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Re-release | Host Jason Blitman chats with accidental poet Lyndsay Rush (A Bit Much) about the unique flavors of snacks, traumatic school memories, and the importance of embracing one's "bit much" personality. This episode originally aired October 29, 2024Lyndsay Rush is a comedy writer, cofounder of the branding agency Obedient, and the poet behind the popular Instagram account @maryoliversdrunkcousin. Her debut book of poems, A Bit Much was an instant USA Today Bestseller and her writing has been featured in Reductress, McSweeney's, New York magazine, and The New York Times. Lyndsay spent most of her adult life freezing in Chicago, but currently swelters in Nashville with her husband and young son.Sign up for the Gays Reading Book Club HERESUBSTACK! MERCH! WATCH! CONTACT! hello@gaysreading.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Teddy Wayne is the author of the novels The Au Pair, The Winner, The Great Man Theory, Apartment, Loner, The Love Song of Jonny Valentine, and Kapitoil. He is the winner of a Whiting Writers' Award and an NEA Creative Writing Fellowship as well as a finalist for the Young Lions Fiction Award, PEN/Bingham Prize, and Dayton Literary Peace Prize. A former columnist for the New York Times and McSweeney's and a frequent contributor to The New Yorker, he has taught at Columbia University and Washington University in St. Louis. Teddy joins Barbara DeMarco-Barrett to talk about what he needs to know before he begins writing, voice, fiction that makes a big statement, stakes, plotting via character relationships, the midpoint, finding sources, theme, and much more. For more information on Writers on Writing and to become a supporter, visit our Patreon page. For a one-time donation, visit Ko-fi. You can help out the show and indie bookstores by buying books at our bookstore on bookshop.org. It's stocked with titles by our guest authors, as well as our personal favorites. And on Spotify, you'll find an album's worth of typewriter music like what you hear on the show. It's perfect for writing. Look for the artist, Just My Type. You can find hundreds of past interviews on our website. (Recorded on June 19, 2026) Host: Barbara DeMarco-Barrett Host: Marrie Stone Music: Travis Barrett (Stream his music on Spotify, Apple Music, Etc.)
Today on the program, a trip into the archive and a return to Episode 491, my conversation with Carmen Maria Machado, author of the award-winning debut story collection Her Body and Other Parties. Air date: November 8, 2017. Carmen is also the author of the bestselling memoir In the Dream House and the graphic novel The Low, Low Woods. She has been a finalist for the National Book Award and the winner of the Bard Fiction Prize, the Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Fiction, the Lambda Literary Award for LGBTQ Nonfiction, the Brooklyn Public Library Literature Prize, the Shirley Jackson Award, and the National Book Critics Circle's John Leonard Prize. In 2018, the New York Times listed Her Body and Other Parties as a member of "The New Vanguard," one of "15 remarkable books by women that are shaping the way we read and write fiction in the 21st century."Her essays, fiction, poetry, and criticism have appeared in the New Yorker, the New York Times, Granta, Vogue, This American Life, Harper's Bazaar, Tin House, McSweeney's Quarterly Concern, The Believer, Guernica, Best American Science Fiction & Fantasy, Best American Nonrequired Reading, and elsewhere. She holds an MFA from the Iowa Writers' Workshop and has been awarded fellowships and residencies from the Guggenheim Foundation, The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage, Yaddo, Hedgebrook, and the Millay Colony for the Arts. She is the former Abrams Artist-in-Residence at the University of Pennsylvania. *** Otherppl with Brad Listi is a weekly podcast featuring in-depth interviews with today's leading writers. Available where podcasts are available: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, etc. Get How to Write a Novel, the debut audio course from DeepDive. 50+ hours of never-before-heard insight, inspiration, and instruction from dozens of today's most celebrated contemporary authors. Subscribe to Brad's email newsletter. Support the show on Patreon Merch Instagram TikTok Bluesky Email the show: letters [at] otherppl [dot] com The podcast is a proud affiliate partner of Bookshop, working to support local, independent bookstores. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
You may remember that Morgan McSweeney was one of Keir Starmer's fall guys in the Mandelson scandal. He ran the Labour Party's 2024 campaign that saw Labour land a comparatively small amount of the vote (37%) in exactly the right places to give them a stonking great majority and end 14 years of Tory rule. It ended badly for McSweeney. It's ending badly for Starmer, and a bloke who never got elected by Britain is going to run the place in a few weeks, theoretically for the next three years. I tell you this because McSweeney has never spoken before, until now. What he says is fascinating. He claims the party didn't prepare properly for power, didn't think about how the world had changed since they were last in Government, didn't talk about it enough, and didn't plan, and that's why Starmer was such a disaster. What makes it fascinating for us is: 1) It was Starmer and Labour that Chris Hipkins visited in Liverpool at their conference to get tips. 2) It's Hipkins and Labour, according to former MP and Speaker Trevor Mallard, who ended up at the Featherston book fair telling exactly the same story about his party. So do we have a theme, or a trait? Are Labour groupings essentially lazy, or blind, or arrogant? Or a combination of all three? Labour NZ 2017 set a record in working groups because they hadn't prepared for Government. They had nine years to do so. Labour in Britain had 14 years. Perhaps as interesting is Peter Dunne's latest column in Newsroom where he reports that the recent Labour congress here was well staged but lacked anything new. Subsidies for apprenticeships are worthy, but dull, and reminds voters of the economic mess Labour last got us into. Do labour movements lack imagination? The two may be coincidental, but they might not be. Is Labour about simply waiting for the other lot to lose? At their heart, are they not actually up for a bit of hard work and prep? New Zealand Labour were jettisoned for a calamitous record. British Labour would be on the verge of it if they didn't have five-year terms. McSweeney, Mallard, and Dunne all tell a similar story. If you're a potential Labour supporter here, surely that story is worrying, if not frightening. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Andrew Martin is the author of the novel Early Work, a New York Times Notable book of 2018, and the story collection Cool for America, longlisted for the 2020 Story Prize. His essays and stories have appeared frequently in The Paris Review, The New York Review of Books, and Harper's, as well as in The Yale Review, The Atlantic, McSweeney's, The Times Book Review and elsewhere. He lives in New York City with his family. Recommended Books: William Demby, Love Story Black Morgan Meis, The Drunken Silenus Chris Holmes is Chair of Literatures in English and Professor at Ithaca College. He writes criticism on contemporary global literatures. His book, Kazuo Ishiguro Against World Literature, is published with Bloomsbury Publishing. He is the co-director of The New Voices Festival, a celebration of work in poetry, prose, and playwriting by up-and-coming young writers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network
Andrew Martin is the author of the novel Early Work, a New York Times Notable book of 2018, and the story collection Cool for America, longlisted for the 2020 Story Prize. His essays and stories have appeared frequently in The Paris Review, The New York Review of Books, and Harper's, as well as in The Yale Review, The Atlantic, McSweeney's, The Times Book Review and elsewhere. He lives in New York City with his family. Recommended Books: William Demby, Love Story Black Morgan Meis, The Drunken Silenus Chris Holmes is Chair of Literatures in English and Professor at Ithaca College. He writes criticism on contemporary global literatures. His book, Kazuo Ishiguro Against World Literature, is published with Bloomsbury Publishing. He is the co-director of The New Voices Festival, a celebration of work in poetry, prose, and playwriting by up-and-coming young writers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/literature
On this month's episode Nicole is joined by Tom Morris to read from and discuss his story ‘Notes on Contributors' published in Issue 54 Volume Two of The Stinging Fly magazine.In their conversation, Nicole and Tom talk about how writers discuss their writing routine and about the benefit of maintaining mystery and ambiguity in writing. They also discuss writing in the realm of the body rather than the realm of the intellect, trying to bring readers toward a feeling, and the importance of learning to develop and trust your own sense of taste as a writer.Thomas Morris is the author of We Don't Know What We're Doing, and Open Up. His work has been rejected by The Paris Review, McSweeney's, and The New Yorker. Originally from Caerphilly, South Wales, he lives in Dublin, where he worked for over a decade with The Stinging Fly.Nicole Flattery is a writer and critic. Her story collection Show Them A Good Time, was published by The Stinging Fly and Bloomsbury in 2019. Her first novel, Nothing Special, was published by Bloomsbury in 2023.– — –Each month on The Stinging Fly Podcast, we invite writers from the latest issue of the magazine to read and discuss their work. Previous episodes of the podcast can be found here. The podcast's theme music is ‘Sale of Lakes', by Divan. All of The Stinging Fly's archive is available to subscribers.
