAVE LAID DOWN A THOUSAND BARBED WIRE FENCES BUT WE NEVER GOT SHOT, ALTHOUGH WE PROBABLY CAME CLOSE.

WE CROSSED NINE INDIAN RESERVATIONS, WITH PERMISSION, OF COURSE AND WE GOT TO TALK TO THE PUEBLO PEOPLE AND WHAT THEY THOUGHT OF THE CORONADO ENTRADA.

THEN I WROTE THE BOOK, CITIES OF GOLD .

>>LORENE: OH, HAD YOU BEEN ON A HORSE MUCH BEFORE THEN?

>>DOUG: NO, I WAS A COMPLETE RANK DUDE.

>>LORENE: OH NO.

>>DOUG: WALTER WAS FROM TEXAS SO HE KNEW A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT HORSES.

BUT WE HIRED A WRANGLER AND HE LASTED A WEEK AND HE SAID, "THIS IS THE WORST DAMN COUNTRY, THIS IS THE HARDEST GOD DAMN TRIP I HAVE EVER BEEN ON, I QUIT!"

AND THEN IT TOOK US ANOTHER WEEK OF RIDING TO REACH A ROAD WHERE HE COULD BE PICKED UP.

>>LORENE: OH MY GOSH.

>>DOUG: HE BECAME A VERY BAD TEMPERED GUEST ON OUR TRIP FOR A WEEK.

>>LORENE: YOU HAD A MUCH BETTER COMPANY ON THIS.

THIS IS TALKING TO THE GROUND , GIVE US A SHORT VERSION ABOUT THIS.

>>DOUG: WELL THAT'S WHERE MY FIANCÉ AND I AND HER DAUGHTER, HER 11-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER GOT ON HORSEBACK AND WE SPENT A MONTH RIDING AROUND THE NAVAJO INDIAN RESERVATION FOLLOWING THE ROUTE OF A MYTHICAL, LEGENDARY GOD IN NAVAJO MYTHOLOGY CALLED MONSTER SLAYER.

AND I MAPPED HIS ROUTE ON THE LANDSCAPE AND WE RODE, AGAIN, NOT FOLLOWING TRAILS OR ROADS, AND WE MET MANY NAVAJOS AND THEY WERE REALLY IMPRESSED WITH WHAT WE WERE DOING.

THEY THOUGHT IT WAS REALLY UNUSUAL FOR THESE WHITE PEOPLE TO BE OUT THERE, BILL AND DONNA, A FAMILY TO BE OUT THERE.

BUT THEY ALL SAID THE SAME THING, "YOU'RE DOING THIS THE RIGHT WAY."

THIS IS HOW YOU SHOULD DO IT, NOT GOING AROUND IN A JEEP WITH A TAPE RECORDER LIKE THE ANTHROPOLOGISTS DO.

AND THEY SHARED WITH US A LOT OF WONDERFUL WISDOM.

>>LORENE: SO, YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE THESE IDEAS TO DO THESE PROJECTS BUT SO MUCH MORE COMES OUT OF THEM AND THAT IS WHAT I AM REALLY IMPRESSED WITH.

THIS ONE AND WE HAVE TO SPEED UP A LITTLE, THE MONSTER OF FLORENCE .

SO YOU OFTEN WILL LIVE IN DIFFERENT PLACES SO THAT YOU CAN CONCENTRAT ON WRITING.

SO HERE YOU ARE THIS FAMOUS THRILLER WRITER WHO RENTS A VILLA IN ITALY OUTSIDE OF WHICH IS WHAT?

>>DOUG: WELL, IT TURNED OUT THAT IT WAS RIGHT NEXT DOOR TO THE SITE OF ONE OF THE MOST HORRIFIC DOUBLE HOMICIDES IN ITALIAN HISTORY COMMITTED BY A SERIAL KILLER KNOWN AS THE MONSTER OF FLORENCE.

AND MY WIFE WAS EXTREMELY DISMAYED AND SHE WAS VERY UPSET THAT THE REAL ESTATE AGENT HADN'T TOLD US THIS, BUT I WAS THRILLED.

I THOUGHT I WANT TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THIS, SO I WROTE THIS BOOK WITH THE ITALIAN JOURNALIST WHO COVERED ALL THE MONSTER'S KILLINGS AND THAT BOOK IS NOW BEING MADE INTO A TELEVISION SERIES.

