Nerd Alert with Sonja Bentley Zant

This is the final episode of Season One of NERD ALERT, and it is the exploration of how stories and the people who tell them are influenced by their very own "unreliable narrators." Sonja goes back in time and revisits her experiences in journalism school, and how difficult it was to try to remove all of the color and imagination in her writing when she was reporting a story. But one discovery leads to another in this podcast, and Sonja uses three primary podcast NERD ALERTS to explore her thoughts, and a couple of bonus articles to add to your experience. // 1) Tricky Podcast (http://trickypod.com) // 2) Man in the Window (https://wondery.com/shows/man-in-the-window) // The Writer's Panel with Ben Blacker (https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/forever-dog-podcast-network/nerdist-writers-panel/e/54864167) // Article 1) Why The Golden Age of Newspapers was the Exception Not the Rule ( https://www.niemanlab.org/2018/05/why-the-golden-age-of-newspapers-was-the-exception-not-the-rule/) // Article 2) The Podcast Review (https://podcastreview.org/review/man-in-the-window/) // You can read Sonja's blog (www.sonjawrites.com) and follow her on Instagram @sbzthewriter.

Thanks for checking out this bonus episode of NERD ALERT. I briefly mention this bonus in the full-length episode of To Be Fair, and it contains a NERD ALERT podcast suggestion for another fantastic Pushkin Industries series called "Deep Background with Noah Feldman." In this bonus content, I'm going to bring out some thoughts about how fairness plays into the topic of collegiate level sports as well as college admissions. It's not an easy thing to get my arms around, so I decided it might be best to keep this content brief. "Fairness" when it comes to college sports and academia feels a little loaded right now, so I just want to get started with a conversation and see where it leads!! Anyway. I've got three NERD ALERT links to include in these show notes // 1) Article on Ringer about the Fair Pay to Play Bill // 2) CNN Article on College Admissions Cheating Scandal // 3) Deep Background with Noah Feldman Ep 1 //

Thank you for joining me for another episode of NERD ALERT! In this episode, my little 4-year-old buddy, Everly, helps me as I read one of the posts off of my blog called Dog in the Fight. Sometimes it seems like people don't like to play by the rules anymore, and for me at least, I have trouble orienting myself to that reality. So in this episode, I take a deeper look at how rules, empathy, and morality all come together to complicate something that seems like it should simply be black or white. // There are two NERD ALERTS in this episode: 1) Podcast: Against the Rules with Michael Lewis // 2) Podcast: Revisionist History Season 4: Three Part Series -- Episode 5: The Standard Case; Episode  6: Dr. Rock's Taxonomy & Episode 7: Descend Into the Particular // Also, here's a link to my blog, SonjaWrites // You can also follow me on Instagram @sbzthewriter // Also, I want to thank my "fake sponsor," Pushkin Industries for making such excellent podcasting content!!

A super timely podcast that I subscribe to every week ended up adding a useful layer to the topic of how "stories converge," and how important it is for us to talk about them! Cheers!! // This American Life: Episode 683 - Beer Summit

Thank you for joining me another episode of NERD ALERT! In this episode, I'm featuring a post that appeared on my blog the day after it went live. I felt compelled to post that particular entry on my blog because I hadn't quite worked out how tricky it was going to be to tell my story when the story of my life involves my husband, too! So it got me to thinking about how complicated it can be WHEN STORIES CONVERGE. // There are two main NERD ALERTS in this episode: 1) Podcast: Slow Burn Season 2 -- The Bill Clinton/Monica Lewinsky Scandal // 2) Podcast: Confronting OJ Simpson with Kim Goldman // Also, here's a link to my blog, SonjaWrites. The post featured in this episode was called Not Just My Story. // You can also follow me on Instagram @sbzthewriter

This bonus episode features a fantastic interview between Malcolm Gladwell and Michael Lewis -- two famous authors, turned podcasters! The reason for this interview is to talk about Michael's new podcast series called Against the Rules. But the NERD ALERT in this short bonus only focuses on Episode 8 of Against the Rules, which provides a peek into the podcasting and creative process of two people Sonja Bentley Zant admires very much! And when added to the conversation that was started in Episode 02, this podcast interview helped Sonja further explore the idea that the authenticity of content -- not the perfection of it -- might be the thing that matters most! // Against the Rules Episode 8 // To follow Sonja on Instagram: @sbzthewriter // To read her blog: SonjaWrites

I had to take a little time out to add a bonus episode to go with my podcast about Perfection, and the Nerd Alert in this short bonus will kind of blow your mind. I really hope you'll take a moment of your time to listen to this content -- as well as to the podcast I'm recommending in this bonus -- because I think for me at least, acknowledging the way we measure success in our culture is really important to consider. // NERD ALERT LINK: Podcast: Confronting OJ Simpson Episode 6. 

Thanks for joining me for my second episode of Nerd Alert! In this episode, I start off with sharing another snippet from my memoir, The Imposition Tour -- this time, it's from a chapter entitled "Stow Away Panties." But don't worry -- this episode has nothing to do with underwear, but rather, in this podcast, I'm doing my best to work out my own understanding of the concept of PERFECTION. // There are three NERD ALERTS in this episode: 1) Podcast: Spectacular Failures 2) Podcast: The Dropout   3) Podcast: American Scandal Season 6 /// Also, here's a link to my blog, SonjaWrites. To read my memoir, just click on the "About the Imposition Tour" drop down menu for a complete table of contents. You can also follow me on Instagram @sbzthewriter // There are two bonus episodes (so far!) that tie into this full-length content. (NERD ALERT-- You've been warned!!)

One Bonus for Ep 01: The Honest Fraud wasn't enough for me, so here's a second one!! I came across this incredibly useful podcast from This American Life that helped me evolve some of the discoveries that I made in my first podcast episode, and I really felt compelled to share it with my listeners. In this bonus, I briefly share how author Jamie Lowe's experience with CPT -- Cognitive Processing Therapy -- helped me start to get "unstuck" in my life! NERD ALERT LINK: Podcast: This American Life -- Episode 682: Ten Sessions // The name of Jamie Lowe's memoir is: Mental: Lithium, Love, and Losing My Mind // You can learn more about Jamie on her website. 

This is a quick bonus episode that goes with Episode 1: The Honest Fraud. I wanted to provide listeners with a little extra content to help evolve the thoughts I worked through in my debut episode -- because listening to a very specific podcast on my hike the day after I wrapped up Episode 1 was incredibly helpful to me! NERD ALERT LINK: The Robcast, EP 145: The Importance of Boredom

Thank you for joining me for the very first episode of NERD ALERT! In this episode, I'm featuring an excerpt from my memoir, The Imposition Tour, which is entitled "The Honest Fraud." Using this as a starting point, I'm going back into my past to unravel myself a bit further so I can truly understand why I've remained so stuck for such a long time! There are technically three NERD ALERTS in this episode: 1) Ladder's Article: "The purpose of life is to be a nobody"    2) Podcast: This American Life #679 "Save the Girl"   3) YouTube: Kurt Vonnegut "Shape of Stories" /// Also, here's a link to my blog, SonjaWrites. To read my memoir, just click on the "About the Imposition Tour" drop down menu for a complete table of contents. You can also follow me on Instagram @sbzthewriter

Author and blogger Sonja Bentley Zant loves podcasts -- and she needs a place to share her thoughts and ideas about how the podcasts she listens to every week reshape her thoughts and feelings. So what better place to do that than inside of her own series. Welcome to NERD ALERT -- the podcaster's podcast!