Podcast appearances and mentions of virginia center

Read more from VPM News:  Cultural study to examine 2 historic African American burial sites in Richmond  Hanover sheriff's office renews fight to withhold names from FOIA request    Other links:  Richmond police won't release Flock data, audits they claim show compliance with state law (Richmond Times-Dispatch)*  Council OKs new tax deferral program letting homeowners delay impact of higher assessments (The Richmonder)  What can consumers expect from the proposed Dominion deal? (Virginia Center for Investigative Journalism at WHRO)  Judge approves settlement over rejected Virginia student voter registrations (Virginia Mercury)  State to reorganize nursing scholarship programs after more than $10 million in funding was left unused (Cardinal News)  *This outlet uses a paywall.  Our award-winning work is made possible with your donations. Visit vpm.org/donate to support local journalism.

On this episode, Mark sits down with Director of the Virginia Center for Civil War Studies, Paul Quigley, as they discuss Representative Preston Brooks' historic caning of Senator Charles Sumner in his new book The Man Behind the Cane: Preston Brooks, Political Violence, and the Road to the Civil War.Check out the book here: https://www.amazon.com/Man-Behind-Cane-Political-Violence/dp/0197667260Follow us on Take on the South socials!https://linktr.ee/sostatusc#history #podcast #fighting #politics

The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for April 29, 2026Gerrymandering Arms Race Update:  FL Gov. Ron DeSantis Unveils Congressional Redistricting Plan, Gerrymandering 4 Additional GOP SeatsFlorida Governor Ron DeSantis finally unveiled his mid-decade congressional redistricting plan on April 27th, saying “this has been a long-standing issue that we've had.”  The map attempts to gerrymander four additional GOP seats, but experts suggest his plan may make other red-leaning districts vulnerable.Some podcasting platforms strip out our links.  To read our resources and see the whole script of today's report, please go to our website at https://AmericanDemocracyMinute.orgToday's LinksArticles & Resources:Florida Phoenix - DeSantis sends his new congressional map to Florida lawmakersWLRN Public Media - DeSantis slammed for ripping up voter-approved Florida amendment in gerrymandering push FOX News - Gov. Ron DeSantis Announces Proposed Maps  Univ. of Virginia Center for Politics - How We Would Rate the New Proposed Florida Gerrymander    Florida Div. of Elections - Voter Registration - By Party Affiliation Related ADM Reports:American Democracy Minute - Gerrymandering Arms Race Update: VA Voters Narrowly Approve Mid-Decade Redistricting; FL's Delayed Special Session Starts April 28thAmerican Democracy Minute - Citing the Equal Protection Clause, FL Supreme Court Allows DeSantis Redistricting Plan to Wipe Out Black Majority Congressional DistrictGroups Taking Action:Equal Ground, Common Cause, Florida RisingPlease follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Bluesky Social, and SHARE! Find all of our reports at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org#NewsAlerts #AmericanDemocracy #Florida #Redistricting #Gerrymandering #RacialGerrymandering

More VPM News:  General Assembly declines Spanberger amendments to major bills  What are the redistricting lawsuits? Here's what you should know.  Charlottesville School Board splits on ending agreement with CPD      Other links:  A domestic fight, a gun and a Virginia tragedy (Virginia Center for Investigative Journalism at WHRO)  Fairfax County voters supported redistricting amendment except in four precincts (FFXNow)  Redistricting amendment: How Richmond voted on Tuesday (The Richmonder)  Spanberger signs ‘Momnibus' bills as abortion opponents hit the streets in Virginia March for Life (Virginia Mercury)    *This outlet uses a paywall.  Our award-winning work is made possible with your donations. Visit vpm.org/donate to support local journalism. 

Guests: Lindsay Buchman and Heather Raquel PhillipsHost:  Christopher KardambikisRecorded on March 20, 2026This is the second of three episodes focusing on the recent publication: Even the Score, guest edited by Lindsay Buchman and published by Homie House Press.Lindsay Buchman is an interdisciplinary artist, writer, and publisher based in New York (NY) and Philadelphia (PA), whose work explores image-making and writing through print and lens-based media, artist books, and installation. Recent exhibitions include the Penumbra Foundation (NY), Center for Photography at Woodstock (NY), and the Wignall Museum of Contemporary Art (CA). Her work is in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the New York Public Library, and SFMOMA. She is a recipient of the Toby Devan Lewis Fellowship and the Flaherty Fellowship, and her work has appeared in Hyperallergic, Lenscratch, and The Hopper Prize Journal. Buchman has been an artist-in-residence at Light Work, Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, the Lower East Side Printshop, and Kala Art Institute. She holds an MFA from the University of Pennsylvania and a BFA from California State University, Long Beach. lindsaybuchman.comHeather Raquel Phillips (she/they) is an interdisciplinary artist & independent curator based in Philadelphia, Pa. Working across photography, moving image, text-based textiles, and installation, Phillips critically investigates systems of power as they relate to personal autonomy, sexuality, deviance, and transgression. Phillips is the recipient of the Toby Devon Lewis Fellowship 2016, the Leeway Foundation Art & Change Grant 2017 and the Leeway Foundation Transformation Award 2020. She was the 2019 Visiting Scholar at the Leather Archives & Museum (LA&M) in Chicago, where she was voted onto the Board of Directors in 2020. She has since helped craft the LA&M Artist In Residence program and curated the exhibition, Sparks in a Dark Room  by Gabriel Martinez. Phillips participated in the post-grad apprenticeship at The Fabric Workshop and Museum in 2022 and as a CFEVA Finalist in 2025.  Phillips' work, The Path to Candyland, is currently exhibited at Taller Puertorriqueno, Philadelphia, as well as Threaded Currents at Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art.Her work has been featured in Hyperallergic, Artforum.com, and Sixty (Inches From Center), Philadelphia Gay News and Artblog. She has exhibited nationally and internationally, including in Los Angeles, New York City, New Orleans, Chicago, Philadelphia, and the United Kingdom.heatheraquelphilllips.comEpisode artwork by Homie House Press“Paper Cuts Theme” by The Early@theearly_band // http://theearly.net

Read more from VPM News:  Spanberger proposes amendments to immigrant protection bills  ICYMI: Gov. Abigail Spanberger's last-minute actions on 11 issues    Other links:  Virginia police search vehicle surveillance data 24/7. It isn't always clear why (Virginia Center for Investigative Journalism at WHRO)  Art 180 To Close Its Doors (Style Weekly)  Suffolk government contractor in talks to lease office space to ICE (The Virginian-Pilot)*  Schiarizzi announces Democratic run for Virginia's crowded proposed 7th District (Inside NoVa)  Ex-Pence aide Olivia Troye plans to run for Congress in Virginia as a Democrat (The Washington Post)*  Former Roanoke Rambler owner ‘devastated' after staff terminated (Cardinal News)  *This outlet uses a paywall.  It's our pledge drive through April 17! You can support our award-winning work by visiting VPM.org/challenges to help us bloom and grow this spring. When you designate your donation to the news challenge, you will help VPM News unlock a $10,000 bonus in support of an informed community! 

Read more from VPM News: Gov. Abigail Spanberger's last-minute actions on 11 issues State-run hospitals lack clear policy on ‘forensic patient' custody transfers Other links: Virginia police search vehicle surveillance data 24/7. It isn't always clear why (Virginia Center for Investigative Journalism at WHRO)  Avula pitches Richmond spending database — without invoice descriptions, payer names (Richmond Times-Dispatch)*  Henrico issues immediate burn ban: What that means for you (WTVR)  In the wake of Centra's Farmville maternity care closure, some families say the risk to have more kids might be too high (Charlottesville Tomorrow)  10 Virginia hospitals listed as ‘at risk,' but what does that really mean? (Cardinal News)  Spanberger joins other governors in push for PJM to prioritize ratepayer protections (Virginia Mercury)  *This outlet uses a paywall.  It's our pledge drive through April 17! You can support our award-winning work by visiting VPM.org/challenges to help us bloom and grow this spring. When you designate your donation to the news challenge, you will help VPM News unlock a $10,000 bonus in support of an informed community! 

In September 1777, just fourteen months after declaring independence, Philadelphia fell to the British Army. For nearly nine months, the new nation's capital was occupied territory. But what did that actually mean for the people who lived there?  Not the generals, not the Congress: ordinary Philadelphians who had to decide whether to flee or stay, share their homes with British officers, watch their fences get chopped up for firewood, and figure out which neighbors to trust when it was all over. In this episode, Aaron Sullivan, a professor of History at Rider University, George Boudreau, a public historian and Executive Director of the Ebenezer Maxwell Mansion Museum in Germantown, PA, and historical interpreter Kalela Williams, now the Director of the Virginia Center for the Book, take us inside occupied Philadelphia. Together, they reveal how a city that was never fully committed to independence experienced nine months of British rule, and what the occupation cost everyone who lived through it: Quaker women negotiating with soldiers at their back gates, merchants whose fortunes rose on British hard currency while their neighbors went hungry, and Black Philadelphians who looked at the upheaval and asked whether it might open a door to freedom. Plus: the most extravagant party thrown in eighteenth-century America, staged while the city's almshouses overflowed. Show Notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/332RECOMMENDED NEXT EPISODES