>>LORENE: WELL I CAN HARDLY WAIT, BUT WHAT HAPPENED, THE FACT THAT YOU HAD RESEARCHED THIS SO MUCH THAT THE ITALIAN POLICE FELT THAT YOU MUST HAVE BEEN THEN THE KILLER BECAUSE WHO ELSE WOULD KNOW ALL THESE DETAILS, BUT YOU WERE HOW OLD WHEN THESE MURDERS HAPPENED?

>>DOUG: WELL I WAS IN AMERICA AND QUITE YOUNG.

BUT THE POLICE WERE SURE THAT MARIO SPETZI, MY WRITING PARTNER, WAS THE MONSTER OF FLORENCE.

AND BECAUSE HE WAS A JOURNALIST, HE DID THE CRIME BEAT, HE WAS A VERY GOOD JOURNALIST, AND HE WOULD MONITOR POLICE RADIO AND HE WAS SOMETIMES THE FIRST PERSON AT THE SCENE OF THE CRIME.

IT WAS REPORTED, YOU HEAR IT ON THE RADIO, HE KNEW ALL THE BACK ROADS, HE WAS THERE BEFORE THE COPS GOT THERE AND THAT AROUSED SUSPICION MANY YEARS LATER AND THEN THEY CLAIMED THAT I KNEW THAT HE WAS THE KILLER.

SO, THEREFORE, I WAS AN ACCESSORY AFTER THE FACT TO MURDER AND I WAS HAULED IN FOR AN INVESTIGATION AND AN INTERROGATION IN ITALIAN, NO TRANSLATOR, AND IT WAS PRETTY SCARY.

>>LORENE: ALL THAT IS IN THE BOOK, IT IS A WONDERFUL READ.

THEN YOU WERE WORKING WITH NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC AND YOU GO AS A WRITER COVERING THIS AMAZING PROJECT.

THIS BOOK THE LOST CITY OF THE MONKEY GOD , IS ABOUT AN EXPEDITION IN THE RAINFOREST OF HONDURAS, LA MOSQUITIA.

>>DOUG: LA MOSQUITIA, YES.

>>LORENE: WHERE THROUGH LIDAR THEY FOUND THE OUTLINE OF THESE INCREDIBLE LOST CIVILIZATIONS AND YOU GO THERE AND YOU EXPLORE IT, AND TAKE PICTURES OF SOME OF THE MOST EXTRAORDINARY SCULPTURES AND THIS CITY HAD BEEN ABANDONED BECAUSE PERHAPS OF DISEASE.

SO YOU TAKE THE INDIANA JONES ADVENTURE, JUNGLE, TEMPLE, AND YOU ARE SO PROFOUND WITH HOW YOU EXPAND INTO AN ALMOST EPIDEMIOLOGICAL STUDY OF PANDEMICS, GLOBAL PANDEMICS AND WORLDWIDE, THE NEW WORLD AND THE OLD WORLD OF WHAT DISEASES ARE INDIGENOUS AND DANGEROUS TO EACH ONE.

SO, ONE OF THE THINGS I WANT TO ASK YOU ABOUT IS WHAT YOU LEARNED FROM PANDEMICS AND TELL US THE YEAR THAT THIS HIT HONDURAS AND THE PERCENTAGE OF PEOPLE THAT WERE KILLED IN WHAT, 1518 TO 1550, WAS IT 90 PERCENT OF THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLE?

>>DOUG: YES, IT APPEARS THAT YOU KNOW THE EUROPEANS BROUGHT DISEASES FROM THE OLD WORLD TO THE NEW WORLD, THE PEOPLE HAD NO NATURAL IMMUNITY, NO BIOLOGICAL IMMUNITY AND THE MORTALITY RATE WAS 90 TO EVEN 95 PERCENT.

NOW THE BLACK DEATH AT ITS HEIGHT THE MOST AND THE BIGGEST PERCENTAGE THAT IT EVER KILLED WAS ABOUT 60 PERCENT USUALLY AROUND 30 PERCENT, BUT 90 TO 95 PERCENT IS STAGGERING.

