Podcast appearances and mentions of ben blatt

Episode 127: We live in a country of laws, but it seems there are certain laws that aren’t enforced in consistent and substantial ways. Hosts Richard Kyte and Scott Rada discuss three areas — chronic school absenteeism, traffic safety and shoplifting — where it seems that there isn't as much enforcement as there used to be. Links to stories discussed during the podcast: Skipping school: America’s hidden education crisis, by Alec MacGillis, ProPublica America's roads are more dangerous, as police pull over fewer drivers, Martin Kaste, National Public Radio Why are so many American pedestrians dying at night?, by By Emily Badger, Ben Blatt and Josh Katz, The New York Times Magazine Is shoplifting really surging?, by German Lopez, The New York Times The Slate Political Gabfest About the hosts: Scott Rada is social media manager with Lee Enterprises, and Richard Kyte is the director of the D.B. Reinhart Institute for Ethics in Leadership at Viterbo University in La Crosse, Wis. His forthcoming book, "Finding Your Third Place," will be published by Fulcrum Books.

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss the free-speech controversies that are roiling college campuses since the war in Gaza began; the questions related to Trump cases that the U.S. Supreme Court will answer; and the latest high-profile abortion case coming out of Texas that has real-life and political consequences.    Here are some notes and references from this week's show: Hannah Natanson and Susan Svrluga for The Washington Post: Harvard President Claudine Gay to remain after antisemitism testimony Michelle Goldberg for The New York Times: At a Hearing on Israel, University Presidents Walked Into a Trap Elad Simchayoff @Elad_Si on X  Danielle Allen for The Washington Post: We've lost our way on campus. Here's how we can find our way back. David French for The New York Times: What the University Presidents Got Right and Wrong About Antisemitic Speech Santul Nerkar and Jonah E. Bromwich for The New York Times: How the Israel-Hamas War Tore Apart Public Defenders in the Bronx Michael Barbaro and Nicholas Confessore for The Daily: Antisemitism and Free Speech Collide on Campuses Zah Montague and Tracey Tully for The New York Times: Education Dept. Is Investigating Six More Colleges Over Campus Discrimination Mark Sherman and Eric Tucker for AP: Special counsel Jack Smith asks the Supreme Court to rule quickly on whether Trump can be prosecuted and Mark Sherman: Supreme Court will hear a case that could undo Capitol riot charge against hundreds, including Trump Bob Dylan on YouTube: Bob Dylan – Idiot Wind (Official Audio) Robert Legare and Robert Costa for CBS News: Investigators accessed Trump White House cellphone records and plan to use them at trial, special counsel says Sabrina Tavernise for The Daily: The Woman Who Fought the Texas Abortion Ban Carter Sherman for The Guardian: US abortion rates rise post-Roe amid deep divide in state-by-state access Kate Zernike for The New York Times: Texas Judge Says Doctors Can Use ‘Good Faith Judgment' in Providing Abortions Here are this week's chatters:  John: One Line A Day: A Five-Year Memory Book and James Barron for The New York Times: Bob Dylan Sings, and Talks, on These Tapes From 62 Years Ago  Emily: Sydney Lupkin and Danielle Kurtzleben on All Things Considered: The Supreme Court will decide the fate of abortion pill mifepristone David: Paul Schwartzman for The Washington Post: With sports teams primed for move to Va., downtown D.C. frets its future and City Cast: Work with us. Listener chatter from Margaret in Jersey City: Chair Watch on Facebook   For this week's Slate Plus bonus segment, David, John, and Emily talk about Why Are So Many American Pedestrians Dying at Night?by Emily Badger, Ben Blatt, and Josh Katz for The New York Times and Why pedestrian deaths in the US are at a 40-year high by Marin Cogan for Vox. See also Political Gabfest: “The World Is Burning” Edition and Vision and night driving abilities of elderly driversby Nicole Gruber, Urs P Mosimann, René M Müri, and Tobias Nef. In the next Gabfest Reads, John talks with Brad Stulberg about Master of Change: How to Excel When Everything Is Changing – Including You.   Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)   Podcast production by Cheyna Roth  Research by Julie Huygen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss the free-speech controversies that are roiling college campuses since the war in Gaza began; the questions related to Trump cases that the U.S. Supreme Court will answer; and the latest high-profile abortion case coming out of Texas that has real-life and political consequences.    Here are some notes and references from this week's show: Hannah Natanson and Susan Svrluga for The Washington Post: Harvard President Claudine Gay to remain after antisemitism testimony Michelle Goldberg for The New York Times: At a Hearing on Israel, University Presidents Walked Into a Trap Elad Simchayoff @Elad_Si on X  Danielle Allen for The Washington Post: We've lost our way on campus. Here's how we can find our way back. David French for The New York Times: What the University Presidents Got Right and Wrong About Antisemitic Speech Santul Nerkar and Jonah E. Bromwich for The New York Times: How the Israel-Hamas War Tore Apart Public Defenders in the Bronx Michael Barbaro and Nicholas Confessore for The Daily: Antisemitism and Free Speech Collide on Campuses Zah Montague and Tracey Tully for The New York Times: Education Dept. Is Investigating Six More Colleges Over Campus Discrimination Mark Sherman and Eric Tucker for AP: Special counsel Jack Smith asks the Supreme Court to rule quickly on whether Trump can be prosecuted and Mark Sherman: Supreme Court will hear a case that could undo Capitol riot charge against hundreds, including Trump Bob Dylan on YouTube: Bob Dylan – Idiot