Podcasts about longreads

198 If you've ever felt crippled by loss and utterly uncertain about your next steps, this episode is for you. In her new book, The Mother of All Decisions, Betsy Armstrong navigates the impossible--the early death of her mother, the wrath of her stepfather, chronic pain, and a harrowing adoption journey--with the kind of steadfast resilience that gives us boundless hope. This conversation is no different. It will leave you thinking about the impact we have on each other and the powerful legacy you can create.Covered in this episode:The moments that led Betsy to consider becoming an adoptive parent at age 47How her mother's death spurred Betsy to create a powerful legacyHow she and her children bravely navigated the unknown with hope, even after heartacheHow Betsy stayed dedicated to her book project for more than a decadeHow Nadine' coaching impacted the manuscriptHow Betsy and Nadine have watched each other growAbout Betsy: Betsy Armstrong grew up on a farm in Minnesota, but Chicago captured her heart thirty-plus years ago, so she stayed. Betsy is a writer, mom, athlete, and philanthropist who wants to change the world. She had careers in sales, counseling, and the non-profit space. Still, her true passion was running, which led her to become the Executive Director of Girls on the Run-Chicago and the Chicago Area Runners Association. Her writing has been published in the Brevity Blog, The Pinch Journal, and WOW-Women on Writing, and she has been recognized in essay contests in Writer's Digest and WOW-Women on Writing. She and her husband, kids, and pets divide their time between the mountains of Nevada and the lakes of the Midwest.About Nadine:Nadine Kenney Johnstone is an award-winning author, podcast host, and writing coach. After fifteen years as a professor, she founded WriteWELL workshops and retreats for women writers. She has helped those writers publish countless books and hundreds of essays in The New York Times, Vogue, The Sun, The Boston Globe, Longreads, and more. Her infertility memoir, Of This Much I'm Sure, was named book of the year by the Chicago Writer's Association. Her latest book, Come Home to Your Heart, is an essay collection and guided journal. She has been featured in Cosmo, Authority, MindBodyGreen, Natural Awakenings, Chicago Magazine, and more. She interviews renowned female authors on her podcast, Heart of the Story, and writes a weekly column about mid-life reclamation on Substack.

197 To celebrate Melanie and Nadine's collaborative masterclass, Publishing Your Stories, on May 13, we're bringing back this chat with Melanie Brooks. If you can't make it live, you can still register and catch the replay.---Many of us have carried at least one hard story for years, suffering under the weight of secrecy and silence. But what if you didn't have to carry it anymore? What if writing or telling it could not only free you, but deepen your relationships with your loved ones? Melanie Brooks--author of Writing Hard Stories and A Hard Silence--is here to help us write and tell our hard stories. Covered in this episode:The life changing impact that Writing Hard Stories had on NadineMelanie's surprising experiences with renowned authors as she researched her bookThe benefits of writing a hard story How and why it gets easierWhat you discover when you're writing hard stories and how it's able to help you processThe phases we go throughout when telling hard stories What prompted Nadine to write and publish her hard storyThe 2 books Nadine reread while writing her memoirThe hard silence Melanie had to keep for almost 10 yrsThe long term impact of not being able to speak your truthWhat helps us stay centered while writing hard stories The guilty pleasure TV show that Melanie and Nadine both watch when they need to escape How it felt for Melanie and Nadine to have their vulnerable books be published What it was like for both writers to write about real life characters and what their family's reactions wereWhat narrative medicine is and how it's changing health care Hear Melanie read a moving passage that gives anyone permission to share their hard story About Melanie:IG: melaniejmbrookswriterwebsite: melaniebrooks.comMelanie Brooks is the author of the memoir A Hard Silence: One daughter remaps family, grief, and faith when HIV/AIDS changes it all (Vine Leaves Press, 2023) and Writing Hard Stories: Celebrated Memoirists Who Shaped Art from Trauma (Beacon Press, 2017) She teaches creative nonfiction in the M.F.A. program at Bay Path University and in the M.F.A. program at Western Connecticut State University and professional writing at Northeastern University. She holds an M.F.A. in Creative Nonfiction from the University of Southern Maine's Stonecoast writing program and a Certificate in Narrative Medicine from Columbia University. She has had numerous interviews and essays on topics ranging from loss and grief to parenting and aging published in the The Boston Globe, HuffPost, Yankee Magazine, Psychology Today, The Washington Post, Ms. Magazine, Creative Nonfiction, and other notable publications. She lives in New Hampshire with her husband, two children (when they are home from university), and chocolate Lab.About Nadine:Nadine Kenney Johnstone is a holistic writing coach who helps women develop and publish their stories. She is the proud founder of WriteWELL, an online community that helps women reclaim their writing time, put pen to page, and get published. The authors in her community have published countless books and hundreds of essays in places like The New York Times, Vogue, The Sun, The Boston Globe, Longreads, and more. Her infertility memoir,

For many years, Palestine had one of the strongest left-wing movements in the Arab world, represented by prominent figures such as Leila Khaled and Ghassan Kanafani. At the beginning of the First Intifada in the 1980s, Palestinian left groups were the main challengers to the hegemony of Fatah. Although the Palestinian left has lost much of its influence since the 1980s, they still play an important role today. Red Star Over Palestine: Histories of the Palestinian Left is a six-part series from Long Reads exploring radical movements and progressive organizations of the region. The podcast examines the experience of Palestinian communism and the left-wing currents inside the PLO, the Palestine Liberation Organization. We also look at the outsized impact of the Left on Palestinian cultural life. In our third episode, we discuss two of the most prominent figures associated with Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine: Ghassan Kanafani and Leila Khaled. Get a digital subscription to Jacobin for just $1, or $10 for the print magazine, by following this link: https://jacobin.com/subscribe/?code=MAYDAY2025 Red Star Over Palestine is hosted by Daniel Finn and produced by Conor Gillies. Music provided by Fadi Tabbal.

DC author/professor of Creative Writing at George WashingtonUniversity Samuel Ashworth talks about his debut release “The Death & Lifeof August Sweeney” about the legendary but scandal-ridden chef August Sweeneywith an appetite for success who collapses in the middle of service at hisrestaurant where he built his legacy & his body performed by a doctor understrict conditions where everything goes wrong as life & death is changedforever!  Sam was born/raised inManhattan, attended Trinity College Dublin and earned a B.A. from ColumbiaUniv., MFA from George Mason Univ. and received Travel Research Award from theAlan Cheuse Int'l Writers Center in '17 and is also a regular contributor tovarious national publications including The Washington Post, Longreads, Gawker,and the inspiration behind the writing behind his amazing release! Check outthe amazing Samuel Ashworth and his latest on all major platforms and www.samuelashworth.comtoday! #samuelashworth #washingtondc #manhattan #author#thedeathandlifeofaugustsweeney #professor #creativewriting #augustsweeney#culinary #trinitycollege #autopsy #dublin #georgemasonuniversity #alancheuse#thewashingtonpost #longread #gawker #spreaker #iheartradio #spotify#applemusic #youtube #anchorfm #bitchute #rumble #mikewagner #themikewagnershow#mikewagnersamuelashworth #themikewagnershowsamuelashworth 

DC author/professor of Creative Writing at George WashingtonUniversity Samuel Ashworth talks about his debut release “The Death & Lifeof August Sweeney” about the legendary but scandal-ridden chef August Sweeneywith an appetite for success who collapses in the middle of service at hisrestaurant where he built his legacy & his body performed by a doctor understrict conditions where everything goes wrong as life & death is changedforever!  Sam was born/raised inManhattan, attended Trinity College Dublin and earned a B.A. from ColumbiaUniv., MFA from George Mason Univ. and received Travel Research Award from theAlan Cheuse Int'l Writers Center in '17 and is also a regular contributor tovarious national publications including The Washington Post, Longreads, Gawker,and the inspiration behind the writing behind his amazing release! Check outthe amazing Samuel Ashworth and his latest on all major platforms and www.samuelashworth.comtoday! #samuelashworth #washingtondc #manhattan #author#thedeathandlifeofaugustsweeney #professor #creativewriting #augustsweeney#culinary #trinitycollege #autopsy #dublin #georgemasonuniversity #alancheuse#thewashingtonpost #longread #gawker #spreaker #iheartradio #spotify#applemusic #youtube #anchorfm #bitchute #rumble #mikewagner #themikewagnershow#mikewagnersamuelashworth #themikewagnershowsamuelashworth 

DC author/professor of Creative Writing at George Washington University Samuel Ashworth talks about his debut release “The Death & Life of August Sweeney” about the legendary but scandal-ridden chef August Sweeney with an appetite for success who collapses in the middle of service at his restaurant where he built his legacy & his body performed by a doctor under strict conditions where everything goes wrong as life & death is changed forever!  Sam was born/raised in Manhattan, attended Trinity College Dublin and earned a B.A. from Columbia Univ., MFA from George Mason Univ. and received Travel Research Award from the Alan Cheuse Int'l Writers Center in '17 and is also a regular contributor to various national publications including The Washington Post, Longreads, Gawker, and the inspiration behind the writing behind his amazing release! Check out the amazing Samuel Ashworth and his latest on all major platforms and www.samuelashworth.com today! #samuelashworth #washingtondc #manhattan #author #thedeathandlifeofaugustsweeney #professor #creativewriting #augustsweeney #culinary #trinitycollege #autopsy #dublin #georgemasonuniversity #alancheuse #thewashingtonpost #longread #gawker #spreaker #iheartradio #spotify #applemusic #youtube #anchorfm #bitchute #rumble #mikewagner #themikewagnershow #mikewagnersamuelashworth #themikewagnershowsamuelashworth  Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-mike-wagner-show--3140147/support.

