Podcasts about pirates

Kit, Andy, Madison, and Steve review Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End. With Captain Jack Sparrow trapped in Davy Jones' Locker, Elizabeth Swann, Will Turner, and Barbossa set out on a perilous journey to bring him back. As the East India Trading Company tightens its grip on the seas, pirates from across the world gather for a final stand leading to a showdown that will decide the fate of piracy itself.00:00:00 - Introduction00:03:30 - Overall Thoughts00:43:26 - Scene by Scene RecapVideo Version of this Episode: YouTubeFollow Us on Social MediaStreaming Things PatreonStreaming Things InstagramStreaming Things TikTokFollow Kit LazerTikTokInstagramYouTubeFollow SteveInstagramFollow AndyInstagramFollow MadisonInstagramVisit Our WebsiteCheck Out Our MerchSend Us Mail:Streaming Things6809 Main St. #172Cincinnati, OH 45244 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What makes a character so compelling that readers will forgive almost anything about the plot? How do you move beyond vague flaws and generic descriptions to create people who feel pulled from real life? In this solo episode, I share 15 actionable tips for writing deep characters, curated from past interviews on the podcast. In the intro, thoughts from London Book Fair [Instagram reel @jfpennauthor; Publishing Perspectives; Audible; Spotify]; Insights from a 7-figure author business [BookBub]. This show is supported by my Patrons. Join my Community and get articles, discounts, and extra audio and video tutorials on writing craft, author business, and AI tools, at Patreon.com/thecreativepenn This episode has been created from previous episodes of The Creative Penn Podcast, curated by Joanna Penn, as well as chapters from How to Write a Novel: From Idea to Book. Links to the individual episodes are included in the transcript below. In this episode: Master the ‘Believe, Care, Invest' trifecta, how to hook readers on the very first page Define the Dramatic Question: Who is your character when the chips are down? Absolute specificity. Why “she's controlling” isn't good enough Understand the Heroine's Journey, strength through connection, not solo action Use ‘Metaphor Families' to anchor dialogue and give every character a distinctive voice Find the Diagnostic Detail, the moments that prove a character is real Writing pain onto the page without writing memoir Write diverse characters as real people, not stereotypes or plot devices Give your protagonist a morally neutral ‘hero' status. Compelling beats likeable. Build vibrant side characters for series longevity and spin-off potential Use voice as a rhythmic tool Link character and plot until they're inseparable Why discovery writers can write out of order and still build deep character Find the sensory details that make characters live and breathe More help with how to write fiction here, or in my book, How to Write a Novel. Writing Characters: 15 Tips for Writing Deep Character in Your Fiction In today's episode, I'm sharing fifteen tips for writing deep characters, synthesised from some of the most insightful interviews on The Creative Penn Podcast over the past few years, combined with what I've learned across more than forty books of my own. I'll be referencing episodes with Matt Bird, Will Storr, Gail Carriger, Barbara Nickless, and Sarah Elisabeth Sawyer. I'll also draw on my own book, How to Write a Novel, which covers these fundamentals in detail. Whether you're writing your first novel or your fiftieth, whether you're a plotter or a discovery writer like me, these tips will help you create characters that readers believe in, care about, and invest in—and keep coming back for more. Let's get into it. 1. Master the ‘Believe, Care, Invest' Trifecta When I spoke with Matt Bird on episode 624, he laid out the three things you need to achieve on the very first page of your book or in the first ten minutes of a film. He calls it “Believe, Care, and Invest.” First, the reader must believe the character is a real person, somehow proving they are not a cardboard imitation of a human being, not just a generic type walking through a generic plot. Second, the reader must care about the character's circumstances. And third, the reader must invest in the character's ability to solve the story's central problem. Matt used The Hunger Games as his primary example, and it's brilliant. On the very first page, we believe Katniss's voice. Suzanne Collins writes in first person with a staccato rhythm—lots of periods, short declarative sentences—that immediately grounds us in a survivalist mentality. We care because Katniss is starving. She's protecting her little sister. And we invest because she is out there bow hunting, which Matt pointed out is one of the most badass things a character can do. She even kills a lynx two pages in and sells the pelt. We invest in her resourcefulness and grit before the plot has even begun. Matt was very clear that this has nothing to do with the character being “likable.” He said his subtitle, Writing a Hero Anyone Will Love, doesn't mean the character has to be a good person. He described “hero” as both gender-neutral and morally neutral. A hero can be totally evil or totally good. What matters is that we believe, care, and invest. He demonstrated this beautifully by breaking down the first ten minutes of WeCrashed, where the characters of Adam and Rebekah Neumann are absolutely not likable, but we are completely hooked. Adam steals his neighbour's Chinese food through a carefully orchestrated con involving an imaginary beer. It's not admirable behaviour, but the tradecraft involved, as Matt put it—using a term from spy movies—makes us invest in him. We see a character trying to solve the big problem of his life, which is that he's poor and wants to be rich, and we want to see if he can pull it off. Actionable step: Go to the first page of your current work in progress. Does it achieve all three? Does the reader believe this is a real person with a distinctive voice? Do they care about the character's circumstances? And do they invest in the character's ability to handle what's coming? If even one of those three is missing, that's your revision priority. 2. Define the Dramatic Question: Who Are They Really? Will Storr, author of The Science of Storytelling, came on episode 490 and gave one of the most powerful frameworks I've ever heard for character-driven fiction. He explained that the human brain evolved language primarily to swap social information—in other words, to gossip. We are wired to monitor other people, to ask the question: who is this person when the chips are down? That's what Will calls the Dramatic Question, and it's what he believes lies at the heart of all compelling storytelling. It's not a question about plot. It's a question about the character's soul. And every scene in your novel should force the character to answer it. His example of Lawrence of Arabia is unforgettable. The Dramatic Question for the entire film is: who are you, Lawrence? Are you ordinary or are you extraordinary? At the beginning, Lawrence is a cocky, rebellious young soldier who believes his rebelliousness makes him superior. Every iconic scene in that three-hour film tests that belief. Sometimes Lawrence acts as though he truly is extraordinary—leading the Arabs into battle, being hailed as a god—and sometimes the world strips him bare and he sees himself as ordinary. Because it's a tragedy, he never overcomes his flaw. He doubles down on his belief that he's extraordinary until he becomes monstrous, culminating in that iconic scene where he lifts a bloody dagger and sees his own reflection with horror. Will also used Jaws to demonstrate how this works in a pure action thriller. Brody's dramatic question is simple: are you going to be old Brody who is terrified of the water, or new Brody who can overcome that fear? Every scene where the shark appears is really asking that question. And the last moment of the film isn't the shark blowing up. It's Brody swimming back through the water, saying he used to be scared of the water and he can't imagine why. Actionable step: Write down the Dramatic Question for your protagonist in a single sentence. Is it “Are you ordinary or extraordinary?” or “Are you brave enough to love again?” or “Will you sacrifice your principles for survival?” If you can't answer this with specificity, your character might still be a sketch rather than a person. 3. Get rid of Vague Flaws, and use Absolute Specificity This was one of Will Storr's most important points. He said that vague thinking about characters is really the enemy. When he teaches workshops and asks writers to describe their character's flaw, most of them say something like “they're very controlling.” And Will's response is: that's not good enough. Everyone is controlling. How are they controlling? What's the specific mechanism? He gave the example of a profile he read of Theresa May during the UK's Brexit chaos. Someone who knew her said that Theresa May's problem was that she always thinks she's the only adult in every room she goes into. Will said that stopped him in his tracks because it's so precise. If you define a character with that level of specificity, you can take them and put them in any genre, any situation—a spaceship, a Victorian drawing room, a school playground—and you will know exactly how they're going to behave. The same applies to Arthur Miller's Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman, as Will described it: a man who believes absolutely in capitalistic success and the idea that when you die, you're going to be weighed on a scale, just as God weighs you for sin, but now you're weighed for success. That's not a vague flaw. That's a worldview you can drop into any story and watch it combust. Will made another counterintuitive point that I found really valuable: writers often think that piling on multiple traits will create a complex character, but the opposite is true. Starting with one highly specific flaw and running it through the demands of a relentless plot is what generates complexity. You end up with a far more nuanced, original character than if you'd started with a laundry list of vague attributes. Actionable step: Take your protagonist's flaw and pressure-test it. Is it specific enough that you could place this character in any situation and predict their behaviour? If you're stuck at “she's stubborn” or “he's insecure,” keep pushing. What kind of stubborn? What kind of insecure? Find the diagnostic sentence—the Theresa May level of precision. 4. Understand the Heroine's Journey: Strength Through Connection Gail Carriger came on episode 550 to discuss her nonfiction book, The Heroine's Journey, and it completely reframed how I think about some of my own fiction. Gail explained that the core difference between the Hero's Journey and the Heroine's Journey comes down to how strength and victory are defined. The Hero's Journey is about strength through solo action. The hero must be continually isolated to get stronger. He goes out of civilisation, faces strife alone, and achieves victory through physical prowess and self-actualisation. The Heroine's Journey is the opposite. The heroine achieves her goals by activating a network. She's a delegator, a general. She identifies where she can't do something alone, finds the people who can help, and portions out the work for mutual gain. Gail put it simply: the heroine is very good at asking for help, which our culture tends to devalue but which is actually a powerful form of strength. Crucially, Gail stressed that gender is irrelevant to which journey you're writing. Her go-to examples are striking: the recent Wonder Woman film is practically a beat-for-beat hero's journey—Gilgamesh on screen, as Gail described it. Meanwhile, Harry Potter, both the first book and the series as a whole, is a classic heroine's journey. Harry's power comes from his network—Dumbledore's Army, the Order of the Phoenix, his friendships with Ron and Hermione. He doesn't defeat Voldemort alone. He defeats Voldemort because of love and connection. This distinction has real practical consequences for writers. If you're writing a hero's journey and you hit writer's block, Gail said, the solution is usually to isolate your hero further and pile on more strife. But if you're writing a heroine's journey, the solution is probably to throw a new character into the scene—someone who has advice to offer or a skill the heroine lacks. The actual solutions to writer's block are different depending on which narrative you're writing. As I reflected on my own work, I realised that my ARKANE thriller protagonist, Morgan Sierra, follows a hero's journey—she's a solo operative, a lone wolf like Jack Reacher or James Bond. But my Mapwalker fantasy series follows a heroine's journey, with Sienna and her group of friends working together. I hadn't consciously chosen those paths; the stories led me there. But understanding the framework helps me write more intentionally now. Actionable step: Identify which journey your protagonist is on. Does your character gain strength by being alone (hero) or by building connections (heroine)? This will inform every plot decision you make, from how they face obstacles to how your story ends. 5. Use ‘Metaphor Families' to Anchor Dialogue and Voice One of the most practical techniques Matt Bird shared on episode 624 is the idea of assigning each character a “metaphor family”—a specific well of language that they draw from. This gives each character a distinctive voice that goes beyond accent or dialect. Matt explained how in The Wire, one of the most beloved TV shows of all time, every character has a different metaphor family. What struck him was that Omar, this iconic character, never utters a single curse word in the entire series. His metaphor family is pirate. He talks about parlays, uses language that feels like it belongs in Pirates of the Caribbean, and it creates this incredible ironic counterpoint against his urban setting. It tells us immediately that this is a character who sees himself in a tradition of people that doesn't match his immediate surroundings. Matt also referenced the UK version of The Office, where Gareth works at a paper company but aspires to the military. So all of his language is drawn from a military metaphor family. He doesn't talk about filing and photocopying; he talks about tactics and discipline and being on the front line. This tells us that the character has a life and dreams beyond the immediate scene—and it's the gap between aspiration and reality that makes him both funny and believable. He pointed out that a metaphor family sometimes comes from a character's background, but it's often more interesting when it comes from their aspirations. What does your character want to be? What world do they fantasise about inhabiting? That's where their language should come from. In Star Wars, Obi-Wan Kenobi is a spiritual hermit, but his metaphor family is military. He uses the language of generals and commanders, and that ironic