Podcasts about when crack was king a people's history

To understand what's behind existing wealth and opportunity gaps, history is sometimes our greatest teacher. But chances are when we think of the crack era, our minds go to how it was depicted in the media or political campaigns and policing in the 1980s and 1990s. Do we really know the individuals who suffered and what happened to them? And while people suffered, who profited? How do the failures of that epidemic continue to haunt and hold back our plight against drugs, as well as social justice and wealth equality today? Donovan Ramsey is our guest and the author of the new, acclaimed book WHEN CRACK WAS KING: A People's History of a Misunderstood Era. (This episode aired originally on July 31). Subscribe to Farnoosh's newsletter Get $300 in bonuses when you pre-order A Healthy State of Panic Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The crack epidemic of the 1980s and 1990s is arguably the least examined crisis in American history. Beginning with the myths inspired by Reagan's war on drugs, journalist Donovan X. Ramsey's exacting analysis traces the path from the last triumphs of the Civil Rights Movement to the devastating realities we live with today: a racist criminal justice system, continued mass incarceration and gentrification, and increased police brutality. When Crack Was King: A People's History of a Misunderstood Era (One World, 2023) follows four individuals to give us a startling portrait of crack's destruction and devastating legacy: Elgin Swift, an archetype of American industry and ambition and the son of a crack-addicted father who turned their home into a "crack house"; Lennie Woodley, a former crack addict and sex worker; Kurt Schmoke, the longtime mayor of Baltimore and an early advocate of decriminalization; and Shawn McCray, community activist, basketball prodigy, and a founding member of the Zoo Crew, Newark's most legendary group of drug traffickers. Weaving together riveting research with the voices of survivors, When Crack Was King is a crucial reevaluation of the era and a powerful argument for providing historically violated communities with the resources they deserve. A journalist, author, and indispensable voice on issues of identity, justice, and patterns of power in America, Ramsey's work has appeared in The New York Times, The Atlantic, GQ, WSJ Magazine, Ebony, and Essence, among a host of other outlets, and he's worked at such venerable newsrooms as the Los Angeles Times and the Marshall Project. A native of Columbus, Ohio, where he saw the crack epidemic firsthand, Donovan now lives in LA. When Crack was King, released to great acclaim, is his first book. Emily Dufton is the author of Grass Roots: The Rise and Fall and Rise of Marijuana in America (Basic Books, 2017). A drug historian and writer, her second book, on the development of the opioid addiction medication industry, is under contract with the University of Chicago Press. 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

The crack epidemic of the 1980s and 1990s is arguably the least examined crisis in American history. Beginning with the myths inspired by Reagan's war on drugs, journalist Donovan X. Ramsey's exacting analysis traces the path from the last triumphs of the Civil Rights Movement to the devastating realities we live with today: a racist criminal justice system, continued mass incarceration and gentrification, and increased police brutality. When Crack Was King: A People's History of a Misunderstood Era (One World, 2023) follows four individuals to give us a startling portrait of crack's destruction and devastating legacy: Elgin Swift, an archetype of American industry and ambition and the son of a crack-addicted father who turned their home into a "crack house"; Lennie Woodley, a former crack addict and sex worker; Kurt Schmoke, the longtime mayor of Baltimore and an early advocate of decriminalization; and Shawn McCray, community activist, basketball prodigy, and a founding member of the Zoo Crew, Newark's most legendary group of drug traffickers. Weaving together riveting research with the voices of survivors, When Crack Was King is a crucial reevaluation of the era and a powerful argument for providing historically violated communities with the resources they deserve. A journalist, author, and indispensable voice on issues of identity, justice, and patterns of power in America, Ramsey's work has appeared in The New York Times, The Atlantic, GQ, WSJ Magazine, Ebony, and Essence, among a host of other outlets, and he's worked at such venerable newsrooms as the Los Angeles Times and the Marshall Project. A native of Columbus, Ohio, where he saw the crack epidemic firsthand, Donovan now lives in LA. When Crack was King, released to great acclaim, is his first book. Emily Dufton is the author of Grass Roots: The Rise and Fall and Rise of Marijuana in America (Basic Books, 2017). A drug historian and writer, her second book, on the development of the opioid addiction medication industry, is under contract with the University of Chicago Press. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/drugs-addiction-and-recovery