196 To celebrate the publication of Dr. Hillary McBride's latest book, Holy Hurt: Understanding and Healing from Spiritual Trauma, we're bringing back this beloved conversation about how to hold ourselves when we are hurting.Why does it hurt so badly when things don't go as we'd hoped? How do we hold ourselves when we're in great pain? How do we talk to others so that we can reestablish loving connections when they've hurt us or we've hurt them? Psychologist and embodiment expert Dr. Hillary McBride answers all these questions and more in this profound conversation that offers deep solace to anyone who's hurting. Covered in this episode: Transitions that Hillary and Nadine are currently navigatingWhat's bringing them delight Why there is a deep grief when our plans don't play outHow to tune into our own bodies to see how we're feeling How to identify what we need and then self-sootheHelpful dialogue for hard conversationsThe 7 words that can lead to great repairHow to cultivate profound self-trust About Hillary:Dr. Hillary McBride is a registered psychologist, a researcher, and podcastor, with expertise that includes working with trauma and trauma therapies, embodiment, at the intersection of spirituality and mental health. Her first book, Mothers, Daughters, and Body Image: Learning to Love Ourselves as We Are, was published in 2017; she was the senior editor of the textbook Embodiment and Eating Disorders: Theory, Research, Prevention, and Treatment, which was published in 2018. Her bestselling book The Wisdom of Your Body: Finding wholeness, healing and connection through embodied living came out in the fall of 2021, and in January she released Practices for Embodied Living. Her next book Holy Hurt: understanding and healing from spiritual trauma, comes out April 2025. She has been recognized by the American Psychological Association, and the Canadian Psychological Association for her research and clinical work. In addition to being a teaching faculty at the University of British Columbia, she is an ambassador for Sanctuary Mental Health, and the host of CBC's award winning podcast Other People's Problems. Hillary makes her home in the pacific northwest in British Columbia, Canada.www.hillarylmcbride.com IG: @hillaryliannamcbride About Nadine:Nadine Kenney Johnstone is a holistic writing coach who helps women develop and publish their stories. She is the proud founder of WriteWELL, an online community that helps women reclaim their writing time, put pen to page, and get published. The authors in her community have published countless books and hundreds of essays in places like The New York Times, Vogue, The Sun, The Boston Globe, Longreads, and more. Her infertility memoir, Of This Much I'm Sure, was named book of the year by the Chicago Writer's Association. Her latest book, Come Home to Your Heart, is an essay collection and guided journal that helps readers tap into their inner wisdom and fall back...

195 In honor of National Infertility Awareness Week, we're bringing back our conversation with the founder of Humanize Infertility, Hillary Alberta Sherer.Whether you're experiencing infertility or want to support someone who is, you won't want to miss this profound conversation. In this episode, Nadine and Hillary discuss the emotional impact of infertility, how to support yourself or your loved one, the most important questions to ask when seeking treatment, and how best to self-advocate as a patient. This empowering and hopeful conversation reminds us all that we know our bodies best and have the right to advocate for ourselves. Hillary is the founder of Humanize Infertility and is working to humanize infertility with one woman, one couple, and one story at a time by empowering those struggling with infertility with knowledge, hope, and connection.About Nadine:Nadine Kenney Johnstone is a holistic writing coach who helps women develop and publish their stories. She is the proud founder of WriteWELL, an online community that helps women reclaim their writing time, put pen to page, and get published. The authors in her community have published countless books and hundreds of essays in places like The New York Times, Vogue, The Sun, The Boston Globe, Longreads, and more. Her infertility memoir, Of This Much I'm Sure, was named book of the year by the Chicago Writer's Association. Her latest book, Come Home to Your Heart, is an essay collection and guided journal that helps readers tap into their inner wisdom and fall back in love with themselves. Her articles and interviews have appeared in Cosmo, Authority, MindBodyGreen, Good Grit, HERE, Urban Wellness, Natural Awakenings, Chicago Magazine, and more. Pulling from her vast experience as a writing, meditation, and yoga nidra instructor, Nadine leads women's writing and wellness workshops and retreats online and around the U.S.Find out more at nadinekenneyjohnstone.comTo receive her regular essays, subscribe to her SubstackAbout Hillary:Hillary Alberta Sherer is a biotechnology researcher with expert knowledge in the policy and ethical conversations around infertility. Utilizing over 15 years of clinical science research experience, she saw a need for more robust, transparent, and accessible research on infertility and infertility technologies. This led to her dissertation work on the ethical guidelines and policies surrounding egg donation. She is an activist for positive change that enables women to make informed and autonomous decisions about their health and wellbeing. She received her B.S. in Biology, M.S. in Public Policy and Ph.D. in Biotechnology Policy and Ethics all from The Georgia Institute of Technology (aka the Georgia Tech Trifecta). Hillary resides in Atlanta, GA with her husband, two kiddos, and 100-pound goldendoodle. Website: https://www.hillarysherer.com/IG: @humanizeinfertilityResources shared in this...

For many years, Palestine had one of the strongest left-wing movements in the Arab world, represented by prominent figures such as Leila Khaled and Ghassan Kanafani. At the beginning of the First Intifada in the 1980s, Palestinian left groups were the main challengers to the hegemony of Fatah. Although the Palestinian Left has lost much of its influence since the 1980s, they still play an important role today. Red Star Over Palestine: Histories of the Palestinian Left is a six-part series from Long Reads exploring radical movements and progressive organizations of the region. We'll be looking at the experience of Palestinian communism and the left-wing currents inside the PLO, the Palestine Liberation Organization. We'll also be looking at the outsized impact of the Left on Palestinian cultural life. This second episode examines the left-wing movement that took shape under the banner of the PLO, the Palestine Liberation Organization, and the role of figures such as George Habash and Nayef Hawatmeh. Red Star Over Palestine is hosted by Daniel Finn and produced by Conor Gillies. Music provided by Fadi Tabbal.

194 Nadine is taking a semi-sabbatical this year to study, try new things, and travel, and she's sharing her adventures with you in a podcast series that will air multiple times throughout the year. In this 3rd episode, she shares the highlights, challenges, and takeaways from her March areas of interest: creative writing, garbage time, and perimenopause support.Covered in this episode:How Nadine developed a regular writing practiceWhat's inspiring her to stay dedicated to her writingThe surprising lessons from her recent trips to Illinois, Georgia, and South CarolinaWhat garbage time is and why it's so important What she's learning about perimenopause Why she started HRT (Hormone Replacement Therapy) & what it's been like*This is the third episode in a year-long series for paid subscribers. Access for the full episode is available when you become a paid subscriber on Substack.About Nadine:Nadine Kenney Johnstone is a holistic writing coach who helps women develop and publish their stories. She is the proud founder of WriteWELL, an online community that helps women reclaim their writing time, put pen to page, and get published. The authors in her community have published countless books and hundreds of essays in places like The New York Times, Vogue, The Sun, The Boston Globe, Longreads, and more. Her infertility memoir, Of This Much I'm Sure, was named book of the year by the Chicago Writer's Association. Her latest book, Come Home to Your Heart, is an essay collection and guided journal that helps readers tap into their inner wisdom and fall back in love with themselves. Her articles and interviews have appeared in Cosmo, Authority, MindBodyGreen, Good Grit, HERE, Urban Wellness, Natural Awakenings, Chicago Magazine, and more. Pulling from her vast experience as a writing, meditation, and yoga nidra instructor, Nadine leads women's writing and wellness workshops and retreats online and around the U.S.Find out more at nadinekenneyjohnstone.comTo receive her regular essays, subscribe to her Substack

193 Disruptor and author of a Well-Trained Wife, Tia Levings shares her journey of escaping a high-control religious environment and reclaiming her identity. Tia roots for women to recognize their worth and reclaim their voices, especially in the face of patriarchal systems. Tia walks us through her daily practices for nervous system regulation and how she got to her "grandma is a bestselling author" era. Covered in this episode: How patriarchy siphoned parts of her identityHow she was able to question the brainwashing and fight backThe role grief played in Tia's transformationWhy reclamation is a long but rewarding journey that requires ongoing effort Why understanding the aftermath of trauma is crucial for healingTia's and Nadine's daily practices for nervous system regulation Why sharing your true story with the world can be so empoweringWhy midlife is a great time for new beginnings Self-care practices for sustaining creativityAbout Tia:Tia Levings is the New York Times bestselling author of A Well-Trained Wife, her memoir of escape from Christian Patriarchy. She writes about the realities of Christian fundamentalism, evangelical patriarchy, and religious trauma, and is quoted in Salon, the Huffington Post, and Newsweek. She also appeared in the hit Amazon docu-series, Shiny Happy People. She is mom to four incredible adults and likes to travel, hike, paint, and daydream. Find her on social media @TiaLevingsWriter. Her second book, The Soul of Healing, releases with St. Martin's Essentials in 2026.About Nadine:Nadine Kenney Johnstone is a holistic writing coach who helps women develop and publish their stories. She is the proud founder of WriteWELL, an online community that helps women reclaim their writing time, put pen to page, and get published. The authors in her community have published countless books and hundreds of essays in places like The New York Times, Vogue, The Sun, The Boston Globe, Longreads, and more. Her infertility memoir, Of This Much I'm Sure, was named book of the year by the Chicago Writer's Association. Her latest book, Come Home to Your Heart, is an essay collection and guided journal that helps readers tap into their inner wisdom and fall back in love with themselves. Her articles and interviews have appeared in Cosmo, Authority, MindBodyGreen, Good Grit, HERE, Urban Wellness, Natural Awakenings, Chicago Magazine, and more. Pulling from her vast experience as a writing, meditation, and yoga nidra instructor, Nadine leads women's writing and wellness workshops and retreats online and around the U.S.Find out more at nadinekenneyjohnstone.comTo receive her regular essays, subscribe to her Substack

For many years, Palestine had one of the strongest left-wing movements in the Arab world, represented by prominent figures such as Leila Khaled and Ghassan Kanafani. At the beginning of the First Intifada in the 1980s, Palestinian left groups were the main challengers to the hegemony of Fatah. Although the Palestinian left has lost much of its influence since the 1980s, they still play an important role today. Red Star Over Palestine: Histories of the Palestinian Left is a six-part series from Long Reads exploring radical movements and progressive organizations of the region. We'll be looking at the experience of Palestinian communism and the left-wing currents inside the PLO, the Palestine Liberation Organization. We'll also be looking at the outsized impact of the Left on Palestinian cultural life. This first episode focuses on the communist movement in Palestine from its early years until the 1960s. Red Star Over Palestine is hosted by Daniel Finn and produced by Conor Gillies. Music provided by Fadi Tabbal.