counterpoint is part of what makes him feel so rich. Actionable step: Assign each of your main characters a metaphor family. It could be based on their job, their background, or—more interestingly—their secret aspirations. Then go through your dialogue and make sure each character is consistently drawing from that well of language. If two characters sound the same when you strip away the dialogue tags, this is the fix. 6. Find the Diagnostic Detail: The Diagonal Toast Avoid clichéd character tags—the random scar, the eye patch, the mysterious limp—unless they serve a deep narrative purpose. Matt Bird on episode 624 was very funny about this: he pointed out that Nick Fury, Odin, and eventually Thor all have eye patches in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Eye patches are done, he said. You cannot do eye patches anymore. Instead, look for what I'm calling the “diagonal toast” detail, after a scene Matt described from Captain Marvel. In the film, Captain Marvel is trying to determine whether Nick Fury is who he says he is. She asks him to prove he isn't a shapeshifting alien. Fury shares biographical details—his history, his mother—but then she pushes further and says, name one more thing you couldn't possibly have made up about yourself. And Fury says: if toast is cut diagonally, I can't eat it. Matt said that detail is gold for a writer because it feels pulled from a real life. You can pull it from your own life and gift it to your characters, and the reader can tell it's not manufactured. He gave another example from The Sopranos: Tony Soprano's mother won't answer the phone after dark. The show's creator, David Chase, confirmed on the DVD commentary that this came from his own mother, who genuinely would not answer the phone after dark and couldn't explain why. Matt's practical advice was to keep a journal. Write down the strange, specific things that people do or say. Mine your own life for those hyper-specific details. You just need one per book. In my own writing, I've used this approach. In my ARKANE thrillers, my character Morgan Sierra has always been Angelina Jolie in my mind—specifically Jolie in Lara Croft or Mr and Mrs Smith. And Blake Daniel in my crime thriller series was based on Jesse Williams from Grey's Anatomy. I paste pictures of actors into my Scrivener projects. It helps with visuals, but also with the sense of the character, their energy and physicality. But visual details only take you so far. It's the behavioural quirks—the diagonal toast moments—that make a character feel genuinely alive. That said, physical character tags can work brilliantly when they serve the story. As I discuss in How to Write a Novel, Robert Galbraith's Cormoran Strike is an amputee, and his pain and the physical challenges of his prosthesis are a key part of every story—it's not a cosmetic detail, it's woven into the action and the character's psychology. My character Blake Daniel always wears gloves to cover the scars on his hands, which provides an angle into his wounded past as well as a visual cue for the reader. And of course, Harry Potter's lightning-shaped scar isn't just a mark—it's a direct connection to his nemesis and the mythology of the entire series. The rule of thumb is: if the tag tells us something about the character's interior life or connects to the plot, it's earning its place. If it's just there to make the character visually distinctive, it's probably a crutch. Game of Thrones takes character tags further with the family houses, each with their own mottos and sigils. The Starks say “Winter is coming” and their sigil is a dire wolf. Those aren't just labels—they're worldview made visible. Actionable step: Start a “diagonal toast” notebook. Every time you notice something strange and specific about someone's behaviour—something that feels too real to be made up—write it down. Then gift it to a character who needs more texture. 7. Displace Your Own Trauma into the Work Barbara Nickless shared something deeply personal on episode 732 that fundamentally changed how I think about putting pain onto the page. While starting At First Light, the first book in her Dr. Evan Wilding series, she lost her son to epilepsy—something called SUDEP, Sudden Unexplained Death in Epilepsy. One day he was there, and the next day he was gone. Barbara said that writing helped her cope with the trauma, that doing a deep dive into Old English literature and the Viking Age for the book's research became a lifeline. But here's what's important: she didn't give Dr. Evan Wilding her exact trauma. Evan Wilding is four feet five inches, and Barbara described how he has to walk through a world that won't adjust to him. That's its own form of learning to cope when circumstances are beyond your control. She displaced her genuine grief into the character's different but parallel struggle. When I asked her about the difference between writing for therapy and writing for an audience, she drew on her experience teaching creative writing to veterans through a collaboration between the US Department of Defense and the National Endowment for the Arts. She said she's found that she can pour her heartache into her characters and process it through them, even when writing professionally, and that the genuine emotion is what touches readers. We've all been through our own losses and griefs, so seeing how a character copes can be deeply meaningful. I've always found that putting my own pain onto the page is the most direct way to connect with a reader's soul. My character Morgan Sierra's musings on religion and the supernatural are often my own. Her restlessness, her fascination with the darker edges of faith—those come from me. But her Krav Maga fighting skills and her ability to kill the bad guys are definitely her own. That gap between what's mine and what's hers is where the fiction lives. Barbara also said something on that episode that I wrote down and stuck on my wall. She said the act of producing itself is a balm to the soul. I've been thinking about that ever since. On my own wall, I have “Measure your life by what you create.” Different words, same truth. Actionable step: If you're carrying something heavy—grief, anger, fear, regret—consider how you might displace it into a character's different but emotionally parallel struggle. Don't copy your exact situation; transform it. The emotion will be genuine, and the reader will feel it. 8. Write Diverse Characters as Real People When I spoke with Sarah Elisabeth Sawyer on episode 673—Sarah is Choctaw and a historical fiction author honoured by the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian—she offered a perspective that every fiction writer needs to hear. The key message was to move away from stereotypes. Don't write your American Indian character as the “Wise Guide” who exists solely to dispense mystic wisdom to the white protagonist. Don't limit diverse characters to historical settings, as though they only exist in the past. Place them in normal, contemporary roles. Your spaceship captain, your forensic scientist, your small-town baker—any of them can be American Indian, or Nigerian, or Japanese, and their heritage should be a lived-in part of their identity, not the sole reason they exist in the story. I write international thrillers and dark fantasy, and my fiction is populated with characters from all over the world. I have a multi-cultural family and I've lived in many places and travelled widely, so I've met, worked with, and had relationships with people from different cultures. I find story ideas through travel, and if I set my books in a certain place, then the story is naturally populated with the people who live there. As I discuss in my book, How to Write a Novel, the world is a diverse place, so your fiction needs to be populated with all kinds of people. If I only populated my fiction with characters like me, they would be boring novels. There are many dimensions of difference—race, nationality, sex, age, body type, ability, religion, gender, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, class, culture, education level—and even then, don't assume that similar types of people think the same way. Some authors worry they will make mistakes. We live in a time of outrage, and some authors have been criticised for writing outside their own experience. So is it too dangerous to try? Of course not. The media amplifies outliers, and most authors include diverse characters in every book without causing offence because they work hard to get it right. It's about awareness, research, and intent. Actionable step: Audit the cast of your current work in progress. Have you written a mono-cultural perspective for all of them? If so, consider who could bring a different background, perspective, or set of cultural specifics to the story. Not as a token addition, but as a real person with a real life. 9. Respect Tribal and Cultural Specificity Sarah Elisabeth Sawyer on episode 673 was emphatic about one thing: never treat diverse groups as monolithic. If you're writing a Native American character, you must research the specific nation. Choctaw is not Navajo, just as British is not French. Sarah described the distinct cultural markers of the Choctaw people—the diamond pattern you'll see on traditional shirts and dresses, which represents the diamondback rattlesnake. They have distinct dances and songs. She said that if she saw someone in traditional dress at a distance, she would know whether they were Choctaw based on what they were wearing. She encouraged writers who want to write specifically about a nation to get to know those people. Go to events, go to a powwow, learn about the individual culture. She noted that a big misconception is that American Indians exist only in the past—she stressed that they are still here, still living their cultures, and fiction should reflect that present reality. I took a similar approach when writing Destroyer of Worlds, which is set mostly in India. I read books about Hindu myth, watched documentaries about the sadhus, and had one of my Indian readers from Mumbai check my cultural references. For Risen Gods, set in New Zealand with a young Maori protagonist, I studied books about Maori mythology and fiction by Maori authors, and had a male Maori reader check for cultural issues. Research is simply an act of empathy. The practical takeaway is this: if you're going to include a character from a specific cultural background, do the work. Use specific cultural details rather than generic signifiers. Sarah talked about how even she fell into stereotypes when she was first writing, until her mother pointed them out. If someone from within a culture can fall into those traps, the rest of us certainly can. Do the research, try your best, ask for help, and apologise if you need to. Actionable step: If you're writing a character from a specific culture, identify three to five sensory or behavioural details that are particular to that culture—not the generic version, but the real, researched, lived-in version. Consider hiring a sensitivity reader from that community to check your work. 10. Give Your Protagonist a Morally Neutral ‘Hero' Status Matt Bird was clear about this on episode 624: the word “hero” simply means the protagonist, the person we follow through the story. It's a functional role, not a moral label. We don't have to like them. We don't even have to root for their goals in a moral sense. We just have to find them compelling enough to invest our attention in their problem-solving. Think of Succession, where every member of the Roy family is varying degrees of awful, and yet the show was utterly compelling. Or WeCrashed, where Adam Neumann is a narcissistic con artist, but we can't look away because he's trying to solve the enormous problem of building an empire from nothing, and the tradecraft he employs is fascinating. As I wrote in How to Write a Novel, readers must want to spend time with your characters. They don't have to be lovable or even likable—that will depend on your genre and story choices—but they have to be captivating enough that we want to spend time with them. A character who is trying to solve a massive problem will naturally draw investment from the audience, even if we wouldn't want to have tea with them. Will Storr extended this idea by pointing out that the audience will actually root for a character to solve their problem even if the audience doesn't actually want the character's goal to be achieved in the real world. We don't really want more billionaires, but we invested in Adam Neumann's rise because that was the problem the story posed, and our brains are wired to invest in problem-solving. This connects to something deeper: what does your character want, and why? As I explore in How to Write a Novel, desire operates on multiple levels. Take a character like Phil, who joins the military during wartime. On the surface, she wants to serve her country. But she also wants to escape her dead-end town and learn new skills. Deeper still, her father and grandfather served, and by joining up, she hopes to finally earn their respect. And perhaps deepest of all, her father died on a mission under mysterious circumstances, and she wants to find out what happened from the inside. That layering of motivation is what turns a flat character into a three-dimensional one. The audience doesn't need to be told all of this explicitly. It can emerge through action, dialogue, and the choices the character makes under pressure. But you, the writer, need to know it. You need to know what your character really wants deep down, because that desire—more than any external plot device—is what drives the story forward. And your antagonist needs the same depth. They also want something, often diametrically opposed to your protagonist, and they need a reason that makes sense to them. In my ARKANE thriller Tree of Life, my antagonist is the heiress of a Brazilian mining empire who wants to restore the Earth to its original state to atone for the destruction caused by her father's company. She's part of a radical ecological group who believe the only way to restore Nature is to end all human life. It's extreme, but in an era of climate change, it's a motivation readers can understand—even if they disagree with the solution. Actionable step: If you're struggling to make a morally grey character work, make sure their problem is big enough and their methods are specific and interesting enough that we invest in the how, even if we're ambivalent about the what. 11. Build Vibrant Side Characters Gail Carriger made a point on episode 550 that was equal parts craft advice and business strategy. In a Heroine's Journey model, side characters aren't just fodder to be killed off to motivate the hero. They form a network. And because you don't have to kill them—unlike in a hero's journey, where allies are often betrayed or removed so the hero can be further isolated—you can pick up those side characters and give them their own books. Gail said this creates a really voracious reader base. You write