AND IT WAS THE GREATEST DISASTER THAT EVER BEFELLED THE HUMAN SPECIES WITHOUT A DOUBT.

>>LORENE: SO WE ARE SPEAKING TODAY WITH DOUG PRESTON ABOUT HIS MANY BOOKS AND WE ARE PARTICULARLY FOCUSED RIGHT NOW ON THE LOST CITY OF THE MONKEY GOD .

SO TWO THINGS HAPPENED, YOU GOT AN INCURABLE DISEASE WHILE YOU WERE THERE AND YOU WERE TREATED BY A VERY SPECIAL PHYSICIAN, TELL US ABOUT THAT AND THEN TELL US FROM YOUR BROAD AND VAST STUDIES OF PANDEMICS ACROSS THE GLOBE AND ACROSS TIME, WHAT DO YOU BRING TO LOOK AT OUR CURRENT CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC.

>>DOUG: WELL, IT IS QUITE INTERESTING.

THIS BOOK, OF COURSE, WAS WRITTEN BEFORE THE PANDEMIC BUT WHEN WE WENT INTO THIS VALLEY, THIS SCIENTIFICALLY, ONE OF THE LAST SCIENTIFICALLY UNEXPLORED REGIONS ON THE SURFACE OF THE EARTH AND WE FOUND THIS GIGANTIC CITY, INCREDIBLE TO FIND SOMETHING LIKE THAT IN THE 21ST CENTURY.

IT TURNED OUT THE VALLEY WAS A HOT ZONE OF TROPICAL DISEASE OF A CERTAIN NEGLECTED TROPICAL DISEASE CALLED LEISHMANIOSIS.

AND TWO-THIRDS OF THE EXPEDITION CAME DOWN WITH IT INCLUDING HONDURANS, BRITISH, AMERICANS AND MYSELF.

AND THE NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH DECIDED TO DO A STUDY OF US AND TREAT US FOR FREE AND SO WE ALL WENT DOWN TO THE NATIONAL INSTITUTES FOR ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES, WHICH IS WHERE DR. FAUCI IS THE HEAD OF THAT AND I HAD A CHANCE TO INTERVIEW HIM.

AND WHAT AN INTERESTING MAN, HE IS VERY UNASSUMING, NOT TALL AND HE SAID, "WELL," HE SAID, "YOU KNOW WHAT'S HAPPENED TO YOU IT SEEMS PRETTY BAD, YOU MUST BE VERY UPSET BY GETTING THIS INCURABLE DISEASE, NEGLECTED TROPICAL DISEASE NTD."

BUT HE SAID, "THERE IS A SILVER LINING BECAUSE NOW YOU ARE GOING TO GO OUT AND YOU ARE GOING TO WRITE ABOUT IT AND YOU ARE GOING TO SHOW THE WORLD HOW THE BOTTOM BILLION LIVE EVERY DAY WITH NTDS, BECAUSE THE BOTTOM BILLION ON EARTH FACE THIS KIND OF DISEASE EVERY SINGLE DAY."

AND I FELT WELL THIS IS REALLY AN IMPORTANT THING FOR ME TO BRING OUT IN MY BOOK IS NOT JUST ABOUT LEISHMANIOSIS WHICH WHAT WE GOT, BUT ABOUT THESE OTHER NEGLECTED TROPICAL DISEASES THAT PEOPLE WHO LIVE IN THE JUNGLE, WHO LIVE IN THIRD WORLD OFTEN HAVE TO DEAL WITH.

>>LORENE: AND BECAUSE OF CLIMATE CHANGE, IT MIGHT NOT BE SO NEGLECTED IN THIRD WORLD COUNTRIES, IT MIGHT BE MOVING UP AS THE CLIMATE GETS WARMER AND WARMER THAT THERE ARE CERTAIN MICROBES THAT WILL FIND A MORE FAVORABLE ENVIRONMENT THAT THEY HADN'T COLONIZED BEFORE.

>>DOUG: WELL THAT IS RIGHT, IN FACT LEISHMANIOSIS HAS MOVED INTO TEXAS AND OKLAHOMA, A LITTLE BIT.

IT IS JUST MOVING UP AND THERE WAS A STUDY DONE THAT SAID BY 2080, LEISHMANIOSIS, IF CLIMATE CHANGE CONTINUES AS WE SEE, WILL REACH SOUTHERN CANADA.