192 To celebrate the release of Maggie Smith's new guidebook for writers called Dear Writer: Pep Talks and Practical Advice for a Creative Life, we're bringing back this beloved chat with Maggie about writing, self-trust, and life in the ellipsis! ---What do we do when the future we thought we'd have is wiped clean, and we're stuck in uncertainty? Bestselling author Maggie Smith joins us to talk about life in the in-between and how, even when we're at a loss, we can still trust ourselves. She also explores the writerly decisions she made in her most recent bestseller (and one of Nadine's favorite books of all time), You Could Make This Place Beautiful. She closes the conversation with incredible writing advice that will make you want to grab a pen and start writing. Covered in this episode:How to find beauty, even when our lives change in unexpected waysThe difference between a midlife crisis and midlife recoveryHow to turn up the volume of our inner voice and act on itThe wise women who've inspired Maggie & Nadine in life and in writingWhy writing hard things is actually enjoyable Why Maggie wrote her story in real-time rather than waitingWhat has and hasn't changed since the publication of You Could Make This Place Beautiful Maggie's favorite small pleasure–how she's treating herself well Want more Maggie? Grab a copy of You Could Make This Place Beautiful (now out in paperback), subscribe to her popular Substack For Dear Life, and preorder her forthcoming book, Dear Writer (April, 2025).Maggie Smith is the award-winning author of You Could Make This Place Beautiful, Good Bones, The Well Speaks of Its Own Poison, Lamp of the Body, and the national bestsellers Goldenrod and Keep Moving: Notes on Loss, Creativity, and Change. A 2011 recipient of a Creative Writing Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, Smith has also received several Individual Excellence Awards from the Ohio Arts Council, two Academy of American Poets Prizes, a Pushcart Prize, and fellowships from the Sustainable Arts Foundation and the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. She has been widely published, appearing in The New York Times, The New Yorker, The Paris Review, The Nation, The Best American Poetry, and more. You can follow her on social media @MaggieSmithPoet.About Nadine:Nadine Kenney Johnstone is a holistic writing coach who helps women develop and publish their stories. She is the proud founder of WriteWELL, an online community that helps women reclaim their writing time, put pen to page, and get published. The authors in her community have published countless books and hundreds of essays in places like The New York Times, Vogue, The Sun, The Boston Globe, Longreads, and more. Her infertility memoir, Of This Much I'm Sure, was named book of the year by the...

Legendary chef August Sweeney has servedhis final meal, collapsing in the middle of service in the very restaurant he built to secure his legacy. When Dr. Maya Zhu, a guarded, intense autopsist, is summoned to investigate, she discovers she must operate under strict conditions Sweeney himself dictated before he died. As she digs deeper into his immense body, everything that can go wrong does, because August Sweeney isn't about to let a little thing like death stop him from raisinghell. August was a man whose glorious appetite for excess led him from the bowels of greasy spoons to the towering heights ofculinary stardom, before bringing him crashing back down to earth. Maya is a doctor who has always believed that her success—even her survival—required her to become a human scalpel: sharp and solitary. The moment Maya meets August,dead on her dissection table, it sets off a chain reaction that will change her life—and his death—forever.SAMUEL ASHWORTH is a professor of creative writing at George Washington University and a former columnist at The Rumpus. His fiction and nonfiction have appeared in the Washington Post Magazine, Longreads, Eater, and Gawker. Anative New Yorker, he now lives with his wife and two sons in Washington, DC. A two-time ghostwriter, this is his first novel.  For more info on the book click HERE

191 To celebrate Nadine + Sara's upcoming collaborative masterclass on April 15, we're bringing back this much-loved episode w/ Sara Avant Stover. Register for the class at https://www.nadinekenneyjohnstone.com/classesIf you've ever felt alone in your suffering and uncertainty, this episode is for you. Bestselling author Sara Avant Stover shares her own story of serial heartbreaks and the steps she took towards repair. Through IFS (Internal Family Systems) therapy, Sara discovered how to acknowledge, understand, and heal her parts. Covered in this episode:The midlife transition most of us go through Signs/stages of heartbreakHow to allow & be where we areGetting to the root of your suffering and healing our parts Asking others for help Fully surrenderingPatience and persistence Not giving up on ourselvesWhy everything you're feeling is normal The winding road of Sara's writing journey that ended in deep alignmentAbout Nadine:Download Nadine's mini-retreat reset for busy women here. This guided meditation creates calm and clarity so you can listen to the directions of your heart. Nadine Kenney Johnstone is a holistic writing coach who helps women develop and publish their stories. She is the proud founder of WriteWELL, an online community that helps women reclaim their writing time, put pen to page, and get published. The authors in her community have published countless books and hundreds of essays in places like The New York Times, Vogue, The Sun, The Boston Globe, Longreads, and more. Her infertility memoir, Of This Much I'm Sure, was named book of the year by the Chicago Writer's Association. Her latest book, Come Home to Your Heart, is an essay collection and guided journal that helps readers tap into their inner wisdom and fall back in love with themselves. Her articles and interviews have appeared in Cosmo, Authority, MindBodyGreen, Good Grit, HERE, Urban Wellness, Natural Awakenings, Chicago Magazine, and more. Pulling from her vast experience as a writing, meditation, and yoga nidra instructor, Nadine leads women's writing and wellness workshops and retreats online and around the U.S.Find out more at nadinekenneyjohnstone.comTo receive her regular essays, subscribe to her Substack

Last year, Narendra Modi celebrated a decade in office as India's prime minister. Modi was aiming for a third consecutive election victory and a parliamentary landslide that would give him a free hand to advance his right-wing, Hindu nationalist agenda. But the election proved to be a disappointment for Modi and his allies, who lost their majority in parliament. Modi had to form a coalition to maintain his grip on power. Long Reads is joined by one of Modi's leading journalistic opponents to discuss the rise and rule of the Hindu right wing. Siddhartha Deb is the author of several novels, and his non-fiction work has exposed the dark side of contemporary India. Haymarket Books published a collection of his writings last year, Twilight Prisoners: The Rise of the Hindu Right and the Fall of India. Long Reads is a Jacobin podcast looking in-depth at political topics and thinkers, both contemporary and historical, with the magazine's longform writers. Hosted by features editor Daniel Finn. Produced by Conor Gillies with music by Knxwledge.

Join Lissa and Lisa as they delve into subjects psycological and literary. Lisa Williamson Rosenberg is the author of Embers on the Wind and Mirror Me (Little A Publishing 2024). She is a former ballet dancer and psychotherapist specializing in depression, developmental trauma, and multiracial identity. Her essays have appeared in Literary Hub, Longreads, Narratively, Mamalode, and The Common. Her fiction has been published in the Piltdown Review and in Literary Mama, where Lisa received a Pushcart nomination. A born-and-raised New Yorker and mother of two college students, Lisa now lives in Montclair, New Jersey, with her husband and dog. Mirror Me is her second novel.  Synopsis: Eddie Asher arrives at Hudson Valley Psychiatric Hospital panicked that he may have murdered his brother's fiancée, Lucy, with whom he shared a profound kinship. He can't imagine doing such a terrible thing, but Eddie hasn't been himself lately. Eddie's anxiety is nothing new to Pär, the one Eddie calls his Other, who protects Eddie from truths he's too sensitive to face. Or so Pär says. Troubled by Pär's increasing sway over his life, Eddie seeks out Dr. Richard Montgomery, a specialist in dissociative identities. The psychiatrist is Eddie's best chance for piecing together the puzzle of what really happened to Lucy and to understanding his inexplicable memories of another man's life. But Montgomery's methods trigger a kaleidoscope of memories that Pär can't contain, bringing Eddie closer to an unimaginable truth about his identity.  

190 To celebrate Renee's April 25th women's retreat: Tending Your Wild Fire, we're brining back this fan favorite episode. Award winning author and retreat leader Renee Trudeau joins Nadine to talk about the self discernment practices she does when she feels lost, why she walked away from a book deal, how her life has changed in the last 2 years, and why retreat is so important for women. Renee and Nadine geek out on why they love leading & taking retreats. Renee's Info:Subscribe to Renee's weekly Live Inside Out blog where she shares personal stories/support for living intentionally.View all Renee's upcoming retreats Tips on Taking a Personal Planning RetreatFollow Renee in Instagram @reneetrudeau_About Nadine:Nadine Kenney Johnstone is a holistic writing coach who helps women develop and publish their stories. She is the proud founder of WriteWELL, an online community that helps women reclaim their writing time, put pen to page, and get published. The authors in her community have published countless books and hundreds of essays in places like The New York Times, Vogue, The Sun, The Boston Globe, Longreads, and more. Her infertility memoir, Of This Much I'm Sure, was named book of the year by the Chicago Writer's Association. Her latest book, Come Home to Your Heart, is an essay collection and guided journal that helps readers tap into their inner wisdom and fall back in love with themselves. Her articles and interviews have appeared in Cosmo, Authority, MindBodyGreen, Good Grit, HERE, Urban Wellness, Natural Awakenings, Chicago Magazine, and more. Pulling from her vast experience as a writing, meditation, and yoga nidra instructor, Nadine leads women's writing and wellness workshops and retreats online and around the U.S.Find out more at nadinekenneyjohnstone.comTo receive her regular essays, subscribe to her Substack