The Montreal podcast that asks Dawn McSweeney & Abby Stonehouse (both repping the World’s Smallest Comedy Festival): “How would you re-design the Montreal Canadiens logo?” That question was asked by Wassim El-Mounzer and Simon Peacock a few episodes ago (perhaps[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post GPYS 339: World’s Smallest Comedy Festival 4 (w/ Dawn McSweeney & Abby Stonehouse) appeared first on 9to5 (dot cc).
9to5.cc Podcasts: Including Go Plug Yourself (GPYS) & 9to5 Entertainment System (9ES)
The Montreal podcast that asks Dawn McSweeney & Abby Stonehouse (both repping the World’s Smallest Comedy Festival): “How would you re-design the Montreal Canadiens logo?” That question was asked by Wassim El-Mounzer and Simon Peacock a few episodes ago (perhaps when the Habs were still in the playoffs, this has been a bit of a summer). Anyways Montreal, we’ve got big news and you’re hearing about it here first kids. The gang at World’s Smallest are doing it again. The World’s Smallest Comedy Festival is returning for it’s 4th edition August 10th through 17th. Troy Stark and I are joined by Dawn McSweeney and Abby Stonehouse to talk about all the great shows and comedians that will be filling out an incredible 8 nights of comedy in August. Of course we also talk a lot about musicals and Disney movies. World’s Smallest will be launching a brand new website at worldssmallest.club this coming Monday July 13th that will be jam packed with all things World’s Smallest Comedy so check that out soon or just type “World’s Smallest Comedy Montreal” in your favorite search engine and that will work too. To keep tabs of what Dawn and Abby have going on (in addition to the shows that they’re producing for the World’s Smallest Comedy Festival) you can follow Dawn at @mcsweeney514 on Instagram and Abby is @abbypstone_mtl over there as well. World’s Smallest will be launching a brand new website at worldssmallest.club this coming Monday July 13th that will be jam packed with all things World’s Smallest Comedy so check that out soon or just type “World’s Smallest Comedy Montreal” in your favorite search engine and that will work too. Enjoy the show! Credit Where Credit is Due As always, a big thank you to the providers of our theme song: Leighland Beckman and Aural Turpitude! Keith does all sorts of things here on 9to5.cc, he works with the other founders on 9to5 (illustrated), co-hosts our two podcasts: The 9to5 Entertainment System and Go Plug Yourself and sometimes blogs here as The Perspicacious Geek. Troy Stark is yet another amazing Montreal comedian and promoter who indulges me in co-hosting this wonderful little show of ours. You can catch him pretty often at the World's Smallest Comedy Night and Cheap Laughs at Rustik Pub, both of which he produces. The post GPYS 339: World’s Smallest Comedy Festival 4 (w/ Dawn McSweeney & Abby Stonehouse) appeared first on 9to5 (dot cc).
Dave Eggers (Contrapposto, The Circle, and A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius) is a bestselling author, founder of McSweeney's, and Pulitzer Prize finalist. Dave joins the Armchair Expert to discuss the strange family lore behind McSweeney's, growing up in John Hughes-era Illinois, and falling in love with writing and designing books as a kid. Dave and Dax talk about moving to Berkeley to help raise his little brother after his parents died, shaking up literary readings with They Might Be Giants, and building a creative community out of rejected magazine pieces. Dave explains why kids should be published, how writing can give order to chaos, and why the happiest creative life might be the one with the least preciousness.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
S10 E6—Is disability a tragedy to overcome, a burden to bear, an inspirational lesson for everyone else? Or is there a different story to tell, and who gets to tell it? Craig Thomas, co-creator of How I Met Your Mother, joins Amy Julia Becker to discuss That's Not How It Happened, his novel written from nearly two decades of growing up with a son with a rare genetic condition. Together they explore: Disability representationOverprotective parentingIndependence and agencyThe power of authentic storytelling00:00 The Story Behind "That's Not How It Happened"08:15 Character Perspectives and Empathy in Storytelling10:50 Disability and Family Dynamics: Parents and Siblings15:26 Exploring Agency, Independence, and Shared Humanity20:55 The Complexity of Emotions in Disability Narratives27:42 Challenging Myths Around Disability29:30 The Importance of Authentic Disability Representation in Media38:45 Reimagining Life with DisabilityMENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:Novel: That's Not How It Happened by Craig ThomasTV Show: How I Met Your MotherMovie: Champions_SUBSCRIBE to Amy Julia's Substack: amyjuliabecker.substack.comWATCH this conversation on YouTube: Amy Julia Becker on YouTubeJOIN the conversation on Instagram: @amyjuliabeckerLISTEN to more episodes: amyjuliabecker.com/shows/_ABOUT OUR GUEST:Craig Thomas is the co-creator of the Emmy-winning comedy series How I Met Your Mother. His prose has appeared in The New Yorker, The Boston Globe, McSweeney's, and The Iowa Review. He lives in New York City with his wife, Rebecca, his daughter, Celia, and his son, Elliot, whose unique journey has had a huge impact on his life and work. That's Not How It Happened is his first novel.https://www.instagram.com/craigtthomas/ and https://craigthomaswriter.com/__We want to hear your thoughts. Send us a text!Connect with me:InstagramFacebookYouTubeWebsiteThanks for listening!
Hello, Protagonists!Welcome to another episode of the Creative, Inspired, ALIVE podcast—where we go behind the scenes with the storytellers shaping our culture.Our guest, Jessica Goldstein, is a style, arts, and humor writer. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Marie Claire, Vulture, and the humor site McSweeney's Internet Tendency. Her debut novel, Retro, published by Ballantine Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House, is out now.Today, we talk about:* the ins and outs of time travel,* crafting humor,* books in pop culture,* writing opinion pieces in major publications,* and so much more.
