Joe Henry — Welcoming Flies at the Picnic

Joe Henry faced his mortality in 2018 when he was diagnosed with stage 4 prostate cancer and told he might only have months to live. Now in remission, the singer-songwriter and producer has created a gorgeous new album, The Gospel According to Water. Henry’s wisdom on living — and the loss that strangely defines it — ran all the way through this conversation, recorded before cancer in 2015. Beloved by fellow musicians as much as by his fans, he’s produced a over a dozen albums of his own and written and produced for other artists, from Elvis Costello to Madonna.