Wind (Official Audio) Robert Legare and Robert Costa for CBS News: Investigators accessed Trump White House cellphone records and plan to use them at trial, special counsel says Sabrina Tavernise for The Daily: The Woman Who Fought the Texas Abortion Ban Carter Sherman for The Guardian: US abortion rates rise post-Roe amid deep divide in state-by-state access Kate Zernike for The New York Times: Texas Judge Says Doctors Can Use ‘Good Faith Judgment' in Providing Abortions Here are this week's chatters:  John: One Line A Day: A Five-Year Memory Book and James Barron for The New York Times: Bob Dylan Sings, and Talks, on These Tapes From 62 Years Ago  Emily: Sydney Lupkin and Danielle Kurtzleben on All Things Considered: The Supreme Court will decide the fate of abortion pill mifepristone David: Paul Schwartzman for The Washington Post: With sports teams primed for move to Va., downtown D.C. frets its future and City Cast: Work with us. Listener chatter from Margaret in Jersey City: Chair Watch on Facebook   For this week's Slate Plus bonus segment, David, John, and Emily talk about Why Are So Many American Pedestrians Dying at Night?by Emily Badger, Ben Blatt, and Josh Katz for The New York Times and Why pedestrian deaths in the US are at a 40-year high by Marin Cogan for Vox. See also Political Gabfest: “The World Is Burning” Edition and Vision and night driving abilities of elderly driversby Nicole Gruber, Urs P Mosimann, René M Müri, and Tobias Nef. In the next Gabfest Reads, John talks with Brad Stulberg about Master of Change: How to Excel When Everything Is Changing – Including You.   Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)   Podcast production by Cheyna Roth  Research by Julie Huygen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss the free-speech controversies that are roiling college campuses since the war in Gaza began; the questions related to Trump cases that the U.S. Supreme Court will answer; and the latest high-profile abortion case coming out of Texas that has real-life and political consequences.    Here are some notes and references from this week's show: Hannah Natanson and Susan Svrluga for The Washington Post: Harvard President Claudine Gay to remain after antisemitism testimony Michelle Goldberg for The New York Times: At a Hearing on Israel, University Presidents Walked Into a Trap Elad Simchayoff @Elad_Si on X  Danielle Allen for The Washington Post: We've lost our way on campus. Here's how we can find our way back. David French for The New York Times: What the University Presidents Got Right and Wrong About Antisemitic Speech Santul Nerkar and Jonah E. Bromwich for The New York Times: How the Israel-Hamas War Tore Apart Public Defenders in the Bronx Michael Barbaro and Nicholas Confessore for The Daily: Antisemitism and Free Speech Collide on Campuses Zah Montague and Tracey Tully for The New York Times: Education Dept. Is Investigating Six More Colleges Over Campus Discrimination Mark Sherman and Eric Tucker for AP: Special counsel Jack Smith asks the Supreme Court to rule quickly on whether Trump can be prosecuted and Mark Sherman: Supreme Court will hear a case that could undo Capitol riot charge against hundreds, including Trump Bob Dylan on YouTube: Bob Dylan – Idiot Wind (Official Audio) Robert Legare and Robert Costa for CBS News: Investigators accessed Trump White House cellphone records and plan to use them at trial, special counsel says Sabrina Tavernise for The Daily: The Woman Who Fought the Texas Abortion Ban Carter Sherman for The Guardian: US abortion rates rise post-Roe amid deep divide in state-by-state access Kate Zernike for The New York Times: Texas Judge Says Doctors Can Use ‘Good Faith Judgment' in Providing Abortions Here are this week's chatters:  John: One Line A Day: A Five-Year Memory Book and James Barron for The New York Times: Bob Dylan Sings, and Talks, on These Tapes From 62 Years Ago  Emily: Sydney Lupkin and Danielle Kurtzleben on All Things Considered: The Supreme Court will decide the fate of abortion pill mifepristone David: Paul Schwartzman for The Washington Post: With sports teams primed for move to Va., downtown D.C. frets its future and City Cast: Work with us. Listener chatter from Margaret in Jersey City: Chair Watch on Facebook   For this week's Slate Plus bonus segment, David, John, and Emily talk about Why Are So Many American Pedestrians Dying at Night?by Emily Badger, Ben Blatt, and Josh Katz for The New York Times and Why pedestrian deaths in the US are at a 40-year high by Marin Cogan for Vox. See also Political Gabfest: “The World Is Burning” Edition and Vision and night driving abilities of elderly driversby Nicole Gruber, Urs P Mosimann, René M Müri, and Tobias Nef. In the next Gabfest Reads, John talks with Brad Stulberg about Master of Change: How to Excel When Everything Is Changing – Including You.   Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)   Podcast production by Cheyna Roth  Research by Julie Huygen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ben Blatt is a former staff writer for Slate and the Harvard Lampoon. Ben is a numbers guy who has taken his fun approach to data journalism to topics such as Seinfeld, map-making, the Beatles, and Jeopardy. This conversation centers around Ben's book "Nabokov's Favorite Word is Mauve" (2017). It's a book about what we can learn about writing and authors based not on what they say, or what impressions we get from reading their books, but on something that results from applying rigorous data analysis to their actual texts. Specifically, KMO and Ben discuss: 00:25 – Moneyball and its influence on Ben 02:12 – The attraction of baseball for analytical people 04:25 – Ben's interest in numbers and writing 06:40 – Patterns, correlations, and writing advice 10:00 – -LY adverbs 12:00 – British vs American English 14:40 – Bloke, blimey and the Harry Potter Effect 16:00 – Loud vs quiet verbs 19:08 – Pronoun and characters stats 20:00 – Comparing authors' noise levels 23:00 – Gender differences in literature 27:50 – Professionals and amateurs: the statistical differences 30:25 – Reading fan fiction 32:50 – Restraining style choices to foster creativity 34:50 – Revising one's novels 36:00 – Fame and success affecting one's writing style 38:00 – Data tools 40:15 – Vonnegut 42:10 – The validity of "write what you know" 43:10 – Digital Humanities and Franco Moretti's "Atlas of the European Novel" 47:15 – Ben's advice for aspiring writers 50:15 – Creating writing and progress in AI 52:05 – Ben's next project Ben (The Guest): Twitter: @BenBlatt KMO (The Host): Twitter: @Kayemmo en.padverb.com/kmo Padverb: The Padverb Telegram Channel: t.me/padverbpodcast