On the eve of World War II, a handsome young scholar arrived in Paris. The queer, Black son of a housecleaner, who had nevertheless been decorated in the halls of Harvard and Columbia, Reed Peggram flirted with Leonard Bernstein, sat for portraits by famous artists, charmed minor royalty and became like a little brother to famed researcher and writer Jan Gay. Finally in Europe and on the same prestigious scholarship as literary luminaries Zora Neale Hurston and Langston Hughes before him, he ignored the increasingly alarmed calls to return home to a repressive, segregated America and a constrained life as a second class citizen. And as tensions grew and gas masks were distributed in the City of Lights, Reed turned instead to the new life he'd made: with Arne, a tall and dashing Danish scholar with whom he had formed a deep bond.Award-winning historian Ethelene Whitmire unearthed a trove of Reed's letters when she met one of his descendants at a lecture, awed that she'd heard so little of this charismatic man and his fascinating true story of love and war. In The Remarkable Life of Reed Peggram (Viking, 2026), she introduces us to an unforgettable character who fled from country to country as fighting advanced, was captured by Nazis and outwitted them in a daring escape, and risked it all in a personal fight for a life of love, freedom, beauty and dignity in a world set against him. Ethelene Whitmire is a respected historian and professor for the Department of African American Studies at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Her research has won awards and funding from the Ford Foundation, the Fulbright Program, and the American Library Association, and she has been invited to writers residencies including Yaddo, UCross, Hedgebrook, and Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. Reighan Gillam is Associate Professor in the Department of Latin American, Latino, and Caribbean Studies at Dartmouth College. Her research examines the ways in which Afro-Brazilian media producers foment anti-racist visual politics through their image creation. She is the author of Visualizing Black Lives: Ownership and Control in Afro-Brazilian Media (University of Illinois Press). She is currently working on the book Diasporic Connections: How Afro-Brazilians Use African American Culture to Challenge Racial Exceptionalism.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/african-american-studies

On the eve of World War II, a handsome young scholar arrived in Paris. The queer, Black son of a housecleaner, who had nevertheless been decorated in the halls of Harvard and Columbia, Reed Peggram flirted with Leonard Bernstein, sat for portraits by famous artists, charmed minor royalty and became like a little brother to famed researcher and writer Jan Gay. Finally in Europe and on the same prestigious scholarship as literary luminaries Zora Neale Hurston and Langston Hughes before him, he ignored the increasingly alarmed calls to return home to a repressive, segregated America and a constrained life as a second class citizen. And as tensions grew and gas masks were distributed in the City of Lights, Reed turned instead to the new life he'd made: with Arne, a tall and dashing Danish scholar with whom he had formed a deep bond.Award-winning historian Ethelene Whitmire unearthed a trove of Reed's letters when she met one of his descendants at a lecture, awed that she'd heard so little of this charismatic man and his fascinating true story of love and war. In The Remarkable Life of Reed Peggram (Viking, 2026), she introduces us to an unforgettable character who fled from country to country as fighting advanced, was captured by Nazis and outwitted them in a daring escape, and risked it all in a personal fight for a life of love, freedom, beauty and dignity in a world set against him. Ethelene Whitmire is a respected historian and professor for the Department of African American Studies at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Her research has won awards and funding from the Ford Foundation, the Fulbright Program, and the American Library Association, and she has been invited to writers residencies including Yaddo, UCross, Hedgebrook, and Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. Reighan Gillam is Associate Professor in the Department of Latin American, Latino, and Caribbean Studies at Dartmouth College. Her research examines the ways in which Afro-Brazilian media producers foment anti-racist visual politics through their image creation. She is the author of Visualizing Black Lives: Ownership and Control in Afro-Brazilian Media (University of Illinois Press). She is currently working on the book Diasporic Connections: How Afro-Brazilians Use African American Culture to Challenge Racial Exceptionalism.  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

On the eve of World War II, a handsome young scholar arrived in Paris. The queer, Black son of a housecleaner, who had nevertheless been decorated in the halls of Harvard and Columbia, Reed Peggram flirted with Leonard Bernstein, sat for portraits by famous artists, charmed minor royalty and became like a little brother to famed researcher and writer Jan Gay. Finally in Europe and on the same prestigious scholarship as literary luminaries Zora Neale Hurston and Langston Hughes before him, he ignored the increasingly alarmed calls to return home to a repressive, segregated America and a constrained life as a second class citizen. And as tensions grew and gas masks were distributed in the City of Lights, Reed turned instead to the new life he'd made: with Arne, a tall and dashing Danish scholar with whom he had formed a deep bond.Award-winning historian Ethelene Whitmire unearthed a trove of Reed's letters when she met one of his descendants at a lecture, awed that she'd heard so little of this charismatic man and his fascinating true story of love and war. In The Remarkable Life of Reed Peggram (Viking, 2026), she introduces us to an unforgettable character who fled from country to country as fighting advanced, was captured by Nazis and outwitted them in a daring escape, and risked it all in a personal fight for a life of love, freedom, beauty and dignity in a world set against him. Ethelene Whitmire is a respected historian and professor for the Department of African American Studies at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Her research has won awards and funding from the Ford Foundation, the Fulbright Program, and the American Library Association, and she has been invited to writers residencies including Yaddo, UCross, Hedgebrook, and Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. Reighan Gillam is Associate Professor in the Department of Latin American, Latino, and Caribbean Studies at Dartmouth College. Her research examines the ways in which Afro-Brazilian media producers foment anti-racist visual politics through their image creation. She is the author of Visualizing Black Lives: Ownership and Control in Afro-Brazilian Media (University of Illinois Press). She is currently working on the book Diasporic Connections: How Afro-Brazilians Use African American Culture to Challenge Racial Exceptionalism.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/history

On the eve of World War II, a handsome young scholar arrived in Paris. The queer, Black son of a housecleaner, who had nevertheless been decorated in the halls of Harvard and Columbia, Reed Peggram flirted with Leonard Bernstein, sat for portraits by famous artists, charmed minor royalty and became like a little brother to famed researcher and writer Jan Gay. Finally in Europe and on the same prestigious scholarship as literary luminaries Zora Neale Hurston and Langston Hughes before him, he ignored the increasingly alarmed calls to return home to a repressive, segregated America and a constrained life as a second class citizen. And as tensions grew and gas masks were distributed in the City of Lights, Reed turned instead to the new life he'd made: with Arne, a tall and dashing Danish scholar with whom he had formed a deep bond.Award-winning historian Ethelene Whitmire unearthed a trove of Reed's letters when she met one of his descendants at a lecture, awed that she'd heard so little of this charismatic man and his fascinating true story of love and war. In The Remarkable Life of Reed Peggram (Viking, 2026), she introduces us to an unforgettable character who fled from country to country as fighting advanced, was captured by Nazis and outwitted them in a daring escape, and risked it all in a personal fight for a life of love, freedom, beauty and dignity in a world set against him. Ethelene Whitmire is a respected historian and professor for the Department of African American Studies at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Her research has won awards and funding from the Ford Foundation, the Fulbright Program, and the American Library Association, and she has been invited to writers residencies including Yaddo, UCross, Hedgebrook, and Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. Reighan Gillam is Associate Professor in the Department of Latin American, Latino, and Caribbean Studies at Dartmouth College. Her research examines the ways in which Afro-Brazilian media producers foment anti-racist visual politics through their image creation. She is the author of Visualizing Black Lives: Ownership and Control in Afro-Brazilian Media (University of Illinois Press). She is currently working on the book Diasporic Connections: How Afro-Brazilians Use African American Culture to Challenge Racial Exceptionalism.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/biography

On the eve of World War II, a handsome young scholar arrived in Paris. The queer, Black son of a housecleaner, who had nevertheless been decorated in the halls of Harvard and Columbia, Reed Peggram flirted with Leonard Bernstein, sat for portraits by famous artists, charmed minor royalty and became like a little brother to famed researcher and writer Jan Gay. Finally in Europe and on the same prestigious scholarship as literary luminaries Zora Neale Hurston and Langston Hughes before him, he ignored the increasingly alarmed calls to return home to a repressive, segregated America and a constrained life as a second class citizen. And as tensions grew and gas masks were distributed in the City of Lights, Reed turned instead to the new life he'd made: with Arne, a tall and dashing Danish scholar with whom he had formed a deep bond.Award-winning historian Ethelene Whitmire unearthed a trove of Reed's letters when she met one of his descendants at a lecture, awed that she'd heard so little of this charismatic man and his fascinating true story of love and war. In The Remarkable Life of Reed Peggram (Viking, 2026), she introduces us to an unforgettable character who fled from country to country as fighting advanced, was captured by Nazis and outwitted them in a daring escape, and risked it all in a personal fight for a life of love, freedom, beauty and dignity in a world set against him. Ethelene Whitmire is a respected historian and professor for the Department of African American Studies at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Her research has won awards and funding from the Ford Foundation, the Fulbright Program, and the American Library Association, and she has been invited to writers residencies including Yaddo, UCross, Hedgebrook, and Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. Reighan Gillam is Associate Professor in the Department of Latin American, Latino, and Caribbean Studies at Dartmouth College. Her research examines the ways in which Afro-Brazilian media producers foment anti-racist visual politics through their image creation. She is the author of Visualizing Black Lives: Ownership and Control in Afro-Brazilian Media (University of Illinois Press). She is currently working on the book Diasporic Connections: How Afro-Brazilians Use African American Culture to Challenge Racial Exceptionalism.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/american-studies

Welcome to Mysteries to Die For and this Toe Tag.I am TG Wolff and am here with Jack, my piano player and producer. This is normally a podcast where we combine storytelling with original music to put you at the heart of mystery. Today is a bonus episode we call a Toe Tag. It is the first chapter from a fresh release in the mystery, crime, and thriller genre.Today's featured release is Zigzag Girl by Ruth Knafo SettonTG Wolff ReviewZigzag Girl is mystery suspense. It's opening night for Magician Lucy Moon and her partners Van and Stormie, who are as close as sisters. Amid the bright lights and sparkle of illusion, murder lurks. Performing the sawing a woman illusion, Lucy lifts the lid to enter, when she finds the space is already taken. Her best friend, a black rose, a prop that has killed before—no, Lucy is not going to leave this one to the cops.Bottom line: Zigzag Girl is for you if you like your illusions, suspense, mystery twisted together with a sprinkling of Irish magic.The Zigzag Girl was released from Black Spring Crim and is promoted by Partners In Crime Tours and is available from AMAZON LINK and other book retailers.https://www.amazon.com/ZigZag-Girl-Ruth-Knafo-Setton/dp/1917788037About Ruth Knafo SettonRuthSetton.comBorn in Morocco and raised in the Lehigh Valley, Ruth Knafo Setton is the author of the novel, The Road to Fez (Counterpoint Press). Her honors include awards and fellowships from the National Endowment of the Arts, PEN, CineStory, Nimrod, Cutthroat, Writer's Digest, and residencies at Hedgebrook, Yaddo, MacDowell, and the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. She is a multi-genre author whose fiction, creative nonfiction, screenplays, and poetry have won many awards and appeared in journals and anthologies. A former Fiction Editor of Arts & Letters, she has taught Creative Writing and Multicultural Literature at Lehigh University and on Semester at Sea.Wondering what to read after you finish Zigzag Girl? Partners in Crime Tours is your ultimate destination for all things mystery, crime, thriller, and cozy! Since 2011, they've been working to fill bookshelves with gripping and heart-pounding reads. Discover new mystery series and connectwith other fans with Partners in Crime. Look up Partners in Crime Tours on the web or your favorite social media – partnersincrimevbt.com.And Authors, whether you're looking to promote your latest thriller, discover a new mystery series, or connect with fellow fans of the genre, PICT has you covered. Check out their promotion options that come with the personal attention of a dedicated coordinator.Join us next week for the next original story in Season 9 Stuff That Can Kill You. Robert J. Binney and hairstylist extraordinaire Henry Beauchamp are back in the morgue with FLAT, where gravity is the STCKY means of murder.

