Episodes
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Max Brooks is the author of the bestselling novels World War Z and The Zombie Survival Guide. He is also a non-resident fellow at the Modern War Institute at West Point. His new graphic novel, Germ Warfare, details the brutal history of microscopic diseases used as weapons of war. The novel also salutes our brave scientists who have protected us from disease and will continue to so in the future with the public's cooperation. Max and I talk about how why he wrote the book, his role as a consultant and storyteller for national security panels, and how his famous mother, Anne Bancroft, instilled in him an awareness of disease and love of science at an early age. Like 7.
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Amber Scorah is the author of the powerful new memoir, Leaving the Witness: Exiting a Religion and Finding a Life, in which she sheds light on the insular and cult-like Jehovah's Witnesses. On the podcast, she talks honestly and bravely about what it's like grow up and spend her formative years as a Witness, why she and so many others subscribe to the religion's beliefs, and how she ultimately exited leaving a husband, family, friends, and everything she believed behind.
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Episodes manquant?
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Writer/Director Jacob Aaron Estes talks about his new movie Don’t Let Go, a supernatural, time-bending thriller about a police detective (David Oyewolo) who receives calls from his murdered niece. Jacob is super smart and surprisingly candid. Our conversation covers his journey from film school to feature films, the incredible story of how he almost died in Mexico, his shocking experience working with Harvey Weinstein, and his encouraging advice for aspiring screenwriters.
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Writer/Director Jacob Aaron Estes talks about his new movie Don’t Let Go, a supernatural, time-bending thriller about a police detective (David Oyewolo) who receives calls from his murdered niece. Jacob is super smart and surprisingly candid. Our conversation covers his journey from film school to feature films, the incredible story of how he almost died in Mexico, his shocking experience working with Harvey Weinstein, and his encouraging advice for aspiring screenwriters.
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Jorjeana Marie joins the show to talk about her new book, Improv for Writers: 10 Secrets to Help Novelists and Screenwriters Bypass Writer's Block and Generate Infinite Ideas. Jorjeana is a woman of many talents—improv instructor, voice actor, book narrator, and stand-up comic, to name a few—and her advice on how to break out of your stuck zone and get the creative juices flowing again is valuable to just about anyone, whether you're a writer or a plumber.
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Mental illness has been in the headlines a lot recently. But what is it really? Guests Dr. Allan H. Ropper and Brian David Burrell are authors of the brand new book How The Brain Lost Its Mind, which takes a look at the strange history of two misunderstood ailments: syphilis and hysteria, and the efforts to confront their effects on mental life. How does the mind work? Where does mental illness lie, in the brain or in the mind? And how should it be treated?
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Journalist and author, Abigail Pesta, joins the show to talk about her compelling new book The Girls: An All-American Town, a Predatory Doctor, and the Untold Story of the Gymnasts Who Brought Him Down. Abigail takes us through how and why she wrote the book, some of her most shocking findings, and the one piece of writing advice she got from her brother that really helped her through. Abigail, whose work has appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Atlantic, among many others, has carved out a niche for herself writing about women fighting back against injustice.
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If you want to better understand the intersection of politics, religion, and crime in the rural South, Ace Atkins is your roadmap. The author of 24 books, including nine Quinn Colson novels, Atkins just dropped The Shameless, which features Quinn, an ex-Army Ranger in Afghanistan turned sheriff in fictional Tebbehah County, Miss. Ace talks about what he learned as a crime journalist, how he writes such realistic characters and dialogue, his concern over emboldened racists, and why there's still hope in 2020.
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Journalist, author, and podcast host Josh Dean has been writing successfully for over two decades. His work has appeared in dozens of publications, including Rolling Stone, New York, and Esquire. He has two books, Show Dogs and The Taking of K-129. And most recently he debuted as host of a new true-crime podcast called The Clearing. We talk about how he's persevered and pivoted to be among the top in the game-- and how you can, too.
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Author Riley Sager talks about his creepy new book Lock Every Door, which fuses the thriller, horror, and goth genres. Sager talks about his origin story from struggling writer to best-selling novelist with endorsements from RL Stein and Stephen King. We learn how he gets his ideas, outlines his stories, and pushes through writer's block. Sager also speaks honestly about his insecurities, and why he decided to pivot to writing thrillers and using a pseudonym.