Ben Blatt, Chief Business Officer at Pagaya, shares how AI is reshaping and pushing the boundaries of human comprehension within finance. Pagaya is at the cutting-edge of innovation, enabling financial institutions to expand access to more customers through its artificial intelligence network. Ben oversees the company's credit business and securitization programs; now totalling multiple billions of dollars.Discussions in the episode:How to foster a culture of innovative thinkingThe dilemma of scarcity of talent within AI Biggest challenges and learns from a period of hyper growth How to scale and align culture across multiple global officesTactics for personal learning and developmentThe epitome of outstanding leadershipClick here to reach out to Peter Rabey directLike this show? Please leave us a review. Every review helps.

Show Notes & Resources:   Hello, and welcome to About This Writing Thing, a weekly podcast about living the writing life. I'm your host, Sayword B. Eller, novelist, short story writer, and podcaster.   This week I'm talking about dramatic punctuation. Specifically exclamation points and ellipses. You should know now that I am the queen of the ellipses.   First, I want to let you know I'm still taking clients for my critique and editing services. You can visit saywordbeller.com to take a look at my testimonials and send me a message to schedule, or you can head over to Fiverr.com/saybeller to sign up for one of my gigs.   Also, I'm asking you what you want to talk about in 2021. I have several topics lined up for the remainder of this year and into the first of the year, but I'd like to know what you'd like to hear about. This can't be all about me all the time, right? If you follow me or About This Writing Thing on Instagram, just send me a PM, or send me an email at sayword@saywordbeller.com.   Now, let's talk dramatics.   We've all heard Elmore Leonard's writing advice that we shouldn't use more than 2 - 3 exclamation points per 100,000 words in a novel. Since my novels are typically around 80k-90k, that means I should only use 2 in the entire book, according to Leonard. Thankfully, this isn't the case. Not even he followed this rule, according to Ben Blatt's 2017 article in The Atlantic that I will link in the description box below. But I get the sentiment and I constantly pass it on to new (and even seasoned) writers. Too many exclamation points in your narrative are distracting and overwhelming. Period.   As your trusted (I hope) writing guru (can I call myself a guru?), I scoured the internet to find a few sources on using exclamation points in fiction writing. Turns out, I didn't really need to because at this point in my career I know full-well why I shouldn't use them often. I mean, who wants their readers to feel like they're being yelled at constantly. No one is that dramatic! Am I right?   The Write Good Books Blog featured a post in August 2017 that had this to say about using too many exclamation points in fiction writing: It's a sign of weak writing - The rule of thumb is that the actions of your character(s) along with their dialogue should show the reader the height of emotion without the use of exclamation points. However, if you must use them, for crying out loud, don't say "he/she exclaimed or shouted or yelled" after the dialogue. We know they're shouting, screaming, or yelling because you've used an exclamation point. Your characters are not shouting all the time - Are they? I read a submission recently that had so many exclamation points in a half-page conversation that I was exhausted by the time the conversation had concluded. I know we get excited in conversation. I know sometimes we have very heightened passages of dialogue in reality. Personally, I think it's fine to have that one very dramatic scene, but that's the only one you get. Use it like it's your final lifeline and a million dollars is at stake. In other words, use it very carefully and only if it's absolutely necessary. It makes everything seem rushed - Remember that ending scene in Clue? If you haven't watched it, stop right now and go watch it, but make sure you watch the version with the 3 endings. You can't get the full effect otherwise. Did you watch it? Okay. So, when Wadsworth is running around like mad with the rest of the group and they're trying to piece together what happened …. That's what using too many exclamation points in like in writing. Yes, it's fun for that ten minutes on screen, but in a short story or novel it's tedious and exhausting. It takes the reader out of the story - Think about the last time you read a novel with too many exclamation points. When I was studying history I used to read a lot of texts from the 19th century. Heads up, they LOVED exclamation points. They were used for effect and to highlight things, and to really just drive the readers into a frenzy. Okay, I'm assuming that last one. We're not 19th century readers. We don't need all those exclamation points to clue us in on the importance of something or to let us know that something crazy or amazing is happening. That's what action in your narrative is for.   