Read more from VPM News:  Most artificial intelligence legislation in Virginia was tabled until 2027  Scenes from the Virginia State Capitol 2026: a dispatch    Other links:  At Longwood, a journey toward racial reckoning (Virginia Center for Investigative Journalism at WHRO)  After federal funding upheavals, Richmond nonprofits say they are bruised but not broken (The Richmonder)  What is ‘performance-based regulation', and how can it lower utility bills? (Virginia Mercury)  DOJ reaches settlement with CarMax over illegal repossession of servicemembers' vehicles (WTVR)  CASA seeks to secure first state funding increase since 2008 amid rising demand for services (Cardinal News)  Our award-winning work is made possible with your donations. Visit vpm.org/donate to support local journalism. 

This author's The Remarkable Life of Reed Peggram: The Man Who Stared Down World War II in the Name of Love was published by Viking/Penguin Random House this month. Whitmire is a respected historian and African American Studies professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her research has won awards and funding from the Ford Foundation, the Fulbright Programs, and the American Library Association, and she has been invited to residences at Yaddo, Ucross, Hedgebrook, and the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. Fellow biographer and BIO member Eric K. Washington interviewed Ethelene Whitmire.

Essayist and fiction writer Erica Stern on writing hybrid nonfiction, weaving memoir with research and a ghost-story thread, and finding a publishing home for genre-defying work.   You'll learn:What “hybrid nonfiction” can look like when memoir, research, and a fictional thread are all working toward one emotional truth.Ways to make a genre-bending draft feel cohesive, even when it's built from multiple modes and timelines.How reverse outlining can help you figure out what each section is really doing, and tighten the book's throughline in revision.Why “moving the pieces around” for a long time can be part of the process when the structure has to be discovered, not imposed.A mindset shift for writers making unconventional work: follow what the project needs first, before you worry about outcome or category.How to treat “weirdness” as an asset (not a liability) when the form is doing meaning, not just style.Practical publishing encouragement for genre-defying books: small presses can be a strong fit, and there's a growing audience for hybrid forms.What it can look like to publish without chasing “bestseller” logic, and instead focus on reaching the right readers with the best version of the book.Why writing “for the market” isn't the only path to publication—and how commitment to the story can be what ultimately helps it find a home.  Resources & Links:

In this episode of The Watchung Booksellers Podcast, author Cleyvis Natera and author/photographer/translator Erika Morillo discuss writing in English and Spanish and the process of translation from one to the other. Cleyvis Natera is the author of Neruda on the Park and The Grand Paloma Resort. She was born in the Dominican Republic, migrated to the United States at ten years old, and grew up in New York City. She holds a BA from Skidmore College and a MFA from New York University. Her writing has won awards and fellowships from the International Latino Book Awards, PEN America, the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference, The Kenyon Review's Writers Workshops, the Vermont Studio Center, the Hermitage Artist Retreat, Rowland Writers Retreat, and the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. She is currently a Fulbright Specialist. She lives with her husband and two young children in Montclair, NJ.Erika Morillo is a writer, photographer, and translator born and raised in the Dominican Republic and based in Jersey City. Her work focuses on family narratives, identity, and the possibilities of image-text publications. Her photographs have been published and exhibited nationally and internationally, and her books are in the collections at the Whitney Museum of American Art Library, MoMA Archives and Library, The Met Library, and The International Center of Photography Library, among others. She has taught workshops at the Center for Book Arts, International Center of Photography, Columbia University, CHAVÓN School of Design, and Dominican Writers Association. She holds an MA in sociology from The New School for Social Research and an MFA from Image Text Ithaca (now Image Text M.F.A. at Cornell University). Books:A full list of the books and authors mentioned in this episode is available here. Register for Upcoming Events.The Watchung Booksellers Podcast is produced by Kathryn Counsell and Marni Jessup and is recorded at Watchung Booksellers in Montclair, NJ. The show is edited by Kathryn Counsell. Original music is composed and performed by Violet Mujica. Art & design and social media by Evelyn Moulton. Research and show notes by Caroline Shurtleff. Thanks to all the staff at Watchung Booksellers and The Kids' Room! If you liked our episode please like, follow, and share! Stay in touch!Email: wbpodcast@watchungbooksellers.comSocial: @watchungbooksellersSign up for our newsletter to get the latest on our shows, events, and book recommendations!

Read more from VPM News:  Attorney General Jay Jones says he'll be 'putting Virginia first'  Virginia's 1924 racial segregation law targeted Native Americans for decades Maryland's Wes Moore looks forward to working with Spanberger  Hanover Planning Commission nixes Hunting Hawk Technology Park proposal  Charlottesville residents explore where their tax dollars go  Other links:  A big snow is coming (probably). Here's what we know so far. (The Richmonder)  Hampton Roads lost more than 6,000 federal civilian jobs in 2025, report finds (The Virginian-Pilot)*  DOGE cuts wiped out years of growth in Virginia's federal civilian jobs (Virginia Center for Investigative Journalism at WHRO)  Preserving John Marshall's boyhood home: The Hollow inches closer to park status (The Prince William Times) 

In 2023, award-winning investigative journalist Brandi Kellam published "Uprooted,” a collaboration between ProPublica and the Virginia Center for Investigative Journalism at WHRO. The series revealed how American universities expanded campuses while systematically displacing Black and marginalized communities. It exposed historic injustices as well as the present-day consequences of university-led displacement. The investigation helped spur the creation of a Virginia legislative commission now exploring potential redress. It also sparked the creation of a local Newport News task force to examine the role Christopher Newport University played in displacing dismantling a historic Black community over the last 60 years. Kellam updates us on the state and local investigations and what steps will be taken to right a wrong.

Award-winning journalist and author Steven Petrow joins Dori Mintzer to explore how to “make” joy, even in some of life's darkest seasons. Drawing on his new book, The Joy You Make: Find the Silver Lining Even on Your Darkest Days, Steven distinguishes joy from happiness, shares his personal journey through grief and loss, and offers research-informed, highly practical ways to cultivate joy from the inside out. From gratitude practices and community connections to play, reading, and embracing imperfection, this conversation invites listeners to see joy as an inner resource that can coexist with sorrow and uncertainty.What We Talk AboutHow joy differs from happiness, and why joy is more of an enduring inner state than a short-lived “high”Steven's shift from a “Big Bang” fireworks idea of joy to quieter, everyday forms like serene, spiritual, and shared joyThe core “recipe” for joy, including gratitude and connection/community as foundational ingredientsUsing practices like a 21‑day gratitude journal to retrain attention toward everyday blessingsHow joy and grief can coexist, and what Steven learned about this through the deaths of his parents and sisterVulnerability, shedding emotional “armor,” and how being more open deepens relationships and joyCreating space to “be” rather than “do,” including the joy of getting lost, the joy of the mundane, and silent retreatsJoy in aging, being single, play, and intergenerational relationships in later lifeAbout the Guest: Steven PetrowSteven Petrow is an award-winning journalist and author best known for his essays in The Washington Post and The New York Times on aging, health, and civility, and he is also a regular contributor to NPR and other outlets. His TED Talk, “Three Ways to Practice Civility,” has drawn nearly 2 million views, and he is the former president of NLGJA: The Association of LGBTQ+ Journalists.Steven-Petrow.txt​He has received numerous awards and grants from organizations including the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Smithsonian Institution, the Ucross Foundation, the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, and the National Press Foundation, and in 2017 he endowed the Steven Petrow LGBTQ Fellowship at VCCA. Steven is the author of several books, including the bestseller Stupid Things I Won't Do When I Get Old and his latest, The Joy You Make: Find the Silver Lining Even on Your Darkest Days; he serves as North Carolina's 2024 Piedmont Laureate and lives in Hillsborough, North Carolina.Steven-Petrow.txt​Connect with Steven PetrowWebsite: stevenpetrow.com Social: Active on LinkedInWhat to do next: Click to grab our free guide, 10 Key Issues to Consider as You Explore Your Retirement Transition Please leave a review at Apple Podcasts. Join our Revolutionize Your Retirement group on Facebook.