We all love a good adventure, but let's be real—traveling as a gay man isn't just about picking a destination; it's about finding places where you can truly feel safe, seen, and celebrated. So, where in the world can you be your fabulous, free self without worry? This week, I'm joined by LGBTQ+ travel expert & Queer Adventurers founder, who's here to drop all the tips on traveling smart, safe, and stress-free. What you'll learn: How to spot red flags & know if a place is safe for LGBTQ+ travelers The best ways to maximize your travel budget while seeing the world Hacks to plan trips without the overwhelm – because travel should be fun, not stressful! Pack your bags, grab your passport, and tune in—this episode is your ultimate gay travel guide. About Lindsey Lindsey Danis empowers LGBTQ travelers to understand and advocate for their needs and plan incredible adventures while feeling seen, heard and supported. Lindsey writes regularly about LGBTQ travel for publications including AFAR, Condé Nast Traveler, TripSavvy, GayCities, and Longreads.  Lindsey is the founder of the LGBTQ travel blog, Queer Adventurers, which offers travel planning advice, money-saving travel tips, and destination guides written for an LGBTQ audience, with a focus on female and nonbinary people. Newsletter subscribers get LGBTQ travel trend updates and free resources on how to make the most of every trip.  Lindsey lives in the Hudson Valley of New York with her partner and two dogs. When not writing, Lindsey can be found hiking, kayaking, or cooking. Connect With Lindsey Website Queer Adventures Author Instagram Travel Instagram Hey Guys, Check This Out! Are you a guy who keeps struggling to do that thing? You know the thing you keep telling yourself and others you're going to do, but never do? Then it's time to get real and figure out why. Join the 40 Plus: Gay Men Gay Talk, monthly chats. They happen the third Monday of each month at 5:00 pm Pacific - Learn More! Also, join our Facebook Community - 40 Plus: Gay Men, Gay Talk Community Break free of fears. Make bold moves. Live life without apologies

189 To celebrate the release of Susan's new book, Inexplicable Joy, we're bringing back this fan-favorite episode!Buddhist teacher and writer, Susan Piver, talks about the surprising path that landed her on Oprah and the NY Times bestseller list. She candidly opens up about the pitfalls of publishing that lead her to start her own press. Nadine and Susan share the secrets and support systems that help them as authors, and Susan explains the benefits of the Buddhist Enneagram as a tool for understanding ourselves and each other.About Susan:Susan Piver is a Buddhist teacher and the New York Times bestselling author of The Hard Questions, The Wisdom of a Broken Heart, Start Here Now, The Four Noble Truths of Love, and others. Her latest book is The Buddhist Enneagram: Nine Paths to Warriorship. Piver has been a student of Buddhism since 1993. She is founder of the Open Heart Project, a virtual meditation community with 20,000 members all over the world. She lives in Somerville, MA, and Austin, TX. The Open Heart Project The Buddhist Enneagram: Nine Paths to Warriorship Instagram FacebookAbout Nadine:Nadine Kenney Johnstone is a holistic writing coach who helps women develop and publish their stories. She is the proud founder of WriteWELL, an online community that helps women reclaim their writing time, put pen to page, and get published. The authors in her community have published countless books and hundreds of essays in places like The New York Times, Vogue, The Sun, The Boston Globe, Longreads, and more. Her infertility memoir, Of This Much I'm Sure, was named book of the year by the Chicago Writer's Association. Her latest book, Come Home to Your Heart, is an essay collection and guided journal that helps readers tap into their inner wisdom and fall back in love with themselves. Her articles and interviews have appeared in Cosmo, Authority, MindBodyGreen, Good Grit, HERE, Urban Wellness, Natural Awakenings, Chicago Magazine, and more. Pulling from her vast experience as a writing, meditation, and yoga nidra instructor, Nadine leads women's writing and wellness workshops and retreats online and around the U.S.Find out more at nadinekenneyjohnstone.comTo receive her regular essays, subscribe to her Substack

188 Nadine is taking a semi-sabbatical this year to study, try new things, and travel, and she's sharing her adventures with you in a podcast series that will air multiple times throughout the year. In this 2nd episode, she shares the highlights, challenges, and takeaways from her February areas of interest: creative writing, local food sourcing, and perimenopause support.Covered in this episode:Why Nadine chose to focus on these three topicsWhat's inspiring Nadine's writing lifeHow and why she's supporting local food growersWhat perimenopause symptoms she's noticing and what she's doing about themThe thought-provoking video that gave her pauseHow she's taking steps to reclaim her agency in her creative, nutritional, and hormonal life*This is the second episode in a year-long series for paid subscribers. Access for the full episode is available when you become a paid subscriber on Substack.About Nadine:Nadine Kenney Johnstone is a holistic writing coach who helps women develop and publish their stories. She is the proud founder of WriteWELL, an online community that helps women reclaim their writing time, put pen to page, and get published. The authors in her community have published countless books and hundreds of essays in places like The New York Times, Vogue, The Sun, The Boston Globe, Longreads, and more. Her infertility memoir, Of This Much I'm Sure, was named book of the year by the Chicago Writer's Association. Her latest book, Come Home to Your Heart, is an essay collection and guided journal that helps readers tap into their inner wisdom and fall back in love with themselves. Her articles and interviews have appeared in Cosmo, Authority, MindBodyGreen, Good Grit, HERE, Urban Wellness, Natural Awakenings, Chicago Magazine, and more. Pulling from her vast experience as a writing, meditation, and yoga nidra instructor, Nadine leads women's writing and wellness workshops and retreats online and around the U.S.Find out more at nadinekenneyjohnstone.comTo receive her regular essays, subscribe to her Substack

Host Jason Blitman talks to Karissa Chen (Homeseeking) about musicals--particularly The Last Five Years' influence on her writing, dreams as well as idealism, the coincidence of reconnection, and the concept of seeking home. Jason is then joined by Guest Gay Reader Paul Lisicky (Song So Wild and Blue) and talk about all things Joni Mitchell. Homeseeking is the January 2025 Good Morning America Book Club selection. Karissa Chen is a Fulbright fellow, Kundiman Fiction fellow, and a VONA/Voices fellow whose fiction and essays have appeared in The Atlantic, Eater, The Cut, NBC News THINK!, Longreads, PEN America, Catapult, Gulf Coast, and Guernica, among others. She was awarded an artist fellowship from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts as well as multiple writing residencies including at Millay Arts, where she was a Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation Creative Fellow and the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, among others. She was formerly a senior fiction editor at The Rumpus and currently serves as the editor-in-chief at Hyphen magazine. She received an MFA in fiction from Sarah Lawrence College and splits her time between New Jersey and Taipei, Taiwan.Paul Lisicky is the author of seven books including Later: My Life at the Edge of the World (one of NPR's Best Books of 2020), as well as The Narrow Door (a New York Times Editors' Choice and a Finalist for the Randy Shilts Award), Unbuilt Projects, The Burning House, Famous Builder, and Lawnboy. His work has appeared in The Atlantic, BuzzFeed, Conjunctions, The Cut, Fence, The New York Times, Ploughshares, Tin House, and in many other magazines and anthologies. He has taught in the creative writing programs at Cornell University, New York University, Sarah Lawrence College, and elsewhere. He is currently a Professor of English in the MFA Program in Creative Writing at Rutgers University-Camden, where he is Editor of StoryQuarterly. He lives in Brooklyn, New York. BOOK CLUB!Use code GAYSREADING at checkout to get first book for only $4 + free shipping! Restrictions apply.http://aardvarkbookclub.comWATCH!https://youtube.com/@gaysreading FOLLOW!Instagram: @gaysreading | @jasonblitmanBluesky: @gaysreading | @jasonblitmanCONTACT!hello@gaysreading.com

187 We're bringing back this encore episode to celebrate Faith and Nadine's March 11 masterclass: Applying to Residencies and Fellowships. Replay will be sent if you can't make it live. Episode originally aired in June 2023.Want to know how to fulfill your writing and traveling dreams (& receive full or partial funding)? Grab a notebook because this episode with travel memoirist Faith Adiele is FULL of helpful info and resources. In addition to chatting about Faith's memoir, her travel column, her 20+ residencies, and her fascinating experiences as Thailand's first Black Buddhist nun, we discuss:-How to find writing residency opportunities-The amazing places you can visit while on residency-How to make your application stand out-Why you don't need publication credentials in order to be chosen-How to ask for the funding and opportunities you want About Faith:FAITH ADIELE is author of the memoirs Meeting Faith, an account of flunking out of Harvard and ordaining as Thailand's first Black Buddhist nun that won the PEN Open Book Award, and the humorous The Nigerian Nordic Girl's Guide to Lady Problems. She has attended 20+ artists' residencies around the globe and writes a syndicated travel column that appears in Detour: Best Stories in Black Travel and the Miami Herald. Named one of Marie Claire magazine's “Five Women to Learn From,” Faith speaks and teaches workshops in memoir and travel writing at Esalen, Open Center NYC, InsightLA, VONA/Voices and elsewhere.WebsiteFacebookInstagram @meetingfaithTwitter @meetingfaithLinkedInAbout Nadine:Nadine Kenney Johnstone is a holistic writing coach who helps women develop and publish their stories. She is the proud founder of WriteWELL, an online community that helps women reclaim their writing time, put pen to page, and get published. The authors in her community have published countless books and hundreds of essays in places like The New York Times, Vogue, The Sun, The Boston Globe, Longreads, and more. Her infertility memoir, Of This Much I'm Sure, was named book of the year by the Chicago Writer's Association. Her latest book, Come Home to Your Heart, is an essay collection and guided journal that helps readers tap into their inner wisdom and fall back in love with themselves. Her articles and interviews have appeared in Cosmo, Authority, MindBodyGreen, Good Grit, HERE, Urban Wellness, Natural Awakenings, Chicago Magazine, and more. Pulling from her vast experience as a writing, meditation, and yoga nidra instructor, Nadine leads women's writing and wellness workshops and retreats online and around

For now, the ceasefire deal between Hamas and the Israeli government appears to be holding. However, Donald Trump has openly proposed the ethnic cleansing of Gaza. Trump has used the destruction of Gaza with American-made bombs as a rationale for his plan. Paul Rogers, emeritus professor of peace studies at the University of Bradford and the author of many books, joins Long Reads for a conversation about Trump's scheme and whether it can be stopped. Paul's most recent work is The Insecurity Trap: A Short Guide to Transformation. Stay tuned for our series about histories of the Palestinian Left, which we postponed to address the current danger facing Palestinians. Long Reads is a Jacobin podcast looking in-depth at political topics and thinkers, both contemporary and historical, with the magazine's longform writers. Hosted by features editor Daniel Finn. Produced by Conor Gillies with music by Knxwledge.