The crack epidemic of the 1980s and 1990s is arguably the least examined crisis in American history. Beginning with the myths inspired by Reagan's war on drugs, journalist Donovan X. Ramsey's exacting analysis traces the path from the last triumphs of the Civil Rights Movement to the devastating realities we live with today: a racist criminal justice system, continued mass incarceration and gentrification, and increased police brutality. When Crack Was King: A People's History of a Misunderstood Era (One World, 2023) follows four individuals to give us a startling portrait of crack's destruction and devastating legacy: Elgin Swift, an archetype of American industry and ambition and the son of a crack-addicted father who turned their home into a "crack house"; Lennie Woodley, a former crack addict and sex worker; Kurt Schmoke, the longtime mayor of Baltimore and an early advocate of decriminalization; and Shawn McCray, community activist, basketball prodigy, and a founding member of the Zoo Crew, Newark's most legendary group of drug traffickers. Weaving together riveting research with the voices of survivors, When Crack Was King is a crucial reevaluation of the era and a powerful argument for providing historically violated communities with the resources they deserve. A journalist, author, and indispensable voice on issues of identity, justice, and patterns of power in America, Ramsey's work has appeared in The New York Times, The Atlantic, GQ, WSJ Magazine, Ebony, and Essence, among a host of other outlets, and he's worked at such venerable newsrooms as the Los Angeles Times and the Marshall Project. A native of Columbus, Ohio, where he saw the crack epidemic firsthand, Donovan now lives in LA. When Crack was King, released to great acclaim, is his first book. Emily Dufton is the author of Grass Roots: The Rise and Fall and Rise of Marijuana in America (Basic Books, 2017). A drug historian and writer, her second book, on the development of the opioid addiction medication industry, is under contract with the University of Chicago Press. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The crack epidemic of the 1980s and 1990s is arguably the least examined crisis in American history. Beginning with the myths inspired by Reagan's war on drugs, journalist Donovan X. Ramsey's exacting analysis traces the path from the last triumphs of the Civil Rights Movement to the devastating realities we live with today: a racist criminal justice system, continued mass incarceration and gentrification, and increased police brutality. When Crack Was King: A People's History of a Misunderstood Era (One World, 2023) follows four individuals to give us a startling portrait of crack's destruction and devastating legacy: Elgin Swift, an archetype of American industry and ambition and the son of a crack-addicted father who turned their home into a "crack house"; Lennie Woodley, a former crack addict and sex worker; Kurt Schmoke, the longtime mayor of Baltimore and an early advocate of decriminalization; and Shawn McCray, community activist, basketball prodigy, and a founding member of the Zoo Crew, Newark's most legendary group of drug traffickers. Weaving together riveting research with the voices of survivors, When Crack Was King is a crucial reevaluation of the era and a powerful argument for providing historically violated communities with the resources they deserve. A journalist, author, and indispensable voice on issues of identity, justice, and patterns of power in America, Ramsey's work has appeared in The New York Times, The Atlantic, GQ, WSJ Magazine, Ebony, and Essence, among a host of other outlets, and he's worked at such venerable newsrooms as the Los Angeles Times and the Marshall Project. A native of Columbus, Ohio, where he saw the crack epidemic firsthand, Donovan now lives in LA. When Crack was King, released to great acclaim, is his first book. Emily Dufton is the author of Grass Roots: The Rise and Fall and Rise of Marijuana in America (Basic Books, 2017). A drug historian and writer, her second book, on the development of the opioid addiction medication industry, is under contract with the University of Chicago Press. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The crack epidemic of the 1980s and 1990s is arguably the least examined crisis in American history. Beginning with the myths inspired by Reagan's war on drugs, journalist Donovan X. Ramsey's exacting analysis traces the path from the last triumphs of the Civil Rights Movement to the devastating realities we live with today: a racist criminal justice system, continued mass incarceration and gentrification, and increased police brutality. When Crack Was King: A People's History of a Misunderstood Era (One World, 2023) follows four individuals to give us a startling portrait of crack's destruction and devastating legacy: Elgin Swift, an archetype of American industry and ambition and the son of a crack-addicted father who turned their home into a "crack house"; Lennie Woodley, a former crack addict and sex worker; Kurt Schmoke, the longtime mayor of Baltimore and an early advocate of decriminalization; and Shawn McCray, community activist, basketball prodigy, and a founding member of the Zoo Crew, Newark's most legendary group of drug traffickers. Weaving together riveting research with the voices of survivors, When Crack Was King is a crucial reevaluation of the era and a powerful argument for providing historically violated communities with the resources they deserve. A journalist, author, and indispensable voice on issues of identity, justice, and patterns of power in America, Ramsey's work has appeared in The New York Times, The Atlantic, GQ, WSJ Magazine, Ebony, and Essence, among a host of other outlets, and he's worked at such venerable newsrooms as the Los Angeles Times and the Marshall Project. A native of Columbus, Ohio, where he saw the crack epidemic firsthand, Donovan now lives in LA. When Crack was King, released to great acclaim, is his first book. Emily Dufton is the author of Grass Roots: The Rise and Fall and Rise of Marijuana in America (Basic Books, 2017). A drug historian and writer, her second book, on the development of the opioid addiction medication industry, is under contract with the University of Chicago Press. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/american-studies