one series with vivid side characters, and then readers fall in love with those side characters and want their stories. So you write spin-offs. The romance genre does this brilliantly—think of the Bridgerton books, where each sibling gets their own novel. The side character in one book becomes the protagonist in the next. Barbara Nickless experienced this firsthand with her Dr. Evan Wilding series. She has River Wilding, Evan's adventurous brother, and Diana, the axe-throwing research assistant, and her editor has already expressed interest in a spin-off series with those characters. Barbara described creating characters she wants to spend time with, or characters who give her nightmares but also intrigue her. That's the dual test: are they interesting enough for you to write, and interesting enough for readers to demand more? As I wrote in How to Write a Novel, characters that span series can deepen the reader's relationship with them as you expand their backstory into new plots. Readers will remember the character more than the plot or the book title, and look forward to the next instalment because they want more time with those people. British crime author Angela Marsons described it as readers feeling like returning to her characters is like putting on a pair of old slippers. Actionable step: Look at your supporting cast. Is there a side character who is vivid enough to carry their own story? If not, what could you add—a specific hobby, a distinct voice, a compelling backstory—that would make readers want more of them? 12. Use Voice as a Rhythmic Tool Voice is one of the most important elements of novel writing, and Matt Bird helped me think about it in a technical, mechanical way that I found really useful. He pointed out that the ratio of periods to commas defines a character's internal reality. A staccato rhythm—lots of periods, short sentences—suggests a character who is certain, grounded, or perhaps survivalist and traumatised. Katniss in The Hunger Games has a period-heavy voice. She's in survival mode. She doesn't have time for complexity or qualification. A flowing, comma-heavy style suggests someone more academic, more nuanced, or possibly more scattered and manipulative. The character who qualifies everything, who adds sub-clauses and digressions, is a different kind of person from the character who speaks in declarations. This is something you can actually measure. Pull up a passage of your character's dialogue or internal monologue and count the periods versus the commas. If the rhythm doesn't match who the character is supposed to be, you've found a mismatch you can fix. Sentence length is the heartbeat of your character's persona. And voice extends beyond rhythm to the words themselves. As I discussed in the metaphor families tip, each character should draw from a distinctive well of language. But voice also encompasses their relationship to silence. Some characters talk around the thing they mean; others say it straight. Some are self-deprecating; others are blunt to the point of rudeness. All of these choices are character choices, not just style choices. I find it useful to read my dialogue aloud—and not just to check for naturalness, but to hear whether each character sounds distinct. If you could swap dialogue lines between two characters and nobody would notice, you have a voice problem. One practical test: cover the dialogue tags and see if you can tell who's speaking from the words alone. Actionable step: Choose a key passage from your protagonist's point of view and read it aloud. Does the rhythm match the character? A soldier under fire should not sound like a philosophy professor at a wine tasting. Adjust the ratio of periods to commas until the voice feels right. 13. Link Character and Plot Until They're Inseparable Will Storr made the case on episode 490 that the number one problem he sees in the writing he encounters—in workshops, in submissions, even in published books—is that the characters and the plots are unconnected. There's a story happening, and there are people in it, but the story isn't a product of who those people are. He said a story should be like life. In our lives, the plots are intimately connected to who we are as characters. The goals we pursue, the obstacles we face, the same problems that keep recurring—these are products of our personalities, our flaws, our specific ways of being in the world. His framework is that your plot should be designed specifically to plot against your character. You've got a character with a particular flaw; the plot exists to test that flaw over and over until the character either transforms or doubles down and explodes. Jaws is the perfect example. Brody is afraid of water. A shark shows up in the coastal town he's responsible for protecting. The entire plot is engineered to force him to confront the one thing he cannot face. Will pointed out that the whole plot of Jaws is structured around Brody's flaw. It begins with the shark arriving, the midpoint is when Brody finally gets the courage to go into the water, and the very final scene isn't the shark blowing up—it's Brody swimming back through the water. Even a film that's ninety-eight percent action is, at its core, structured around a character with a character flaw. This is the standard I aspire to in my own work, even in my action-heavy thrillers. The external plot should be a mirror of the internal struggle. When those two are aligned, the story becomes irresistible. Will also made an important point about series fiction, which is where most commercial authors live. I asked him how this works when your character can't be transformed at the end of every book because there has to be a next book. His answer was elegant: you don't cure them. Episodic TV characters like Fleabag or David Brent or Basil Fawlty never truly change—and the fact that they don't change is actually the source of the comedy. But every episode throws a new story event at them that tests and exposes their flaw. You just keep throwing story events at them again and again. That's a soap opera, a sitcom, and a book series. As I wrote in How to Write a Novel, character flaws are aspects of personality that affect the person so much that facing and overcoming them becomes central to the plot. In Jaws, the protagonist Brody is afraid of the water, but he has to overcome that flaw to destroy the killer shark and save the town. But remember, your characters should feel like real people, so never define them purely by their flaws. The character addicted to painkillers might also be a brilliant and successful female lawyer who gets up at four in the morning to work out at the gym, likes eighties music, and volunteers at the local dog shelter at weekends. Character wounds are different from flaws. They're formed from life experience and are part of your character's backstory—traumatic events that happened before the events of your novel but shape the character's reactions in the present. In my ARKANE thrillers, Morgan Sierra's husband Elian died in her arms during a military operation. This happened before the series begins, but her memories of it recur when she faces a firefight, and she struggles to find happiness again for fear of losing someone she loves once more. And then there's the perennial advice: show, don't tell. Most writers have heard this so many times that it's easy to nod and then promptly write scenes that tell rather than show. Basically, you need to reveal your character through action and dialogue, rather than explanation. In my thriller Day of the Vikings, Morgan Sierra fights a Neo-Viking in the halls of the British Museum and brings him down with Krav Maga. That fight scene isn't just about showing action. It opens up questions about her backstory, demonstrates character, and moves the plot forward. Telling would be something like: “Morgan was an expert in Krav Maga.” Showing is the reader discovering it through the scene itself. Actionable step: Look at the main plot events of your novel. For each major turning point, ask: does this scene specifically test my protagonist's flaw? If not, can you redesign the scene so that it does? The tighter the connection between character and plot, the more powerful the story. 14. The ‘Maestra' Approach: Write Out of Order If you're a discovery writer like me, you may feel like the deep character work I've been describing sounds more suited to plotters. But Barbara Nickless gave me a beautiful metaphor on episode 732 that reframes it entirely. Barbara described her evolving writing process as being like a maestra standing in front of an orchestra. Sometimes you bring in the horns—a certain theme—and sometimes you bring in the strings—a certain character—and sometimes you turn to the soloist. It's a more organic and jumping-around process than linear writing, and Barbara said she's only recently given herself permission to work this way. When I told her that I use Scrivener to write in scenes out of order and then drag and drop them into a structure later, she was genuinely intrigued. And this is how I've always worked. I'll see the story in my mind like a movie trailer—flashes of the big emotional scenes, the pivotal confrontations, the moments of revelation—and I write those first. I don't know how they hang together until quite late in the process. Then I'll move scenes around, print the whole thing out, and figure out the connective tissue. The point is that discovery writers can absolutely build deep characters. Sometimes writing the big emotional scenes first is how you discover who the character is before you fill in the rest. You don't need a twenty-page character worksheet or a 200-page outline like Jeffery Deaver. You need to be willing to follow the character into the unknown and trust that the structure will emerge. As Barbara said, she writes to know what she's thinking. That's the discovery writer's credo. And I would add: I write to know who my characters are. Actionable step: If you're stuck on your current chapter, skip it. Write the scene that's burning in your imagination, even if it's from the middle or the end. That scene might be the key to unlocking who your character really is. 15. Use Research to Help with Empathy Research shouldn't just be about factual accuracy—it's a tool for finding the sensory details that create empathy. Barbara Nickless described research as almost an excuse to explore things that fascinate her, and I feel exactly the same way. I would go so far as to say that writing is an excuse for me to explore the things that interest me. Barbara and I both travel for our stories. For her Dr. Evan Wilding books, she did deep research into Old English literature and the Viking Age. For my thriller End of Days, I transcribed hours of video from Appalachian snake-handling churches on YouTube to understand the worldview of the worshippers, because my antagonist was brought up in that tradition. I couldn't just make that up. I had to hear their language, feel their conviction, understand why they would hold venomous serpents as an act of faith. Barbara also mentioned getting to Israel and the West Bank for research, and I've been to both places too. Finding that one specific sensory detail—the smell of a particular location, the specific way an expert handles a tool, the sound of a particular kind of music—makes the character's life feel lived-in. It's the difference between a character who is described as living in a place and a character who inhabits it. As I wrote in How to Write a Novel, don't write what you know. Write what you want to learn about. I love research. It's part of why I'm an author in the first place. I take any excuse to dive into a world different from my own. Research using books, films, podcasts, and travel, and focus particularly on sources produced by people from the worldview you want to understand. Actionable step: For your next piece of character research, go beyond reading. Watch a documentary, visit a location, talk to someone who lives the experience. Find one sensory detail—a smell, a sound, a texture—that you couldn't have invented. That detail will make your character feel real. Bonus: Measure Your Life by What You Create In an age of AI and a tsunami of content, your ultimate brand protection is the quality of your human creation. Barbara Nickless said that the act of producing itself is a balm to the soul, and I believe that with every fibre of my being. Don't be afraid to take that step back, like I did with my deadlifting. Take the time to master these deeper craft skills. It might feel like you're slowing down or going backwards by not chasing the latest marketing trend, but it's the only way to step forward into a sustainable, high-quality career. Your characters are your signature. No AI can replicate the specificity of your lived experience, the emotional truth of your displaced trauma, or the sensory details you've gathered from a life of curiosity and travel. Those are yours. Pour them into your characters, and they will resonate for years to come. Actionable Takeaway: Identify the Dramatic Question for your current protagonist. Can you state it in a single sentence with the kind of specificity Will Storr described? Is it as clear as “Are you ordinary or extraordinary?” or “Are you the only adult in the room?” If you can't answer it with that kind of precision, your character might still be a sketch. Give them a diagonal toast moment today. Find the one hyper-specific detail that proves they are not an imitation of life. And then ask yourself: does your plot test your character's flaw in every major scene? If you can align those two things—a precisely defined character and a plot that exists to test them—you will have a story that readers cannot put down. References and Deep Dives The episodes I've referenced today are all available with full transcripts at TheCreativePenn.com: Episode 732 — Facing Fears, and Writing Unique Characters with Barbara Nickless Episode 673 — Writing Choctaw Characters and Diversity in Fiction with Sarah Elisabeth Sawyer Episode 624 — Writing Characters with Matt Bird Episode 550 — The Heroine's Journey with Gail Carriger Episode 490 — How Character Flaws Shape Story with Will Storr Books mentioned: The Secrets of Character: Writing a Hero Anyone Will Love by Matt Bird The Science of Storytelling by Will Storr The Heroine's Journey by Gail Carriger How to Write a Novel: From Idea to Book by Joanna Penn You can find all my books for authors at CreativePennBooks.com and my fiction and memoir at JFPennBooks.com Happy writing! How was this episode created? This episode was initiated created by NotebookLM based on YouTube videos of the episodes linked above from YouTube/TheCreativePenn, plus my text chapters on character from How to Write a Novel. NotebookLM created a blog post from the material and then I expanded it and fact checked it with Claude.ai 4.6 Opus, and then I used my voice clone at ElevenLabs to narrate it. The post Writing Characters: 15 Actionable Tips For Writing Deep Character first appeared on The Creative Penn.

