Now That's A Great Story

Sonya and I chat with Jennifer Miller and Jason Feifer, who co-wrote Mr. Nice Guy, a novel about two sex columnists who sleep with each other and critique their performance in competing publications. Mannnnn, our conversation is as fun as their book.  We talk a ton about craft and if you wanna learn even more? Check out this free workshop on the secrets of longform storytelling Sonya and I put together. It's 100% free. You just gotta enter your email: https://www.becomethestorytellingyouworkshops.com/workshop-2/

Are you stressed? Stretched too thin? Stymied by your writing projects? Give this episode a listen. I talk with Rebecca Pacheco, the author of Still Life: The Myths and Magic of Mindful Living. That book, and my discussion with Rebecca, has helped to transform how I see the world. It's one of the best episodes we've done.  If you want a similar transformation in your writing life, I've got a free workshop out now, and available for 10 days, on how to unlocks the secrets of storytelling, the internal mechanisms that allow great stories to endure. Just enter your email to get the workshop: https://www.becomethestorytellingyouworkshops.com/workshop1/  

We're back! Today we've got a special guest, Joe Keohane, author of The Power of Strangers. Sonya and I loved the book and, from within The Salon, we talked with Joe about why you need not only friends but strangers to enrich your life and improve your health. To talk with a stranger is a lot like interviewing someone as a journalist, and Joe and I discuss the practical things you can do to improve your own interviewing techniques. Hit me up with your feedback at paulkixnewsletter.com. 

From within The Salon I talk with Noah Lefevre, the creator of the YouTube channel, Polyphonic, which to date has over 84 million views. Noah and I talk about how and why he started his music- and storytelling obsessed channel, the flow state that every creative type knows, entrepreneurship, and blowing up in your early 20s.  The Salon's doors are open for a short time. Head to paulkix.com/subscribe to apply for membership. 

Sonya and I talk about the travel I plan to do next month and what that means for today, which is nothing, which is rest. We discuss how I've tried in the past to deal with these lulls in the schedule. And about our schedule: We'll be back in a month's time. To stay in touch, reach me through the newsletter at paulkixnewsletter.com. 

Sonya and I discuss how I'm fully vaccinated and ready to travel—but the archives aren't open. And if the archives aren't open now, what will happen if they never open? This episode, like the last, is less about the physical world than our mental states. There are also practical tips on when you should stop your book research. Best way to stay in touch is through the newsletter. Sign up at paulkixnewsletter.com. 

Sonya and I talk about the depressive funk that came over me last week: what caused it, why certain thoughts worsened it, and how I overcame it (for now). If you're a writer who deals with your own depression and anxiety—in other words: calling all writers!—give this episode a listen. To stay in touch, reach me through the newsletter. Sign up at paulkixnewsletter.com. 

I talk with Jody Avirgan in this bonus episode. Jody basically created ESPN's 30 for 30 serialized podcasts, and now host his own podcast while executive producing, among others, Death at the Wing, hosted by Academy Award Winner Adam McKay. Jody and I discuss the differences between a great "talk" podcast and a great narrative one. Our conversation occurs within The Salon, the private membership forum I run, of which Jody is a member.  Salon membership is normally closed to newcomers, but I'm opening it for a brief window of time. If you'd like to join our community, head to paulkix.com/subscribe. 

In this bonus episode I talk to the great John Lee Dumas, the entrepreneur and podcaster whose new book, The Common Path to Uncommon Success, inspired me. JLD's been inspiring me for years now. He's one of the reasons I decided to break out on my own. The two of us discuss how the life and career you want are never as far away as you imagine. If you like this episode, best way to stay in touch is through the newsletter, paulkixnewsletter.com. 

Think about the people who make stuff up for a living—especially if you're writing a nonfiction book. Sonya and I discuss why nonfiction authors should be inspired by novelists when structuring their books. We also talk about some of the novels that have inspired me. If you like this episode, best way to stay in touch is paulkixnewsletter.com.    

It's true! Sonya and I have found it to be the case in our own lives and especially—especially!—when doing book research. We talk about how you should schedule your day to incorporate more downtime, and what that downtime has meant for us and our family and how I had a come-to-Jesus after my last book was published. I needed to be there more for my kids. If you want to stay in touch, best way is through the newsletter: paulkixnewsletter.com. 

If you're gonna write a book, you've got to create a business to support it. You've got to turn yourself into an LLC. Sonya and I talk about all the benefits—fiscal but mostly psychological—working within an LLC has provided us. We give some tips to avoid some of the mistakes we made along the way. To stay in touch with me, hit me up at paulkixnewsletter.com. 