The crack epidemic of the 1980s and 1990s is arguably the least examined crisis in American history. Beginning with the myths inspired by Reagan's war on drugs, journalist Donovan X. Ramsey's exacting analysis traces the path from the last triumphs of the Civil Rights Movement to the devastating realities we live with today: a racist criminal justice system, continued mass incarceration and gentrification, and increased police brutality. When Crack Was King: A People's History of a Misunderstood Era (One World, 2023) follows four individuals to give us a startling portrait of crack's destruction and devastating legacy: Elgin Swift, an archetype of American industry and ambition and the son of a crack-addicted father who turned their home into a "crack house"; Lennie Woodley, a former crack addict and sex worker; Kurt Schmoke, the longtime mayor of Baltimore and an early advocate of decriminalization; and Shawn McCray, community activist, basketball prodigy, and a founding member of the Zoo Crew, Newark's most legendary group of drug traffickers. Weaving together riveting research with the voices of survivors, When Crack Was King is a crucial reevaluation of the era and a powerful argument for providing historically violated communities with the resources they deserve. A journalist, author, and indispensable voice on issues of identity, justice, and patterns of power in America, Ramsey's work has appeared in The New York Times, The Atlantic, GQ, WSJ Magazine, Ebony, and Essence, among a host of other outlets, and he's worked at such venerable newsrooms as the Los Angeles Times and the Marshall Project. A native of Columbus, Ohio, where he saw the crack epidemic firsthand, Donovan now lives in LA. When Crack was King, released to great acclaim, is his first book. Emily Dufton is the author of Grass Roots: The Rise and Fall and Rise of Marijuana in America (Basic Books, 2017). A drug historian and writer, her second book, on the development of the opioid addiction medication industry, is under contract with the University of Chicago Press. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/history