Every weekday, award-winning columnist Dejan Kovacevic and DK Pittsburgh Sports reporter Chris Halicke deliver three ‘Double Shot' shows as a supplement to the morning ‘Daily Shot' of Steelers, Penguins and Pirates podcasts!  Video versions streaming live on YouTube starting at 3 p.m.! Eastern Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Every weekday, award-winning columnist Dejan Kovacevic and DK Pittsburgh Sports reporter Chris Halicke deliver three ‘Double Shot' shows as a supplement to the morning ‘Daily Shot' of Steelers, Penguins and Pirates podcasts!  Video versions streaming live on YouTube starting at 3 p.m.! Eastern Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Award-winning columnist Dejan Kovacevic, a lifelong veteran of the Pittsburgh sports scene, delivers 'Daily Shot' show each weekday morning, covering the Steelers, Penguins and Pirates! It's available bright and early, and timed to match your commute, never longer than 20 minutes! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Award-winning columnist Dejan Kovacevic, a lifelong veteran of the Pittsburgh sports scene, delivers 'Daily Shot' show each weekday morning, covering the Steelers, Penguins and Pirates! It's available bright and early, and timed to match your commute, never longer than 20 minutes! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Award-winning columnist Dejan Kovacevic, a lifelong veteran of the Pittsburgh sports scene, delivers 'Daily Shot' show each weekday morning, covering the Steelers, Penguins and Pirates! It's available bright and early, and timed to match your commute, never longer than 20 minutes! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