The answer is not: scroll Twitter. It's instead a certain technique I learned a few years ago and have had to apply this week, when working through an absolute deluge of old research files. Sonya and I talk about this technique, and what works for her. If you like this episode, the best way to stay in touch is through the newsletter: paulkixnewsletter.com.  

Sonya and I talk about meeting, marrying, and having kids as an interracial couple. We've each learned a lot from each other and our experiences, me probably more than Sonya. I see the world now with new eyes because I am the father of Black children and the head of a Black household. We talk about how my education in the Black experience is akin to Prince Harry's. To stay in touch with me, head to paulkixnewsletter.com.

Sonya and I talk about a quote from Ralph Abernathy's memoir: How the problems he and MLK faced in Birmingham were, he believed, God guiding them to the solution they needed. I read that passage at just the right time in my own book research. We talk about what happens when you hit insurmountable obstacles, and how they can guide you to the solution you need. If you like this episode, sign up for the newsletter: paulkixnewsletter.com. There I talk even more about what it takes to live the life of a storyteller. 

Sonya and I talk about the way to report or write a book while holding a full-time job. The first step is to—you ready for this?—listen to your body. We explain what we mean and also share stories of how to steal time out of your day...even at that full-time job.  Season Two: The Process. If you like what you hear, reach me via email at paulkixnewsletter.com. It's free to sign up. 

Where to go to do your book research is easy. When to travel is the question to ask, and one we learned the hard way. Tons of stories here and tons of tips to avoid the mistakes Sonya and I made. For more stories like this head to paulkixnewsletter.com and sign up for my newsletter.

The evolution of our marriage is also the evolution of how I learned to take, with Sonya's guidance, ever better notes. We talk about the various systems we adopted and discarded to arrive at something, with my book on Birmingham, is truly efficient, and in no-small part awesome. The better a writer's notes system, the less frustration he encounters in writing a book.

Sonya and I talk about the mistakes I made with my first book and how I've tried to correct those mistakes in the early going of the research phase with my second book. You may think book research is reading as widely as possible. It is actually reading as deeply as possible. Learn from my mistakes. To keep up with what I'm doing, connect with me via email. Sign up for the newsletter (it's free) at paulkixnewsletter.com.

This week Sonya and I break down how to find an agent if you don't have one. We cover what you should be looking for in an agent and how to identify the traits that will best help you. We also talk about what happens when you're book goes to market, and all the stress and joy that comes with it. If you like what you hear, rate and review the podcast. Best way to stay in touch is through https://www.paulkixnewsletter.com/. 

The proposal is the first step to writing a book. Sonya and I break down how we did it for my first book and the different approach we took this time, with my second book. We talk about how to stay motivated during the proposal process, how long the proposal itself should be, and also how, with my new book, we decided the proposal had to include the social justice movement of 2020. It affected our interracial family, which meant it was also relevant to a proposal on Black-and-white relations. If you like this episode head to paulkixnewsletter.com to stay in touch.   

This season of Now That's a Great Story covers the process of writing a book, specifically how my process for writing my forthcoming book can help you write yours. This season will be a week-by-week audio diary of not only what I'm learning but how that research into the Civil Rights movement still shapes our nation and the workings of my interracial family. My wife Sonya will co-host this season of the pod, and we'll talk about the teamwork necessary to write a book, offer tons of tips on the process of writing books, and talk about what it means to be an interracial couple, heirs to the vision of which Martin Luther King Jr. dreamed.  For more info head to paulkixnewsletter.com. 

I talk about my decision to switch the podcast away from a weekly format to a seasonal one.

Author Kevin Alexander comes on to talk about the crazy rise and  maturation of Gabriel Rucker, the chef in Portland who basically fathered America's farm-to-table dining revolution. Rucker's boozy story is the centerpiece of Kevin's Burn The Ice, which is the rarest of foodie books: The one I couldn't put down. I've known Kevin since 2008 and have watched him transform as well, from a struggling grad student to the James Beard winner who's the nation's best food writer. For full show notes head to https://www.paulkix.com/podcast.

I've got a question for every listener of this podcast—and I want your answers!

I talk with the fascinating Ryan Holiday, the entrepreneur and everyman philosopher, about a sequence of Stillness is the Key, Ryan's latest book, which debuted at No. 1 on the New York Times bestseller list. Ryan's work has had a huge influence on how I see and process the world, and I'm hoping you'll be just as enlightened. For full show notes—and there are plenty, given Ryan's erudition—head to https://www.paulkix.com/podcast. 