Andy Burnham could be prime minister within weeks after Keir Starmer's resignation. He may now need to build a government before the World Cup final. This is where the real trade-offs start. How long can Andy Burnham's hopey, changey, Northern Soul vibes last in Downing Street? There's already an almighty row going on over who will be his chancellor.Also today, where did all go wrong for Keir Starmer and what did Labour MPs think of his resignation speech?Wes Streeting has said he will not contest Andy Burnham for the Labour leadership, but are there any other possible candidates for the leadership contest?Steven Swinford, political editor, The TimesPatrick Maguire, chief political commentator, The TimesExecutive producer: Molly GuinnessProducers: Harry Kitson, Euan DawtreyPicture credit: Getty ImagesAudio: Reuters00:00 — Starmer's Resignation: The Total Lack of Contrition00:48 — A Surreal Timeline: Six Prime Ministers in a Decade01:56 — The Emotional Exit vs. The Bitter Backroom Reality03:04 — Where It Went Wrong: Sins of Tone & Policy U-Turns04:30 — The Brutal Verdict: "He Wasn't Up To It"05:47 — Outsourcing Power: Sue Gray, McSweeney, and Rachel Reeves08:46 — Enter Andy Burnham: Can He Rebrand the Labour Party?11:36 — Ed Miliband vs. The Financial Markets14:31 — Team Burnham's Impossible Economic Trade-offs16:36 — Will the Gloss Wear Off? The Unforgiving Spotlight of No. 1018:24 — Legitimacy Crisis: Nigel Farage Demands an Early Election20:06 — The Whitehall Machine in Total ChaosThis podcast was brought to you thanks to subscribers of The Times and The Sunday Times. To enjoy unlimited digital access to all our journalism subscribe here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Bassist, composer, and educator Mary Ann McSweeney joins Jason to talk about a career that spans Bay Area roots, L.A. training, and the demanding, ever-shifting world of Broadway and studio work. Mary Ann shares how piano and violin shaped her musicianship, what it took to become a stronger reader, and much more Enjoy, give Mary Ann a follow on Instagram, and check out this feature of her on YouTube: WPL's Jazz Series: Meet Mary Ann McSweeney. Thank you to our sponsor! Carnegie Mellon University Double Bass Studio – CMU is dedicated to helping each student achieve their goals as a musician. Every week each student receives private lessons and participates in a solo class with Micah Howard. Peter Guild, another member of the PSO, teaches Orchestral Literature and Repertoire weekly. They encourage students to reach out to the great bassists in their area for lessons and direction. Many of the bassists from all of the city's ensembles are more than willing to lend a hand. Every year members of the Symphony, the Opera and the Ballet give classes and offer our students individual attention. Click here to visit Micah's website and to sign up for a free online trial lesson. Connect with DBHQ Join Our Newsletter Double Bass Resources Double Bass Sheet Music Double Bass Merch Gear used to record this podcast Zoom H6 studio 8-Track 32-Bit Float Handy Recorder Rode Podmic Sony Alpha 7 IV Full-frame Mirrorless Interchangeable Lens Camera Sony FE 16-35mm F2.8 GM Lens Sony FE 24-70mm F2.8 GM Lens When you buy a product using a link on this page, we may receive a commission at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting DBHQ. Theme music by Eric Hochberg
David Eggers is an author, publisher, and founder of nonprofit publishing company McSweeney's. He first became widely known for A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius and went on to write acclaimed books including What Is the What, A Hologram for the King, and The Circle. Beyond his writing, he co-founded 826 Valencia, a nonprofit organization that provides writing and tutoring programs for young people. Most recently, he released Contrapposto in June 2026, a novel about friendship, love, and the lifelong pursuit of art. ------ Thank you to the sponsors that fuel our podcast and our team: Anthropic https://Claude.com/tetra ------ AG1 https://DrinkAG1.com/tetra ------ Squarespace https://Squarespace.com/tetra Use code 'TETRA' ------ Athletic Nicotine https://www.AthleticNicotine.com/tetra Use code 'TETRA' ------ Lectio 365 https://Lectio365.com ------ Sign up to receive Tetragrammaton Transmissions https://www.tetragrammaton.com/join-newsletter
Brian Platzer is the critically acclaimed author of the novels The Optimists (Little, Brown), Bed-Stuy Is Burning and The Body Politic (both Atria/Simon & Schuster), as well as the parenting book Taking the Stress Out of Homework (Avery/Penguin Random House). He has written frequently for The New York Times, NewYorker.com, New York Magazine, The New Republic, and many other publications. As a novelist, Brian has toured the country discussing the craft of writing as well as the issues at the heart of his work, such as education, gentrification, chronic illness, relationships, and American politics. As a humor writer, Brian has frequently written for The New Yorker's Shouts and Murmurs and McSweeney's Internet Tendency. He recently wrote the viral article “Paw Patrol Is Contemptable Trash”; in New York Magazine, and he has performed comic essays on NPR as a featured guest on Live From Here. As an educator, Brian currently teaches 8th and 12th grade English at Grace Church School in Manhattan, having previously taught literature and writing at Johns Hopkins. Brian is a CNN contributor on education, and wrote, with Abby Freireich, the weekly “Homeroom”; column in The Atlantic as well as various articles on study skills for the New York Times. Brian is also the co-founder with Abby of Teachers Who Tutor|NYC, New York City's only tutoring company where all the tutors are classroom teachers with master's degrees. Together, Brian and Abby are among the city's leaders in education-consulting, tutoring, and executive function coaching. Brian suffers from chronic dizziness and has written a series of essays for the New York Times chronicling his experiences and those of fellow sufferers. Brian is a graduate of Grace Church School, Dalton, Columbia, and Johns Hopkins University. He currently lives in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn with his sons and his brilliant wife, Alex Hardiman. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Well, that's about it for the story of planet Earth, poor Earth, reduced to not much more than a piece of burnt coal. But, as Deb Olin Unferth shows in her latest electrifying novel, life and love persist, even in the most unexpected, inhospitable places.Two women meet on a beach of artificial sand. One was raised in a pod in the ocean and the other may or may not be a robot. Their love—or any love—seems so unlikely. Earth is severely depopulated. Some people have given up, gone off to Mars. Others pursue eternal life as digital code. And yet others, like Dylan and Melanie, are holdouts—and some of those holdouts are constructing a vast molecular collection in hopes that a future person may be alive to make a new Earth. Foolhardy? Misguided? Quixotic? Probably. But what can a human (or a robot) do?By the end of Unferth's wild, poetic, revelatory, and slyly philosophical novel, the reader has traveled to the very edges of the cosmos as a “soul globule” and between grains of sand as a microscopic tardigrade. A slim book tackling big questions (is all matter conscious? will we tech ourselves into salvation, or out of existence?), Earth 7 (Graywolf Press 2026) is a poignant inquiry into death, mourning, and indefatigable life, the most exhilarating work to date by one of our most original and beloved writers. Deb Olin Unferth is the author of seven books, including Barn 8 and Wait Till You See Me Dance. She has received a Guggenheim Fellowship and four Pushcart Prizes, and was a National Books Critics Circle Award finalist. Her work has appeared in Harper's, The Paris Review, Granta, and McSweeney's. She's a professor at the University of Texas at Austin, where she teaches for the Michener Center, the New Writers' Project, and she also directs the Pen City Writers, the prison creative-writing program at a south Texas penitentiary. Recommended Books: Victor Pelevin, Omon Ra Jean Stafford, A Mother in History Tanya Tagaq, Split Tooth Chris Holmes is Chair of Literatures in English and Professor at Ithaca College. He writes criticism on contemporary global literatures. His book, Kazuo Ishiguro Against World Literature, is published with Bloomsbury Publishing. He is the co-director of The New Voices Festival, a celebration of work in poetry, prose, and playwriting by up-and-coming young writers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Well, that's about it for the story of planet Earth, poor Earth, reduced to not much more than a piece of burnt coal. But, as Deb Olin Unferth shows in her latest electrifying novel, life and love persist, even in the most unexpected, inhospitable places.Two women meet on a beach of artificial sand. One was raised in a pod in the ocean and the other may or may not be a robot. Their love—or any love—seems so unlikely. Earth is severely depopulated. Some people have given up, gone off to Mars. Others pursue eternal life as digital code. And yet others, like Dylan and Melanie, are holdouts—and some of those holdouts are constructing a vast molecular collection in hopes that a future person may be alive to make a new Earth. Foolhardy? Misguided? Quixotic? Probably. But what can a human (or a robot) do?By