CONTACT US TODAY! PATREON: http://www.patreon.com/wttmpodcast TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@windowtothemagic YouTube: http://youtube.com/windowtothemagic Email: podcast@windowtothemagic.com Voicemail: 1-307-GET-WTTM (438-9886)  On this episode, two WTTM cohosts (Brian Babcock & Michel Bouman) meet up for some fun at Disneyland Paris.  Attractions include Blanche-Neige et les Sept Nains® (Snow White), Pirates of the Caribbean and Big Thunder Mountain.  Enjoy!!  91 mins ))HD BINAURAL((

Or How to Lose a Ship in 10 Days. WE'RE BACK, lil onions! After a long hiatus, we're back with some adventure films for you in the month of March. We're kicking off with Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl, and the swashbuckling story of Captain Jack Sparrow's journey to reclaim his infamous ship from a crew of undead pirates. Somehow despite our best efforts to avoid Disney, we've accidentally hit the bullseye. Ross is struggles with calling the Isle de Muerte by its name, Carie is gobsmacked by the strength of the CGI 23 years later, and the siblings reflect on how lucky they were to grow up when movies like this came out.  SUPPORT US ON PATREON! 

Award-winning columnist Dejan Kovacevic joined by DK Pittsburgh Sports beat reporters, bring you on-location post game coverage and analysis from every Steelers, Penguins and Pirates game! Plus, major news as it develops! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Fantasy Baseball Live – March 15, 2026 @ 3 pmMicrosoft TeamsSegment 1 – News and Notes•WBC ActionoWhat have you thought about the action so far?oUS vs. Dominican – Who you got?oItaly vs. Venezuela – Who you got?oWho will be the winner?•Over-reacting to Spring Training Stats – which of these pique your interest, if any?oMatt McLain is hitting .543 with five home runsoBrennen Davis, now with the Mariners has four home runs and is hitting .364oCole Young has four home runs and two stolen basesoCharlie Condon has three home runs and is hitting .419oJhostynxon Garcia is hitting .500 with 14 hits, 2 home runs and three stolen bases – for the Pirates.oCoby Mayo is also hitting .500 with 13 hits but only one home run.o27-year-old, career minor league, Baiden Ward has 17 stolen bases on 13 hits.oMick Abel, now with the Twins has 17Ks in 13.1 IP with a 1.35 ERAoMike Burrows, now with the Astros has 14 K's in 11 innings, giving up six hits and no runs.oJohan Oviedo, now with Boston has 14K in 11.1 innings with a 1.59 ERA Segment 2 – Tim's Tout Wars Team•League Draft Result - FantraxSegment 3 – Our Sleepers1.Catchers (1 or 2)a.Rich - Carter Jenson and Daniel Susacb.Tim – Endy Rodriguez and Cooper Ingle2.First Base (1 or 2)a.Rich - Ben Rice and Ralphy Velasquezb.Tim – Andrew Vaughn and Charlie Condon

In this classic, Anney and Samantha delve into stories of some of history's most fearsome women of the seas. Dramatic poetry reading included.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode 334 features Ed Banos, the son of Les Banos, a World War II spy who saved more than 200 lives during the Holocaust and later became a sports photographer, and Aaron Huentelman, competition meat manager at Mr. Brisket Ed Banos serves as the President and CEO for University Health and was recognized as a Healthcare Hero by the San Antonio Business Journal.  However, it is not his story we are focused on, but rather the story of Ed's father, Les Banos.  The following are excerpted from online obituaries, "Raised in Budapest, Hungary, Les Banos hid countrymen from the Nazis during World War II and infiltrated German SS headquarters as an Allied spy. He helped hide and save the lives of hundreds of Hungarians.  After the war, he immigrated to the United States, attended the University of Pittsburgh and worked as a cameraman for local TV stations and as a  photographer for the Pirates, Steelers, and Penguins.  Les Banos' favorite subject was his friend, Roberto Clemente, who died Dec. 31, 1972, in a plane crash during a relief mission to earthquake victims in Nicaragua.  Les Banos often said he should have been on that plane, but that was the day the Steelers, played Miami in the AFC championship. The game was made possible by the Steelers beating Oakland the previous week on the Immaculate Reception.  Les Banos captured Clemente's 3,000th hit in a frame-by-frame sequence, and many of his photos have been displayed in exhibitions through the years. A current collection can be seen at the Roberto Clemente Museum in Lawrenceville. Aaron Huentelman is the competition meat manager at Mr. Brisket, a premium quality butcher shop.  He has a degree in restaurant management, has worked in numerous kitchens over the years, and has also managed several restaurants.  His passion, however, is meat smoking. He has been a regular in competition barbecue for the last ten years, with numerous top ten finishes, including a Grand Championship at the Dayton BBQ Rodeo in 2017.  He is the owner of an award winning sauce and rub company, Go Big Or Go BBQ.  To learn more about Aaron's sauce company go to https://www.gobigorgobbq.com/ and to learn more about Mr. Brisket go to https://www.misterbrisket.com/ We recommend you go to Rogue Cookers website, https://roguecookers.com/ for award-winning rubs, Chef Ray Sheehan's website, https://www.raysheehan.com/ for award-winning saucess, rubs, and cookbooks, Baseball BBQ, https://baseballbbq.com for special grilling tools and accessories, Magnechef https://magnechef.com/ for excellent and unique barbecue gloves, Cutting Edge Firewood High Quality Kiln Dried Firewood - Cutting Edge Firewood in Atlanta for high quality firewood and cooking wood, Mantis BBQ, https://mantisbbq.com/ to purchase their outstanding sauces with a portion of the proceeds being donated to the Kidney Project, and for exceptional sauces, Elda's Kitchen https://eldaskitchen.com/ We conclude the show with the song, Baseball Always Brings You Home from the musician, Dave Dresser and the poet, Shel Krakofsky. We truly appreciate our listeners and hope that all of you are staying safe. If you would like to contact the show, we would love to hear from you. Call the show:  (516) 855-8214 Email:  baseballandbbq@gmail.com Twitter:  @baseballandbbq Instagram:  baseballandbarbecue YouTube:  baseball and bbq Website:  https//baseballandbbq.weebly.com Facebook:  baseball and bbq     Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Tonight on The Point, we're tackling three huge questions that could define the Pirates' 2026 season. After all the offseason additions and with spring training rolling on, does this roster actually look like a playoff team? If you're Ben Cherington, are you putting Konnor Griffin on the Opening Day roster? And every contender needs someone to take the leap, so which Pirate is most likely to deliver that breakout season in 2026? Expect strong takes, real debate, and plenty of Pirates talk as we break down where this team stands and what could push them into contention. Use Promo Code NS930 for 30% off your first order at https://www.defer.coffee Use Promo Code NS9 for 30% off your first order at https://www.gritily.com Use Promo Code NORTHSHORENINE for $20 off your first order at https://www.seatgeek.com LIKE and SUBSCRIBE with NOTIFICATIONS ON if you enjoyed the show! NS9 MERCH: https://northshorenine.myshopify.com ►Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/NorthShoreNine ►Website: https://www.northshorenine.com ►Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/northshorenine ►TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@northshorenine ►Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/northshorenine ►Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/northshorenine ►Discord: https://discord.gg/3HVYPg544m Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The new league year is officially underway with the Steelers adding in areas of need, but they also lost others to free agency. Also, the Pirates continue to ramp up for the season.

The new league year is officially underway with the Steelers adding in areas of need, but they also lost others to free agency. Also, the Pirates continue to ramp up for the season.

The new league year is officially underway with the Steelers adding in areas of need, but they also lost others to free agency. Also, the Pirates continue to ramp up for the season.

Every weekday, award-winning columnist Dejan Kovacevic and DK Pittsburgh Sports reporter Chris Halicke deliver three ‘Double Shot' shows as a supplement to the morning ‘Daily Shot' of Steelers, Penguins and Pirates podcasts!  Video versions streaming live on YouTube starting at 3 p.m.! Eastern Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Every weekday, award-winning columnist Dejan Kovacevic and DK Pittsburgh Sports reporter Chris Halicke deliver three ‘Double Shot' shows as a supplement to the morning ‘Daily Shot' of Steelers, Penguins and Pirates podcasts!  Video versions streaming live on YouTube starting at 3 p.m.! Eastern Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Every weekday, award-winning columnist Dejan Kovacevic and DK Pittsburgh Sports reporter Chris Halicke deliver three ‘Double Shot' shows as a supplement to the morning ‘Daily Shot' of Steelers, Penguins and Pirates podcasts!  Video versions streaming live on YouTube starting at 3 p.m.! Eastern Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Award-winning columnist Dejan Kovacevic, a lifelong veteran of the Pittsburgh sports scene, delivers 'Daily Shot' show each weekday morning, covering the Steelers, Penguins and Pirates! It's available bright and early, and timed to match your commute, never longer than 20 minutes! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Award-winning columnist Dejan Kovacevic, a lifelong veteran of the Pittsburgh sports scene, delivers 'Daily Shot' show each weekday morning, covering the Steelers, Penguins and Pirates! It's available bright and early, and timed to match your commute, never longer than 20 minutes! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Award-winning columnist Dejan Kovacevic, a lifelong veteran of the Pittsburgh sports scene, delivers 'Daily Shot' show each weekday morning, covering the Steelers, Penguins and Pirates! It's available bright and early, and timed to match your commute, never longer than 20 minutes! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

We break down the Jays loss against the Pirates and answer questions surrounding Coach Greg McDermott and a potential Crown appearance.