The two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Don Van Natta Jr joins the show to discuss the time that he, a reporter whom Bill Clinton loathed, played a round of golf with the president. The day is recounted in Van Natta's best-selling book, First Off The Tee, and Don and I talk about how the game is perhaps the best insight into the lives of men who run the world. For full show notes head to https://www.paulkix.com/podcast.

I loved Kitty Sheehan's approach to the story she told Monday, and made that approach—a first-person essay that actually has an omniscient point of view—the focus of today's After Show. Because trying something new, persevering when others tell you you shouldn't because it's new, has its rewards. For show notes, head to https://www.paulkix.com/podcast.

I talk with the teacher-turned-writer Kitty Sheehan, and the essay that took her 40 years to write, describing what happened one day in 1978 to her and her family. Kitty's piece went viral after it was published, and our conversation captures the story's appeal: its emotional rawness, its humor, and its hope, for Kitty and anyone who aspires to have their voice recognized by the world. For full show notes, head to https://www.paulkix.com/podcast. 

I talk about how a couple aspects of Tribe apply to my life and the lives of many of my friends. For full show notes head to https://www.paulkix.com/podcast.

I talk with Sebastian Junger about Tribe, the book that after two decades as a war correspondent and documentary filmmaker is the best-selling author's manifesto. Our conversation moves from the history of Native American tribes to survivors of AIDS to veterans returning to the States. Underpinning it all is an argument about our innate desire for a tribal group of friends, how the modern life cleaves us from that and literally sickens us, and what we can do to get it back. My time with Sebastian had a profound impact on me. I'm betting it'll do the same for you. For full show notes go to https://www.paulkix.com/podcast.

I talk in depth about something Patrick Radden Keefe touched on Monday: How to know the proper length and arc of your story. It's a principle I learned from my first editor when I was 22 or so. It's called the And Rule. For full show notes head to https://www.paulkix.com/podcast.

The New Yorker staff writer and New York Times best-seller Patrick Radden Keefe joins the show. We talk about an at-times hilarious and above all chilling sequence of his latest book, Say Nothing, a history of the Troubles that is also a commentary on how that history never really ended. Patrick and I discuss how and why he reports stories like this one, and what he's constantly seeking as an investigative journalist and writer. For show notes head to https://www.paulkix.com/podcast.

I pick up on a point Rich Cohen made and discuss something that the guy who played Walter White, the woman who created Fleabag, and the emperor who once ruled Rome knew: Do the work. Forget the outcome. And you'll find you'll have a better outcome than you hoped for. For full show notes head to https://www.paulkix.com/podcast. 

Rich Cohen, the seven-time New York Times best-selling author, comes on the podcast to discuss a sequence of my favorite business book, The Fish That Ate the Whale, a biography of Sam Zemurray, who built his fortune in the banana trade. What Zemurray did in Honduras—I mean, just listen. I don't want to give away anything. For full show notes head to https://www.paulkix.com/podcast. 

On Monday Wright Thompson talked about how his profile of the Williams family nearly broke him. Well, the very next piece we worked on nearly broke me. It was about New Orleans, and when Wright and I finished we both said, Never again will we do this to ourselves. For full show notes head to https://www.paulkix.com/podcast. 

This episode's different. I bring on Wright Thompson, a dear friend and great writer. For eight years, I edited Wright's pieces at ESPN the Magazine and we discuss what might be my favorite story of his: His profile of Claudia Williams, Ted Williams' daughter. It's a piece about inter-generational pain and was the most challenging story Wright's ever written. I still think of it as the magazine version of One Hundred Years of Solitude. For full show notes, head to https://www.paulkix.com/podcast.

Much like the protagonist of Cheryl Della Pietra's novel, I once got to edit an idol of mine. I talk about working with Peter Richmond  how gazing at him in awe wasn't the best way to edit his story. Though the episode is about magazine-making, its lesson is applicable to anyone in search of a bit more confidence. For full show notes head to https://www.paulkix.com/podcast.

I talk with Cheryl Della Pietra, the author of Gonzo Girl, a novel based on her real-life experience serving as Hunter S. Thompson's research assistant. The book is as loud and bawdy as you imagine but the real joy of it—and the focus of this interview—is when Cheryl discusses having an ambition that is greater than your hero's. For full show notes please head https://www.paulkix.com/podcast. 

On Monday, former CIA agent Michele Rigby Assad talked about the key to overcoming a presumed liability: Having more knowledge than anyone else. Today I talk about walking a not-at-all straight path to expertise about spies and saboteurs during World War II. The walk nearly ruined me and yet I'm so grateful for it. For full show notes head to https://www.paulkix.com/podcast.