187 Nadine is taking a semi-sabbatical this year to study, try new things, and travel, and she's sharing her adventures with you in a podcast series that will air multiple times throughout the year. In this kick-off episode, she shares the highlights, challenges, and takeaways from her recent two-week trip to California to study conscious dance at Esalen and meditation at a 5-day, device-free, silent retreat.Covered in this episode:What conscious dance is and why Nadine wanted to study itThe surprising lesson she learned about self compassion via danceWhy dance has become so important for processing emotionsWhat it was like renounce devices and live in silence for 5 daysWhich rules Nadine broke and whyHow her time away impacted her life-outlook and her creativityWhat she's trying to incorporate into her everyday life*This is the first episode in a series she'll be doing throughout the year for paid subscribers. Access for the full episode is available when you become a paid subscriber on Substack.About Nadine:Nadine Kenney Johnstone is a holistic writing coach who helps women develop and publish their stories. She is the proud founder of WriteWELL, an online community that helps women reclaim their writing time, put pen to page, and get published. The authors in her community have published countless books and hundreds of essays in places like The New York Times, Vogue, The Sun, The Boston Globe, Longreads, and more. Her infertility memoir, Of This Much I'm Sure, was named book of the year by the Chicago Writer's Association. Her latest book, Come Home to Your Heart, is an essay collection and guided journal that helps readers tap into their inner wisdom and fall back in love with themselves. Her articles and interviews have appeared in Cosmo, Authority, MindBodyGreen, Good Grit, HERE, Urban Wellness, Natural Awakenings, Chicago Magazine, and more. Pulling from her vast experience as a writing, meditation, and yoga nidra instructor, Nadine leads women's writing and wellness workshops and retreats online and around the U.S.Find out more at nadinekenneyjohnstone.comTo receive her regular essays, subscribe to her Substack

In January, acclaimed filmmaker David Lynch died. He is known for films such as “Eraserhead” and “Blue Velvet,” but is also behind the award-winning show set in the Pacific Northwest, “Twin Peaks.” While much of the show was shot in a Los Angeles-based studio, exterior shots were filmed in Washington towns, including North Bend, Snoqualmie and Falls City. Katherine Cusumano is a freelance journalist and essayist. She, along with Oregon photojournalist Riley Yuan, went out to Twede’s Cafe in North Bend after hearing of Lynch’s death and reported on what they saw there for Longreads. Cusumano joins us to share her memories of the show and the legacy it has on the world around us.

185 We're bringing back this encore episode to celebrate Emily and Nadine's Feb 27 masterclass: Integrating Research into Writing. Replay will be sent if you can't make it live. Episode originally aired in Summer 2024.We want to protect our children but we can sense that our over protection is doing more damage than good. In this eye-opening conversation, parenting expert Emily Edlynn explains why controlling parenting is taking its toll on our kids, and how to make small changes that can make a big difference. This hopeful conversation will help you compassionately release control so that your children can thrive and become the capable, confident, connected humans they were meant to be. Covered in this episode:-The signs of controlling parenting-What autonomy-supportive parenting is and why it works-How to integrate parenting practices that will encourage our children's independence -Identifying how you were raised and the ripple effect that's had on you-The pitfalls Nadine is noticing in her previous parenting approach and how she's trying to change. About Emily Edlynn:Her mission is helping families find calm in the chaos of modern parenting. She is an academic, practicing therapist, and mother of 3. She dives deep into complex parenting topics so you don't have to! Her book, Autonomy-Supportive Parenting: Reduce Parental Burnout and Raise Competent, Confident Children, is now available on Amazon or Bookshop!About Nadine:Nadine Kenney Johnstone is a holistic writing coach who helps women develop and publish their stories. She is the proud founder of WriteWELL, an online community that helps women reclaim their writing time, put pen to page, and get published. The authors in her community have published countless books and hundreds of essays in places like The New York Times, Vogue, The Sun, The Boston Globe, Longreads, and more. Her infertility memoir, Of This Much I'm Sure, was named book of the year by the Chicago Writer's Association. Her latest book, Come Home to Your Heart, is an essay collection and guided journal that helps readers tap into their inner wisdom and fall back in love with themselves. Her articles and interviews have appeared in Cosmo, Authority, MindBodyGreen, Good Grit, HERE, Urban Wellness, Natural Awakenings, Chicago Magazine, and more. Pulling from her vast experience as a writing, meditation, and yoga nidra instructor, Nadine leads women's writing and wellness workshops and retreats online and around the U.S.Find out more at nadinekenneyjohnstone.comTo receive her regular essays, subscribe to her

Last year, Martin Empson joined Long Reads to speak about the German Peasants' War, Europe's biggest social revolt before the French Revolution. Martin returns to talk about what happened next. After the revolt was crushed, radical religious tendencies became a vehicle for social discontent. The most famous of those tendencies was known as Anabaptism. A group of religious radicals inspired by Anabaptist ideas even took power in the German town of Munster. After the bloody repression of the Munster rebels, the very idea of Anabaptism became a sinister bogeyman for Europe's ruling classes. Martin's book The Time of the Harvest Has Come: Revolution, Reformation and the German Peasants' War will be published later this year. Read Martin's Jacobin article, “Anabaptism Was the Revolutionary Face of Reformation Europe,” here: https://jacobin.com/2024/07/anabaptism-reformation-europe-peasants-revolution Long Reads is a Jacobin podcast looking in-depth at political topics and thinkers, both contemporary and historical, with the magazine's longform writers. Hosted by features editor Daniel Finn. Produced by Conor Gillies with music by Knxwledge.

Sari Botton joins Let's Talk Memoir for a conversation about editing the magazines Adventures in Journalism, Memoir Land, and Oldster, her experience publishing on Substack, editing vs. generating material, putting ourselves in our story, wrestling with what to share, creating safe boundaries, growing into the truest version of ourselves, vomit drafts, leaving the perfectionist out of the room, turning death on its head, shedding false identities, being our own best champion, and her mid-life coming of age memoir in episodes And You May Find Yourself...Confessions of a Late-Blooming Gen-X Weirdo.   Also in this episode:  -lowering standards for an early draft -finding time for our own writing -giving ourselves downtime to switch gears   Books mentioned in this episode: -Traveling Mercies by Anne Lamott -Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott -Bodywork by Melissa Febos -The Art of Memoir by Mary Karr -All books by Abigail Thomas   Sari's audibook is available here: https://www.audible.com/pd/And-You-May-Find-Yourself-Audiobook/B0DVMR3V2M   Sari Botton's memoir in essays, And You May Find Yourself...Confessions of a Late-Blooming Gen-X Weirdo, was chosen by Poets & Writers magazine for the 2022 edition of its annual "5 Over 50" feature. An essay from it received notable mention in The Best American Essays 2023, edited by Vivian Gornick. For five years, she was the Essays Editor at Longreads. She edited the bestselling anthologies Goodbye to All That: Writers on Loving and Leaving NewYork and Never Can Say Goodbye: Writers on Their Unshakable Love for New York. She publishes Oldster Magazine, Memoir Land, and Adventures in Journalism. She was the Writer in Residence in the creative writing department at SUNY New Paltz for Spring, 2023.    Connect with Sari: http://saribotton.com https://www.facebook.com/sari.botton/ https://www.instagram.com/saribotton/ https://bsky.app/profile/saribotton.bsky.social http://oldster.substack.com http://memoirland.substack.com http://adventuresinjournalism.substack.com https://www.audible.com/pd/And-You-May-Find-Yourself-Audiobook/B0DVMR3V2M https://bookshop.org/p/books/and-you-may-find-yourself-sari-botton/18519104 https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/sari-botton/goodbye-to-all-that-revised-edition/9781541675681/?lens=seal-press https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Never-Can-Say-Goodbye/Sari-Botton/9781476784403 – Ronit's writing has appeared in The Atlantic, The Rumpus, The New York Times, Poets & Writers, The Iowa Review, Hippocampus, The Washington Post, Writer's Digest, American Literary Review, and elsewhere. Her memoir WHEN SHE COMES BACK about the loss of her mother to the guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and their eventual reconciliation was named Finalist in the 2021 Housatonic Awards Awards, the 2021 Indie Excellence Awards, and was a 2021 Book Riot Best True Crime Book. Her short story collection HOME IS A MADE-UP PLACE won Hidden River Arts' 2020 Eludia Award and the 2023 Page Turner Awards for Short Stories.  She earned an MFA in Nonfiction Writing at Pacific University, is Creative Nonfiction Editor at The Citron Review, and teaches memoir through the University of Washington's Online Continuum Program and also independently. She launched Let's Talk Memoir in 2022, lives in Seattle with her family of people and dogs, and is at work on her next book.   More about Ronit: https://ronitplank.com Subscribe to Ronit's Substack: https://substack.com/@ronitplank   Follow Ronit: https://www.instagram.com/ronitplank/ https://www.facebook.com/RonitPlank https://bsky.app/profile/ronitplank.bsky.social   Background photo credit: Photo by Patrick Tomasso on Unsplash Headshot photo credit: Sarah Anne Photography Theme music: Isaac Joel, Dead Moll's Fingers