Send a textThe boys break down a packed week in Pittsburgh news, including the return of the iconic Isaly's brand with a new Strip District store, a Beaver County guy who climbed the Gulf Tower and got busted when he came back for his hoodie, Andrew McCutchen opening up about leaving the Pirates for the Rangers, and Sidney Crosby getting back on the ice after Kenny's Olympic jinx. The Pittsburgh Scanner delivers the usual chaos with loose lug nut sabotage accusations, a drunk grandpa throwing coats at a party, a dating app meetup that refused to leave, and a rogue fish fry vendor trying to set up shop outside a church.Corndick of the Week features a software engineer accidentally hacking thousands of robot vacuums with a PlayStation controller, an Ohio suspect hiding in a trash can on garbage day, and viral personality Bonnie Blue claiming she's pregnant after her infamous “400 men” stunt. In Brother in Arms, a Florida inmate catches a felony escape charge after sneaking off during a sheriff's fundraiser for a porta-john hookup, and Ohio residents report multiple Bigfoot sightings roaming the woods. Plus Gear Grinders and a round of What Would Greenfield Do with some truly ridiculous hypotheticals.Spotify:https://open.spotify.com/show/7viuBywVXF4e52CHUgk1i5 Produced by Lane Media ⁠https://www.lanemediapgh.com/#GreenfieldsFinest #PittsburghPodcast #WinterOlympics #FishSandwichSeason #PittsburghScanner #CorndickOfTheWeek #SmartUnderwear #LoganPaul #PokemonCard #BrotherInArms #WhatWouldGreenfieldDo #GearGrinders

Kevin Gorman at the top of the hour to chat Pirates' Spring Training, and Seth Rorabaugh at the bottom of the hour to discuss the latest with the Penguins.

Kevin Gorman at the top of the hour to chat Pirates' Spring Training, and Seth Rorabaugh at the bottom of the hour to discuss the latest with the Penguins. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hey — come hang with me and Patricia Milton as we dig into After Happy, a sharp, hilarious play about pirate festivals, oil execs, and the messy, laughable world of greenwashing. It's funny, warm, and exactly the kind of comic medicine we need right now. Runs through March 29 at Central Works in Berkeley — intimate theater, three brilliant women on stage, and big laughs. Snag your tickets at centralworks.org and bring a friend. Tickets: CentralWorks.org   “Central Works once again strikes it rich with a dynamite cast in a captivating new play that packs a powerful message” -E. Reynolds, TheatreEddys.com “With Gary Graves' adept direction and the first-rate acting, After Happy is an entertaining evening of theater” -E. Mendel, CultureVulture.net “Patricia Milton's new After Happy, the 79th World Premiere from Central Works, does not disappoint” -D. Konecky, SFTheaterBlog “What's delightful about Milton's works in general is that she writes most if not all the characters for women, and many for older women at that” -J. Schiffman, LocalNewMatters.org “Playwright Patricia Milton packs her latest work. After Happy, with a pleasing mix of comedy and serious environmental concerns for an entertaining 70 minutes of entertainment” -S. Hogarty, East Bay Times “Central Works once again proves how compelling new theater can be when strong writing meets strong performances” -J. Cillo

Send a textStep into a hidden studio in western Pennsylvania and a sunlit shrine in Bradenton as we sit down with Pirates legend Steve Blass for a ride through memory, ritual, and the stories that make baseball feel like home. Steve opens up about retirement with Karen, the sanity of walking a quiet golf course, and the strict joy of a 4:30 happy hour that turns every day into a small celebration. The conversation moves with the ease of an old friend call—Jeopardy at 7:30, classic sitcom reruns, and an honest, can't-look-away take on Tiger King—before we step into his museum of moments.The memorabilia tour is a time machine. We see Steve vaulting Freddie Patek, co-managing a fantasy camp win with Bob Walk, and a row of gleaming Ford Thunderbirds circling the Forbes Field track in 1967. He brings out rare Pittsburgh artifacts from a traveling baseball school with Honus Wagner and Wilbur Cooper, proof that the game's roots run deep and loud. We laugh at Eddie Feigner's King and His Court showmanship and share the kind of clubhouse humor that still rings true.Then the stories deepen. Steve remembers Willie Stargell's grace, a dugout snapshot at Three Rivers, and an Oval Office visit with President Nixon after Roberto Clemente's death to support the dream of Ciudad Deportiva. He reflects on how Clemente's vision could have reshaped Puerto Rico for generations. Finally, we stand on the dugout roof for the last day at Three Rivers, a World Series ring catching the light as thousands sing Take Me Out to the Ball Game. It's a portrait of baseball as community: history preserved in photos, laughter, and a city's voice lifted together.If you love Pirates history, Roberto Clemente's legacy, and the human side of a World Series pitcher, this one's for you. Subscribe, share with a friend who misses Forbes Field or Three Rivers, and leave a review to tell us which memory hit you the hardest.THANK YOU FOR LISTENING!!!!www.holdmycutter.com

Alex Stumpf takes a deep dive into one of the Pirates' most interesting spring storylines: Carmen Mlodzinski's case for the fifth starter job. Alex breaks down why the 2025 starting experiment fell apart, what changed in Mlodzinski's pitch mix, and why his splitter could be the key to handling left-handed hitters this time around. He also looks at the bigger rotation picture, the other names in the mix, and why Pittsburgh may have more to gain by giving Mlodzinski another real shot to start. Subscribe for new weekday episodes of OffBeat with Alex Stumpf. Join this channel to get access to perks: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9ZY250XUYiS-yX7xOQCdLA/join Use Promo Code NS9 for 30% off your first order at https://www.gritily.com Use Promo Code NORTHSHORENINE for $20 off your first order at https://www.seatgeek.com LIKE and SUBSCRIBE with NOTIFICATIONS ON if you enjoyed the show! NS9 MERCH: https://northshorenine.myspreadshop.com ►Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/NorthShoreNine ►Website: https://www.northshorenine.com ►Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/northshorenine ►TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@northshorenine ►Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/northshorenine ►Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/northshorenine ►Discord: https://discord.gg/3HVYPg544m ►BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/northshorenine.bsky.social Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Buccaneer Henry Morgan (1635–88) was born in Wales. Kidnapped as a child in Bristol, England and shipped to Barbados, he joined the buccaneers, leading many raids against the Spanish and Dutch in the Caribbean and Central America. His most famous exploit was the sacking of Porto Bello (Panama) and the city of Panama in 1671. Check out the YouTube version of this episode at https://youtu.be/g4NYlUzQbIk which has accompanying visuals including maps, charts, timelines, photos, illustrations, and diagrams. Henry Morgan books at https://amzn.to/4ddRppx Books about Pirates available at https://amzn.to/4aMr1ld Pirate mystery novel (Seeking Sasha) at https://amzn.to/4oqp7Ku ENJOY Ad-Free content, Bonus episodes, and Extra materials when joining our growing community on https://patreon.com/markvinet SUPPORT this channel by purchasing any product on Amazon using this FREE entry LINK https://amzn.to/3POlrUD (Amazon gives us credit at NO extra charge to you). Mark Vinet's HISTORICAL JESUS podcast at https://parthenonpodcast.com/historical-jesus Mark's TIMELINE video channel: https://youtube.com/c/TIMELINE_MarkVinet Website: https://markvinet.com/podcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mark.vinet.9 X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/MarkVinet_HNA Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/denarynovels Mark's books: https://amzn.to/3k8qrGM Audio credit: LibriVox Historical Tales by C. Morris, read by KalyndaSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Award-winning columnist Dejan Kovacevic, a lifelong veteran of the Pittsburgh sports scene, delivers 'Daily Shot' show each weekday morning, covering the Steelers, Penguins and Pirates! It's available bright and early, and timed to match your commute, never longer than 20 minutes! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Noah Hiles thinks that Konnor Griffin will make the Pirates Opening Day roster. He is not concerned with Griffin's spring training batting average. Griffin is the best shortstop in the system. Noah thinks the catcher group has been bad. Noah predicts the Pirates to win 80 games.

Baseball six pack. Noah Hiles thinks Konnor Griffin will make the Opening Day roster. Noah said he can't see any reason for Griffin to start in AAA. Can we trust Mark DeRosa to manage Team USA to win?!

Hour 3 with Donny Football: Noah thinks that Konnor Griffin will make the Pirates Opening Day roster. He is not concerned with Griffin's spring training batting average. Noah gives us his win total. Mike Tomlin spoke at the Steelers Ireland Fund's gala and thanked Pittsburgh for his time. Miami (Ohio) STILL should make the NCAA Tournament!!