Last year's push to redraw congressional maps was designed to reshape the battlefield for the 2026 midterm elections, with Texas leading a GOP-backed effort that quickly triggered counter-moves by Democrats in states like California. The unusual mid-decade redistricting fight spread to several other states, drew sharp political backlash, and has already landed in court, with the Supreme Court allowing Texas' new map to remain in place for now. Kyle Kondik, managing editor of Sabato's Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia Center for Politics, joins the Rundown to break down whether these map changes will actually move the needle in the midterms. It's that time of year when millions of Americans resolve to change their habits—aiming to lose weight, eat better, and exercise more. But keeping those resolutions can be hard, especially when you're bombarded with temptation and conflicting advice about how to stay healthy. “The Cheat Code Coach” Pamela Goldstone joins special guest host Dana Perino to discuss the best techniques for getting in shape and feeling better in 2026. The certified nutrition coach and personal trainer also shares some tips for managing your time, boosting energy levels, and avoiding the pitfalls of junk food, busy schedules, and modern technology. Plus, commentary by FOX News Contributor Katherine Timpf. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Last year's push to redraw congressional maps was designed to reshape the battlefield for the 2026 midterm elections, with Texas leading a GOP-backed effort that quickly triggered counter-moves by Democrats in states like California. The unusual mid-decade redistricting fight spread to several other states, drew sharp political backlash, and has already landed in court, with the Supreme Court allowing Texas' new map to remain in place for now. Kyle Kondik, managing editor of Sabato's Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia Center for Politics, joins the Rundown to break down whether these map changes will actually move the needle in the midterms. It's that time of year when millions of Americans resolve to change their habits—aiming to lose weight, eat better, and exercise more. But keeping those resolutions can be hard, especially when you're bombarded with temptation and conflicting advice about how to stay healthy. “The Cheat Code Coach” Pamela Goldstone joins special guest host Dana Perino to discuss the best techniques for getting in shape and feeling better in 2026. The certified nutrition coach and personal trainer also shares some tips for managing your time, boosting energy levels, and avoiding the pitfalls of junk food, busy schedules, and modern technology. Plus, commentary by FOX News Contributor Katherine Timpf. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Last year's push to redraw congressional maps was designed to reshape the battlefield for the 2026 midterm elections, with Texas leading a GOP-backed effort that quickly triggered counter-moves by Democrats in states like California. The unusual mid-decade redistricting fight spread to several other states, drew sharp political backlash, and has already landed in court, with the Supreme Court allowing Texas' new map to remain in place for now. Kyle Kondik, managing editor of Sabato's Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia Center for Politics, joins the Rundown to break down whether these map changes will actually move the needle in the midterms. It's that time of year when millions of Americans resolve to change their habits—aiming to lose weight, eat better, and exercise more. But keeping those resolutions can be hard, especially when you're bombarded with temptation and conflicting advice about how to stay healthy. “The Cheat Code Coach” Pamela Goldstone joins special guest host Dana Perino to discuss the best techniques for getting in shape and feeling better in 2026. The certified nutrition coach and personal trainer also shares some tips for managing your time, boosting energy levels, and avoiding the pitfalls of junk food, busy schedules, and modern technology. Plus, commentary by FOX News Contributor Katherine Timpf. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Last year's push to redraw congressional maps was designed to reshape the battlefield for the 2026 midterm elections, with Texas leading a GOP-backed effort that quickly triggered counter-moves by Democrats in states like California. The unusual mid-decade redistricting fight spread to several other states, drew sharp political backlash, and has already landed in court, with the Supreme Court allowing Texas' new map to remain in place for now. Kyle Kondik, managing editor of Sabato's Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia Center for Politics, joins the Rundown to break down whether these map changes will actually move the needle in the midterms. It's that time of year when millions of Americans resolve to change their habits—aiming to lose weight, eat better, and exercise more. But keeping those resolutions can be hard, especially when you're bombarded with temptation and conflicting advice about how to stay healthy. “The Cheat Code Coach” Pamela Goldstone joins special guest host Dana Perino to discuss the best techniques for getting in shape and feeling better in 2026. The certified nutrition coach and personal trainer also shares some tips for managing your time, boosting energy levels, and avoiding the pitfalls of junk food, busy schedules, and modern technology. Plus, commentary by FOX News Contributor Katherine Timpf. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Last year's push to redraw congressional maps was designed to reshape the battlefield for the 2026 midterm elections, with Texas leading a GOP-backed effort that quickly triggered counter-moves by Democrats in states like California. The unusual mid-decade redistricting fight spread to several other states, drew sharp political backlash, and has already landed in court, with the Supreme Court allowing Texas' new map to remain in place for now. Kyle Kondik, managing editor of Sabato's Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia Center for Politics, joins the Rundown to break down whether these map changes will actually move the needle in the midterms. It's that time of year when millions of Americans resolve to change their habits—aiming to lose weight, eat better, and exercise more. But keeping those resolutions can be hard, especially when you're bombarded with temptation and conflicting advice about how to stay healthy. “The Cheat Code Coach” Pamela Goldstone joins special guest host Dana Perino to discuss the best techniques for getting in shape and feeling better in 2026. The certified nutrition coach and personal trainer also shares some tips for managing your time, boosting energy levels, and avoiding the pitfalls of junk food, busy schedules, and modern technology. Plus, commentary by FOX News Contributor Katherine Timpf. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week on the podcast, Patrick and Tracy welcome Emily Mitchell to talk about her new short story collection The Church of Divine Electricity. About The Church of Divine Electricity: Delightfully blending literary fiction with speculative genres, the stories in The Church of Divine Electricity somehow manage to feel as though they could take place today. In Emily Mitchell's created worlds, as in our own, technology bewitches, especially with its ability to heighten both connections and isolation. Whether being held by a giant and comforting machine, allowing micro-drones to record one's every moment for a year to win prize money, or choosing self-mutilation in exchange for a bionic hand, these characters navigate technological and social change. The familiar can turn unrecognizable and disorienting—sometimes in a flash, sometimes gradually. Lyrical, haunting, and often funny, these stories ask us to consider what—and who—gets left out of a seemingly utopian future of technological advancements. Finely observed, thoughtful, and vivid, Mitchell's stories get under your skin. It's not that the best-laid plans could lead us astray—it's that they may already have. About Emily Mitchell: Emily Mitchell grew up in London, England and moved to the United States as a teenager. She is the author of a novel, The Last Summer of the World (W. W. Norton, 2007), which was a finalist for the NYPL Young Lions Award, and two collections of short fiction, Viral (W. W. Norton, 2015) and The Church of Divine Electricity, winner of the 2023 Elixir Press Fiction Prize, forthcoming from University of Wisconsin Press in fall 2025. Her stories have appeared in Harpers', The Sun, The Southern Review, Alaska Quarterly Review, Prairie Schooner, The Missouri Review, American Short Fiction and elsewhere. Her nonfiction has appeared in the New York Times, the New Statesman (UK), Guernica and the Washington Independent Review of Books. She is the recipient of fellowships from Yaddo, the Ucross Foundation, the Virginia Center for Creative Arts, and Can Serrat International Artists Residency. She serves as fiction editor for New England Review and teaches at the University of Maryland. She lives just outside Washington DC with her husband, the writer and editor J. M. Tyree. This week's picks: Emily #1: Tainaron by Leena Krohn Emily #2: Death by Lightning (Netflix) Tracy: Ranch Oyster Crackers (just subtract the dill for Tracy’s version) Patrick #1: Everspace 2 (Steam) Patrick #2: The Glass Cannon Podcast Campaign 3: Shadowdark Links: Emily Mitchell on Instagram Tracy Townsend on BluSky Patrick Hester on Instagram The Functional Nerds Patreon Page © 2025 Patrick Hester The post Episode 689-With Emily Mitchell appeared first on The Functional Nerds.

Hey, Scuttlebutt listeners. Thank you for joining us and your continued support. This week, we welcome Michael Jerome Plunkett to the show. Michael is a former machinegunner, EMT, co-founder and executive director of the Literature of War Foundation (with friend of the show, LtCol Tom Schuemann) and host of The LitWar Podcast. He was also a Virginia Center for the Creative Arts Fellow in 2021, was a scholar in the 2024 Stand-To Veteran Leadership Program at the George W. Bush Presidential Center and was a 2025 resident in the Edith Wharton Writing Residency. He also led the PB Abbate Book Club for veterans. And if that wasn't enough, he is the author of the amazing book, Zone Rouge, which was published in September of this year and has received high praise for his beautiful prose. Michael talks to us about his journey from a teenager in New York during 9/11, to stepping on the yellow footprints, to becoming an author. This was such a fun conversation and we totally nerd out on the beauty of good writing and the value veterans bring to the art. We have to get him back on, but we hope you enjoy this episode as much as we do. Enjoy! michaeljeromeplunkett.com instagram.com/michaeljeromeplunkett The post #222: Zone Rouge with Michael Jerome Plunkett first appeared on Marine Corps Association.

Hey, Scuttlebutt listeners. Thank you for joining us and your continued support. This week, we welcome Michael Jerome Plunkett to the show. Michael is a former machinegunner, EMT, co-founder and executive director of the Literature of War Foundation (with friend of the show, LtCol Tom Schuemann) and host of The LitWar Podcast. He was also a Virginia Center for the Creative Arts Fellow in 2021, was a scholar in the 2024 Stand-To Veteran Leadership Program at the George W. Bush Presidential Center and was a 2025 resident in the Edith Wharton Writing Residency. He also led the PB Abbate Book Club for veterans. And if that wasn't enough, he is the author of the amazing book, Zone Rouge, which was published in September of this year and has received high praise for his beautiful prose. Michael talks to us about his journey from a teenager in New York during 9/11, to stepping on the yellow footprints, to becoming an author. This was such a fun conversation and we totally nerd out on the beauty of good writing and the value veterans bring to the art. We have to get him back on, but we hope you enjoy this episode as much as we do. Enjoy! michaeljeromeplunkett.com instagram.com/michaeljeromeplunkett The post #222: Zone Rouge with Michael Jerome Plunkett first appeared on Marine Corps Association.