I tend to agree with ProWritingAid, "[It's] better for your readers and your reputation […] to use amazing word choices to entice your readers and get them excited" (ProWritingAid "Exclamation Point: Use it or not?").   Personally, I don't like to see more than 3 exclamation points per 10 chapters. Of course, I also know that people actually roll their eyes in real life, so my characters *GASP* roll their eyes, though that action is used as sparingly as exclamation points, or should be. Nobody's perfect, though, so if you go through some of my stories and see a lot of eye rolling, don't come at me.   K.M. Weiland give 3 examples of how writers shouldn't use exclamation points. For emphasis - Again, this is something that went out of style in 1900. Don't do it. For hilarity - F. Scott Fitzgerald said, "an exclamation point is like laughing at your own joke." If you have to slap your knee and cackle while looking at everyone else around the room expecting them to get it, you probably shouldn't tell the joke. Same thing with exclamation points. You can think it's the most clever thing you've ever typed or written, but you have to leave it up to the reader to get the context from the narrative and dialogue. Don't keep shoving their shoulder going, "Huh! Huh!" For excitement - I read The Lady Lieutenant, a book published in 1862 about a woman who dresses as a man and goes to war. She has grand adventures that overly romanticize war and a woman's place in it (I'm speaking in 19th century jargon here). In the text the author, Richard Hooker Wilmer, uses exclamation points often to show readers how exciting the action in a scene is. It's a quick read, and an important text for the social historian studying perceptions and portrayals of women in the 19th century, but by today's standards it sinks. As mentioned before, nowadays your narrative should do the work that the once-popular exclamation point once did. It is your responsibility as author to find (and use) exciting words in well-constructed sentences that show your readers how exciting a passage is. Never rely on punctuation to do what you should be doing.   As with everything else in writing, use exclamation points with purpose and only if they're absolutely necessary.   Other forms of dramatic punctuation are ellipses and italics. I am guilty of both. As I self-edited my first novel I realized I was the queen of the ellipses. I had at least six instances of them on each page. EACH PAGE. I used mine for conversations that fall away, or for characters whose minds wander in thought.   The ellipses historical use is to convey that something is missing. These missing elements could be words, thoughts, or even feelings. C. S. Lakin stated two uses for them, "to indicate trailing, faltering, or interrupted speech (which is the most common use for fiction writers) [and] to indicate that text is missing or omitted from a quotation" (Lakin Live, Write, Thrive).   I still use ellipses, but after identifying that they're a real problem for me, I became hyper-vigilant of them and now use them sparingly. However, as is apt to happen to us beautiful and complicated people, I have now taken to relying too much on another dramatic writing tool, the italics. In my writing I italicize words for emphasis, as well as internal thoughts, past conversations, and dreams. These latter three aren't much of a problem because I don't use them as often as I do italics for emphasis.   According to some writers, this is a sign of lazy or weak writing. I don't like to say that someone is a lazy writer, but the truth of the matter is that sometimes we are lazy. I don't feel like I'm being lazy when I use these tools, but when I go back through to edit my second and third drafts (I almost always have at least 4), I tend to weed out some of the emphasized text by strengthening the narrative around it.   The truth of the matter is that everything discussed today has its place in writing. Sometimes we are dramatic, sometimes our characters are dramatic. That isn't the problem. If nothing else, those instances of dramatics makes the prose more realistic. Hubby and I just finished watching Evil on Netflix and the main character, Kristen, has 4 daughters. In every scene these girls are in it's a whirlwind of movement and talking. Each girl wants to be heard over the other. It becomes overwhelming, but it's so realistic. I only had 3 kids and sometimes I had to step away because it was too much. So, no one is saying never use them, but when you do use exclamation points, ellipses, or italics, do it with a purpose and make sure that you don't do it so much that your readers want to throw the book across the room.   That's it for this week. If you enjoyed this episode, please give me a thumbs up or a like, and subscribe. I would be ever so grateful if you would share About This Writing Thing with your writing friends. Who knows, maybe they'll be my friends too. We can never have too many writing pals. If you want to know what I'm doing between shows, you can find me on Instagram and Twitter (@saybeller), you can also find this podcast on Instagram (AboutThisWritingThing) and on Twitter (@WritingThingPod).   If you're interested in critique or editing services, you can find me on Fiverr (https://fiverr.com/saybeller) or you can go to my website to read my testimonials and schedule a consult.   My email newsletter goes out on the first of every month. If you haven't signed up yet and you'd like to, visit my website and click on the subscribe box at the top of the screen.   Thanks for hanging out with me. Take care and happy writing!     Resources:   The Editor's Blog: https://theeditorsblog.net/2018/01/12/slapped-silly-by-exclamation-points/   Weiland, K.M. Helping Writers Become Authors Blog, August 2, 2015. https://www.helpingwritersbecomeauthors.com/exclamation-points/#:~:text=Exclamation%20Points%20for%20Emphasis&text=In%20fiction%2C%20this%20kind%20of,their%20immersion%20in%20your%20narrative.   Blatt, Ben. "How Many Exclamation Points do Great Writers Use?" The Atlantic, March 2017. https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2017/03/curb-your-enthusiasm/513833/   ProWritingAid. "The Exclamation Point: Use it or Not?" The Writing Cooperative. September 9, 2018. https://writingcooperative.com/exclamation-point-use-it-or-not-34f7bccf4032   Bougger, Jason. "Why Are You Shouting At Me!!!" Write Good Books Blog, August 29, 2017. https://www.writegoodbooks.com/why-are-you-shouting-at-me/   Fawkes, September C. https://www.septembercfawkes.com/2019/05/how-to-use-ellipsis-properly-in-fiction.html   Lakin, C. S. "Don't Abuse the Dot-Dot-Dots" Live, Write Thrive. August 22, 2014. https://www.livewritethrive.com/2014/08/22/dont-abuse-the-dot-dot-dots/