Join Erik and Tage this week as they answer 100 questions from listeners. Support the podcast by going to https://www.thehubcrawl.com/support. 1: Janelle A: Is there a ride that you ALWAYS like to have as your last ride of the trip? 2: Ryan P: You get to move into one animated Disney character's house. Whose house is it? 3: The one and only Marie: If Episode 100 included a “Previously On The Hub Crawl” montage, what moment has to be in it and why is it Erik's locker room story? 4: Marie: What Disney announcement did you initially hate, but has now grown on you? 5: Marie: What merchandise item have you purchased because of the show? 6: Marie: What episode should be required listening for new listeners? 7: Ryan P: Corn dog or Churro 8: Ryan G-H: What has been your favorite part about doing this show? 9: Ryan GH: Cancel, Host, Guest (FMK): DL Weekly, TSR, EarzUp 10: Robert A. S. Jr.: What is the best joke you heard on the jungle cruise? Not the back side of water one. 11: Erik C: Which land at any domestic Disney park plays the best background music? 12: Erik C.: Which attraction are you most puzzled by or still trying to figure out the storyline? 13: Erin C: One popular snack is gone forever…what is it? 14: Not a host of Spokes: Who is your favorite Spokes host? 15: Erin C: Which character do you have the most photos with at the parks? 16: Erin C: You have unlimited, free access to a single snack at the parks, what is it? 17: Olivia S: You can bring back one ride at DL or WDW but you have to demolish a current ride. What are you bring back and what are you demolishing? 18: Erin C: Would you rather share a meal with Walt Disney, Roy Disney, or Lillian Disney? 19: Olivia S: What is your all time favorite snack in a Disney Park 20: Olivia S: What is your all time fave meal at a Disney park 21: Erin C: What is still on your Disney bucket list? 22: Olivia S: All time fave drink in a Disney park 23: Olivia S: What is your favorite Disney pod besides ones that you host? 24: Olivia S: You are getting a new dog or cat and naming them after a Disney character. What are you naming them? 25: Olivia S: You can build a duplicate of one attraction to your town. What attraction are you building? 26: Olivia S: What's your favorite piece of merch that own (ie something you can wear) 27: James B: Which land would be the hardest for you to say goodbye to? 28: James B: What new holiday would you like to see get an overlay and on which attraction? 29: James B: Which street entertainment group is the most likely to get you to stop? 30: James B: What has been your best character meet and greet experience? 31: James B: What's your go-to souvenir every time you visit the parks? 32: James B: What shuttered attraction would you wish to bring back? 33: James B: Where would you work in the park? 34: James B: Where is the best hot dog in the park? 35: James B: Where do you put yourself to watch the Fireworks? 36: James B: Are you a rope drop person or a close down the park person? 37: James B: You have time for one attraction and are in New Oreleans Square. If wait times are the same, are you riding Pirates or Haunted Mansion? 38: Andy M: How would you retheme the Disneyland Peter Pan queue to make it more interactive and plus up the storytelling? 39: Andy M: What ride would benefit the most from an on-ride photo op? 40: Andy M: What lesser-known/niche character would you love to see more of in the park as a meet n' greet? 41: Andy M: Assuming the rumors come true about a Haunted Mansion restaurant coming to the WDW Magic Kingdom, what would you want to see inside that would make it live up to our insane (unfair?) expectations? 42: Andy M: What is your favorite/most-treasured item you've bought while at a Disney resort/park and what is the dumbest thing you've willingly wasted money on at a resort/park? 43: Jeff V: Disneyland or DCA? 44: Robert A. S. Jr.: Why is Canada the best land in Epcot? 45: Robert A. S. Jr.: Why do you love the muppets and who is the best muppet? 46: Robert A. S. Jr.: You have a vip to take you on one ride and eat 1 thing in the park and then you go home. What do you eat and ride? 47: Stephanie S: if you could interview anyone working at the Walt Disney company today; who would it be and what 3 questions would you ask them first? 48: Trebor R: You have to add a stop to any monorail in any Disney park. What park and what stop are you adding? 49: Kris S: What's your favorite overlay at the parks? 50: Kris S: Favorite Haunted Mansion ghost? 51: Conor S: Favorite festival or foodie guide? 52: Marie: What is something you have done on a Disney vacation that you would likely never do again? 53: Marie: 70 years in, what's your pick for the most overhyped part of Disneyland—and what's the most underrated gem people still don't appreciate? 54: Marie: If you could have any Disney character as a BFF, who would you choose? 55: Ryan GH: Who is a particularly memorable guest you've had on the show? 56: Ryan GH: What type of questions do you enjoy answering the most? 57: Ryan GH: If you could have 2 characters from any Disney property as guests on this show, who would it be? 58: Kris S: Best specialty churro you've ever had? 59: Marie: What question asked on the show revealed way too much about someone? 60: Kris S: Favorite Disney song of all time? 61: Ryan P: You can only ride one attraction for the rest of time at your favorite park. What is it? 62: Marie: What guest behavior causes you irrational rage every time? 63: Ryan P: You can time travel. Which decade would you like to visit your favorite park in? 64: Kate A: What Disney parks snack should have an entire festival at either Epcot or DCA dedicated to it? 65: Ryan P: What fairy tale that has not yet been adapted into a Disney animated feature should be their next project 66: Ryan P: Josh has already had to step down, you're suddenly named CEO. What are the first three things you do to improve the company? 67: Kate A: What WDW Resort hotel would you like to magically transport to Disneyland Resort? 68: Ryan P: One attraction all the audio animatronics and set pieces are suddenly real every night after floating (à la Night at the Museum). To which attraction would you like to see this happen? 69: Kate A: If you had to wear one Disney Parks cast member costume every day for a year, which would you choose? 70: Jude A: What character would you like to see on the stern of a future Disney Cruise Line ship? 71: Kate A: Which Disney villain would you least like to run into in a dark alley? 72: Marie: You went to Garner Holt's workshop and built an animatronic to install at a Disney Park. What is its name? What does it do? And where are you putting it? 73: Kate A: Which Disney villain probably had a valid point? 74: Kate A: What Disney song could you most accurately sing on command? 75: Bryan: What feature do you feel is missing from the Disneyland/WDW mobile apps? 76: Bryan: Disneyland semi-recently started selling the Monte Cristo sandwich at Royal Street Veranda. What sit-down meal do you wish Disney would offer as a quick service option? 77: Bryan: With Josh D'Amaro ascending to CEO, predict the next head of Disney Parks & Experiences. 78: Ryan GH: If you could host a podcast in the general orbit of The Hub Crawl (i.e. the host(s) have been on THC) that you don't currently host, which show would it be? 79: Conor S: What food is lacking at the parks? 80: Conor S: If you could bring back one attraction from extinction what would it be? 81: Shannon W: Is classic Disney better than modern Disney? 82: Shannon W: If you had to preform one Disney song karaoke-style, which would you choose? 83: Shannon W: What was your very first Disney movie, and how did it make you feel? 84: Shannon W: Which character would make the best real life best friend? 85: Kris S: Favorite pavilion at EPCOT? 86: Ryan P: If you could ride one attraction with one character what attraction and character would it be? 87: Ryan P: You can walk around the inside of any attraction you want. Which attraction do you choose? 88: Ryan P: What character do you think is under represented in the parks? 89: Timothy Q M: Does anyone else see pink elephants when they drink the “special” water? 90: Ryan P: You have to live in the world of the last Disney animated film you watched for one year. How's your life going to be? 91: Ryan P: What would you do to market ‘original' ideas for films better, or how would you get fans to purchase tickets to these films? Fans keep saying no more sequels, but when an original idea film comes out, box office numbers are poor. 92: Shannon W: Which Disney movie do you think gets better as you get older? 93: Ryan P: what is your best memory or thing you like best about doing this podcast? 94: Shannon W: If you could live inside a Disney movie, which one would you choose? 95: Shannon W: What's the most powerful Disney song ever? 96: Shannon W: Which movie has the strongest overall soundtrack? 97: Shannon W: If two Disney characters from different movies met, who would be best friends? 98: Erin C: Dole whip or Churro? 99: Erin C: Rope drop or close the park? 100: Erin C: What kind of merch would you like to see sold on Main Street in Disneyland that's not already sold there.