I talk with Michele Rigby Assad, a former CIA agent, about an episode in her book, Breaking Cover, where she interrogated a terrorist in Iraq and turned her presumed liabilities to her advantage. Nominally about espionage and brinkmanship and the war on terror, this episode actually highlights what it takes to convince others of your worth. For full show notes, head to https://www.paulkix.com/podcast. 

I talk about Quake Books, the ones that alter who you are as a writer and person. I give some advice that your English or MFA professors won't like, and I talk about how Nathan Hill's quake book, and mine, were written by the same author. For full show notes, please head to https://www.paulkix.com/podcast. 

I talk with Nathan Hill, author of the New York Times bestseller The Nix, a comedic novel about, um, well, the 60s, Norse mythology, video games, love—it's about a lot of things. It's also amazing. I love this book, and Nathan and I discuss a four-page sequence that's belly-laugh funny and reflects everything Nathan's trying to do as a writer. For complete show notes, head to https://www.paulkix.com/podcast

I explore an idea that Eliza Griswold and I touched upon Monday: How to understand someone, and get him or her to trust you, when the two of you come from different classes. I share my story of moving to a tribal Boston, and meeting a guy named Vito Gray. For full show notes, please head to https://www.paulkix.com/podcast. 

I'm joined by Eliza Griswold, a poet and New Yorker contributor whose latest book, Amity and Prosperity, won the Pulitzer Prize for nonfiction. We talk about the book's protagonist, a single mother, who cut a deal with a fracking company to get at the natural gas beneath her property in Western Pennsylvania. She comes to bitterly regret that deal. For full show notes, please head to https://www.paulkix.com/podcast 

I pick up where Monday's episode with Taffy left off, and talk about how I learned to believe in myself through the most stressful, panicked months of my career. Full show notes at https://www.paulkix.com/podcast  

I talk with Taffy Brodesser-Akner about her profile of Ethan Hawke, and how the work of trying to do great work is the story of not only Hawke's career but Taffy's. Both faced dismissive sneers for believing in themselves, for wanting to be taken seriously. Today Hawke is much more than a pretty boy, and Taffy's recently released novel is a New York Times bestseller. Taffy and I recorded this before she'd finished the novel, which serves as a goose-bumpy coda for anyone who listens to the end. For complete show notes, head to https://www.paulkix.com/podcast. 

I talk about a few theories on how to end stories, approaches that have worked for Oscar-winning screenwriters, Ellie-winning magazine writers, and for me, with my best-selling book. I link to all the books and videos for this episode at https://www.paulkix.com/podcast.  

I talk with the great Chris Jones, the writer and producer of the forthcoming Netflix series "Away," about his profile of the magician Teller. Chris is a two-time National Magazine Award winner and his story on Teller is his all-time favorite, the one he keeps returning to and thinking about, even seven years after Esquire published it. It's about magic and storytelling but mostly the eternal fight between what the brain knows and the heart wants.  In our time together, Chris and I discuss a lot of books and magic tricks and videos. If you want to see any of them yourself, search my show notes for this episode at https://www.paulkix.com/podcast  

I talk about what the Newtown shooting did to me and my way of thinking, an endless cycle of thoughts that led me ultimately to do my own story on Newtown. My piece, years after the shooting, focused on whose pain is assuaged when strangers give a gift of condolence. For full show notes, please head to paulkix.com. 

Eli Saslow is a friend, a Pulitzer-Prize winner at the Washington Post, and the author of the book, Rising Out of Hatred. He and I talk about the piece that "just rolled me," Eli says. In "Into The Lonely Quiet," Eli spent time with the Barden family six months after their 7-year-old son, Daniel, was killed in the Newtown massacre. The point of the piece wasn't to relive the horror of that shooting but to feel the acute pain that followed it, as the Bardens flailed at each other and any politician who said the right thing but did nothing. (Which was almost all of them.) Brilliant, restrained, the story was also the hardest Eli's ever done. Talking with him about it moved me because of the difficult truths he learned: about reporting, about honoring someone's pain, about the human condition. We recorded the episode before the latest mass shootings in El Paso and Dayton. The suffering that families of those victims feel is very likely akin to what is on display in this episode. Eli doesn't preach solutions in his storytelling and so I won't here. I ask only that you live beside the Bardens for an hour so that you might understand them, and maybe all of us. For the books and movies that inspire Eli, please check out my show notes page on paulkix.com.