The crack epidemic of the 1980s and 1990s is arguably the least examined crisis in American history. Beginning with the myths inspired by Reagan's war on drugs, journalist Donovan X. Ramsey's exacting analysis traces the path from the last triumphs of the Civil Rights Movement to the devastating realities we live with today: a racist criminal justice system, continued mass incarceration and gentrification, and increased police brutality. When Crack Was King: A People's History of a Misunderstood Era (One World, 2023) follows four individuals to give us a startling portrait of crack's destruction and devastating legacy: Elgin Swift, an archetype of American industry and ambition and the son of a crack-addicted father who turned their home into a "crack house"; Lennie Woodley, a former crack addict and sex worker; Kurt Schmoke, the longtime mayor of Baltimore and an early advocate of decriminalization; and Shawn McCray, community activist, basketball prodigy, and a founding member of the Zoo Crew, Newark's most legendary group of drug traffickers. Weaving together riveting research with the voices of survivors, When Crack Was King is a crucial reevaluation of the era and a powerful argument for providing historically violated communities with the resources they deserve. A journalist, author, and indispensable voice on issues of identity, justice, and patterns of power in America, Ramsey's work has appeared in The New York Times, The Atlantic, GQ, WSJ Magazine, Ebony, and Essence, among a host of other outlets, and he's worked at such venerable newsrooms as the Los Angeles Times and the Marshall Project. A native of Columbus, Ohio, where he saw the crack epidemic firsthand, Donovan now lives in LA. When Crack was King, released to great acclaim, is his first book. Emily Dufton is the author of Grass Roots: The Rise and Fall and Rise of Marijuana in America (Basic Books, 2017). A drug historian and writer, her second book, on the development of the opioid addiction medication industry, is under contract with the University of Chicago Press. 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

The crack epidemic has had seismic impact on American culture, from music to TV and film. This week, Brittany Luse talks to Donovan X. Ramsey, author of When Crack Was King: A People's History of a Misunderstood Era, about why pop culture can't let go of the "crack fiend" or the drug dealing anti-hero. They discuss how both those tropes miss some very big marks, where the stereotypes originated and who tried to set the record straight.You can follow us on Twitter @NPRItsBeenAMin and email us at ibam@npr.org.

To understand what's behind existing wealth and opportunity gaps, history is sometimes our greatest teacher. But chances are when we think of the crack era, our minds go to how it was depicted in the media or political campaigns and policing in the 1980s and 1990s. Do we really know the individuals who suffered and what happened to them? And while people suffered, who profited? How do the failures of that epidemic continue to haunt and hold back our plight against drugs, as well as social justice and wealth equality today? Donovan Ramsey is our guest and the author of the new, acclaimed book WHEN CRACK WAS KING: A People's History of a Misunderstood Era. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What do you think of when you hear the term, “crack cocaine?” The drug is at the heart of an epidemic in the 1980's that destroyed lives. But for writer Donovan X. Ramsey, a lot of our assumptions and understandings about this era are actually mistruths. So he wrote When Crack Was King: A People's History of a Misunderstood Era.  He tells Kai that the full truth reveals, “how deep the harm goes in America when it comes to anti-Blackness.” Send us your song for our summer playlist! What's a song that represents your personal diaspora story? Go to notesfromamerica.org and click on the “RECORD” button to leave a voice note with your answer. Tell us the name of that song and the artist, and a 1-minute story that goes along with it. We'll gather all of the songs and your stories in a Spotify playlist that we'll update all summer.  Tell us what you think. Instagram and Twitter: @noteswithkai. Email us at notes@wnyc.org. Send us a voice message by recording yourself on your phone and emailing us, or going to Instagram and clicking on the link in our bio. “Notes from America” airs live on Sunday evenings at 6pm ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts. Tune into the show on Sunday nights via the stream on notesfromamerica.org or on WNYC's YouTube channel.