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Lauren Mechling joins the show to talk about her highly-anticipated summer novel, How Could She, which explores the complicated relationships between three female friends living in New York City. Other topics include what Lauren learned as an editor at Vogue working under Anna Wintour, the importance of NGAF as a writer, tips on how to end a friendship, and her hilarious Instagram blog on clogs.
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Technology has caused massive disruption in the news business, and with it changes in both the way we consume content and the way we write it. Gabriel Kahn, professor at the USC Annenberg School of Communication, gives a masterclass on how the economic model of journalism has changed, and what journalists can do to adapt. Whether you're an aspiring reporter, a working reporter, or someone who loves to read the news, you'll find his insights into the fourth estate encouraging and eye-opening.
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Tiffany Jenkins was a high school honor student, captain of the cheerleading team, and girlfriend of an upstanding cop. Then she discovered drugs and her life spiraled downwards to crime, desperation, lies, and eventually prison. On this episode, she talks about her new memoir High Achiever, her battle with addiction, and how writing helped save her life. Warning: This one's not for the kids.
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First Lady Rose Cleveland and socialite Evangeline Simpson Whipple had a love affair that lasted almost 30 years. The mostly unknown story is told beautifully in “Precious and Adored: The Love Letters of Rose Cleveland and Evangeline Simpson Whipple, 1890-1918. On this episode, the book's authors, Lizzie Ehrenhart and Tilly Laskey, join the show to tell this sweet and tragic love tale that still has resonance today, especially during Pride Month and the 50th anniversary of Stonewall.
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On the first-ever LIVE edition of Write About Now, I speak to Dean Kuipers, author of "The Deer Camp: A Memoir of a Father, a Family, and the Land that Healed Them." Kuipers speaks candidly about what it was like growing up with an emotionally distant and philandering dad, and how a scrappy, 100-acre piece of land in rural Michigan would eventually bond them. A former editor at The Los Angeles Times and Spin magazines, Kuipers has written extensively on radical environmental movements, rock’n’roll, and myriad other topics.
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Writers are good at finding reasons not to write. My guest Grant Faulkner has heard them all. Faulkner is executive director of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), and author of "Pep Talks for Writers: 52 Insights and Actions to Boost Your Creative Mojo." On the podcast, he addresses some of the most common writing roadblocks, including lack of time, self-doubt, and getting negative feedback, then offers some tips and tricks to get over the hump. If you're looking for motivation, listen to this interview.
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Tucker Max is a four-time New York Times bestseller and co-founder of Scribe Media, which helps people write and publish non-fiction books. He typically charges up to $40k for his services, but he's offering our listeners a free master class. In this fascinating, and somewhat controversial, interview Tucker argues that the scribe method, in which books were dictated not written, was used for thousands of years before typewriters and computers came along. He then takes us through the process of writing a book: How to position it, structure it, write it, edit it, and get it published.
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When Pamela Redmond wrote her novel Younger in 2005, she never dreamed that a decade later it would be turned into a TV show by Sex and the City creator Darren Star. But here we are. The show is about to launch its sixth season and a new edition of her book will be published on June 4. I sat down to talk with Pamela about how an article she read in Vogue about extreme plastic surgery inspired the book. How she wrote the novel in 3 weeks using a technique she learned from a famous mystery writer. And what advice she would give her younger self.
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Bobette Buster has spent most of her life teaching the art of storytelling. She's the author of Do Story: How to Tell Your Story So the World Listens, a USC professor, and a story consultant to Pixar, Disney, and Sony Animation. On this episode, she unlocks the key principles of storytelling, including what she calls the "gleaming detail" and "handing over the spark." Whether you're writing a novel, a screenplay, or a powerpoint presentation, this episode will help you tell your story in a new way.
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In 1981, Mr. Schick, aka Danny Rivera, made history as the first MC ever to rap on a record in Spanish. The song was "Disco Dream" by The Mean Machine on Sugar Hill Records. Although it enjoyed modest success on the radio, it's been largely forgotten. Until now. This is the extraordinary story of the events that led to the record and the tragedy, perseverance, and friendship that followed. To quote a lyric from Disco Dream: "Like a little bit of tuna with some mayonnaise, when you hear Schick rap you'll be amazed."
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