This is FRESH AIR. I'm Terry Gross. Today we're going to feature an interview we enjoyed that few of our listeners heard because we featured it on a day that our show ended up being preempted on most stations by the Katanji Brown-Jackson confirmation hearings. The interview is with Frank Bruni. He says that one night he went to bed believing he was more or less in control of his life, but woke up to the realization of how ludicrous that was. Before I tell you why, let me tell you more about Frank Bruni. He's a contributing opinion writer for The New York Times who recently stepped down as a full-time columnist. Prior to that, he was The Times' chief restaurant critic, a position he was offered after serving as Rome bureau chief and White House correspondent. He also covered the candidacy of George W. Bush. He'd previously been the film critic for the Detroit Free Press and a Pulitzer Prize nominee. He's written books about George W. Bush, about his passion for food and his struggle with his weight, and the crazy-making process of applying to colleges and the fear of not getting into the right one. You can see he's written about life from several perspectives.