Okay, so this series isn’t strictly narrative. It’s an exploration, via deep-thinking scientists, of some of the big questions of human existence. But it uses an important element of narrative—a knowing, amiable voice—to lead us on a fascinating tour—not from scene to scene, but idea to idea. It’s a narrative in the way that “My Dinner with Andre” is: in its sequential and cumulative exploration. What’s remarkable is the degree to which The Star-Ledger trusted Nutt to write personably for readers and to explore freely.

Each section starts with an eloquent, bold lead. Here’s one: “Time unravels us. Day by day, it peels away at the layers of our lives until nothing is left but the nub of our own mortality.” It’s not your typical news lead, and that’s one reason we like it.

Read “The Seekers,” by Amy Ellis Nutt

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