E84- I Hope You Find What You’re Looking For

A conversation with Bsrat Mezghebe

In this episode, Elizabeth Howard is in conversation with Bsrat Mezghebe about her debut novel, I Hope You Find What You’re Looking For (Liveright, W. W. Norton, 2026). The story is an exploration of family, identity, history, and the complex meanings of home, told through the perspective of characters who have emigrated to the United States and are living in an Eritrean community in Washington, D.C. Bsrat discusses the craft of writing, the authors and books that inspired her, and the ways she built her characters’ lives in the context of Eritrea’s complex history. 

The Short Fuse Podcast  hosted by Elizabeth Howard, are conversations with artists, writers, musicians, and others who have a lens on contemporary thought and stir us to seek change. Through their art, music, performances, and singular vision they lead us through the social and environmental transformations sweeping across the globe. Gerald Kent, a musician and audio engineer based in Cape Town, South Africa, is the producer of the Short Fuse..

“Artists are here to disturb the peace.” James Baldwin.

The Short Fuse is distributed through the Arts Fuse, a journal of arts criticism and commentary.