THIS IS A REALLY AWFUL DISEASE.

IT IS A PARASITE, I WOULD DEFINITELY RECOMMEND YOUR VIEWERS DO NOT GOOGLE LEISHMANIOSIS AND LOOK AT THE PICTURES.

>>LORENE: NO.

>>DOUG: DON'T GOOGLE IT, IT IS AN AWFUL DISEASE.

>>LORENE: AND SO THIS LED YOU TO LOOK AT PANDEMICS FROM THE 1500S AND ON AND ON.

AND EVERYONE, OF COURSE, HAD THEIR HAIR ON FIRE ABOUT THIS BECAUSE WE WEREN'T PREPARED FOR IT AND WE MISSED, WE DIDN'T EFFECTIVELY ATTACK IT AT THE BEGINNING.

BUT NOW I THINK WE ARE DOING PRETTY WELL WITH THE VACCINES AND THIS AND THAT, BUT WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ABOUT HOW THIS PANDEMIC, THE CORONAVIRUS, AS PUTTING IT IN THE HISTORICAL CONTEXT?

>>DOUG: WELL, YOU KNOW, WHEN I INTERVIEWED A NUMBER OF EPIDEMIOLOGIST, THIS WAS LONG BEFORE CORONAVIRUS.

>>LORENE: YES.

>>DOUG: THEY ALL SAID THE SAME TO ME, THEY SAID, IT IS NOT A QUESTION OF IF, IT'S A QUESTION OF WHEN.

THE HUMAN RACE IS GOING TO BE HIT WITH ANOTHER MASS PANDEMIC, IT HAS HAPPENED THROUGHOUT HUMAN HISTORY AND IT IS GOING TO HAPPEN AGAIN.

AND I WROTE THAT IN MY BOOK EVEN THOUGH I WAS NOT REALLY SURE I BELIEVED IT AND THEN CORONAVIRUS CAME ALONG AND NOW PEOPLE ARE SAYING, IT'S GOING TO HAPPEN AGAIN.

YOU KNOW, HUMAN BEINGS, WE DON'T REACT TO DISASTER UNTIL IT IS RIGHT ON TOP OF US, I MEAN CLIMATE CHANGE IS A PERFECT EXAMPLE.

YOU KNOW WE ARE NOT REALLY GOING TO DO THE HARD WORK UNTIL OUR CITIES ARE 20 FEET UNDERWATER, I MEAN THIS IS HOW WE ARE.

WE DON'T PLAN AHEAD AND I JUST HOPE THAT THIS CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC WILL ALLOW US TO PLAN AHEAD AND PREPARE OURSELVES FOR THE NEXT PANDEMIC.

THAT IS ALL I CAN SAY BECAUSE WE ARE A SPECIES THAT TENDS TO JUST REACT IN PANIC MODE AT THE LAST MINUTE OR OFTEN TOO LATE.

>>LORENE: AH, SADLY I AGREE WITH YOU.

WHILE WE HAVE LOOKED AT YOUR FICTION AND YOUR NONFICTION, YOU ARE ALSO A JOURNALIST AND YOU WRITE FOR THE SMITHSONIAN, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC , HARPERS AND THE ATLANTIC AND THE NEW YORKER .

AND AGAIN YOU BRING THIS MARRIAGE OF SCIENCE AND REALLY INTERESTING PERSPECTIVE THOUGHT AND WRITING.

YOU HAD ONE IN THE RECENT NEW YORKER CALLED "THE SKELETONS AT THE LAKE," ABOUT A LAKE, ITS 16,000 FEET OF ALTITUDE IN THE HIMALAYAS, IT HAS HUNDREDS OF SKELETONS IN IT AND YOU DID A DNA ANALYSIS.

WE DON'T HAVE TIME IN THIS PROGRAM TO GO INTO IT, BUT AGAIN YOU BRING THE SCIENCE AND IT MAKES YOU WONDER WHY WERE THERE THREE HUNDRED PEOPLE FROM GREECE AND CRETE, ABOUT 300 SKELETONS IN THIS MIX AND FROM THE 1800...ANYWAY WHATEVER IT WAS, IT WAS AN ASTONISHING PUZZLE PUT TOGETHER AND YOU GOT TO PRESENT ALL OF THE VARIOUS PIECES AND WHERE THEY WOULD GO.