This week on The Maris Review, Maris talks with Donovan X. Ramsey about his new book, When Crack Was King: A People's History of a Misunderstood Era, out now from One World Books. Donovan X. Ramsey is a journalist, author, and voice on issues of race, politics, and patterns of power in America. His reporting has appeared in The New York Times, The Atlantic, GQ, WSJ, Ebony, and Essence. He has been a staff reporter at the Los Angeles Times, NewsOne, and theGrio and has served as an editor at The Marshall Project and Complex. Ramsey holds a master's degree from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and a bachelor's degree in psychology from Morehouse College. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Donovan X. Ramsey is a journalist and author who writes about issues of identity, justice, and patterns of power in America. His reporting has appeared in The New York Times, The Atlantic, GQ, WSJ Magazine, Ebony, and Essence, among other outlets and he's been a staff reporter at the Los Angeles Times, NewsOne, and theGrio. He just released to much critical acclaim his debut book When Crack Was King: A People's History of a Misunderstood Era, which explores how Black America survived the crack epidemic. Join us for this extremely important, riveting conversation which explores the origins of the crack epidemic of the 1980's and early 90's; the "war on drugs" and "just say no" era; criminal injustice and racism; the current opioid and fentanyl crisis; and more. Got somethin' to say?! Email us at BackroomAndy@gmail.com Leave us a message: 845-307-7446 Twitter: @AndyOstroy Produced by Andy Ostroy, Matty Rosenberg, and Jennifer Hammoud @ Radio Free Rhiniecliff Music by Andrew Hollander Design by Cricket Lengyel

Journalist Donovan X. Ramsey joins us to talk about his illuminating narrative nonfiction book When Crack Was King: A People's History of a Misunderstood Era. Donovan explains exactly what crack is, talks about the disparities in crack sentencing, and the ways the media and rap music influenced the era.The Stacks Book Club selection for July is Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons. We will discuss the book on July 26th with Joel Christian Gill.You can find everything we discuss on today's show on The Stacks' website:https://thestackspodcast.com/2023/07/19/ep-276-donovan-x-ramseyEpisode TranscriptConnect with Donovan: Instagram | Twitter | WebsiteConnect with The Stacks: Instagram | Twitter | Shop | Patreon | Goodreads | SubscribeSUPPORT THE STACKSJoin The Stacks Pack on PatreonTo support The Stacks and find out more from this week's sponsors, click here.Purchasing books through Bookshop.org or Amazon earns The Stacks a small commission.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

DeRay, Kaya, De'Ara and Myles  cover the underreported news of the week on affirmative action — the irony of opposition, a push for adversity scores, and the future of diversity policies in Hollywood and corporate employment. DeRay interviews author and journalist Donovan Ramsey on the pod to chat about his newest book When Crack Was King: A People's History of a Misunderstood Era.NewsDeRayGOP attorneys general tee off on large corporations over diversity policiesKayaWith End of Affirmative Action, a Push for a New Tool: Adversity ScoresDe'AraHollywood Diversity Initiatives May Be Challenged After Supreme Court Affirmative Action RulingMylesWhite women benefit most from affirmative action. So why do they oppose it? 

“When people think of the crack epidemic, they think of crime,” the journalist Donovan X. Ramsey tells David Remnick. “But they don't necessarily know the ways that it impacted the most vulnerable—the ways that it changed the lives of people who sold it, who were addicted to it, who loved people who sold it or were addicted to it.” Ramsey's new book, “When Crack Was King: A People's History of a Misunderstood Era,” weaves the stories of four people who survived the epidemic into a historical analysis of how crack led to the erosion of dozens of American cities—but also of how the crack epidemic eventually ended. “I didn't know what life was like before crack,” Ramsey, who was born in Columbus, Ohio, in 1987, says. “I wanted to understand the ways that it shaped our society.”