What happens when the church avoids the most pressing medical and ethical issues of our time? What happens when pastors fear backlash more than God? And what happens when Christians unknowingly hand over their health, discernment, and bodily autonomy to the state… instead of Scripture? Today's episode is the conversation most churches won't have, but desperately need. I'm sitting down with Pastor Jason Garwood, a bold, biblically-grounded voice breaking the silence on: • vaccines • medical mandates • bodily autonomy • the misuse of "love your neighbor" • the church's fear-based compliance • ...And more! This is a rare conversation — a pastor willing to connect bioethics, discipleship, and the authority of Christ with what we put in our bodies, how we make medical decisions, and how easily the church has absorbed the culture's lies. His insights will shake your assumptions, strengthen your faith, and call you back to a biblical worldview where God's sovereignty extends over everything, including your health.

Jen Psaki offers a special preview of Tuesday's elections, including the important race for governor of Virginia with Jen Palmieri, former communications director for Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, Larry Sabato, director fo the University of Virginia Center for Politics, and political analyst Anthony Coley. Jim DeBoo, senior advisor to Governor Gavin Newsom, joins for a special focus on Prop 50 redistricting in California. New York City Comptroller Brad Lander discusses the energy and appeal of Democratic upstart and New York City mayoral frontrunner Zohran Mamdani. And Pennsylvania State Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta discusses the out-of-the-spotlight state supreme court race in Pennsylvania that has major national implications.  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

No election in 2025 has been more impacted by the Trump presidency than the elections in Virginia. This state doesn't vote for MAGA candidates anymore, but their nominee for governor, Winsome Earle-Sears, isn't really campaigning like that. So one of Sarah's favorite Democrats, Abigail Spanberger, looks poised for a solid win on Election Day. Meanwhile in the Attorney General race, the Republican incumbent, Jason Miyares could pull off an unexpected comeback, so we talked to voters who are splitting their tickets between Spanberger and Miyares. Former Richmond Times-Dispatch columnist and University of Virginia Center for Politics scholar Jeff Schapiro joins the show to put this year's election in the context of Virginia's broad political evolution. Show notes: Jeff Schapiro in Crystal Ball: The Virginia Elections: Plenty of Late Drama, Although Not at the Top of the Ticket

My guest today on the Online for Authors podcast is Rebe Huntman, author of the book My Mother in Havana. Rebe's memoir traces her search to connect with her mother—thirty years after her death—among the gods and saints of Cuba. A former professional Latin and Afro-Cuban dancer and choreographer, for over a decade Rebe directed Chicago's award-winning Danza Viva Center for World Dance, Art & Music and its resident dance company, One World Dance Theater. She collaborates with native artists in Cuba and South America, and has been featured in LATINA Magazine, Chicago Magazine, and the Chicago Tribune, and on Fox and ABC.   Rebe's essays, stories, and poems appear or are forthcoming in such places as The Southern Review, The Missouri Review, Parabola, Ninth Letter, The Cincinnati Review, and the PINCH, and have earned her an Ohio Individual Excellence Award as well as fellowships from the Macondo Writers' Conference, Virginia Center for Creative Arts, Ragdale Foundation, PLAYA Residency, Hambidge Center, and Brush Creek Foundation. She holds an MFA in creative nonfiction from The Ohio State University and lives in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, and Delaware, Ohio. Find her at www. rebehuntman.com and on Instagram @rebehuntman.   In my book review, I stated My Mother in Havana is a profound look at a woman who lost her mother at a young age and continues to grieve for years. It isn't until she goes to Havana that she finally finds peace.   I fully expected to learn that Rebe's mother was Cuban - but she's not. However, Rebe's research about mothers and symbols of motherhood led to her Cuba where the Virgin Mary and the Cuban goddess of love, Ochún, are often intertwined. She wanted to understand this connection - and by doing so, she found healing.   Rebe started life as a dancer and choreographer, and she shines a beautiful light on Cuban dances and rituals along with their gods and saints. I was mesmerized by her ability to throw off her Western upbringing and fully immerse herself in the culture as she tried to discover what makes a mother, what defines the divine feminine, and what she remembered of her own mother.   I loved learning about the Afro-Cuban culture, their spiritual views, and the broader concept of motherhood. I think anyone who is a mother - or has a mother - will enjoy this book.   Subscribe to Online for Authors to learn about more great books! https://www.youtube.com/@onlineforauthors?sub_confirmation=1   Join the Novels N Latte Book Club community to discuss this and other books with like-minded readers: https://www.facebook.com/groups/3576519880426290   You can follow Author Rebe Huntman Website: https://www.rebehuntman.com/ IG: @rebehuntman FB: @rebehuntmanauthor   Purchase My Mother in Havana on Amazon: Paperback: https://amzn.to/3Hnowtn Ebook: https://amzn.to/4mLUPCj   Teri M Brown, Author and Podcast Host: https://www.terimbrown.com FB: @TeriMBrownAuthor IG: @terimbrown_author X: @terimbrown1   Want to be a guest on Online for Authors? Send Teri M Brown a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/member/onlineforauthors   #rebehuntman #mymotherinhavana #memoir #terimbrownauthor #authorpodcast #onlineforauthors #characterdriven #researchjunkie #awardwinningauthor #podcasthost #podcast #readerpodcast #bookpodcast #writerpodcast #author #books #goodreads #bookclub #fiction #writer #bookreview *As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Flock Safety cameras across Virginia weren't meant to be used for immigration enforcement. But they were.  You can read the full report from the Virginia Center for Investigative Journalism at WHRO on our website.  In other news: A road in Downtown Richmond is closed for an emergency sewer assessment, amateur radio enthusiasts held an open house last week — and VPM News gets to toot its own horn about some two awards the team received. 

Award-winning author Anna Monardo shares how her Italian-American heritage, family history, and exploration of memory, place, love, and belonging shape her writing. We talk about identity, gender, and the power of reimagining one's life through story. From Italy to Pittsburgh to Omaha, fiction and memoir, Monardo traces the emotional geography of the immigrant heart.Anna Monardo was born in Pittsburgh, spent many years in New York City, and now lives in Omaha, Nebraska, where she teaches in the Writer's Workshop of the University of Nebraska at Omaha. She is the award-winning author of the novels—The Courtyard of Dreams and Falling In Love with Natassia—and the creative nonfiction memoir – After Italy – exploring her family's immigration from southern Italy. Monardo is the recipient of residency fellowships from the Djerassi Foundation, Yaddo, and Virginia Center for the Creative Arts among others and her stories, essays, and poems have been published and anthologized in The Sun, Poets and Writers, Salon.com, Huffington Post, and many other magazines and journals.

Visual artist and educator Christopher Batten returns to reflect on evolution, resilience, and what it means to keep pushing—on canvas and in the classroom.Now in his 10th year living in Baltimore and his third year teaching at Morgan State, Christopher shares how his practice continues to evolve. We talk about the role of failure, what teaching over 1,000 students has taught him, and how martial arts, memory, and perseverance shape his work. This conversation was recorded shortly before his residency at the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts and after being featured in Luminosity in Detroit.Teaching as an artistic tool and the unexpected lessons it bringsWhy HBCU teaching fulfills a lifelong dream and sense of purposeHow rejection fueled four years of growth—and what changed when a “yes” finally cameThe importance of celebrating milestones and making space for creative restorationShifting definitions of success and the value of impact over popularity

Erica Stern joins Let's Talk Memoir for a conversation about self-interrogation and taking risks to tell the story we need to, exploring the liminality of a lived experience through the speculative, hybrid memoir and leaning into history and research to illuminate and deepen understanding, the unexpected complications she experienced in childbirth, the historical misogyny in U.S. medical system, the male takeover of birth, how trauma can stunt empathy, trusting the work will go where it needs to go, giving our projects time and space to grow, when publishers and editors are not quite sure what to make of your book, exercising control over the uncontrollable, the long road to publishing, capturing the timelessness of an experience, and her new book Frontier: A Memoir and a Ghost Story.    Also in this episode:  -discovering material through writing -meditations on the history of childbirth -when an editor encourages you to make your book even more like itself   Books mentioned in this episode:   -The Suicide Index by Joan Wickersham -An Encyclopedia of Bending Time by Kristen Keane -My Autobiography of Carson McCullers by Jenn Shaplans -A Life's Work: On Becoming a Mother by Rachel Cusk   Erica Stern's work has been published in The Iowa Review, Mississippi Review, Denver Quarterly, and elsewhere. She has been awarded fellowships and residencies from the Vermont Studio Center, the Martha's Vineyard Institute for Creative Writing, and the Virginia Center for Creative Arts. Erica received her undergraduate degree in English from Yale and her MFA from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. A native of New Orleans, she now lives with her family in Evanston, Illinois.   Connect with Erica: Website: erica-stern.com Instagram: @ericasternwriter Substack: @ericastern Bluesky: @ericarstern.bsky.social Get the book: https://bookshop.org/p/books/frontier-a-memoir-and-a-ghost-story/876292ffe52fe93f?ean=9798985008937&next=t&next=t https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/frontier-erica-stern/1146916883?ean=9798985008937 https://www.barrelhousemag.com/books/frontier-erica-stern   – Ronit's writing has appeared in The Atlantic, The Rumpus, The New York Times, Poets & Writers, The Iowa Review, Hippocampus, The Washington Post, Writer's Digest, American Literary Review, and elsewhere. Her memoir WHEN SHE COMES BACK about the loss of her mother to the guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and their eventual reconciliation was named Finalist in the 2021 Housatonic Awards Awards, the 2021 Indie Excellence Awards, and was a 2021 Book Riot Best True Crime Book. Her short story collection HOME IS A MADE-UP PLACE won Hidden River Arts' 2020 Eludia Award and the 2023 Page Turner Awards for Short Stories.  She earned an MFA in Nonfiction Writing at Pacific University, is Creative Nonfiction Editor at The Citron Review, and teaches memoir through the University of Washington's Online Continuum Program and also independently. She launched Let's Talk Memoir in 2022, lives in Seattle with her family of people and dogs, and is at work on her next book. More about Ronit: https://ronitplank.com Subscribe to Ronit's Substack: https://substack.com/@ronitplank Follow Ronit: https://www.instagram.com/ronitplank/ https://www.facebook.com/RonitPlank https://bsky.app/profile/ronitplank.bsky.social   Background photo credit: Photo by Patrick Tomasso on Unsplash Headshot photo credit: Sarah Anne Photography Theme music: Isaac Joel, Dead Moll's Fingers