184 This chat w/ bestselling memoirist Molly Wizenberg covers it all: partnership, parenting, writing, teaching, navigating midlife, and taking brave action. At it's heart though, it's a chat about following our desire, even when it disturbs the status quo.About Molly's latest memoir, The Fixed Stars: At age 36, while serving on a jury, author Molly Wizenberg found herself drawn to a female attorney. Married to a man for nearly a decade and mother to a toddler, Wizenberg tried to return to her life as she knew it, but she felt that something inside her had changed irrevocably. Instead, she would discover that the trajectory of our lives is rarely as smooth or as logical as we'd like to believe.Covered in this episode:Why The Fixed Stars had such a big impact on NadineHow to develop self-trust even when the path forward is unclearWhy we must not abandon ourselvesHow to grow as individuals within a partnershipHow Molly and Nadine (both mothers and teachers) prioritize their writing time How to become an emboldened writer even when we're afraidWhat their mid-life journeys have looked likeThe impact of books on their lives and on the mainstream conversation around women and mid-lifeMid-life body empowerment The brave action they've taken this past yearAbout Molly:Molly Wizenberg is a memoirist, essayist, and teacher of personal narrative writing. She is the author of The Fixed Stars, a Stonewall Honor Book and a 2021 finalist for the Washington Book Award in biography and memoir. Her previous books, A Homemade Life and Delancey, were both New York Times bestsellers. Her work has appeared in The Guardian, The Washington Post, and Bon Appétit, where she was a columnist for three years. She also cohosts the weekly comedy-and-food podcast Spilled Milk, where, with co-host Matthew Amster-Burton, she's been chewing on-mic since 2010. In other lifetimes, she wrote the James Beard Award-winning blog Orangette (2004-2019) and co-founded the Seattle restaurants Delancey and Essex. Today she writes the newsletter I've Got a Feeling, which a very astute person once described as “a chronicle of enthusiasms.” She teaches writing workshops online and around the world. Newsletter: https://mollywizenberg.substack.com/Website: https://www.mollywizenberg.com/Current workshop offerings: https://www.mollywizenberg.com/upcomingworkshopsPodcast: https://www.spilledmilkpodcast.com/Instagram (though I'm not there much): https://www.instagram.com/molly.wizenberg/About Nadine:Nadine Kenney Johnstone is a holistic writing coach who helps women develop and publish their stories. She is the proud founder of WriteWELL, an online community that helps women reclaim their writing time, put pen to page, and get published. The authors in her community have published countless books and hundreds of essays in places like The New York Times, Vogue, The Sun, The Boston Globe, Longreads, and more. Her infertility memoir,

183 In this candid episode, Nadine reviews the highlights and hardships from the past year. She shares the god, bad, and the complicated when it comes to navigating mid-life, parenting a middle-schooler, living in FL, having difficult conversations w/ loved ones, prioritizing fun, and everything in between. Access for the full episode will be available on Fri Jan 31st when you become a paid subscriber on Substack.About Nadine:Nadine Kenney Johnstone is a holistic writing coach who helps women develop and publish their stories. She is the proud founder of WriteWELL, an online community that helps women reclaim their writing time, put pen to page, and get published. The authors in her community have published countless books and hundreds of essays in places like The New York Times, Vogue, The Sun, The Boston Globe, Longreads, and more. Her infertility memoir, Of This Much I'm Sure, was named book of the year by the Chicago Writer's Association. Her latest book, Come Home to Your Heart, is an essay collection and guided journal that helps readers tap into their inner wisdom and fall back in love with themselves. Her articles and interviews have appeared in Cosmo, Authority, MindBodyGreen, Good Grit, HERE, Urban Wellness, Natural Awakenings, Chicago Magazine, and more. Pulling from her vast experience as a writing, meditation, and yoga nidra instructor, Nadine leads women's writing and wellness workshops and retreats online and around the U.S.Find out more at nadinekenneyjohnstone.comTo receive her regular essays, subscribe to her Substack

Akbar Shahid Ahmed returns to Long Reads to discuss the recent ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas — and what's likely to happen next. Akbar is the senior diplomatic correspondent for the Huffington Post and the author of a forthcoming book about the Biden administration and the Israeli attack on Gaza. He has been a guest on the show several times last year. This conversation was recorded January 23rd. Read more about the role of Gaza in the 2024 election: https://www.imeupolicyproject.org/postelection-polling https://www.dropsitenews.com/p/kamala-harris-gaza-israel-biden-election-poll And find our previous interviews with Akbar here: https://jacobin.com/author/akbar-shahid-ahmed Subscribe to Jacobin Radio to hear a special Long Reads series starting next month. Red Star Over Palestine will look at histories of the Palestinian left, from the Communist movement to groups like the PFLP. Long Reads is a Jacobin podcast looking in-depth at political topics and thinkers, both contemporary and historical, with the magazine's longform writers. Hosted by features editor Daniel Finn. Produced by Conor Gillies, music by Knxwledge.

182 We're bringing back this encore episode to celebrate Tamara and Nadine's Jan 22 masterclass: Writing for Major Magazines. Replay will be sent if you can't make it live. Episode originally aired in 2021: How does an idea become a book? How do you find the time to write in the midst of working and parenting? How do you overcome fear of what others will think of your writing? Nadine and Tamara talk about all these things and more in this inspiring interview!About Tamara:Tamara Belinfanti is a Jamaican writer whose work explores themes of identity, transitions, and belonging. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, Vogue, Barron's, Brevity Blog, The Jamaica Gleaner, and PREE, a magazine of contemporary Caribbean writing. A graduate of Harvard Law School, she is a professor of law at New York Law School.About Nadine:Nadine Kenney Johnstone is a holistic writing coach who helps women develop and publish their stories. She is the proud founder of WriteWELL, an online community that helps women reclaim their writing time, put pen to page, and get published. The authors in her community have published countless books and hundreds of essays in places like The New York Times, Vogue, The Sun, The Boston Globe, Longreads, and more. Her infertility memoir, Of This Much I'm Sure, was named book of the year by the Chicago Writer's Association. Her latest book, Come Home to Your Heart, is an essay collection and guided journal that helps readers tap into their inner wisdom and fall back in love with themselves. Her articles and interviews have appeared in Cosmo, Authority, MindBodyGreen, Good Grit, HERE, Urban Wellness, Natural Awakenings, Chicago Magazine, and more. Pulling from her vast experience as a writing, meditation, and yoga nidra instructor, Nadine leads women's writing and wellness workshops and retreats online and around the U.S.Find out more at nadinekenneyjohnstone.comTo receive her regular essays, subscribe to her Substack

181 What if a gap year wasn't only reserved for high school grads trying to find themselves? Writer, hiker, and anti-capitalist tiny biz owner, Nic Antoinette, discusses the inspiration behind her 2025 grown up gap year, and Nadine opens up about the moment of jealousy that led to her "apprentice year." This is not a new-year-new-you, live-your-best-life episode. Instead, Nic and Nadine talk openly about how they are trying to be real with their plans and expectations for 2025. Nic also discusses the other ways she has curated a values-aligned life and career. In this inspiring and permission-granting conversation, you'll feel encouraged to make choices that challenge the norm in order to live a life that is a right fit for you. Covered in this episode: Why Nic writes so transparently about money How honesty and privacy can exist at the same time Creating a values-aligned approach to work and lifeThe burnout that comes from being accessible to too many people How we can be honest with ourselves with no pressure to do anything about it How Nadine and Nic have pivoted in their lives and careersThe key question that will help us take imperfect action The price of admission that Nic was willing to pay for peace of mindHow Nic's divorce impacted her outlook on changeWhat Nic and Nadine are doing during their gap and apprentice yearTheir worries about how these changes will impact their lives and careersNurturing our off-line livesAbout Nic:Nic Antoinette is a writer, long-distance hiker, and anti-capitalist tiny business owner. She writes a weekly personal essay series on Substack called Wild Letters, and is the author of two adventure memoirs: How To Be Alone and What We Owe to Ourselves. LinksSubstack: https://nicantoinette.substack.com/Website: https://www.nicoleantoinette.com/Gap year essay: https://nicantoinette.substack.com/p/im-taking-a-grown-up-gap-year-inAbout Nadine:Want to write with Nadine in 2025? Try a free class on Monday, Jan 13!Nadine Kenney Johnstone is a holistic writing coach who helps women develop and publish their stories. She is the proud founder of WriteWELL, an online community that helps women reclaim their writing time, put pen to page, and get published. The authors in her community have published countless books and hundreds of essays in places like The New York Times, Vogue, The Sun, The Boston Globe, Longreads, and more. Her infertility memoir, Of This Much I'm Sure, was named book of the year by the Chicago Writer's Association. Her latest book, Come Home to Your Heart, is an essay collection and guided journal that helps readers tap into their inner wisdom and fall back in love with...

(00:00) INTRO: X-Gespräch Elon Musk - Alice Weidel | (03:47) META 1: Kniefall vor Trump? - Marcus Schuler | (13:33) META 2: Alternative molo? - Andreas Hepp | (20:10) EMS: Nachwuchs wieder gefragt? - Benjamin Denes | (33:16) MEDIATHEK-TIPP: Longreads, Folge 1: Helene Hegemann und Thilo Mischke; Regie: Lena Brasch - rbb 21.07.2024 | (41:07) BONUS: EMS: Der erste Jahrgang 2002 - Sylvio Dahl - MM 20.04.2002 | (47:02) BONUS: META 3: Mark Zuckerberg in Berlin - Daniel Bouhs - Daniel Fiene - Konstantin von Notz - MM 27.02.2016 | (47:02) BONUS: META 4: “In der Social Media Falle” - Björn Staschen - Vera Linß - MM 16.12.2023 || Jörg Wagner