Join Erik and Tage this week as they answer 100 questions from listeners. Support the podcast by going to https://www.thehubcrawl.com/support. 1: Janelle A: Is there a ride that you ALWAYS like to have as your last ride of the trip? 2: Ryan P: You get to move into one animated Disney character's house. Whose house is it? 3: The one and only Marie: If Episode 100 included a “Previously On The Hub Crawl” montage, what moment has to be in it and why is it Erik's locker room story? 4: Marie: What Disney announcement did you initially hate, but has now grown on you? 5: Marie: What merchandise item have you purchased because of the show? 6: Marie: What episode should be required listening for new listeners? 7: Ryan P: Corn dog or Churro 8: Ryan G-H: What has been your favorite part about doing this show? 9: Ryan GH: Cancel, Host, Guest (FMK): DL Weekly, TSR, EarzUp 10: Robert A. S. Jr.: What is the best joke you heard on the jungle cruise? Not the back side of water one. 11: Erik C: Which land at any domestic Disney park plays the best background music? 12: Erik C.: Which attraction are you most puzzled by or still trying to figure out the storyline? 13: Erin C: One popular snack is gone forever…what is it? 14: Not a host of Spokes: Who is your favorite Spokes host? 15: Erin C: Which character do you have the most photos with at the parks? 16: Erin C: You have unlimited, free access to a single snack at the parks, what is it? 17: Olivia S: You can bring back one ride at DL or WDW but you have to demolish a current ride. What are you bring back and what are you demolishing? 18: Erin C: Would you rather share a meal with Walt Disney, Roy Disney, or Lillian Disney? 19: Olivia S: What is your all time favorite snack in a Disney Park 20: Olivia S: What is your all time fave meal at a Disney park 21: Erin C: What is still on your Disney bucket list? 22: Olivia S: All time fave drink in a Disney park 23: Olivia S: What is your favorite Disney pod besides ones that you host? 24: Olivia S: You are getting a new dog or cat and naming them after a Disney character. What are you naming them? 25: Olivia S: You can build a duplicate of one attraction to your town. What attraction are you building? 26: Olivia S: What's your favorite piece of merch that own (ie something you can wear) 27: James B: Which land would be the hardest for you to say goodbye to? 28: James B: What new holiday would you like to see get an overlay and on which attraction? 29: James B: Which street entertainment group is the most likely to get you to stop? 30: James B: What has been your best character meet and greet experience? 31: James B: What's your go-to souvenir every time you visit the parks? 32: James B: What shuttered attraction would you wish to bring back? 33: James B: Where would you work in the park? 34: James B: Where is the best hot dog in the park? 35: James B: Where do you put yourself to watch the Fireworks? 36: James B: Are you a rope drop person or a close down the park person? 37: James B: You have time for one attraction and are in New Oreleans Square. If wait times are the same, are you riding Pirates or Haunted Mansion? 38: Andy M: How would you retheme the Disneyland Peter Pan queue to make it more interactive and plus up the storytelling? 39: Andy M: What ride would benefit the most from an on-ride photo op? 40: Andy M: What lesser-known/niche character would you love to see more of in the park as a meet n' greet? 41: Andy M: Assuming the rumors come true about a Haunted Mansion restaurant coming to the WDW Magic Kingdom, what would you want to see inside that would make it live up to our insane (unfair?) expectations? 42: Andy M: What is your favorite/most-treasured item you've bought while at a Disney resort/park and what is the dumbest thing you've willingly wasted money on at a resort/park? 43: Jeff V: Disneyland or DCA? 44: Robert A. S. Jr.: Why is Canada the best land in Epcot? 45: Robert A. S. Jr.: Why do you love the muppets and who is the best muppet? 46: Robert A. S. Jr.: You have a vip to take you on one ride and eat 1 thing in the park and then you go home. What do you eat and ride? 47: Stephanie S: if you could interview anyone working at the Walt Disney company today; who would it be and what 3 questions would you ask them first? 48: Trebor R: You have to add a stop to any monorail in any Disney park. What park and what stop are you adding? 49: Kris S: What's your favorite overlay at the parks? 50: Kris S: Favorite Haunted Mansion ghost? 51: Conor S: Favorite festival or foodie guide? 52: Marie: What is something you have done on a Disney vacation that you would likely never do again? 53: Marie: 70 years in, what's your pick for the most overhyped part of Disneyland—and what's the most underrated gem people still don't appreciate? 54: Marie: If you could have any Disney character as a BFF, who would you choose? 55: Ryan GH: Who is a particularly memorable guest you've had on the show? 56: Ryan GH: What type of questions do you enjoy answering the most? 57: Ryan GH: If you could have 2 characters from any Disney property as guests on this show, who would it be? 58: Kris S: Best specialty churro you've ever had? 59: Marie: What question asked on the show revealed way too much about someone? 60: Kris S: Favorite Disney song of all time? 61: Ryan P: You can only ride one attraction for the rest of time at your favorite park. What is it? 62: Marie: What guest behavior causes you irrational rage every time? 63: Ryan P: You can time travel. Which decade would you like to visit your favorite park in? 64: Kate A: What Disney parks snack should have an entire festival at either Epcot or DCA dedicated to it? 65: Ryan P: What fairy tale that has not yet been adapted into a Disney animated feature should be their next project 66: Ryan P: Josh has already had to step down, you're suddenly named CEO. What are the first three things you do to improve the company? 67: Kate A: What WDW Resort hotel would you like to magically transport to Disneyland Resort? 68: Ryan P: One attraction all the audio animatronics and set pieces are suddenly real every night after floating (à la Night at the Museum). To which attraction would you like to see this happen? 69: Kate A: If you had to wear one Disney Parks cast member costume every day for a year, which would you choose? 70: Jude A: What character would you like to see on the stern of a future Disney Cruise Line ship? 71: Kate A: Which Disney villain would you least like to run into in a dark alley? 72: Marie: You went to Garner Holt's workshop and built an animatronic to install at a Disney Park. What is its name? What does it do? And where are you putting it? 73: Kate A: Which Disney villain probably had a valid point? 74: Kate A: What Disney song could you most accurately sing on command? 75: Bryan: What feature do you feel is missing from the Disneyland/WDW mobile apps? 76: Bryan: Disneyland semi-recently started selling the Monte Cristo sandwich at Royal Street Veranda. What sit-down meal do you wish Disney would offer as a quick service option? 77: Bryan: With Josh D'Amaro ascending to CEO, predict the next head of Disney Parks & Experiences. 78: Ryan GH: If you could host a podcast in the general orbit of The Hub Crawl (i.e. the host(s) have been on THC) that you don't currently host, which show would it be? 79: Conor S: What food is lacking at the parks? 80: Conor S: If you could bring back one attraction from extinction what would it be? 81: Shannon W: Is classic Disney better than modern Disney? 82: Shannon W: If you had to preform one Disney song karaoke-style, which would you choose? 83: Shannon W: What was your very first Disney movie, and how did it make you feel? 84: Shannon W: Which character would make the best real life best friend? 85: Kris S: Favorite pavilion at EPCOT? 86: Ryan P: If you could ride one attraction with one character what attraction and character would it be? 87: Ryan P: You can walk around the inside of any attraction you want. Which attraction do you choose? 88: Ryan P: What character do you think is under represented in the parks? 89: Timothy Q M: Does anyone else see pink elephants when they drink the “special” water? 90: Ryan P: You have to live in the world of the last Disney animated film you watched for one year. How's your life going to be? 91: Ryan P: What would you do to market ‘original' ideas for films better, or how would you get fans to purchase tickets to these films? Fans keep saying no more sequels, but when an original idea film comes out, box office numbers are poor. 92: Shannon W: Which Disney movie do you think gets better as you get older? 93: Ryan P: what is your best memory or thing you like best about doing this podcast? 94: Shannon W: If you could live inside a Disney movie, which one would you choose? 95: Shannon W: What's the most powerful Disney song ever? 96: Shannon W: Which movie has the strongest overall soundtrack? 97: Shannon W: If two Disney characters from different movies met, who would be best friends? 98: Erin C: Dole whip or Churro? 99: Erin C: Rope drop or close the park? 100: Erin C: What kind of merch would you like to see sold on Main Street in Disneyland that's not already sold there.

Back onto the high seas with we, as there be more pirates to see! We continue our foray into the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise with the second film of the series. Davy Jones, lost love, and crab people await us, but does this high seas adventure measure up to its predecessor, or will it sink all the way to Davy Jones’ locker? Find out right here on Zero Credit(s).

Pirates insider Jason Mackey comes on The Fan Hotline to talk about some of the latest developments regarding players of interest, like prospect SS Konnor Griffin, with Adam Crowley and Dorin Dickerson.

Pirates' broadcaster Greg Brown comes on The Fan Hotline to share his perspective of the team so far in Spring Training with Adam Crowley and Dorin Dickerson.

In this hour, Adam Crowley and Dorin Dickerson focus mostly on the Pirates by talking to broadcaster Greg Brown and insider Jason Mackey, each on The Fan Hotline. March 13, 2026, 9:00 Hour

Every weekday, award-winning columnist Dejan Kovacevic and DK Pittsburgh Sports reporter Chris Halicke deliver three ‘Double Shot' shows as a supplement to the morning ‘Daily Shot' of Steelers, Penguins and Pirates podcasts!  Video versions streaming live on YouTube starting at 3 p.m.! Eastern Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Award-winning columnist Dejan Kovacevic, a lifelong veteran of the Pittsburgh sports scene, delivers 'Daily Shot' show each weekday morning, covering the Steelers, Penguins and Pirates! It's available bright and early, and timed to match your commute, never longer than 20 minutes! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Award-winning columnist Dejan Kovacevic, a lifelong veteran of the Pittsburgh sports scene, delivers 'Daily Shot' show each weekday morning, covering the Steelers, Penguins and Pirates! It's available bright and early, and timed to match your commute, never longer than 20 minutes! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Award-winning columnist Dejan Kovacevic, a lifelong veteran of the Pittsburgh sports scene, delivers 'Daily Shot' show each weekday morning, covering the Steelers, Penguins and Pirates! It's available bright and early, and timed to match your commute, never longer than 20 minutes! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Every weekday, award-winning columnist Dejan Kovacevic and DK Pittsburgh Sports reporter Chris Halicke deliver three ‘Double Shot' shows as a supplement to the morning ‘Daily Shot' of Steelers, Penguins and Pirates podcasts!  Video versions streaming live on YouTube starting at 3 p.m.! Eastern Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Every weekday, award-winning columnist Dejan Kovacevic and DK Pittsburgh Sports reporter Chris Halicke deliver three ‘Double Shot' shows as a supplement to the morning ‘Daily Shot' of Steelers, Penguins and Pirates podcasts!  Video versions streaming live on YouTube starting at 3 p.m.! Eastern Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Good morning! We'll be previewing the Jays vs Pirates, share our opinions, update where the rest of the conference tourneys are at, revisit Husker football hype or hope, and more!

Braves visit the Pirates tonight while the Hawks go for their 8th straight win. Falcons sign Samson Ebukam and release Kirk Cousins. Team USA reaches the WBC quarterfinals, Morikawa withdraws, and an Aaron Judge card sells for $5.2M.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Pirates. Snakes. Shamrocks. And the stomach-turning truth behind those green rivers... Saint Patrick's Day is one of the world's most recognizable holidays, but the real story is even stranger than the legends. Join Shane and Duncan as they dig into the bizarre history behind Saint Patrick's Day, separating fact from fiction and uncovering how one man's dubious autobiography somehow turned into a global celebration of Irish culture. Become an Insomniac! Support the show on PATREON and unlock exclusive bonus content. ~ Join the community, chat with fellow insomniacs, and vote on episode topics via DISCORD ~ Send Shane and Duncan a message at midnightfactsforinsomniacs@gmail.com ~ Rep the show! Grab a tee or mug at the MIDNIGHT MERCH store and spread the word. ~ Follow us on INSTAGRAM