SO ALL THROUGH THIS I SEE YOUR EARLY EDUCATION OF SCIENCE AND LITERATURE AND HOW YOU CREATE THESE WONDERFUL FICTION AND NONFICTION BOOKS.

AND THAT IS WHY I REALLY WANTED TO ASK YOU ABOUT THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN FICTION AND NONFICTION BECAUSE YOU ARE MOVING IN A DIRECTION MAYBE WE COULD TALK A LITTLE ABOUT YOUR NEW BOOK AND HOW IT BLENDS FICTION AND NONFICTION AND THEN ALSO THE ROLE OF HISTORY AND AS WE LOOK BACK AT THE FICTION AND THE NONFICTION AND WHERE ARE WE HEADED WITH THIS AND CAN WE TAKE THE REAL SCIENCE AND THE REAL NONFICTION.

SO THAT IS MY QUESTION, TALK ABOUT WHAT YOU ARE WORKING ON NOW IF YOU WOULD.

>>DOUG: WELL THANK YOU, I WILL.

IT IS A BOOK THAT WAS PUBLISHED CALLED, WELL LET'S SEE, WORKING ON A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT BOOKS BUT THE INTERESTING THING FOR ME IS THAT I WILL OFTEN DO AN ARTICLE FOR THE NEW YORKER, A NONFICTION PIECE ABOUT ARCHEOLOGY OR MEDICINE OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT AND THEN I WILL GET AN IDEA FOR A FICTIONAL BOOK BASED ON THAT STORY.

AND I DID THAT WITH THUNDERHEAD , WHICH ALSO TAKES PLACE IN THE SOUTHWEST, BUT THIS RECENT BOOK, IT STARTS OFF, IT HASN'T BEEN PUBLISHED YET, IT'S CALLED BLOODLESS , IT WILL BE PUBLISHED ON AUGUST 17.

BUT IT STARTS OFF WITH A NONFICTION CHAPTER OF THE DB COOPER HIJACKING AND IT IS ABSOLUTELY NONFICTION AND HE JUMPS OUT OF THE PLANE.

>>LORENE: WITH ALL THAT MONEY.

>>DOUG: WITH ALL THAT MONEY AND NOBODY KNOWS WHAT HAPPENED AFTERWARD.

BUT LINCOLN AND I WERE SITTING THERE THINKING, WELL MAYBE THIS HAPPENED AND THAT'S WHERE WE HAVE GOT TO THIS BOOK CALLED BLOODLESS , WHICH ACTUALLY TAKES PLACE MOSTLY IN SAVANNAH, GEORGIA.

AND IT IS A SPECULATION ON WHO DB COOPER WAS AND WHAT HE MIGHT HAVE DONE LATER IN LIFE.

>>LORENE: SO IT MIGHT BE THEN, SPECULATIVE FICTION, BUT IT IS AN INTRIGUING, THE GUY JUMPED OUT OF AN AIRPLANE AND DISAPPEARED.

I THINK AT ONE POINT THEY FOUND A WAD OF BILLS IN WASHINGTON STATE WHERE HE JUMPED OUT.

>>DOUG: THAT'S RIGHT.

WE RE-EXPLAIN THAT IN THE NOVEL WHY THAT MONEY WAS FOUND.

>>LORENE: AH, OKAY.

>>DOUG: WE HAD ALL KINDS OF THEORIES ABOUT HE WASN'T REALLY HIJACKING THE PLANE FOR MONEY BECAUSE HE KNEW THE BILLS HE WAS GETTING WERE GOING TO BE MARKED.

SO WHEN HE JUMPED OUT OF THE PLANE, HE JUST TOSSED THE MONEY AWAY, HE HAD ANOTHER PURPOSE FOR THAT HIJACKING.

>>LORENE: OH, WELL I CAN'T WAIT, I CAN'T WAIT FOR THAT.

ARE THERE OTHER HISTORICAL EVENTS THAT YOU HAVE BEEN WORKING ON FOR YEARS THAT HAVE TANTALIZED YOU?

>>DOUG: OH, YOU KNOW THE HISTORY OF NEW MEXICO IS ALWAYS, ALWAYS TANTALIZING.