In this episode... making sense of dream premonitions; how to engage in spirit flight and dream travel - and the need for tethering when you do so; how to begin working with your ancestors in your dreams;  how to receive signs and strengthen your intuition, plus the consequences of NOT listening to your intuition; what to do when you get dream messages for someone else; and the number one thing you need to in order to receive dream messages. All with special guest Autumn Fourkiller. Join us!**********************************FIND OUT MORE ABOUT UPCOMING EVENTSHermit Year Workshop Series with Amanda Yates Garcia via her Mystery Cult platform on Substack. Get the replay when you subscribe as a Yearly or Founders Member.  You can also subscribe to her newsletter for free (!) at www.amandayatesgarcia.substack.comMuses and Guides: Working with Ritual & Poetry to Activate Creative Potential Workshop (Edinburgh, Scotland, UK) - with Amanda Yates Garcia and Rebecca Sharp. A daylong workshop on July 26, 2025 on bringing your spiritual work into your creative practice. Find out more via the link above.Homework Club offers creative people strategies for keeping their projects and practices a priority with monthly webinars, worksheets, live QnA's, accountability pods, and actual homework (that you'll never be graded on. Ever!). If you're an artist or writer looking for structure, support and community, check out Carolyn's project - Homework Club -with with arts consultant and author, Beth Pickens.Midwives of Invention will help you get unstuck in your writing, with Ann Friedman and Jade Chang.**********************************FIND OUT MORE ABOUT OUR GUEST AUTUMN FOURKILLERAutumn Fourkiller is member of the Cherokee Nation, writer and dream analyst. Her work and dream interpretations can be found in NY magazine's the Cut, Longreads, Atlas OBscura and many other places. Autumn also is the Tin House Writing Workshops communications coordinator, and summer scholar and was the 2022 fellow for Ann Friedman Weekly, you can subscribe to her Newsletter Dream Interpretation for Dummies via the link in the show notes.Find her on Instagram: @autumnfourkillerWebsite: autumnfourkiller.comSign up for her newsletter, Dream Interpretation for Dummies**********************************FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE MISSING WITCHES DECK OF ORACLESFrom Missing Witches authors Risa Dickens and Amy Torok comes a magical new deck featuring 52 of history's most inspiring witches.The Missing Witches Deck of Oracles pulls 52 figures—from Zora Neale Hurston to Hildegarde to Mayumi Oda and more—and presents their stories in potent and poignant spells that restore, inspire, and empower.Users may pull a card or spread a day—or find what works for them—to discover each historical witch and the guidance they offer. Each card features a unique illustration along with a simple message on one side; the other shares each witch's story along an insight, prompt, or meditation.The deck invites those new to and experienced with the craft to connect with witches living and legend and offers a uniquely rich experience for discovery, self-reflection, meditation, divination, and daily ritual.The Missing Witches Deck of Oracles is out now. North Atlantic Books is offering listeners 30% off (plus free shipping) on the deck with code MISSING at www.northatlanticbooks.com now through December 31, 2024. This offer is limited to recipients with U.S.-based mailing addresses only.**********************************Learn More About Your Host Amanda Yates GarciaTo join Amanda's MYSTERY CULT on Substack click here.To order Amanda's book, "Initiated: Memoir of a Witch" CLICK HERE.Amanda's InstagramTo book an appointment with Amanda go to www.oracleoflosangeles.com*********************************Original MUSIC by Carolyn Pennypacker Riggs**********************************Get in touch with sponsorship inquiries for Between the Worlds at betweentheworldspodcast@gmail.com.CONTRIBUTORS:Amanda Yates Garcia (host) & Carolyn Pennypacker Riggs (producer, composer). The BTW logo collage was created by Maria Minnis (tinyparsnip.com / instagram.com/tinyparsnip ) with text designed by Leah Hayes. Learn More About Your Host Amanda Yates GarciaTo join Amanda's MYSTERY CULT on Substack click here.To order Amanda's book, "Initiated: Memoir of a Witch" CLICK HERE.Amanda's InstagramTo book an appointment with Amanda go to www.oracleoflosangeles.com*********************************Original MUSIC by Carolyn Pennypacker Riggs**********************************Are you an artist or writer looking for structure, support and community? Check out Carolyn's project - Homework Club -with with arts consultant and author, Beth Pickens:Homework Club offers creative people strategies for keeping their projects and practices a priority with monthly webinars, worksheets, live QnA's, accountability pods, and actual homework (that you'll never be graded on. Ever!). Make 2024 a BIG PROJECT year - first month free with code: YourArtMind Your Practice is our podcast.You can visit https://www.bethpickens.com/homework-club for more details or listen wherever you stream Between the Worlds.**********************************Get in touch with sponsorship inquiries for Between the Worlds at betweentheworldspodcast@gmail.com.CONTRIBUTORS:Amanda Yates Garcia (host) & Carolyn Pennypacker Riggs (producer, composer). The BTW logo collage was created by Maria Minnis (tinyparsnip.com / instagram.com/tinyparsnip ) with text designed by Leah Hayes.

180 This was a big year for the show, as Nadine got to interview her writing idols, including Maggie Smith, Abigail Thomas, Dr. Hillary McBride, and more! In this episode, Nadine chats with her producer about their favorite podcast moments from 2024. Learn which life bits of guest wisdom impacted them the most and how their personal lives have changed as a result.While the show is on a holiday break, catch up on any episodes you missed! Episodes referenced:179 Sari Botton177 Sarah Fay174 Hillary McBride 173 Patty McNair172 Maggie Smith167 Krystal Clark165 Emily Edlynn163 Abigail Thomas158 Sara Avant Stover155 Heather Adams153 Melanie Brooks152 Emily P Freeman147 Maria Warner About Nadine:Write with Nadine in 2025. Learn more here.Nadine Kenney Johnstone is a holistic writing coach who helps women develop and publish their stories. She is the proud founder of WriteWELL, an online community that helps women reclaim their writing time, put pen to page, and get published. The authors in her community have published countless books and hundreds of essays in places like The New York Times, Vogue, The Sun, The Boston Globe, Longreads, and more. Her infertility memoir, Of This Much I'm Sure, was named book of the year by the Chicago Writer's Association. Her latest book, Come Home to Your Heart, is an essay collection and guided journal that helps readers tap into their inner wisdom and fall back in love with themselves. Her articles and interviews have appeared in Cosmo, Authority, MindBodyGreen, Good Grit, HERE, Urban Wellness, Natural Awakenings, Chicago Magazine, and more. Pulling from her vast experience as a writing, meditation, and yoga nidra instructor, Nadine leads women's writing and wellness workshops and retreats online and around the U.S.Find out more at nadinekenneyjohnstone.comTo receive her regular essays, subscribe to her Substack

As with many other periods, the history of the Roman Empire has often been told from the vantage point of a minoritarian social elite. Sarah Bond, a professor of classics at the University of Iowa, set out in her research to uncover something different: a "history from below" detailing the class struggle in ancient Rome. She joins Long Reads to discuss this project. Sarah's book Strike: Labor, Unions, and Resistance in the Roman Empire will be published in February of next year. Long Reads is a Jacobin podcast looking in-depth at political topics and thinkers, both contemporary and historical, with the magazine's longform writers. Hosted by features editor Daniel Finn. Produced by Conor Gillies, music by Knxwledge.

On Sunday, December 15th, a crowd of 50 people gathered at Zibby's Bookshop to listen to an intimate conversation between Elisa Albert and Zibby Owens. They discussed Elisa's book HUMAN BLUES, her writing process, Zibby's anthology ON BEING JEWISH NOW, and the controversy at the Albany Book Festival about which Elisa wrote a powerful essay entitled, "An Invitation to the Anti-Zionists: You refused to sit on a literary panel with me. I invite you to my Shabbes table instead, so we can actually talk to each other and face her fears." Spoiler: no one accepted her invitation. Bio:Elisa Albert is the author of the novels Human Blues, After Birth, The Book of Dahlia, the story collection How This Night is Different, and the essay collection The Snarling Girl. Her work has been published in n+1, Tin House, Bennington Review, The New York Times, Michigan Quarterly Review, The Literary Review, Philip Roth Studies, Paris Review, Los Angeles Review of Books, Longreads, The Cut, Time Magazine, Post Road, Gulf Coast, Commentary, Salon, Tablet, Washington Square, The Rumpus, The Believer and in many anthologies. She has taught creative writing at Columbia University's School of the Arts, The College of Saint Rose, Bennington College, Texas State University, University of Maine, and the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown. A Pushcart Prize nominee, finalist for the Sami Rohr Prize and Paterson Fiction Prize, winner of the Moment Magazine debut fiction prize, and Literary Death Match champion, Albert has served as Writer-in-Residence at the Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study in Holland and at the Hanse-Wissenschaftkolleg in Germany. Now there's more! Subscribe to Moms Don't Have Time to Read Books on Acast+ and get ad-free episodes. https://plus.acast.com/s/moms-dont-have-time-to-read-books. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's winter break! Strap on your snowshoes, brew a hot chocolate, and escape to the heat of the Vegas desert with one of our favorite episodes from last season. Wishing you all rest, writing inspiration, and early-decision acceptances. This week, an MFA with an international focus! Krista Diamond sits down with Jared to talk about UNLV's required (and funded) study abroad component and its emphasis on translation. Plus, Krista shares lessons learned as a freelance writer, info on the Vegas literary community, and how her experience working and living in national parks informs her fiction and nonfiction alike. Krista Diamond is a Las Vegas based writer whose work has appeared in or is forthcoming in The New York Times, Longreads, Hazlitt, Catapult, Electric Literature, Joyland, and elsewhere. Her writing has been supported by Tin House and Bread Loaf. Her essay “That Girl is Going to Get Herself Killed,” which first appeared in Longreads, was adapted for audio by Oscar-nominated actress Naomie Harris. She is currently a third year in the fiction MFA program at the University of Nevada Las Vegas, where she is working on a novel about paparazzi. Learn more at www.kristamariediamond.com and on Twitter at @kristadiamond. MFA Writers is hosted by Jared McCormack and produced by Jared McCormack and Hanamori Skoblow. New episodes are released every two weeks. You can find more MFA Writers at MFAwriters.com. BE PART OF THE SHOW Donate to the show at Buy Me a Coffee. Leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts. Submit an episode request. If there's a program you'd like to learn more about, contact us and we'll do our very best to find a guest who can speak to their experience. Apply to be a guest on the show by filling out our application. STAY CONNECTED Twitter: @MFAwriterspod Instagram: @MFAwriterspodcast Facebook: MFA Writers Email: mfawriterspodcast@gmail.com

179 Oldster magazine creator, Sari Botton, joins Nadine to talk about the highlights and hardships of “traveling through time in a human body at every phase of life.” As a collector of stories, Sari also shares what she has learned about aging and new beginnings from others. Ultimately, Nadine and Sari explore how to embrace life's contradictions and feel less alone in the process. If you've ever asked yourself, “Am I the only one who feels this way?” this episode is for you!Covered in this episode:-What inspired Sari to start Oldster magazine-What Sari has learned from Oldster interviewees and her own aging process-Her plans for her 60s and beyond-Her self-compassion and boundary-setting practices-Two unexpected life events that made her feel the urgency of time-Why people love, leave, and come back to NYC-The benefits of being a community builder and story collector-Two things that bring Sari great joy Want access to the full episode? Become a paid Substack subscriber here. About Sari: Sari Botton is a bestselling author, editor, and teacher with decades of experience. She is the author of the memoir in essays, And You May Find Yourself…Confessions of a Late-Blooming Gen-X Weirdo, which was chosen by Poets & Writers Magazine for the 2022 edition of its annual “5 Over 50” feature. An essay from it received notable mention in The Best American Essays 2023, edited by Vivian Gornick. For five years she served as the Essays Editor for Longreads. She edited the bestselling anthologies Goodbye to All That: Writers on Loving and Leaving NewYork and Never Can Say Goodbye: Writers on Their Unshakable Love for New York. She publishes Oldster Magazine, Memoir Monday, and Adventures in Journalism. About Nadine:Nadine Kenney Johnstone is a holistic writing coach who helps women develop and publish their stories. She is the proud founder of WriteWELL, an online community that helps women reclaim their writing time, put pen to page, and get published. The authors in her community have published countless books and hundreds of essays in places like The New York Times, Vogue, The Sun, The Boston Globe, Longreads, and more. Her infertility memoir, Of This Much I'm Sure, was named book of the year by the Chicago Writer's Association. Her latest...