Maureen Stanton joins Let's Talk Memoir for a conversation about her writing beginnings in fiction and using the scenic and immersive to move readers, falling in love with creative nonfiction, revisiting and recreating a love story, discovering the question behind her book, facing the blank page, bad first drafts, writing an illness narrative, placing an essay in Modern Love, authenticity on the page, the long winding path to publishing, not thinking your book will ever get published, working on multiple projects while querying, how love evolves, and her new memoir The Murmur of Everything Moving.   Also in this episode: -the fog of grief -killing our darlings -submitting to writing contests   Books mentioned in this episode: -Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott -Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt -The Liar's Club by Mary Karr -This Boys Life by Tobias Wolff  -Argonauts by Maggie Nelson -Barbarian Days by William Finnegan   Maureen Stanton is the author of The Murmur of Everything Moving: A Memoir, winner of the Donald L. Jordan Prize for Literary Excellence; Body Leaping Backward: Memoir of a Delinquent Girlhood, winner of the Maine Literary Award for memoir and a People Magazine "Best Books Pick"; and Killer Stuff and Tons of Money: An Insider's Look at the World of Flea Markets, Antiques, and Collecting, winner of the Massachusetts Book Award in nonfiction and a Parade Magazine "12 Great Summer Books" selection. Her nonfiction has been widely published, including in The New York Times, Fourth Genre, Creative Nonfiction, Longreads, New England Review, Florida Review, River Teeth, The Sun and many others. Her essays have received the Iowa Review prize, The Sewanee Review prize, Pushcart Prizes, the American Literary Review award, and the Thomas J. Hruska award from Passages North. She's been awarded fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Maine Arts Commission, the MacDowell Colony, and the Virginia Center for Creative Arts. She teaches creative writing at the University of Massachusetts Lowell and lives in Maine.    Connect with Maureen: Website: https://www.maureenstantonwriter.com LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/maureenstanton41 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/maureenstanton41 Threads: https://www.threads.com/@maureenstanton41 LinkedIn linkedin.com/in/maureen-stanton-6693ab11  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/maureen.p.stanton Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/maureenstanton.bsky.social   – Ronit's writing has appeared in The Atlantic, The Rumpus, The New York Times, Poets & Writers, The Iowa Review, Hippocampus, The Washington Post, Writer's Digest, American Literary Review, and elsewhere. Her memoir WHEN SHE COMES BACK about the loss of her mother to the guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and their eventual reconciliation was named Finalist in the 2021 Housatonic Awards Awards, the 2021 Indie Excellence Awards, and was a 2021 Book Riot Best True Crime Book. Her short story collection HOME IS A MADE-UP PLACE won Hidden River Arts' 2020 Eludia Award and the 2023 Page Turner Awards for Short Stories.  She earned an MFA in Nonfiction Writing at Pacific University, is Creative Nonfiction Editor at The Citron Review, and teaches memoir through the University of Washington's Online Continuum Program and also independently. She launched Let's Talk Memoir in 2022, lives in Seattle with her family of people and dogs, and is at work on her next book. More about Ronit: https://ronitplank.com Subscribe to Ronit's Substack: https://substack.com/@ronitplank Follow Ronit: https://www.instagram.com/ronitplank/ https://www.facebook.com/RonitPlank https://bsky.app/profile/ronitplank.bsky.social   Background photo credit: Photo by Patrick Tomasso on Unsplash Headshot photo credit: Sarah Anne Photography Theme music: Isaac Joel, Dead Moll's Fingers

A new Craftwork conversation with Maggie Smith, bestselling author of Dear Writer: Pep Talks & Practical Advice for the Creative Life, available from Washington Square Press. Smith's other books includeYou Could Make This Place Beautiful, Good Bones, Goldenrod, Keep Moving, and My Thoughts Have Wings. A 2011 recipient of a Creative Writing Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, Smith has also received a Pushcart Prize, and numerous grants and awards from the Academy of American Poets, the Sustainable Arts Foundation, the Ohio Arts Council, the Greater Columbus Arts Council, and the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. She has been widely published, appearing in The New Yorker, The Paris Review, The Nation, The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Best American Poetry, and more. You can follow her on social media @MaggieSmithPoet. *** ⁠Otherppl with Brad Listi⁠ is a weekly literary podcast featuring in-depth interviews with today's leading writers. Available where podcasts are available: ⁠Apple Podcasts⁠, ⁠Spotify⁠, ⁠YouTube⁠, etc. Subscribe to ⁠Brad Listi'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

Frontier: A Memoir and a Ghost Story (Barrelhouse Inc., 2025) is a genre-bending expedition into childbirth. Seamlessly blending memoir, fiction, and research into the fraught history of birth—from midwives to Victorian-era sedation through the Natural Childbirth Movement and modern L&D suites—Frontier lays bare visceral truths that are too often glossed over, and offers an incisive look at the momentous and terrifying transformations of motherhood. As she prepared to give birth to her first child, Erica Stern envisioned the idyllic experience promised by prenatal classes and diaper commercials. But when unexpected complications arose during labor, she found herself at the threshold of life and death, a liminal space that connected her to generations of mothers before her. From the chaos of the delivery room, Frontier opens into a parallel narrative: a Wild West ghost story. There, a mother who didn't survive the ordeal of childbirth roams her old homestead, tethered to the family she left behind. In this otherworldly hybrid memoir, Stern careens between this haunted past and the present horror of the hospital as she waits for her own son to wake up in the NICU. Erica Stern's work has been published in The Iowa Review, Mississippi Review, Denver Quarterly, and elsewhere. She has received support for her writing from the Vermont Studio Center and the Virginia Center for Creative Arts. A New Orleans native, she lives with her family in Evanston, Illinois. 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

Dr. T and Truth Fairy welcome Greg Wrenn, a former Alabama state representative and long-time health policy advocate, who shares insights into how he became interested in the therapeutic use of psychedelics through personal research and professional exposure. Greg recently wrote a book called “Mothership” about coral reef research, ecological crisis, and his personal PTSD healing journey with ayahuasca. He discusses portions of the book and his experiences with Truth and Dr. T.  Greg explores the growing interest in psychedelic-assisted therapy, particularly its potential to help individuals who struggle with mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, and PTSD. He addresses the shift from viewing psychedelics as taboo to recognizing their potential under controlled, clinical settings. His personal stories, alongside those shared by Truth, highlight the positive impact psychedelic therapy can have and how his passion for the issue has been fueled. Truth Fairy, Dr. T, and Greg share concerns about the challenges of implementing beneficial psychedelic healing sessions, and they celebrate Greg's integration of tribal and liberating dance into the ayahuasca ceremony. They talk about the importance of regulation, ethical safeguards, and integration of Indigenous practices, and caution against the risks of commercialization. The episode is both vulnerable and informative, painting a hopeful picture of potential healing even in the face of difficult times.“You know, I'm no psychedelic evangelist. I don't think everyone should drink ayahuasca or work with psychedelics. I know I should, I know I need to. And so this is really important for my mission, which is to, I guess, spread a message of love and spread a message of the possibility of planetary healing, because planetary healing happens, at least with humanity, one brain at a time.” - Greg Wrenn__About Greg Wrenn:A former Stegner Fellow and Jones Lecturer at Stanford University, GREG WRENN is the author of the ayahuasca eco-memoir Mothership: A Memoir of Wonder and Crisis, an evidence-based account of his turning to coral reefs and psychedelic plants to heal from childhood trauma, and Centaur (U of Wisconsin Press 2013), which National Book Award-winning poet Terrance Hayes awarded the Brittingham Prize. ​Greg's work has appeared or is forthcoming in HuffPost, The New Republic, Al Jazeera, The Rumpus, LitHub, Writer's Digest, Kenyon Review, New England Review, The Iowa Review, and elsewhere. He has received awards and fellowships from the James Merrill House, the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference, the Vermont Studio Center, the Poetry Society of America, the Hermitage Artist Retreat, the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, and the Spiro Arts Center. On his Mothership book tour, he spoke to audiences around the world, including at Yale School of Medicine, the University of Utah School of Medicine, Vancouver Island University, and the University of Virginia School of Nursing. Greg has also been on numerous podcasts, including Levi Chambers's PRIDE, and was recently interviewed by Emmy Award-winning journalist Elizabeth Vargas on NewsNation​ and by Jane Garvey on Times Radio (UK). ​As an associate English professor at James Madison University, he teaches creative nonfiction, poetry, and environmental literature and directs the JMU Creative Writing Minor. He also teaches in the Memoir Certificate Program at Stanford Continuing Studies. He was educated at Harvard University and Washington University in St. Louis.Greg is currently at work on a follow-up book to Mothership and sending out Homesick, his second poetry collection. A student of ayahuasca since 2019, he is a trained yoga teacher and a PADI Advanced Open Water diver, having explored coral reefs around the world for over 25 years. He and his husband divide their time between the mountains of Virginia and Atlantic Beach, Florida.Website: GregWrenn.comBook: “Mothership: A Memoir of Wonder and Crisis” by Greg Wrenn__Contact Punk Therapy:Patreon: Patreon.com/PunkTherapyWebsite: PunkTherapy.comEmail: info@punktherapy.com Contact Truth Fairy: Email: Truth@PunkTherapy.com