This week, Mel gets excited because she doesn't have to make another pass on her chapter, but Kemlo calls her out for a lazy/info dump chapter ending. (There's a dramatic reading...don't miss it!)"You can't wrap up an exciting an action-packed chapter in...two lines." - MelanieOr maybe you can, but not like that! Reading your work out loud, or hearing others read it out loud, is really important in the revision process. Abby heard of a writer that recorded herself reading her story and then listened to it. If you can stand the sound of your own voice, go for it! It can be useful in getting the nuance of knowing that you're getting your point across, highlighting awkward phrasing, etc.Mel wants to know what Kemlo thinks about some of the inconsistencies in this chapter - one of her characters is unconscious and needs to wake up. Kemlo believes that it actually doesn't need to be resolved in this chapter, since there's so much on-the-page action, but something that can be addressed in the next chapter. The group does some brainstorming in finding ways to satisfy the question.We talk about the little ways this chapter that Mel has worked on drawing two of her characters closer, and the subtleties she's worked into the story - not pages and pages of rumination, but enough to introduce the possibility of attraction as a "thing" to bring back up later.Kemlo goes over adverbs and dialogue tags, and why we should be careful. It's easy to get into the habit of adding an adverb post dialogue tag, mix it up! Find other ways to inject emotion into your character's dialogue - either via nonverbal cues or adding other descriptions to the conversation.Abby makes reference to Nabakov's Favorite Word is Mauve, by Ben Blatt. This book goes over the habits and tendencies writers get into - whether it's too many adverbs, how men and women write their characters and other fun data points from famous novels. In regards to the current conversation, basically, if you use too many adverbs, you're struggling with being concise. The book has a lot of other interesting techniques and research on the patterns and prose of successful writing.Here is the link to the gender guesser website we discuss: http://www.hackerfactor.com/GenderGuesser.phpKeep writing, moms! And parents! And everyone else, whether you have kids or dogs or cats or a job that takes up too much time - you'll never regret the time you put into bettering yourself as a writer.

I’m happy to welcome Katrina Spencer, Literatures & Cultures Librarian at Middlebury College, to the podcast. Thanks for taking the time to chat with us today! In your profile that was published in Against the Grain, you mentioned that one of your career highlights was being a West African Research Center Fellow in Dakar, Senegal. It sounds amazing! Can you tell us more about that experience? Show Notes: “Hair Me Out” Exhibit: http://sites.middlebury.edu/lis/2018/02/21/blackhaircelebration/ If Someone Says "You Complete Me," RUN! by Whoopi Goldberg Nabokov's Favorite Words Is Mauve by Ben Blatt   --------------------------------------------------------- Next, I’d like to welcome Inga Haugen to the show. Inga is Agriculture Life Sciences and Scholarly Communication Librarian, Virginia Tech. Thanks for chatting with us today, Inga! Erin Gallagher is also joining us again, and she’ll be interviewing Inga. You hold a unique role at the intersection of agriculture and librarianship, and you’ll be starting a PhD program this fall in Agricultural Leadership & Community Education--tell us more about what you’ll be doing in that program. Link: VOCATIONAL AWE AND LIBRARIANSHIP: THE LIES WE TELL OURSELVES http://www.inthelibrarywiththeleadpipe.org/2018/vocational-awe/   --------------------------------------------------------- And finally, Tom Gilson will be interviewing Ethan Cutler, Digital Strategist at Western Michigan University. Thanks to both of you for joining us on the show! Tell us a bit about how you arrived in your career? Being a library digital strategist sounds like a really fascinating job. But what exactly does a digital strategist do? You mentioned in your Against the Grain profile that you've recently been awarded a Technology Enhancement Award by the Greater Midwest Region of the National Network of Libraries of Medicine. Can you tell us more about that accomplishment?" What is a change you hope to make in our profession? What do you think our industry will look like in 5-10 years? Significant changes? What are you reading at the moment? What advice would you give to students interested in careers in librarianship or information studies? Links: Technology and Platforms: What’s on the Horizon (2017 Charleston Conference Plenary presentation by Georgios Papadopoulos) https://youtu.be/fPqvqJbUVdc ATG Penthouse Suite Interview of Georgios Papadopoulos https://youtu.be/P0OaGfzgStQ   ATG Media is pleased to recognize the first ever recipients for the Up and Comers award with a series of interviews on the ATG Podcast. Who exactly is an “Up and Comer,” you ask?  