THERE IS SO MUCH THERE AND I REMEMBER AS A YOUNG MAN I ONCE GOT ON A HORSE WITH MY FRIEND, WALTER, AND WE RODE THE JORNADA DEL MUERTO DESERT.

WE RODE THAT STRETCH OF DESERT ON SOUTHERN NEW MEXICO THAT IS REALLY ROUGH AND SO MANY PEOPLE DIED ON THAT STRETCH WHERE THE COMINO REAL WENT.

THAT IS SUCH FASCINATING COUNTRY AND I JUST WOULD LIKE TO WRITE MORE ABOUT THAT PART OF NEW MEXICO.

>>LORENE: BY THE WAY ONE OF THE LITTLE ELEMENTS IN SCORPION'S TAIL , WHICH I REALLY LOVE, IS A TRUE EVENT THAT YOU CAME ACROSS IN YOUR HORSEBACK RIDING, AN UNEXPECTED INSTALATION, TOTALLY UNRELATED TO NEW MEXICO.

AND ONLY SOMEBODY WONDERING AROUND OUT THERE WOULD HAVE FOUND AND THEN YOU INCORPORATED INTO YOUR BOOK.

>>DOUG: THAT WAS CRAZY.

WE WERE RIDING RIGHT ALONG THE FENCE LINE OF THE WHITE SANDS MISSILE RANGE AND HERE IS THIS SECRET INSTALLATION, VERY BIZARRE, WHERE THERE IS A HUGE AREA OF DESERT WAS COVERED WITH WIRES STRUNG OUT AND WITH SIGNS SAYING, "WARNING: DO NOT PHOTOGRAPH, DO NOT ENTER," SO OF COURSE WE PHOTOGRAPHED.

>>LORENE: AND ENTERED.

>>DOUG: WE DIDN'T ENTER BUT WE DID PHOTOGRAPH, BUT THEN I DID ALL OF THESE RESEARCH AND I FINALLY FOUND OUT WHAT IT WAS.

IT WAS A NAVAL STATION, A NAVEL COMMUNICATIONS STATION IN WHICH COMMUNICATIONS, IT WAS A HUGE ANTENNA THAT COMMUNICATED WITH NUCLEAR SUBMARINES UNDER THE OCEAN USING EXTREMELY LOW FREQUENCY RADIO WAVES WHICH ACTUALLY PENETRATE THE EARTH.

SO THIS STATION WAS COMMUNICATING WITH SUBMARINES IN THE PACIFIC, IN THE ATLANTIC, UNDERNEATH THE NORTH POLE, IN THE MIDDLE OF NEW MEXICO AND SO THAT, OF COURSE, WE HAD TO INCORPORATE IN THE BOOK.

>>LORENE: THEY SORT OF SAVED THE DAY FOR YOU.

>>DOUG: YES, THE NAVAL, MY GRANDFATHER WAS A NAVAL FLYER AND SO I AM VERY PARTIAL TO THE NAVY, SORRY ARMY.

>>LORENE: BUT THAT MAKES IT SO REMOTE BECAUSE WE HAVE NO LARGE BODIES OF WATER FOR THE NAVY TO OPERATE ON HERE, SO IT JUST SEEMS SO... >>DOUG: IT'S THE LAST PLACE YOU WOULD THINK OF LOOKING FOR A NAVAL COMMUNICATIONS STATION.

>>LORENE: WELL, WE ARE ALMOST OUT OF TIME AND I DO WANT TO MENTION A NEW PROJECT THAT YOU HAVE HERE WITH ANOTHER ONE OF MY FAVORITE WRITERS, GEORGE R. R. MARTIN, YOU ARE SAVING A CULTURAL ICON OF SANTA FE, CAN YOU TALK A LITTLE ABOUT YOUR NEW PROJECT, IT'S SO MUCH FUN.

>>DOUG: WE ARE, WELL, GEORGE R. R. MARTIN, BILL BENOWSKI WHO OWNS VIOLET CROWN, KATHERINE OPPENHEIMER WHO FOUNDED THE NEW MEXICO SCHOOL FOR THE ARTS AND I AND A COUPLE OF OTHERS, BOUGHT THE SANTA FE SOUTHERN RAILWAY WHICH IS A SPUR THAT GOES FROM LAMY TO SANTA FE AND WE ARE GOING TO REVIVE IT.