Rebe Huntman joins Let's Talk Memoir for a conversation about who are we as women and what holds us together as a culture, following questions to their conclusions and changing in the process, running away from grief,  magical thinking, reinventing ourselves, Afro-Cuban traditions and relationships to the dead, hungering for answers, permission to be more than one thing, losing mothers and finding them again through memoir, spiritual mothers and keeping the dead close, and her new memoir My Mother in Havana: A Memoir of Magic & Miracle. Also in this episode: -getting a do over -trusting the writing process -including the beautiful and the terrible Books mentioned in this episode: When Women Were Dragons by Kelly Barnhill The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern Poetry by Richard Blanco Poetry by Aracelis Girmay REBE HUNTMAN is the author of My Mother in Havana: A Memoir of Magic & Miracle (February 2025, Monkfish Books), a memoir that traces her search to connect with her mother—thirty years after her death—among the gods and saints of Cuba. A former professional Latin and Afro-Cuban dancer and choreographer, for over a decade Rebe directed Chicago's award-winning Danza Viva Center for World Dance, Art & Music and its resident dance company, One World Dance Theater. She collaborates with native artists in Cuba and South America, and has been featured in LATINA Magazine, Chicago Magazine, and the Chicago Tribune, and on Fox and ABC. Rebe's essays, stories, and poems appear or are forthcoming in such places as The Southern Review, The Missouri Review, Parabola, Ninth Letter, The Cincinnati Review, and the PINCH, and have earned her an Ohio Individual Excellence Award as well as fellowships from the Macondo Writers' Conference, Virginia Center for Creative Arts, Ragdale Foundation, PLAYA Residency, Hambidge Center, and Brush Creek Foundation. She holds an MFA in creative nonfiction from The Ohio State University and lives in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, and Delaware, Ohio. Both e's in her name are long. Find her at www. rebehuntman.com and on Instagram at @rebehuntman. Connect with Rebe: Website: www.rebehuntman.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rebehuntman Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rebehuntmanauthor Links to purchase the book at www.rebehuntman.com/mymotherinhavana   – Ronit's writing has appeared in The Atlantic, The Rumpus, The New York Times, Poets & Writers, The Iowa Review, Hippocampus, The Washington Post, Writer's Digest, American Literary Review, and elsewhere. Her memoir WHEN SHE COMES BACK about the loss of her mother to the guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and their eventual reconciliation was named Finalist in the 2021 Housatonic Awards Awards, the 2021 Indie Excellence Awards, and was a 2021 Book Riot Best True Crime Book. Her short story collection HOME IS A MADE-UP PLACE won Hidden River Arts' 2020 Eludia Award and the 2023 Page Turner Awards for Short Stories.  She earned an MFA in Nonfiction Writing at Pacific University, is Creative Nonfiction Editor at The Citron Review, and teaches memoir through the University of Washington's Online Continuum Program and also independently. She launched Let's Talk Memoir in 2022, lives in Seattle with her family of people and dogs, and is at work on her next book. More about Ronit: https://ronitplank.com Subscribe to Ronit's Substack: https://substack.com/@ronitplank Follow Ronit: https://www.instagram.com/ronitplank/ https://www.facebook.com/RonitPlank https://bsky.app/profile/ronitplank.bsky.social   Background photo credit: Photo by Patrick Tomasso on Unsplash Headshot photo credit: Sarah Anne Photography Theme music: Isaac Joel, Dead Moll's Fingers

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

Maggie Smith returns to Let's Talk Memoir for a conversation about letting imposter syndrome go, fiercely guarding your interior life, getting back to the core place where creativity thrives, rewriting a book from scratch, how writing feels in the body, swerving out of your creative lane, battling the sophomore slump, what it feels like to be watched, when ego gets in the way, fears of paralyzing failure, playing the long game, the best advice she ever got, staying agile and awake in the creative process, and her new book Dear Writer: Pep Talks & Practical Advice for the Creative Life.   Ronit's first interview with Maggie Smith: https://ronitplank.com/2023/04/11/lets-talk-memoir-episode-38-ft-maggie-smith/   Also in this episode: -the inner critic -assembling a book freestyle -tenacity and grit     Books mentioned in this episode: Meander, Spiral, Explode by Jane Allison The Art of Memoir by Mary Karr Truth is the Arrow, Mercy is the Bow by Steve Almond Greywolf Press series “The Art of…” books   Maggie Smith is the New York Times bestselling author of eight books of poetry and prose, including You Could Make This Place Beautiful: A Memoir (One Signal/Atria, 2023); My Thoughts Have Wings, illustrated by Leanne Hatch (Balzer+Bray/Harperkids, 2024); Goldenrod: Poems (One Signal/Atria, 2021); Keep Moving: Notes on Loss, Creativity, and Change (One Signal/Atria, 2020); and Good Bones (Tupelo Press, 2017). Smith's next book is Dear Writer: Pep Talks & Practical Advice for the Creative Life, forthcoming from One Signal/Atria in April 2025. Her poems and essays have appeared in the New York Times, The New Yorker, Poetry, The Nation, The Best American Poetry, The Paris Review, The Atlantic, AGNI, Ploughshares, Image, the Washington Post, Virginia Quarterly Review, American Poetry Review, The Southern Review, and many other journals and anthologies. In 2016 her poem "Good Bones" went viral internationally; since then it has been translated into nearly a dozen languages and featured on the CBS primetime drama Madam Secretary. Smith has received fellowships and awards from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Academy of American Poets, the Ohio Arts Council, the Sustainable Arts Foundation, and the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts.   – Ronit's writing has appeared in The Atlantic, The Rumpus, The New York Times, Poets & Writers, The Iowa Review, Hippocampus, The Washington Post, Writer's Digest, American Literary Review, and elsewhere. Her memoir WHEN SHE COMES BACK about the loss of her mother to the guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and their eventual reconciliation was named Finalist in the 2021 Housatonic Awards Awards, the 2021 Indie Excellence Awards, and was a 2021 Book Riot Best True Crime Book. Her short story collection HOME IS A MADE-UP PLACE won Hidden River Arts' 2020 Eludia Award and the 2023 Page Turner Awards for Short Stories.  She earned an MFA in Nonfiction Writing at Pacific University, is Creative Nonfiction Editor at The Citron Review, and teaches memoir through the University of Washington's Online Continuum Program and also independently. She launched Let's Talk Memoir in 2022, lives in Seattle with her family of people and dogs, and is at work on her next book. More about Ronit: https://ronitplank.com Subscribe to Ronit's Substack: https://substack.com/@ronitplank Follow Ronit: https://www.instagram.com/ronitplank/ https://www.facebook.com/RonitPlank https://bsky.app/profile/ronitplank.bsky.social   Background photo credit: Photo by Patrick Tomasso on Unsplash Headshot photo credit: Sarah Anne Photography Theme music: Isaac Joel, Dead Moll's Fingers

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

Rebe Huntman is a memoirist, essayist, dancer, teacher and poet who writes at the intersections of feminism, world religion and spirituality. For over a decade she directed Chicago's award-winning Danza Viva Center for World Dance, Art & Music and its dance company, One World Dance Theater. Huntman collaborates with native artists in Cuba and South America, has been featured in Latina Magazine, Chicago Magazine and the Chicago Tribune, and has appeared on Fox and ABC. A Macondo fellow and recipient of an Ohio Individual Excellence award, Rebe has received support for her debut memoir, My Mother in Havana: A Memoir of Magic & Miracle  (Monkfish Book Publishing Company, February 18, 2025), from The Ohio State University, Virginia Center for Creative Arts, Ragdale Foundation, PLAYA Residency, Hambidge Center and Brush Creek Foundation. "Writing with a physicality of language that moves like the body in dance, Rebe Huntman, a poet, choreographer, and dancer, embarks on a pilgrimage into the mysteries of the gods and saints of Cuba and their larger spiritual view of 'the Mother.' Huntman offers a window into the extraordinary yet seldom-seen world of Afro-Cuban gods and ghosts and the dances and rhythms that call them forth. As she explores the memory of her own mother, interlacing it with her search for the sacred feminine, Huntman leads us into a world of séance and sacrifice, pilgrimage and sacred dance, which resurrect her mother and bring Huntman face to face with a larger version of herself." Rebe also helps other writers. With over thirty years of experience as a writer and a coach, she shows writers the ropes, helps them build a powerful, personalized writing practice, and teaches writers step by step strategies to find their voices, become the best writers they can be, and deliver their work to the world. Rebe's essays, poems and short stories appear in The Missouri Review, The Southern Review, Parabola, CRAFT LIterary, The Cincinnati Review, Ninth Letter, South Loop Review, Sonora Review, Tampa Review, The Pinch & elsewhere. She lives in Delaware, Ohio and San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. Learn more: www.rebehuntman.com https://www.instagram.com/rebehuntman/ https://www.facebook.com/rebehuntmanauthor/