They are librarians, library staff, vendors, publishers, MLIS students, instructors, consultants, and researchers who are new to their field or are in the early years of the profession.  Up and Comers are passionate about the future of libraries.  They innovate, inspire, collaborate, and take risks.  They are future library leaders and change makers, and we are excited to celebrate them with this award. There were 20 recipients of the award for 2017 that were announced just prior to the 2017 Charleston Conference. A link to the press release is available in the show notes. Each episode, we’ll feature 3 – 4 short interviews with different award recipients. We have a standard list of 5 questions for each one, and a custom question based on their activities or interests that were listed in the profiles in Against the Grain. Congratulations to all of the award winners, and thanks to each of you for participating in the podcast. Links: Up & Comer Award Winner Press Release https://against-the-grain.com/2017/11/atg-newsflash-atg-medias-first-up-and-comers-awards/   Up & Comer Profiles from v 29 #6, the Dec 2017/Jan 2018 issue of Against the Grain: http://www.against-the-grain.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/ATG_profiles_v29-6.pdf Interview Questions for all UCs: Tell us a bit about how you arrived in your career? What is a change you hope to make in our profession? What do you think our industry will look like in 5-10 years? Significant changes? What are you reading at the moment? What advice would you give to students interested in careers in librarianship or information studies? Custom question  

Stephen King once said that wannabe authors should avoid using adverbs which end with ‘ly’ but does he follow his own advice? Data journalist Ben Blatt decided to find out. He also analysed texts written by some of the best known authors to discover the words they use obsessively. This year has seen a sharp rise in the number of confrontations in America between far right white supremacists and a group known as antifa – the anti fascists. We look at these two groups in traditionally liberal towns like Berkeley, California and Portland, Oregon and ask who is winning and what they are fighting for. Do you ever feel like a fraud? Do you think that you don’t deserve your success and one day you’ll be found out? If so, you may suffer from Imposter Syndrome. It can afflict both men and women and people who belong to minority groups of whom there are stereotypes about competence also commonly experience imposter feelings. Afua Hirsch reports. (Photo: American novelist Ernest Hemingway in 1954 on safari in Africa. Credit: Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

In Part Two of this file the former Slate staffer, ultimate data/word nerd, and acclaimed author of Nabokov’s Favorite Word Is Mauve, Ben Blatt, dropped in to talk about crunching the numbers of classic and modern literature, debunking famous writerly wisdom, and how prolific writers establish their literary fingerprints. Rainmaker.FM is Brought to You By Discover why more than 80,000 companies in 135 countries choose WP Engine for managed WordPress hosting. Start getting more from your site today! Ben is a journalist, statistician, and author who takes a “fun” approach to data journalism on pop culture topics as varied as Seinfeld, The Beatles, and baseball (his last book I Don’t Care if We Never Get Back, was about a mathematically optimal baseball road trip). The author studied applied mathematics at Harvard and has been published in The Wall Street Journal, The Boston Globe, Deadspin, and others. His most recent book, Nabokov’s Favorite Word Is Mauve: What the Numbers Reveal About the Classics, Bestsellers, and Our Own Writing, “… brings big data to the literary canon, exploring the wealth of fun findings that remain hidden in the works of the world s greatest writers.” NPR called the book, A hell of a lot of fun …”, The Wall Street Journal, “Enlightening,” and The Boston Globe called it, “Brilliant.” If you’re a fan of The Writer Files, please click subscribe to automatically see new interviews. If you missed the first half you can find it right here. In Part Two of this file Ben Blatt and I discuss: How to trick yourself out of writer’s block A data journalist’s book writing hacks, including when to add tables and graphs Why brevity and simplicity will always stand the test of time How a great writer sticks out in their own unique way Great tips to creating a long and rewarding writing career Listen to The Writer Files: Writing, Productivity, Creativity, and Neuroscience below ... Download MP3 Subscribe by RSS Subscribe in iTunes The Show Notes If you’re ready to see for yourself why more than 201,344 website owners trust StudioPress — the industry standard for premium WordPress themes and plugins — swing by StudioPress.com for all the details. Nabokov’s Favorite Word Is Mauve: What the Numbers Reveal About the Classics, Bestsellers, and Our Own Writing – Ben Blatt Ben Blatt’s website bblatt.com The One Way Bestsellers Have Changed That You Probably Haven t Noticed – Ben Blatt ‘Nabokov’s Favorite Word Is Mauve’ Crunches The (Literary) Numbers – NPR One Writer Used Statistics to Reveal the Secrets of What Makes Great Writing – Smithsonian The Heretical Things Statistics Tell Us About Fiction – New Yorker Ben Blatt on Twitter Kelton Reid on Twitter

