Martin Amis looks at the 2012 presidential election and sees a Republican Party powered by money and a far-right agenda. And the British author predicts that the Mitt Romney-Paul Ryan ticket will ultimately fail, because the GOP is now so conservative that Ronald Reagan would be an outcast in the party.

Now living in Brooklyn, Amis is watching the campaign closely. He tells Slate’s Jacob Weisberg that he sees a “disastrous lack of empathy” in Mitt Romney, and he thinks Americans ought to be leery of Romney’s Mormon faith, too.

Politics is just one area covered in Weisberg’s wide-ranging interview of Amis. In another portion, the author discusses his latest novel. In the third segment, Amis explains why he is so troubled by pornography. And in the final part, Amis offers reflections on the life and passing of his dear friend, Christopher Hitchens.