WE ARE GOING TO POUR MILLIONS OF DOLLARS INTO FIXING IT UP AND THE HISTORY OF THAT SPUR LINE GOES ALL THE WAY BACK TO BISHOP LAMY.

IT IS INCREDIBLE, IT WAS ONE OF THE MOST HISTORIC RAILROADS IN THE COUNTRY.

WE ARE SO THRILLED TO BE ABLE TO BRING IT BACK TO LIFE TO BRING IT BACK FOR TOURISTS AS WELL AS LOCALS TO COME AND ENJOY RIDING TO LAMY.

WE HAVE GOT ALL KINDS OF PLANS FOR A CHRISTMAS TRAIN, GEORGE MARTIN AND I ARE WORKING ON HALLOWEEN TRAIN AND WE JUST HAVE TO SETTLE A FEW DETAILS WITH THE CITY OF SANTA FE.

SOMETIMES IT IS A LITTLE DIFFICULT TO WORK OUT THE PERMITS.

WE HAVE GOT IT ALL WORKED OUT WITH THE FEDERAL RAILWAY AUTHORITY, WE HAVE GOT IT WORKED OUT WITH THE COUNTY HAS BEEN WONDERFUL.

THE RAIL RUNNER PEOPLE HAVE BEEN ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS AND WE ARE JUST SMOOTHING OUT A FEW DETAILS WITH THE CITY AND WE HOPE TO LAUNCH IT ON LABOR DAY THIS YEAR.

>>LORENE: OH HOW WONDERFUL, WONDERFUL.

WELL I JUST APPRECIATE YOUR TAKING THE TIME TO GO OVER ALL THESE MARVELS WITH US.

I WONDER IF YOU CAN LEAVE US JUST WITH A WORD OF EVOKING THIS CREATIVE SPIRIT IN OUR AUDIENCE.

>>DOUG: WELL YOU KNOW THERE IS NO BETTER PLACE FOR A WRITER TO LIVE THAN IN NEW MEXICO.

I MEAN I HAVE THE RICHNESS HERE OF HISTORY, OF PEOPLE, OF LANDSCAPES, OF THE GEOLOGY, THE PALEONTOLOGY, I REALLY FEEL LIKE I OWE MY CAREER TO NEW MEXICO.

I HAVE BEEN HERE SINCE 1986 AND YOU KNOW I HAVE BEEN ALL OVER THE WORLD, I HAVE LIVED IN FLORENCE, THIS IS THE PLACE, SANTA FE IS THE PLACE.

>>LORENE: WELL YOU ARE PAYING NEW MEXICO BACK FOR EXAMPLE IN THIS BOOK, SCORPION'S TAIL , YOUR NEWEST ONE.

IT IS A LOVE LETTER AND BEAUTIFUL, THE WAY YOU EVOKE ALL THE MYTHS AND LEGENDS, SO THANK YOU FOR WHAT YOU DO.

OUR GUEST TODAY IS DOUG PRESTON, A WONDERFUL WRITER, THANK YOU FOR THE GIFT OF YOUR WRITING.

>>DOUG: WELL THANK YOU, LORENE, IT'S ALWAYS A PLEASURE TO TALK TO YOU.

>>LORENE: WE HAVE FUN, YOU BET.

>>DOUG: WE DO.

>>LORENE: AND I AM LORENE MILLS.

I WOULD LIKE TO THANK YOU OUR AUDIENCE FOR BEING WITH US TODAY ON REPORT FROM SANTA FE .

>>ANNOUNCER: REPORT FROM SANTA FE IS MADE POSSIBLE, IN PART, BY GRANTS FROM THE NATIONAL EDUCATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF NEW MEXICO, AN ORGANIZATION OF PROFESSIONALS WHO BELIEVE THAT INVESTING IN PUBLIC EDUCATION IS AN INVESTMENT IN OUR STATE'S ECONOMIC FUTURE, FROM THE NEW MEXICO MUNICIPAL LEAGUE, A BETTER NEW MEXICO THROUGH BETTER CITIES AND FROM THE HEALY FOUNDATION, TAOS, NM.