It's In the News.. a look at the top headlines and stories in the diabetes community. This week's top stories: Sana announces beta cell transplantation without the need for immunosuppresion drugs, Modular Medical teams up with Nudge BG for a brand new completely closed-loop system, the FDA moves forward to crack down on compounded Ozempic and Mounjaro, Dexcom and Abbott bury the legal hatchett for a while, and more.  Find out more about Moms' Night Out  Please visit our Sponsors & Partners - they help make the show possible! Learn more about Gvoke Glucagon Gvoke HypoPen® (glucagon injection): Glucagon Injection For Very Low Blood Sugar (gvokeglucagon.com) Omnipod - Simplify Life Learn about Dexcom  Edgepark Medical Supplies Check out VIVI Cap to protect your insulin from extreme temperatures Learn more about AG1 from Athletic Greens  Drive research that matters through the T1D Exchange The best way to keep up with Stacey and the show is by signing up for our weekly newsletter: Sign up for our newsletter here Here's where to find us: Facebook (Group) Facebook (Page) Instagram Twitter Check out Stacey's books! Learn more about everything at our home page www.diabetes-connections.com  Reach out with questions or comments: info@diabetes-connections.com Episode transcription with links:     Hello and welcome to Diabetes Connections In the News! I'm Stacey Simms and every other Friday I bring you a short episode with the top diabetes stories and headlines happening now. XX Big news from Sana Biotechnology. Their first in human study of islet cells without any immunosuppression appears to be a success. This is very early and hasn't yet been peer reviewed and published.. but after four weeks, there were no safety issues and the transplanted beta cells were producing insulin. Sana's CEO says  “As far as we are aware, this is the first study showing survival of an allogeneic transplant with no immunosuppression or immune-protective device in a fully immune competent individual. Safe cell transplantation without immunosuppression has the potential to transform the treatment of type 1 diabetes and a number of other diseases.”   I've reached out to Sana to get more on this.. love to talk to them soon.   https://www.bakersfield.com/ap/news/sana-biotechnology-announces-positive-clinical-results-from-type-1-diabetes-study-of-islet-cell/article_d0390fd6-99cb-53bd-b04d-9337121e01bf.html XX FDA says no for sotagliflozin as an adjunct to insulin therapy for glycemic control in adults with type 1 diabetes (T1D) and chronic kidney disease (CKD).  Studies showed a meaningful reduction in A1C but a meaningful increase in DKA. The FDA first rejected this in 2019 and was resubmitted last summer. But The advisory committee voted 11 to 3 against the approval of sotagliflozin stating that the benefits of sotagliflozin do not outweight the risks in adults with T1D and CKD. Sotagliflozin is currently approved under the brand name Inpefa to reduce the risk of cardiovascular death, hospitalization for heart failure, and urgent heart failure visit in adults with 1) heart failure; or 2) type 2 diabetes mellitus, CKD, and other cardiovascular risk factors.  According to Lexicon, Inpefa will continue to be manufactured and made available to patients. https://www.renalandurologynews.com/news/fda-denies-approval-of-zynquista-for-type-1-diabetes-and-ckd/ XX Two companies we've been following are teaming up.. Modular Medical has an FDA clear patch pump and Nudge BG has an adaptive full closed loop. They've announced a new partnership agreement. From the release: Modular Medical's easy-to-use and cost-effective MODD1 insulin pump technology. Our combined system is intended to nudge blood glucose by making small changes to insulin delivery based on estimated glucose inputs from a continuous glucose monitor." Familiar name to some of you, Lane Desborough is the founder of Nudge BG. He says this will be a fully automated system, no mealtime bolusing needed.   https://www.accesswire.com/957703/modular-medical-announces-licensing-and-partnership-agreement-with-nudge-bg XX Beta Bionics filed for an initial public offering on Monday. The company did not disclose the number of shares it will offer or the price range. Beta Bionics plans for shares to be listed on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol “BBNX.” The Irvine, California-based company makes an insulin pump called the iLet Bionic Pancreas, which was cleared by the Food and Drug Administration in 2023. Beta Bionics plans to use the proceeds to grow its sales and manufacturing infrastructure and develop new features for its device.   https://www.medtechdive.com/news/beta-bionics-insulin-pump-files-ipo/736805/     XX Tandem Diabetes Care, Inc. signed a multi-year collaboration agreement with the University of Virginia Center for Diabetes Technology (UVA) to advance research and development efforts on fully automated closed-loop insulin delivery systems.   There's a long history here – UVA is where the Control IQ algorithm was developed.  This agreement seems to keep the team together for another decade. https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250107162995/en/Tandem-Diabetes-Care-Enters-Multi-Year-Research-Collaboration-with-UVA-Center-for-Diabetes-Technology-for-Development-of-Advanced-Insulin-Delivery-Systems XX New study says insulin is still the best treatment for gestational diabetes, compared to oral glucose-lowering medications. Metformin and gluburide are being closely looked at since they're easier to administer, less costly, and have better acceptance among patients. But this study says insulin was a bit better – slight more babies were born larger for the metformin group, and more moms had hypoglycemia. https://www.medpagetoday.com/obgyn/pregnancy/113651 XX In its Citizen Petition to the FDA, Novo Nordisk argued that there is no clinical need to allow compounding for liraglutide, the type 2 diabetes injection it sells as Victoza. Novo Nordisk last month filed a Citizen Petition with the FDA asking the federal agency to exclude its type 2 diabetes injection Victoza (liraglutide) from a proposed list of drugs eligible for compounding. https://www.biospace.com/fda/novo-launches-citizen-petition-to-block-compounded-victoza XX Bit of an update on compounded terzepatide and semaglutide. The FDA is allowing a grace period of 60 days before starting to enforce the end of allowing compounds of Mounjaro. Meanwhile, semaglutide remains on the FDA's shortage list for several dose strengths, though all doses have been reported as “available” since late October 2024. Compounding pharmacies, especially larger 503B “outsourcing facilities,” maintain they provide an essential public service by offering lower-cost versions of medications that can cost over $1,000 per month. Many insurers still refuse to cover brand-name GLP-1 products for weight loss. Yet  the FDA has reported hundreds of adverse event reports allegedly linked to compounded versions of these drugs, which do not undergo the same rigorous manufacturing inspections and clinical testing as approved brands.   https://www.drugdiscoverytrends.com/compounders-and-drugmakers-clash-over-compounded-weight-loss-drugs-with-fda-in-the-middle/ XX Interesting story here.. this study says a fecal transplant can help people with type 1 and severe gastroenteropathy. The researchers say diabetic gastroenteropathy commonly affects individuals with type 1 diabetes, causing debilitating symptoms like nausea, vomiting, bloating, and diarrhea; however, treatment options remain limited. Researchers conducted a novel clinical trial to test the benefits of FMT in adult patients with type 1 diabetes and severe symptoms of gastroenteropathy, who were randomly assigned to receive either FMT or placebo capsules as the first intervention. After four weeks, Compared with placebo, FMT led to significant changes in the diversity of the gut microbiome. https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/fmt-shows-early-success-type-1-diabetes-bowel-issues-2025a10000bg XX A couple of weeks ago, listeners told me that the Dexcom geofencing issue we reported on seems to be resolved. Dexcom is now confirming this. Previously, if you had an issue with Dexcom G7 outside of your home country, you couldn't reinstall or use the app without customer support. As of last month, the geofencing issue has now been resolved with the latest Dexcom G7 2.6 app update. Can I travel with my Dexcom G7? | Dexcom XX Abbott and Dexcom settled all patent lawsuits related to continuous glucose monitors (CGMs). The two competitors, who lead the U.S. market for CGMs, agreed on Dec. 20 to resolve all outstanding patent disputes and not sue each other over patents for 10 years.   Dexcom and Abbott previously reached a settlement in 2014 related to their diabetes devices, which included a cross-licensing deal and an agreement not to sue each other until 2021. After that agreement expired, the companies filed a volley of patent lawsuits. https://www.medtechdive.com/news/abbott-dexcom-settle-cgm-patent-lawsuits/736300/  

Episode 457 / Emily Noelle Lambert received her MFA in Painting from Hunter College in NYC and her BA in Visual Art from Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio. Lambert has shown nationally and internationally including solo exhibitions at Freight+Volume Gallery (NYC), Denny Gallery (NYC), Lu Magnus Gallery (NYC) Art in Buildings (NYC), now defunct Thomas Robertello Gallery (IL), Gravity Gallery (MA) and IMART in South Korea.  Her work has been included in numerous group exhibitions including at the Ringling Museum of Art (FL), The University of Michigan in Kalamazoo (MI), Torrance Art Museum(CA), Asya Geisberg (NY), Underdonk (NY) Katherine Markel Fine Art (NYC) and Alice Gauvin Gallery (ME). She has completed public art projects for the Department of Transportation in NYC and elementary schools in NYC and New Hampshire. Lambert has been awarded fellowships from MacDowell (NH), The Yaddo Foundation (NY), Fountainhead Residency (FL), Vermont Studio Center (VT), Dieu Donne (NY), The Alfred and Trafford Klots International Artist Residency (France),Lower East Side Printshop (NY), DNA Residency (MA), Edward Albee Residency (NY), Momozozo AIR (run by artist Paula Wilson) (NM) and Woodstock Byrdcliffe AIR(NY), Virginia Center for Creative Arts (VA) and Cushing Collaborative (organized by artist Maureen Cavanaugh) (ME). Lambert's work has been reviewed in The International New York Times, The Observer, The Brooklyn Rail, Modern Painters, Art News, Two Coats of Paint, Greenpointer, Art in America, and artforum.com.  Lambert is currently an Associate Professor of Drawing and Painting at Keene State College in New Hampshire. 

President-elect Trump has been vowing to reform the Justice Department, calling out the federal agency as “corrupt, discredited, and politicized.” Democrats have been swift in their critique of Trump, saying the President-elect will only use it to target his opponents. Trump's plan to depoliticize the organization starts with his pick of Kash Patel to replace FBI Director Wray. Former FBI Assistant Director Chris Swecker joins the Rundown to explain why change is desperately needed to get the politics out of the Justice Department. Democrats are searching for answers nearly a month after Vice President Kamala Harris lost her bid for the White House. The campaign broke records for fundraising, with estimations saying they spent over $1.5 billion in just over 100 days of campaigning. Despite the influx of campaign cash, the Vice President lost every swing state, prompting strategists and lawmakers to reassess where the campaign could have gone wrong. Managing Editor of Sabato's Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia Center for Politics Kyle Kondik joins the podcast to discuss the Democrats calling out the Harris campaign's spending strategy and which issues were losers for the Party. Plus, commentary from the host of “Tomi Lahren is Fearless on Outkick,” Tomi Lahren. Photo Credit: AP Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sarah LaBrie is the author of the debut memoir No One Gets to Fall Apart, available from Harper Books. LaBrie is a writer from Houston, Texas. Her libretti have been performed at Walt Disney Concert Hall and her fiction appears in Guernica, The Literary Review, and the Los Angeles Review of Books. She has held residencies at Yaddo, UCross and the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. She lives in Los Angeles where she has written for television shows including Minx (Starz), Blindspotting (Starz), Made for Love (MAX), and Love, Victor(Hulu). She holds an MFA from NYU where she was a Writers in the Schools fellow. *** 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. Subscribe to Brad Listi's email newsletter. Support the show on Patreon Merch Twitter 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