the end of Unferth's wild, poetic, revelatory, and slyly philosophical novel, the reader has traveled to the very edges of the cosmos as a “soul globule” and between grains of sand as a microscopic tardigrade. A slim book tackling big questions (is all matter conscious? will we tech ourselves into salvation, or out of existence?), Earth 7 (Graywolf Press 2026) is a poignant inquiry into death, mourning, and indefatigable life, the most exhilarating work to date by one of our most original and beloved writers. Deb Olin Unferth is the author of seven books, including Barn 8 and Wait Till You See Me Dance. She has received a Guggenheim Fellowship and four Pushcart Prizes, and was a National Books Critics Circle Award finalist. Her work has appeared in Harper's, The Paris Review, Granta, and McSweeney's. She's a professor at the University of Texas at Austin, where she teaches for the Michener Center, the New Writers' Project, and she also directs the Pen City Writers, the prison creative-writing program at a south Texas penitentiary. Recommended Books: Victor Pelevin, Omon Ra Jean Stafford, A Mother in History Tanya Tagaq, Split Tooth Chris Holmes is Chair of Literatures in English and Professor at Ithaca College. He writes criticism on contemporary global literatures. His book, Kazuo Ishiguro Against World Literature, is published with Bloomsbury Publishing. He is the co-director of The New Voices Festival, a celebration of work in poetry, prose, and playwriting by up-and-coming young writers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network
Well, that's about it for the story of planet Earth, poor Earth, reduced to not much more than a piece of burnt coal. But, as Deb Olin Unferth shows in her latest electrifying novel, life and love persist, even in the most unexpected, inhospitable places.Two women meet on a beach of artificial sand. One was raised in a pod in the ocean and the other may or may not be a robot. Their love—or any love—seems so unlikely. Earth is severely depopulated. Some people have given up, gone off to Mars. Others pursue eternal life as digital code. And yet others, like Dylan and Melanie, are holdouts—and some of those holdouts are constructing a vast molecular collection in hopes that a future person may be alive to make a new Earth. Foolhardy? Misguided? Quixotic? Probably. But what can a human (or a robot) do?By the end of Unferth's wild, poetic, revelatory, and slyly philosophical novel, the reader has traveled to the very edges of the cosmos as a “soul globule” and between grains of sand as a microscopic tardigrade. A slim book tackling big questions (is all matter conscious? will we tech ourselves into salvation, or out of existence?), Earth 7 (Graywolf Press 2026) is a poignant inquiry into death, mourning, and indefatigable life, the most exhilarating work to date by one of our most original and beloved writers. Deb Olin Unferth is the author of seven books, including Barn 8 and Wait Till You See Me Dance. She has received a Guggenheim Fellowship and four Pushcart Prizes, and was a National Books Critics Circle Award finalist. Her work has appeared in Harper's, The Paris Review, Granta, and McSweeney's. She's a professor at the University of Texas at Austin, where she teaches for the Michener Center, the New Writers' Project, and she also directs the Pen City Writers, the prison creative-writing program at a south Texas penitentiary. Recommended Books: Victor Pelevin, Omon Ra Jean Stafford, A Mother in History Tanya Tagaq, Split Tooth Chris Holmes is Chair of Literatures in English and Professor at Ithaca College. He writes criticism on contemporary global literatures. His book, Kazuo Ishiguro Against World Literature, is published with Bloomsbury Publishing. He is the co-director of The New Voices Festival, a celebration of work in poetry, prose, and playwriting by up-and-coming young writers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/science-fiction
Well, that's about it for the story of planet Earth, poor Earth, reduced to not much more than a piece of burnt coal. But, as Deb Olin Unferth shows in her latest electrifying novel, life and love persist, even in the most unexpected, inhospitable places.Two women meet on a beach of artificial sand. One was raised in a pod in the ocean and the other may or may not be a robot. Their love—or any love—seems so unlikely. Earth is severely depopulated. Some people have given up, gone off to Mars. Others pursue eternal life as digital code. And yet others, like Dylan and Melanie, are holdouts—and some of those holdouts are constructing a vast molecular collection in hopes that a future person may be alive to make a new Earth. Foolhardy? Misguided? Quixotic? Probably. But what can a human (or a robot) do?By the end of Unferth's wild, poetic, revelatory, and slyly philosophical novel, the reader has traveled to the very edges of the cosmos as a “soul globule” and between grains of sand as a microscopic tardigrade. A slim book tackling big questions (is all matter conscious? will we tech ourselves into salvation, or out of existence?), Earth 7 (Graywolf Press 2026) is a poignant inquiry into death, mourning, and indefatigable life, the most exhilarating work to date by one of our most original and beloved writers. Deb Olin Unferth is the author of seven books, including Barn 8 and Wait Till You See Me Dance. She has received a Guggenheim Fellowship and four Pushcart Prizes, and was a National Books Critics Circle Award finalist. Her work has appeared in Harper's, The Paris Review, Granta, and McSweeney's. She's a professor at the University of Texas at Austin, where she teaches for the Michener Center, the New Writers' Project, and she also directs the Pen City Writers, the prison creative-writing program at a south Texas penitentiary. Recommended Books: Victor Pelevin, Omon Ra Jean Stafford, A Mother in History Tanya Tagaq, Split Tooth Chris Holmes is Chair of Literatures in English and Professor at Ithaca College. He writes criticism on contemporary global literatures. His book, Kazuo Ishiguro Against World Literature, is published with Bloomsbury Publishing. He is the co-director of The New Voices Festival, a celebration of work in poetry, prose, and playwriting by up-and-coming young writers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/literature
Continuing education shouldn't be a chore to check off a list. By trading dry, slide-heavy lectures for creative, story-driven experiences, we can turn standard professional development into deeply engaging moments that actually stick. In this episode, host Sharlee Dixon sits down with Anne McSweeney, LCSW, the visionary founder of CEU Creations and a leader at CE4Less. After twenty years in the field, Anne is on a mission to eliminate "boring" continuing education by replacing compliance checklists with immersive, community-rich learning. Through her innovative work, she is building a multidisciplinary hub that gives social workers, nurses, and counselors the real-world tools they need to thrive. Join us as we explore how Anne is revolutionizing professional development, bringing education to life through storytelling, theater, and genuine human connection to foster deep clinical breakthroughs. For more information about CEU Creations, please visit: https://ceucreationsinc.com Learn more about the Ultimate CE Bundle: https://ceucreationsinc.com/ce-trainings/ceu-select-bundled-program/ Connect with CEU Creations on social media: On Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/CeuCreations/ On Instagram at: https://www.instagram.com/ceucreations/ On X: https://twitter.com/ceucreations
With thanks to “forever” plastics, the earth has reverted to sand and dust. Dylan has been raised by her scientist mother, in a pod under the sea, and longs to escape the loneliness of being confined. The only friend she ever had was a pen pal from Mars, who disappeared. With great effort, she's escorted onto land, to the place of her mother's employment where she becomes the groundskeeper. Unofficially, she begins studying sand. After a few years, the company sends her on a vacation and she meets Melanie, possibly a robot. Love flourishes on the floundering planet, but death is never far, and Dylan's pen pal returns too late in Earth 7 (Graywolf Press 2026), a dystopian novel about the frailty of the planet, the ongoing need for scientific research, and the human struggle for survival. Deb Olin Unferth is the author of seven books, including the novels Barn 8 and Vacation, the memoir Revolution, finalist for the National Book Critics' Circle Award, two story collections, and the graphic novel I, Parrot. Her fiction and essays have appeared in over fifty magazines and journals, including Harper's, the New York Times, The Paris Review, Granta, and McSweeney's. She has received a Guggenheim fellowship, three Pushcart Prizes, a Creative Capital Fellowship for Innovative Literature, fellowships from the MacDowell, Yaddo, and Ucross residencies. She's a professor at the University of Texas at Austin, where she teaches for the Michener Center, the New Writers' Project, and she also directs the Pen City Writers, the prison creative-writing program at a south Texas penitentiary. Unferth founded and directs the Pen City Writers, a creative writing program for incarcerated men at a maximum-security prison in south Texas. The program has been running for ten years, and the students regularly win writing awards from Pen America and the Insider Prize. Their work has appeared in many places, including Vice, StoryQuarterly, the Texas Observer, the Stranger's Guide, and the Marshall Project. Deb and her friend, Lucy Corin, have gone on several research and writing trips together, including to the Sahara Desert for the sand; in 2024, they spent a month in the Arctic to see ice, trying to get as close to the North Pole as possible, and reaching the 82nd parallel. Last year, they rented two pods in a scrub desert Dark Sky area of the US to see darkness. Originally from Chicago, Unferth lives in Austin with philosophy professor Matt Evans. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network