178 In this candid episode, Nadine discusses her creative and professional successes and struggles of the past year. Join Nadine & Sarah Fay on Dec 10, 10-12:30 CST for a collaborative masterclass, Knowing Your “Why”: Set Up Your Substack to Grow. Replay sent if you miss. If you'd like automatic access to all of Nadine's monthly masterclasses, as well as her weekly writer workouts for women, you can join her Writer Workout PLUS Membership.About Nadine:Nadine Kenney Johnstone is a holistic writing coach who helps women develop and publish their stories. She is the proud founder of WriteWELL, an online community that helps women reclaim their writing time, put pen to page, and get published. The authors in her community have published countless books and hundreds of essays in places like The New York Times, Vogue, The Sun, The Boston Globe, Longreads, and more. Her infertility memoir, Of This Much I'm Sure, was named book of the year by the Chicago Writer's Association. Her latest book, Come Home to Your Heart, is an essay collection and guided journal that helps readers tap into their inner wisdom and fall back in love with themselves. Her articles and interviews have appeared in Cosmo, Authority, MindBodyGreen, Good Grit, HERE, Urban Wellness, Natural Awakenings, Chicago Magazine, and more. Pulling from her vast experience as a writing, meditation, and yoga nidra instructor, Nadine leads women's writing and wellness workshops and retreats online and around the U.S.Find out more at nadinekenneyjohnstone.comTo receive her regular essays, subscribe to her Substack

David Alm is a Brooklyn-based writer, an editor, and a professor of journalism at Hunter College of the City University of New York. His work has appeared in GQ, Running Times, The Daily Beast, Forbes, and Runner's World. His 2021 story for GQ, "The Marathon Men Who Can't Go Home," was named one of the six best features of the year by Longreads and helped two men receive political asylum. David inspires change through his writing and also through action. In 2019, he founded the East River Track Club and East River 5000, which is a series of community-focused track and road races throughout New York City. With East River 5000, David's mission is to restore the simplicity and accessibility of competitive running in New York. While looking to the past to create a more inclusive present, he is inspired by the less commercialized style of racing in the 1970s and '80s. Each of his events is a collaboration with local partners that highlights the unique histories and cultures of the local neighborhood. These events are creative, accessible, inviting, supportive, and incredibly fun. David is a wonderful storyteller, and this conversation is a great story about New York, building community, taking chances, and putting down roots.

In this instant classic episode, Wilson M. Sims and Jared talk about the step-by-step process of getting an agent, what they do (or know they shouldn't do) when a story isn't working, how MFA programs are like basketball drills, and approaching craft discussions in ways that are more flexible and time-varying than declarative and concrete. Plus, Wilson discusses making lasting connections with faculty and visiting writers and shares the realities of living on an MFA stipend and pivoting to part-time to maintain a day job. Wilson M. Sims is a behavioral-health worker and policy strategist in the final year of his MFA program at Florida Atlantic University. His work is published in Longreads, The Florida Review, Witness Magazine, and Virginia Quarterly Review. He is the winner of the 2021 Lascaux Prize in Creative Nonfiction, and his essay “Unknown Costs,” received a special mention in the 2025 Pushcart Anthology. Find him at wilsonmsims.com. MFA Writers is hosted by Jared McCormack and produced by Jared McCormack and Hanamori Skoblow. New episodes are released every two weeks. You can find more MFA Writers at MFAwriters.com. BE PART OF THE SHOW Donate to the show at Buy Me a Coffee. Leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts. Submit an episode request. If there's a program you'd like to learn more about, contact us and we'll do our very best to find a guest who can speak to their experience. Apply to be a guest on the show by filling out our application. STAY CONNECTED Twitter: @MFAwriterspod Instagram: @MFAwriterspodcast Facebook: MFA Writers Email: mfawriterspodcast@gmail.com

Last week, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for the Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defence minister Yoav Gallant. It was a rare moment of hope for Palestinians, but the US government responded with outrage.Earlier this year, a report by the Guardian and +972 Magazine showed that Israel had been spying on the ICC for a number of years. The aim of the espionage was to keep track of which particular allegations of war crimes were being investigated by the ICC. Israel would then start its own investigation retroactively into the same allegations. This was designed to undercut the ICC and make it possible for people like US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller to speak about the virtues of the Israeli court system.Our guest today for a conversation about the ICC arrest warrants is John Reynolds. John is a professor of law at Maynooth University and the author of Empire, Emergency and International Law. He's joined us twice before on Long Reads to speak about the challenges Israel is facing on the international legal front.Find his last interview for the podcast, "Backing Israeli Apartheid Isn't Just Immoral — It's Illegal," here: https://jacobin.com/2024/08/israeli-apartheid-gaza-icj-iccLong Reads is a Jacobin podcast looking in-depth at political topics and thinkers, both contemporary and historical, with the magazine's longform writers. Hosted by features editor Daniel Finn. Produced by Conor Gillies, music by Knxwledge. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After today's episode, head on over to @therapybookspodcasts to learn about our latest giveaway. If you are enjoying these episodes, please leave us a 5-star review. *Information shared on this podcast is for informational and educational purposes only. *Trigger warning for episode and book as the author does share about struggles with mental health. In this episode of What Your Therapist is Reading, Jessica Fowler is speaking with Anna Gazmarian about her book Devout: A Memoir of Doubt.  Anna shares how traditional views of faith and mental illness can be at odds, and explains how she redefined her spirituality to see God in moments of safety and love.  This conversation dives into themes of spiritual trauma, the intersection of faith and therapy, and the resilience of individuals with mental illness. Anna's perspective offers hope and insight, showing that thriving with faith and mental illness is possible. Highlights: 3:29 Anna shares how it was difficult to reconcile her faith with her diagnosis.  She shares how the book chronicles her experience. 5:21: Anna shares what her mental illness is like for her. 7:45: Anna shares how treatment was a miracle for her. 11:26: Anna sharing how she had to redefine what faith was for her.   About the author:  Anna Gazmarian hold an MFA in Creative Writing from the Bennington Writing Seminars. Her essays have been published in The Guardian, The Rumpus, Longreads, The Sun Magazine and Quarterly West.  

Earlier this week, Joe Biden welcomed the Israeli president Isaac Herzog to the White House. Last October, Herzog announced that there were no innocent civilians in Gaza. The International Court of Justice cited his comments as evidence that the Palestinian people needed protection from the threat of genocide.Akbar Shahid Ahmed of the Huffington Post has been following the Biden administration's support for the Israeli attack on Gaza from the start. He's currently working on a book that will give a detailed account of the inside story. Akbar has joined the podcast twice before to discuss the latest developments. Dan spoke to him again after the US presidential election about the events of the past few months and what is likely to happen next.Find our last Long Reads interview with Akbar here: https://jacobin.com/2024/06/biden-administration-israel-cease-fire-policyAnd read his ongoing coverage for Huffington Post here: https://www.huffpost.com/author/akbar-shahid-ahmedLong Reads is a Jacobin podcast looking in-depth at political topics and thinkers, both contemporary and historical, with the magazine's longform writers. Hosted by features editor Daniel Finn. Produced by Conor Gillies, music by Knxwledge. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The German Peasants' War was the biggest social revolt in a European country during the period before the French Revolution. In the wake of the Reformation, a movement development among the popular classes that rose up against feudalism and aristocratic power. The revolt was brutally crushed and the challenge to the feudal order was defeated. Marxist writers like Friedrich Engels and Karl Kautsky later made it into a key reference point for their theories of class struggle.Long Reads is joined by the writer and historian Martin Empson to discuss the rebellion. His book on the topic, The Time of the Harvest Has Come, will soon be published.Read his article for Jacobin about the German Peasants' War here: https://jacobin.com/2023/12/german-peasants-war-feudalism-class-conflict-reformationLong Reads is a Jacobin podcast looking in-depth at political topics and thinkers, both contemporary and historical, with the magazine's longform writers. Hosted by features editor Daniel Finn. Produced by Conor Gillies, music by Knxwledge. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Last October, Long Reads spoke to Rashid Khalidi, one of the leading historians of modern Palestine, about the Israeli attack on Gaza. Few people would have guessed at the time that the mass killing of Palestinian civilians would still be happening twelve months later, and now expanding into Lebanon. The interview was conducted Wednesday, October 9th, when we were still waiting to see whether and in what way Israel would launch its promised attack on Iran. Benjamin Netanyahu had just threatened to inflict the same devastation on Lebanon that his military machine had already inflicted on Gaza.Long Reads is a Jacobin podcast looking in-depth at political topics and thinkers, both contemporary and historical, with the magazine's longform writers. Hosted by features editor Daniel Finn. Produced by Conor Gillies, music by Knxwledge. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.