Notes and Links to Donovan X. Ramsey's Work    For Episode 192, Pete welcomes Donovan X. Ramsey, and the two discuss, among other things, his early relationship with language, formative and transformative writers like bell hooks, Zora Neale Hurston, Phillip Roth, Colson Whitehead, and the inimitable Toni Morrison, connotations and legal policies that are products of the mythmaking and propagandizing of the “crack era,” the emblematic stories of the people followed in Donovan's book, historical precedent for the over policing and oppression of Black people in the US, and optimism and pessimism to be seen in the stories of the crack era and of today.      Donovan X. Ramsey is a journalist, author, and an indispensable voice on issues of identity, justice, and patterns of power in America. His reporting has appeared in The New York Times, The Atlantic, GQ, WSJ Magazine, Ebony, and Essence, among other outlets. He has been a staff reporter at the Los Angeles Times, NewsOne, and theGrio. He has served as an editor at The Marshall Project and Complex. Ramsey's writing career has been focused entirely on amplifying the remarkable unheard stories of Black America. He believes in people-first narratives that center individuals and communities—not just issues. His memorable magazine work includes profiles of Deion Sanders, Killer Mike, and Bubba Wallace for GQ; and Bryan Stevenson and Ibram Kendi for WSJ Magazine. Ramsey is the author of When Crack Was King: A People's History of a Misunderstood Era, a work of narrative nonfiction exploring how Black America survived the crack epidemic for One World, an imprint of Random House, a division of Penguin Random House, the world's largest trade book publisher. He was born and raised in Columbus, Ohio. He holds degrees from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, where he concentrated in magazine journalism, and Morehouse College, a historically black college in Atlanta. Today, he calls Los Angeles home.     Buy When Crack Was King: A People's History of a Misunderstood Era   Donovan's Website   Review in The New York Times of When Crack Was King   Interview with The Los Angeles Times about When Crack Was King At about 2:55, Donovan gives background on his early reading and writing life   At about 6:00, Donovan and Pete fanboy over Toni Morrison, who Donovan calls “the greatest to ever do it”   At about 7:30, Donovan discusses his love of Phillip Roth's work, as well as that of Zora Neale Hurston and Colston Whitehead's work   At about 9:50, Donovan talks about ideas of representation and how he was taken care of intellectually   At about 12:30, Donovan references current writers who thrill and challenge him, including Colson Whitehead, Mat Johnson, and Stephen King, whose cover of It inspired the cover for When Crack Was King   At about 14:30, Donovan responds to Pete's questions about long form versus “longer form” and how he dove into the research   At about 17:50, Donovan cites jazz as a must when he's writing   At about 19:00, Pete points to “crack era laws” Donovan references that seemed to be seeds for the book, and Donovan responds by mentioning Isabel Wilkerson's The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration as an important “seed” for the book   At about 23:00, Donovan talks about the connotations that come with the word “crackhead,” as well as government and official language that served to dehumanize drug users and Black Americans    At about 26:20, Pete compliments and notes about a “good historical revision” in use of language that is not dehumanizing    At about 27:10, Pete marks the book's eight-part structure    At about 28:30, Pete points out the book's interesting and necessary historical background that is provided   At about 29:05, Donovan responds to Pete's asking about Nixon's “War on Drugs” and the preceding and succeeding years in drug and policing policies; he specifically speaks about Nixon's “Southern Strategy”    ***At about 33:10, The two discuss connections between events charted in the book with events of today and lament how, since history is cyclical,” there is little   At about 34:20, Pete and Donovan discuss the “inconsistent[cy}” in the US government's and society's view of drugs and punishment    At about 38:15, Donovan explains the Richard Pryor story and Lenny Bias' tragic death in the context of mythmaking and propaganda around crack cocaine   At about 40:10, The newspaper article “Jimmy's World” and the almost unbelievable circus around it is discussed    At about 44:20, “Gabo” weighs in on “Jimmy's World!”   At about 44:45, Donovan charts the historical consequences of racist tropes regarding drugs and their supposed transference of superhuman qualities for Blacks and other people of color   At about 47:25, The two discuss Kurt Schmoke's turn towards the decriminalization of drugs    At about 52:00, Donovan reflects on the economic ties between so much of society and the “War   At about 53:15, The two discuss the Democrats' emphasis on “tough on crime” in the crack era and beyond, as well as the need for making things right now, with the adjustment of laws and redress of past wrongs   At about 57:20, Pete discusses the importance of Dre Dre and other hip musicians as part of bringing the crack era to an end, as well as communities standing up to bring use down   At about 58:40, Donovan talks about pessimism that came after finishing the book in 2020, including the case of young Black men being barred from selling water in Atlanta    At about 1:02:25, Pete highlights the power of the individual stories in the book, including a beautiful andeote involving Shawn-Coach McCray   At about 1:04:00, Donovan responds to Pete's questions about any optimism he feels in examining the individual stories of Shawn, Lennie, Elgin, Kurt, and others   At about 1:06:50, Donovan talks about exciting upcoming projects, including podcast potential    At about 1:08:00, Donovan shouts out Reparations Club in Los Angeles, For Keeps Bookstore in Atlanta, and McNally Jackson Books in New York as good places to buy his book, as well as his social media/contact info    You can now subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and leave me a five-star review. You can also ask for the podcast by name using Alexa, and find the pod on Stitcher, Spotify, and on Amazon Music. Follow me on IG, where I'm @chillsatwillpodcast, or on Twitter, where I'm @chillsatwillpo1. You can watch this and other episodes on YouTube-watch and subscribe to The Chills at Will Podcast Channel. Please subscribe to both my YouTube Channel and my podcast while you're checking out this episode.    Sign up now for The Chills at Will Podcast Patreon: it can be found at patreon.com/chillsatwillpodcastpeterriehl     Check out the page that describes the benefits of a Patreon membership, including cool swag and bonus episodes. Thanks in advance for supporting my one-man show, my DIY podcast and my extensive reading, research, editing, and promoting to keep this independent podcast pumping out high-quality content!    NEW MERCH! You can browse and buy here: https://www.etsy.com/shop/ChillsatWillPodcast    This is a passion project of mine, a DIY operation, and I'd love for your help in promoting what I'm convinced is a unique and spirited look at an often-ignored art form.    The intro song for The Chills at Will Podcast is “Wind Down” (Instrumental Version), and the other song played on this episode was “Hoops” (Instrumental)” by Matt Weidauer, and both songs are used through ArchesAudio.com. Check out the next episode with Ethan Chatagnier, which airs today, July 18.    Ethan is the author of Singer Distance, a novel lauded by NPR Books and The Millions. His short fiction has appeared in a variety of literary journals including the Kenyon Review Online and he has won a Pushcart Prize and been listed as notable in the Best American Short Stories.     Again, the episode with Ethan will air today, July 18.  