With thanks to “forever” plastics, the earth has reverted to sand and dust. Dylan has been raised by her scientist mother, in a pod under the sea, and longs to escape the loneliness of being confined. The only friend she ever had was a pen pal from Mars, who disappeared. With great effort, she's escorted onto land, to the place of her mother's employment where she becomes the groundskeeper. Unofficially, she begins studying sand. After a few years, the company sends her on a vacation and she meets Melanie, possibly a robot. Love flourishes on the floundering planet, but death is never far, and Dylan's pen pal returns too late in Earth 7 (Graywolf Press 2026), a dystopian novel about the frailty of the planet, the ongoing need for scientific research, and the human struggle for survival. Deb Olin Unferth is the author of seven books, including the novels Barn 8 and Vacation, the memoir Revolution, finalist for the National Book Critics' Circle Award, two story collections, and the graphic novel I, Parrot. Her fiction and essays have appeared in over fifty magazines and journals, including Harper's, the New York Times, The Paris Review, Granta, and McSweeney's. She has received a Guggenheim fellowship, three Pushcart Prizes, a Creative Capital Fellowship for Innovative Literature, fellowships from the MacDowell, Yaddo, and Ucross residencies. She's a professor at the University of Texas at Austin, where she teaches for the Michener Center, the New Writers' Project, and she also directs the Pen City Writers, the prison creative-writing program at a south Texas penitentiary. Unferth founded and directs the Pen City Writers, a creative writing program for incarcerated men at a maximum-security prison in south Texas. The program has been running for ten years, and the students regularly win writing awards from Pen America and the Insider Prize. Their work has appeared in many places, including Vice, StoryQuarterly, the Texas Observer, the Stranger's Guide, and the Marshall Project. Deb and her friend, Lucy Corin, have gone on several research and writing trips together, including to the Sahara Desert for the sand; in 2024, they spent a month in the Arctic to see ice, trying to get as close to the North Pole as possible, and reaching the 82nd parallel. Last year, they rented two pods in a scrub desert Dark Sky area of the US to see darkness. Originally from Chicago, Unferth lives in Austin with philosophy professor Matt Evans. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/science-fiction
With thanks to “forever” plastics, the earth has reverted to sand and dust. Dylan has been raised by her scientist mother, in a pod under the sea, and longs to escape the loneliness of being confined. The only friend she ever had was a pen pal from Mars, who disappeared. With great effort, she's escorted onto land, to the place of her mother's employment where she becomes the groundskeeper. Unofficially, she begins studying sand. After a few years, the company sends her on a vacation and she meets Melanie, possibly a robot. Love flourishes on the floundering planet, but death is never far, and Dylan's pen pal returns too late in Earth 7 (Graywolf Press 2026), a dystopian novel about the frailty of the planet, the ongoing need for scientific research, and the human struggle for survival. Deb Olin Unferth is the author of seven books, including the novels Barn 8 and Vacation, the memoir Revolution, finalist for the National Book Critics' Circle Award, two story collections, and the graphic novel I, Parrot. Her fiction and essays have appeared in over fifty magazines and journals, including Harper's, the New York Times, The Paris Review, Granta, and McSweeney's. She has received a Guggenheim fellowship, three Pushcart Prizes, a Creative Capital Fellowship for Innovative Literature, fellowships from the MacDowell, Yaddo, and Ucross residencies. She's a professor at the University of Texas at Austin, where she teaches for the Michener Center, the New Writers' Project, and she also directs the Pen City Writers, the prison creative-writing program at a south Texas penitentiary. Unferth founded and directs the Pen City Writers, a creative writing program for incarcerated men at a maximum-security prison in south Texas. The program has been running for ten years, and the students regularly win writing awards from Pen America and the Insider Prize. Their work has appeared in many places, including Vice, StoryQuarterly, the Texas Observer, the Stranger's Guide, and the Marshall Project. Deb and her friend, Lucy Corin, have gone on several research and writing trips together, including to the Sahara Desert for the sand; in 2024, they spent a month in the Arctic to see ice, trying to get as close to the North Pole as possible, and reaching the 82nd parallel. Last year, they rented two pods in a scrub desert Dark Sky area of the US to see darkness. Originally from Chicago, Unferth lives in Austin with philosophy professor Matt Evans. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/literature
Amanda Uhle is Executive Director and Publisher of McSweeney's, known for its award-winning quarterly literary journal, humor website and eclectic book publishing program. For more than 11 years, Uhle was executive director of 826michigan, a nonprofit tutoring and writing center for school-aged students in Detroit, Ann Arbor, and Ypsilanti. Uhle is deeply involved with numerous youth writing organizations. Her writing has appeared in The Washington Post, Politico Magazine, Newsweek, ThinkProgress, Oprah Daily, The Boston Globe, Delacorte Review, and elsewhere. Her memoir, Destroy This House, is published by Simon & Schuster/Summit Books, and is our primary focus of discussion on this episode! More info: https://www.amandauhle.com/
Writer Dave Eggers, who's been a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award, draws inspiration for the first time from his own art school experience and his classical training as a visual artist in his new novel, “Contrapposto.” The novel, which centers the working lives of artists, comes as Eggers opens a new center in San Francisco, Art + Water, that offers local artists free studio space and mentorship. Eggers joins us to talk about what it means to be an artist, in fiction and in practice, here in the Bay Area. Guests: Dave Eggers, founder, McSweeney's; co-founder, 826 Valencia; author of many books including "The Eyes and the Impossible" and "The Circle"; his new novel is "Contrapposto" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
This week on the podcast, Patrick and Tracy welcome J.P. Lacrampe, author of Valet. About Valet: Cy wants nothing more than to be useful, raise his utility score, and receive the next update for his operating system. But that's easier said than done when he’s tasked with helping his owner's thirty-five-year-old son “get out of his funk.” Grayson is nothing like his go-getter, CEO sister Charlotte. He didn't inherit the family robotics company when their dad passed last year, he doesn't have a master's degree, and he just can't seem to figure out the San Francisco dating scene. He'd rather eat synthesized mozzarella sticks and make pottery at his studio, Kilning Time. When Grayson learns of Charlotte's plan to sell the company to a tech conglomerate, he panics. It's not just the family business at stake, it's all the technology—like Cy—their dad invented over the years. So he does what anyone would do: he steals the flash drive with his father's most important work stored on it and plans a corporate takeover. If only he knew what that meant. To make matters worse, a fellow VALET deserts his owner and asks Cy to help him hightail it out of town, Grayson's first real date—and her dog—keeping showing up at inopportune times, and the behemoth tech company wants this deal closed yesterday. Grayson, Cy, and their trusty golden retriever, Sasha III, must go on the lam until they figure out exactly what to do, and whom to trust. About J.P. Lacrampe: J.P. Lacrampe received his MFA in creative writing from Saint Mary's College. His short fiction has been published by Glimmer Train, McSweeney’s, Instant City, and in Howl: A Collection of the Best Contemporary Dog Wit. He is a professor at Santa Clara University & SJSU, where he teaches courses in composition, fiction, and screenwriting. This week's picks: J.P. #1: Disney’s Aladdin (1992) J.P. #2: Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak J.P. #2: Deer seen swimming in San Francisco Bay far from shore Tracy: Corn on the cob Patrick #1: Witch Hat Atelier (Crunchyroll) Patrick #2: The Home Depot Hot Dog Cart Links: J.P. Lacrampe on Instagram Tracy Townsend on BluSky Patrick Hester on Instagram The Functional Nerds Patreon Page © 2026 Patrick Hester The post Episode 705-With J.P. Lacrampe appeared first on The Functional Nerds.