The former Slate staffer, ultimate data/word nerd, and acclaimed author of Nabokov’s Favorite Word Is Mauve, Ben Blatt, dropped in this week to talk about crunching the numbers of classic and modern literature, debunking famous writerly wisdom, and how prolific writers establish their literary fingerprints. Rainmaker.FM is Brought to You By Discover why more than 80,000 companies in 135 countries choose WP Engine for managed WordPress hosting. Start getting more from your site today! Ben is a journalist, statistician, and author who takes a “fun” approach to data journalism on pop culture topics as varied as Seinfeld, The Beatles, and baseball (his last book I Don’t Care if We Never Get Back, was about a mathematically optimal baseball road trip). The author studied applied mathematics at Harvard and has been published in The Wall Street Journal, The Boston Globe, Deadspin, and others. His most recent book, Nabokov’s Favorite Word Is Mauve: What the Numbers Reveal About the Classics, Bestsellers, and Our Own Writing, “… brings big data to the literary canon, exploring the wealth of fun findings that remain hidden in the works of the world s greatest writers.” NPR called the book, A hell of a lot of fun …”, The Wall Street Journal, “Enlightening,” and The Boston Globe called it, “Brilliant.” If you’re a fan of The Writer Files, please click subscribe to automatically see new interviews. In Part One of this file Ben Blatt and I discuss: How a math nerd became a pop culture data hound The challenges of turning thousands of books into big data to examine famous writing advice On Elmore Leonard’s reversal in exclamation point usage Why Nabokov used so many colors in his writing How a data journalist concocted experiments to debunk conventional wisdom about bestselling authors Listen to The Writer Files: Writing, Productivity, Creativity, and Neuroscience below ... Download MP3 Subscribe by RSS Subscribe in iTunes The Show Notes If you’re ready to see for yourself why more than 201,344 website owners trust StudioPress — the industry standard for premium WordPress themes and plugins — swing by StudioPress.com for all the details. Nabokov’s Favorite Word Is Mauve: What the Numbers Reveal About the Classics, Bestsellers, and Our Own Writing – Ben Blatt How the Author of The Bestseller Code Jodie Archer Writes: Part One Ben Blatt’s website bblatt.com The One Way Bestsellers Have Changed That You Probably Haven t Noticed – Ben Blatt ‘Nabokov’s Favorite Word Is Mauve’ Crunches The (Literary) Numbers – NPR One Writer Used Statistics to Reveal the Secrets of What Makes Great Writing – Smithsonian The Heretical Things Statistics Tell Us About Fiction – New Yorker Ben Blatt on Twitter Kelton Reid on Twitter

This week, Kurt talks with “Daily Show” Correspondent Hasan Minhaj about surviving the Trump Administration. Plus, the story behind one of the great literary hoaxes of the century: “Naked Came the Stranger.” And statistician Ben Blatt uses data analysis on classic novels and discovers some surprising patterns. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nabokov’s Favorite Word is Mauve: What the Numbers Reveal About the Classics, Bestsellers, and Our Own Writing (Simon & Schuster) Nabokov’s Favorite Word is Mauve is a playful and informative look at what the numbers have to say about our favorite authors and their classic books. It’s How Fiction Works or Eats, Shoots & Leaves meets Nate Silver. There’s a famous piece of writing advice—offered by Ernest Hemingway, Stephen King, and myriad writers in between—not to use ‘ly’ adverbs. It sounds like solid advice, but can we actually test it? If we were to count all the ‘ly’ adverbs these authors used in their careers, do they follow their own advice compared to other celebrated authors? What’s more, do great books in general—the classics and the bestsellers—share this trait? In Nabokov’s Favorite Word Is Mauve, statistician and journalist Ben Blatt brings big data to the literary canon, exploring the wealth of fun findings that remain hidden in the works of the world’s greatest writers. He assembles a database of thousands of books and hundreds of millions of words, and starts asking the questions that have intrigued curious word nerds and book lovers for generations: What are our favorite authors’ favorite words? Do men and women write differently? Are bestsellers getting dumber over time? Which contemporary writer uses the most clichés? What makes a great opening sentence? How can we judge a book by its cover? And which writerly advice is worth following or ignoring? Blatt draws upon existing analysis techniques and invents some of his own. All of his investigations and experiments are original, conducted himself, and no math knowledge is needed to understand the results. Blatt breaks his findings down into lucid, humorous language and clear and compelling visuals. This eye-opening book will provide you with a new appreciation for your favorite authors and a fresh perspective on your own writing, illuminating both the patterns that hold it together and the brilliant flourishes that make it unforgettable. Praise for Nabokov's Favorite Word is Mauve “What fun this is! Ben Blatt’s charming book applies numerical know-how to questions of literary style, teasing out insights about cliffhangers, adverbs, and whether Americans write ‘more loudly’ than the British. (Spoiler: WE DO!!!)”—Jordan Ellenberg, author of How Not to Be Wrong “Ben Blatt’s delightful book gives us an original big data perspective on great writers’ work. Its humor, insights, and statistical displays are fascinating to behold, even as it helps us develop our own writing.”—Carl N. Morris, Professor Emeritus of Statistics, Harvard University “Blatt provides amiable and intelligent narration, and literature enthusiasts will enjoy the hypotheses he poses and his imaginative methods.”—Publishers Weekly Ben Blatt is a former staff writer for Slate and The Harvard Lampoon who has taken his fun approach to data journalism to topics such as Seinfeld, mapmaking, The Beatles, and Jeopardy! His previous book, co-written with Eric Brewster, is I Don't Care if We Never Get Back, which follows the duo’s quest to go on the mathematically optimal baseball road trip, traveling 20,000 miles to a game in all thirty ballparks in thirty days without planes. Blatt’s work has also been published in The Wall Street Journal, The Boston Globe, and Deadspin.