Hello and welcome to The Rob Burgess Show. I am, of course, your host, Rob Burgess. On this our 298th episode, our guest is Paige Towers. Paige Towers is author of “The Sound of Undoing: A Memoir in Essays.” Her writing has appeared in The Washington Post, The Guardian, McSweeney's and Harvard Review. Originally from Iowa, Towers now lives along the Washington coast. Her new book, “What They Stole: A Familicide Rooted in Intercountry Adoption” was published May 26 by Iowa University Press. Follow me on Bluesky: bsky.app/profile/robaburg.bsky.social Follow me on Mastodon: newsie.social/@therobburgessshow Check out my Linktree: linktr.ee/therobburgessshow Subscribe to my Substack: therobburgessshow.substack.com/
With two hugely consequential months ahead in British politics, Sam and Anne look beneath the headlines and Westminster drama to ask what really comes next.As Donald Trump escalates tensions in the Middle East once again, the duo examine the pressure on Whitehall. Would any Prime Minister, whoever occupies Number 10, make a difference or face the same issues?Anne reports back from the Prague Security Conference where former Downing Street chief of staff – Morgan McSweeney – makes a stark warning on AI, political disruption and the future of campaigning.Plus, is Britain simply ungovernable?
On this episode: Lucy Lopez, Elizabeth Newcamp, and Zak Rosen have a little bit of everything for you. First they share their triumphs and fails: Lucy brings tales of the theater kids, Elizabeth solicited her offering from the family, and Zak had a very special houseguest. Then, they dig into the mailbag and share your comments and triumphs. Finally, they do a dramatic reading of the hilarious essay in McSweeney's Internet Tendencies, “Unsung Heroes of Motherhood.”Podcast production by Cheyna Roth and Rosemary Belson.Follow us on YouTube! Join us on Facebook and email us at careandfeedingpod@slate.com to ask us new questions, tell us what you thought of today's show, and give us ideas about what we should talk about in future episodes. You can also call our phone line: (646) 357-9318.If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get to hang out with us on the Plus Playground every week for a whole additional grab-bag of content — and you'll get an ad-free experience across the network. And you'll also be supporting the work we do here on Care and Feeding. Sign up now at slate.com/careplus – or try it out on Apple Podcasts.Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
On this episode: Lucy Lopez, Elizabeth Newcamp, and Zak Rosen have a little bit of everything for you. First they share their triumphs and fails: Lucy brings tales of the theater kids, Elizabeth solicited her offering from the family, and Zak had a very special houseguest. Then, they dig into the mailbag and share your comments and triumphs. Finally, they do a dramatic reading of the hilarious essay in McSweeney's Internet Tendencies, “Unsung Heroes of Motherhood.”Podcast production by Cheyna Roth and Rosemary Belson.Follow us on YouTube! Join us on Facebook and email us at careandfeedingpod@slate.com to ask us new questions, tell us what you thought of today's show, and give us ideas about what we should talk about in future episodes. You can also call our phone line: (646) 357-9318.If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get to hang out with us on the Plus Playground every week for a whole additional grab-bag of content — and you'll get an ad-free experience across the network. And you'll also be supporting the work we do here on Care and Feeding. Sign up now at slate.com/careplus – or try it out on Apple Podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
My guest is Caroline Bicks, whose new book Monsters in the Archives: My Year of Fear with Stephen King (Hogarth, 2026) became a bestseller shortly after release. After she was named the University of Maine's inaugural Stephen E. King Chair in Literature, Caroline Bicks became the first scholar to be granted extended access by King to his private archives, a treasure trove of manuscripts that document the legendary writer's creative process—most of them never before studied or published. The year she spent exploring King's early drafts and hand-written revisions was guided by one question: What makes Stephen King's writing stick in our heads and haunt us long after we've closed the book?Bicks focuses on five early works—The Shining, Carrie, Pet Sematary, 'Salem's Lot, and Night Shift—to reveal how he crafted his language, storylines, and characters. While tracking King's margin notes and editorial changes, she discovered scenes and alternative endings that never made it to print, but that King is allowing her to publish now. The book also includes interviews Bicks had with King along the way that reveal new insights into his writing process and personal history.Monsters in the Archives—authorized by Stephen King himself—is unlike anything ever published about the master of horror. It chronicles what Bicks found when she set out to unearth how King crafted some of his scariest, most iconic moments. But it's also a story about a grown-up English professor facing her childhood fears and getting to know the man whose monsters helped unleash them. --------- Caroline Bicks is the Stephen E. King Chair in Literature at the University of Maine, where she teaches courses in Shakespeare, early modern culture, and horror fiction. She is the author of Cognition and Girlhood in Shakespeare's World and Midwiving Subjects in Shakespeare's England; co- author of Shakespeare, Not Stirred: Cocktails for Your Everyday Dramas; and co- host of the Everyday Shakespeare podcast. Her essays and humor pieces have appeared in the Modern Love column of the New York Times, McSweeney's Internet Tendency, and the show Afterbirth. She lives in Blue Hill, Maine, with her family. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network
My guest is Caroline Bicks, whose new book Monsters in the Archives: My Year of Fear with Stephen King (Hogarth, 2026) became a bestseller shortly after release. After she was named the University of Maine's inaugural Stephen E. King Chair in Literature, Caroline Bicks became the first scholar to be granted extended access by King to his private archives, a treasure trove of manuscripts that document the legendary writer's creative process—most of them never before studied or published. The year she spent exploring King's early drafts and hand-written revisions was guided by one question: What makes Stephen King's writing stick in our heads and haunt us long after we've closed the book?Bicks focuses on five early works—The Shining, Carrie, Pet Sematary, 'Salem's Lot, and Night Shift—to reveal how he crafted his language, storylines, and characters. While tracking King's margin notes and editorial changes, she discovered scenes and alternative endings that never made it to print, but that King is allowing her to publish now. The book also includes interviews Bicks had with King along the way that reveal new insights into his writing process and personal history.Monsters in the Archives—authorized by Stephen King himself—is unlike anything ever published about the master of horror. It chronicles what Bicks found when she set out to unearth how King crafted some of his scariest, most iconic moments. But it's also a story about a grown-up English professor facing her childhood fears and getting to know the man whose monsters helped unleash them. --------- Caroline Bicks is the Stephen E. King Chair in Literature at the University of Maine, where she teaches courses in Shakespeare, early modern culture, and horror fiction. She is the author of Cognition and Girlhood in Shakespeare's World and Midwiving Subjects in Shakespeare's England; co- author of Shakespeare, Not Stirred: Cocktails for Your Everyday Dramas; and co- host of the Everyday Shakespeare podcast. Her essays and humor pieces have appeared in the Modern Love column of the New York Times, McSweeney's Internet Tendency, and the show Afterbirth. She lives in Blue Hill, Maine, with her family. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/literary-studies
Debut novelist Andrew Forrester is a writer and former English teacher whose work has appeared in McSweeney's and Parents magazine. He holds a PhD in nineteenth-century British literature and lives in Austin, Texas, with his family. How the Story Goes is his first novel.Learn more at andrewforresterbooks.comSpecial thanks to NetGalley for early previews. Intro reel, Writing Table Podcast 2024 Outro RecordingFollow the Writing Table: @writingtablepodcastEmail questions or tell us who you'd like us to invite to the Writing Table: writingtablepodcast@gmail.com.
Dixon Cox is back! This week: -Morgan McSweeney gives his side of the Mandelson scandal -Keir Starmer avoids a privileges committee inquiry -The British ambassador to the US is caught saying Starmer doesn't have long -Rumours of Labour reshuffles and leadership challenges And lots more! Get the full episode HERE: https://www.nickdixon.net/p/did-mcsweeney-just-bury-keir-starmer This one is over an hour and a half! By subscribing you will also gain access to the full versions of all my guest interviews with the likes of David Starkey, Carl Benjamin, Connor Tomlinson, Charlie Downes, and loads more in the archive, with new guest episodes all the time. Plus you can comment on all posts and join my private chat group. And you will get all kinds of extra content such as my videos on literature, my new Q & A videos, and my exclusive regular podcast with Jamie Franklin on the big questions. Sign up for £5 a month, or just over £4 with the yearly option. I can only keep doing this with your help, so please consider subscribing today. Many thanks, Nick Subscribe here: www.nickdixon.net Support us with a donation here: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/nickdixon YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@nick_dixon X: https://x.com/nickdixon Paul's links X: https://twitter.com/PaulCoxComedy YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@paulcoxcomedy Comedy clubs: https://www.epiccomedy.co.uk/
Today, MPs have voted that Keir Starmer should not face an inquiry into whether he misled Parliament over the appointment of Lord Mandelson. MPs vote 335 to 223 against a Tory-led motion. During the debate, Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said it's "very obvious" Starmer told the Commons things that were "not correct". No 10 accused the conservatives of a "desperate political stunt.Adam, Joe and Alex react to the vote. They also look back on Morgan McSweeney, a former chief of staff to Starmer, giving his account of the Mandelson appointment. In it McSweeney said he made a “serious mistake” in advising the PM to appoint the former US ambassador.You can now listen to Newscast on a smart speaker. If you want to listen, just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Newscast”. It works on most smart speakers. You can join our Newscast online community here: https://bbc.in/newscastdiscordGet in touch with Newscast by emailing newscast@bbc.co.uk or send us a WhatsApp on +44 0330 123 9480.New episodes released every day. If you're in the UK, for more News and Current Affairs podcasts from the BBC, listen on BBC Sounds: https://bbc.in/4guXgXd Newscast brings you daily analysis of the latest political news stories from the BBC. The presenter was Adam Fleming. It was made by Jack Maclaren with Joe Wilkinson. The social producer was Jem Westgate. The technical producer was Ben Andrews. The assistant editor is Chris Gray. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham.
It's a blockbuster day in parliament today. To kick things off, we had Philip Barton pleading ignorance; to close the proceedings tonight we have a vote on a possible Privileges Committee probe. But in between we have Morgan McSweeney, the longtime bete noire of the Labour party left, giving testimony on the appointment of Peter Mandelson as British ambassador. McSweeney pushed hard for Mandy to be given the gig: a decision which he said in his opening statement to the Foreign Affairs Committee was a ‘serious error'. However, Keir Starmer's former chief of staff denied pressuring Foreign Office officials to clear the appointment ‘at all costs'.It wasn't as explosive as Olly Robbins last week and there seemed to be a more personal subplot running between McSweeney and chair Emily Thornberry – who was denied her frontbench role by Keir Starmer. Is the Prime Minister more or less secure after this latest testimony?Noa Hoffman speaks to Tim Shipman.Produced by Megan McElroy and Oscar Edmondson.Become a Spectator subscriber today to access this podcast without adverts. Go to spectator.co.uk/adfree to find out more.For more Spectator podcasts, go to spectator.co.uk/podcasts.Contact us: podcast@spectator.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
It's a blockbuster day in parliament today. To kick things off, we had Philip Barton pleading ignorance; to close the proceedings tonight we have a vote on a possible Privileges Committee probe. But in between we have Morgan McSweeney, the longtime bete noire of the Labour party left, giving testimony on the appointment of Peter Mandelson as British ambassador. McSweeney pushed hard for Mandy to be given the gig: a decision which he said in his opening statement to the Foreign Affairs Committee was a ‘serious error'. However, Keir Starmer's former chief of staff denied pressuring Foreign Office officials to clear the appointment ‘at all costs'.It wasn't as explosive as Olly Robbins last week and there seemed to be a more personal subplot running between McSweeney and chair Emily Thornberry – who was denied her frontbench role by Keir Starmer. Is the Prime Minister more or less secure after this latest testimony?Noa Hoffman speaks to Tim Shipman.Produced by Megan McElroy and Oscar Edmondson. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
We got to talk to satirist Caitlin Kunkel! Jason sits down with Caitlin to trace her journey from collegiate distance swimmer to satire expert. Caitlin delves into how being an athlete led her to naturally merge sports psychology concepts with creative practice. She recounts the experiences that formed her comedy brain, working in Chicago theater fundraising, training and teaching at Second City, discovering satire after her “drama” scripts kept getting laughs, how her satire curriculum developed, and shares teaching strategies for activating students. She also talks about her forthcoming book, "Inside Jokes," and how a viral McSweeney's piece became her book "New Erotica for Feminists." Her website: caitlinkunkel.com Pre Order "Inside Jokes" here: hachettebookgroup.com/titles/elissa-bassist/inside-jokes/9781538770771/ Her newsletter, Input/Output, about the creative process: inputandoutput.substack.com Her upcoming classes: writingworkshops.com/collections/creative-writing-classes-with-caitlin-kunkel Instagram: @KunkelTron, @ThereItIsPod, @JasonFarrPics Threads: @ThereItIsPod, @JasonFarrPics Facebook: @ThereItIsPod Subscribe to our comedy newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/e22defd4dee2/thereitis
After two blockbuster sessions of the Commons committee looking into the appointment and vetting of Peter Mandelson, what did we learn from the evidence of former Foreign Office mandarin Sir Phillip Barton and former Downing Street chief of staff Morgan McSweeney?Daniel Finkelstein is joined by Tom McTague and Ollie Cole to find out where this leaves Keir Starmer. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Hot from the two-and-a-half hours of select committee evidence, the Matts digest the evidence of Keir Starmer's former chief of staff Morgan McSweeney and his role in the Peter Mandelson affair. It was engrossing testimony - giving a rare insight into how this Labour government operates (and which probably explains why they are in a state of permacrisis). In part two the Matts play out a few scenarios on the assumption that Labour lose big in the local elections next week… and there are reasons to be hopeful. Enjoy!Produced by Matt WithersOFFER: Get The New World for just £1 for the first month. Head to https://www.thenewworld.co.uk/2matts/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Morgan McSweeney has told MPs that the revelations about Peter Mandelson's relationship with Jeffrey Epstein were like a knife through his soul. The more we learn about the appointment process, the madder it sounds. And the odd thing is that crucial decisions were not written down: there are no receipts. There's a mood building in the Labour Party that Keir Starmer will need to go big or go home: come up with a bold agenda, make the case for it and then deliver it. Has he got it in him?This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe today: http://thetimes.com/thestoryHosts: Steven Swinford, political editor, The Times. Patrick Maguire, chief political commentator, The Times. Lara Spirit, deputy political editor, The Sunday Times.Producers: Euan Dawtrey, Harry Kitson.Executive producer: Molly Guinness.We want to hear from you - email: thestory@thetimes.comRead more: McSweeney and Barton raise new questions over PM's judgmentPhoto: Getty Images.This podcast was brought to you thanks to subscribers of The Times and The Sunday Times. To enjoy unlimited digital access to all our journalism subscribe here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Morgan McSweeney has admitted he was worried that Peter Mandelson's appointment as ambassador to the US “would go wrong” and regretted recommending him – but said the final decision lay with the Prime Minister.Sir Keir Starmer's former chief of staff, who was sacked over his handling of the saga, answered questions from the foreign affairs select committee, chaired by the gloriously theatrical Emily Thornberry.For the second stop on the Daily T roadshow, Camilla and Tim are joined by a live audience in a Cardiff pub as they dissect the questioning of Mr McSweeney – and what it means for the beleaguered PM.
Keir Starmer facing a critical day for his leadership as MP's vote on weather there should be a Parliamentary investigation into his handling of the Peter Mandelson controversy. For today's developments, Irish Times London Correspondent, Mark Paul.