Hey there word nerds! Today I’m delighted to interview journalist and statistician, Ben Blatt, about his new book Nabokov’s Favorite Word Is Mauve. Ben is a former staff writer for Slate and The Harvard Lampoon who has taken his fun approach to data journalism to topics such as Seinfeld, mapmaking, The Beatles, and Jeopardy! His previous book, co-written with Eric Brewster, is I Don't Care if We Never Get Back, which follows the duo’s quest to go on the mathematically optimal baseball road trip, traveling 20,000 miles to a game in all thirty ballparks in thirty days without planes. Blatt’s work has also been published in The Wall Street Journal, The Boston Globe, and Deadspin. In his latest book, Nabokov’s Favorite Word Is Mauve, he offers a playful and informative look at what numbers have to say about our favorite authors and a wide range of books, from bestsellers and classics to guilty pleasures. He sets up a slew of original analytical experiments and uses big data to answer some of our most persistent questions about literature. In this episode Ben Blatt and I discuss: The Adverb Question: Do great writers use more adverbs (or fewer) than their non-great counterparts? Should writers avoid adverbs altogether? Do men and women write differently? What does this say about our literary culture? His biggest finding is a sweeping disparity in male and female characters across all genres of writing: women write equally about men and women, but men write overwhelmingly more about men. Are books getting “dumber”? Blatt’s findings show that the grade level of #1 bestsellers has fallen by two levels—from 8th grade to 6th—in the past 50 years. Although this might be worrying, it might not necessarily damning—simple can be good at getting a wider audience reading, and the trend doesn’t mean that every book is being written at a lower level. What are our favorite writers’ favorite words? Using text analysis and setting up his own original experiment, Blatt develops a lengthy list of our favorite author’s favorite words. Among them: Nabokov’s favorite word is mauve, Jane Austen’s favorite is civility (of course it is), EL James’s is murmurs. What makes a great opening sentence? When in doubt, keep it short. Of twenty of the “best opening sentences” in literature, 60% of them are short and 40% are long (when compared to the author’s average sentence). Plus, Ben's #1 tip for writers. About the Author Ben Blatt is a former staff writer for Slate and The Harvard Lampoon who has taken his fun approach to data journalism to topics such as Seinfeld, mapmaking, The Beatles, and Jeopardy! His previous book, co-written with Eric Brewster, is I Don't Care if We Never Get Back, which follows the duo’s quest to go on the mathematically optimal baseball road trip, traveling 20,000 miles to a game in all thirty ballparks in thirty days without planes. Blatt’s work has also been published in The Wall Street Journal, The Boston Globe, and Deadspin. He lives in Los Angeles. Nabokov’s Favorite Word Is Mauve There’s a famous piece of writing advice—offered by Ernest Hemingway, Stephen King, and myriad writers in between—not to use -ly adverbs like “quickly” or “fitfully.” It sounds like solid advice, but can we actually test it? If we were to count all the -ly adverbs these authors used in their careers, do they follow their own advice compared to other celebrated authors? What’s more, do great books in general—the classics and the bestsellers—share this trait? In Nabokov’s Favorite Word Is Mauve, statistician and journalist Ben Blatt brings big data to the literary canon, exploring the wealth of fun findings that remain hidden in the works of the world’s greatest writers. He assembles a database of thousands of books and hundreds of millions of words, and starts asking the questions that have intrigued curious word nerds and book lovers for generations: What are our favorite authors’ favorite words? Do men and women write differently? Are bestsellers getting dumber over time? Which bestselling writer uses the most clichés? What makes a great opening sentence? How can we judge a book by its cover? And which writerly advice is worth following or ignoring? Blatt draws upon existing analysis techniques and invents some of his own. All of his investigations and experiments are original, conducted himself, and no math knowledge is needed to understand the results. Blatt breaks his findings down into lucid, humorous language and clear and compelling visuals. This eye-opening book will provide you with a new appreciation for your favorite authors and a fresh perspective on your own writing, illuminating both the patterns that hold great prose together and the brilliant flourishes that make it unforgettable. For more info and show notes: DIYMFA.com/138