Earlier today Morgan McSweeney, formerly Keir Starmer's Chief of Staff, appeared before the Foreign Affairs Committee; thrust out from the shadows and into the spotlight to explain his role in the appointment of Peter Mandelson to Washington.Laura, and later Ava, is joined by special guests Banseka Kayembe of Naked Politics and Curtis Daly of Turn Left Media.Subscribe to How to Rebuild Britain now: https://linktr.ee/howtorebuildbritain Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Join the conversation by letting us know what you think about the episode!In this week's episode author Emily Meg Weinstein joins us to discuss her memoir Turn to Stone. Emily does so much more than just chronicle a significant time in her life or regale the reader with tales of her rock climbing adventures, she examines her own fears and desires, leading to realizations that are simultaneously personal and universal. This is a conversation of and for the heart. We hope you enjoy it.More about Emily Meg Weinstein:Emily Meg Weinstein is the author of Turn to Stone, her début memoir. An essayist, educator, and activist, Weinstein is a founding member of Climbers for Palestine California, the sole proprietor of her own tutoring company, and holds a Bachelorette of Arts with honors from Brown University in the self-created major "Human Freedom and Education." Her work has been featured in Orion, LitHub, Electric Lit, Salon, McSweeney's, The Rumpus, Longreads, Climbing, Rock and Ice, and other publications, and her essay, “Mating Habits of the Asterisk,” received a notable mention in Best American Essays 2015. Born in New York and raised in Queens and Long Island, Emily lives, writes, and teaches on a houseboat in the San Francisco Bay, roams in her minivan, and roots for the New York Mets.Where to find Emily Meg Weinstein:Website: emilymegweinstein.com Instagram: @emilymweinsteinFacebook: @emilyweinsteinHer book: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Turn-to-Stone/Emily-Meg-Weinstein/9781668047859 Support the showBe part of the conversation by sharing your thoughts about this episode, what you may have learned, how the conversation affected you. You can reach Raquel and Jennifer on IG @madnesscafepodcast or by email at madnesscafepodcast@gmail.com.Share the episode with a friend and have your own conversation. And don't forget to rate and review the show wherever you listen!Thanks!
Hachi was just a puppy when he was adopted by a professor at Tokyo Imperial University. The two bonded instantly. Every day, Hachi greeted Professor Hidesaburo Ueno at the Shibuya Train Station as he came home from work. The pair would walk home together. But when the professor suddenly died, Hachi's loyalty didn't. For years, Hachi still went to the train station, waiting for the professor to return.Remember, kids, history hoes always cite their sources! For this episode, Norm pulled from: Fritz, Robb. “History's a Bitch: A Dog Walk Through Time: Wait for Me.” McSweeney's Internet Tendency, February 7, 2012. https://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/wait-for-me.Itoh, Mayumi. Hachi: The Truth of The Life and Legend of the Most Famous Dog in Japan. Self Published, 2013.MC. “Hachiko's Droopy Ear.” The House of Two Bows, March 3, 2011. https://shibasenji.wordpress.com/tag/saito-hirokichi/.Perkins School for the Blind. “Helen Keller: A Life with Dogs.” June 24, 2016. https://www.perkins.org/helen-keller-a-life-with-dogs/.Skabelund, Aaron. “Fascism's Furry Friends: Dogs, National Identity, and Purity of Blood in 1930s Japan.” In The Culture of Japanese Fascism, edited by Alan Tansman, Rey Chow, Harry Harootunian, and Masao Miyoshi. Duke University Press, 2009. https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9781478090885-008/html.Are you enjoying An Old Timey Podcast? Then please leave us a 5-star rating and review wherever you listen to podcasts!Are you *really* enjoying An Old Timey Podcast? Well, calm down, history ho! You can get more of us on Patreon at patreon.com/oldtimeypodcast. At the $5 level, you'll get a monthly bonus episode (with video!), access to our 90's style chat room, plus the entire back catalog of bonus episodes from Kristin's previous podcast, Let's Go To Court.
"I'm always calibrating when I'm interviewing somebody, like, how much of a prompt are they going to need, and what is what is going to get something out of them?" — Stephen Wood, whose Buffalo Raiders piece appears in The Atavist Magazine.What is the meaning of this Wednesday podcast! Middle of the week! It's hump day, this holy day! It's April 1st, is this some kind of joke! NO! Point being, it's that Atavistian time of the month and I'm trying to get back to making the Atavist pod an extra pod, not just another Friday pod. So, consider your podcast feed warned, you filthy animal.Stephen Wood is here! Find him on LinkedIn, the professional that he is. He's a journalist who writes about sports, history, and politics and he's here to talk about his Atavist story “The Buffalo Raiders: With thousands of U.S. soldiers dying in Vietnam, a group of young Catholics in New York embarked on a secret mission to bring the war machine to its knees.” I'll give Stephen a more formal introduction — top hat and monocle — just before his segment of the show.We're gonna hear from Seyward Darby about her side of the table, which is always fun. Name another show where you get an editor talking about a piece, and then the writer talking about it. Exactly, visit patreon.com/cnfpod to contribute to the cause.Also, head to magazine.atavist.com to read Stephen's story and maybe subscribe. I pay $25 a year to subscribe and I don't get kickbacks or commissions. Yeah, I pay, too. Stephen Wood can be found at https://sbrycewood2.wixsite.com/ or, per his preference, at LinkedIn, https://www.linkedin.com/in/hey-its-stephen/ … His work has appeared in The Guardian, Current Affairs, Jacobin, The Athletic, and McSweeney's. He was a producer with Gilded Audio where he worked on shows including Snafu with Ed Helms and The Reason We're All Still Here.In this chat, we talk about: Calibrating an interview How sometimes podcasts hosts don't even do the interviewing What to do when there's too much meat on the bone #toomuchmeat What's a load-bearing element to the story Going in fear of the abstraction And a lot more.Order The Front RunnerWelcome to Pitch ClubShow notes: brendanomeara.com
Hey girl,In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Jennie Young, professor of rhetoric and author of Burn the Haystack, for a conversation that is going to completely change the way you think about dating apps and the men on them. We talk about recognizing toxic communication patterns early, why words matter just as much as actions, and how to protect yourself from the jump so you can actually enjoy the process.Dr. Jennie breaks down her signature method, which flips the whole dating mindset on its head. Instead of searching for "the one," your only job is to rule men out fast, efficiently, and without guilt. The needle will reveal itself. This episode is about reclaiming your time, trusting your gut, and dating with strategy instead of hope.BIO:Jennie Young, PhD, is the creator of the Burned Haystack Dating Method and a professor of writing and rhetoric at the University of Wisconsin, Green Bay. She publishes work in humor, feminism, applied rhetoric, dating dynamics, and education. Her writing can be seen in McSweeney's, Ms. magazine, The Independent, Huffpost, Inside Higher Ed, and elsewhere. Also, the author of a textbook that applies critical discourse analysis to contemporary high school culture, Young focuses on public scholarship, making academic content accessible for everyone.Resources Mentioned:Burn The Haystack Book | Instagram | Jennie Young Whenever You Are ReadyHere are 3 ways I can help you:Book A Call with Me - Book a time with me here!Join the Get Your Guy Club- Wanna have Dating Support for a year to help you get your guy, but at your own pace. You can get access to my 2 weekly group calls, my private Facebook group, Monthly 1-on-1 calls, and my online course with 40+ hours of content for just monthly payments of $350…Check out the Get Your Guy Coaching Podcast- With more than 100 episodes, you can binge and learn so much with my podcast. Check out the latest episode here.Sincerely,Coach AnwarBook a Consult to Work with MeJoin my Get Your Guy ClubBuy My Dating Strategy CourseCheck out My Latest Podcast EpisodeMissed any of my Q&A TikTok Live sessions?Send us Fan MailThank You: A big thank you to our listeners for tuning in! Your support and feedback are invaluable to us. If you enjoyed this episode, please consider subscribing, rating, and sharing the podcast with others who might benefit from it. For more updates and behind-the-scenes content, follow me on social media and visit my website. We appreciate you being part of our community!
Questions are being asked about Morgan McSweeney's missing phone, which he reported stolen to police last year. What might seem like a minor case of petty theft actually has serious implications for the investigation into Peter Mandelson's appointment. It also raises questions about Keir Starmer's general approach to government. James Heale speaks to Tim Shipman and Cleo Watson, former special adviser to Boris Johnson, about the case – and also about how it can hurt public trust in government. Do you believe in cock up – or conspiracy?Produced by Oscar Edmondson and Patrick Gibbons.Become a Spectator subscriber today to access this podcast without adverts. Go to spectator.co.uk/adfree to find out more.For more Spectator podcasts, go to spectator.co.uk/podcasts.Contact us: podcast@spectator.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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