Episode 191 Notes and Links to Sarah's Work       On Episode 191 of The Chills at Will Podcast, Pete welcomes Sarah Fawn Montgomery, and the two discuss, among other things, her early reading and writing, storytelling, growing up in Central California, the ways in which blue-collar Americans have been depicted-or not depicted in literature, and salient themes in her essay collection, like nostalgia, father-daughter relationships, cycles of poverty and violence and trauma, and evolving ideas of home.      Sarah Fawn Montgomery is the author of Halfway from Home (Split/Lip Press, 2022), Quite Mad: An American Pharma Memoir (The Ohio State University Press, 2018) and the poetry chapbooks Regenerate: Poems of Mad Women (Dancing Girl Press, 2017), Leaving Tracks: A Prairie Guide (Finishing Line Press, 2017), and The Astronaut Checks His Watch (Finishing Line Press, 2014). Her work has been listed as notable in Best American Essays many times, and her poetry and prose have appeared in Brevity, Crab Orchard Review, DIAGRAM, Electric Literature, LitHub, New England Review, The Normal School, Passages North, Poetry Foundation, The Rumpus, Southeast Review, Terrain, and numerous other journals and anthologies. She holds an MFA in creative writing from California State University-Fresno and a PhD in English in creative writing from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. She is an Associate Professor at Bridgewater State University in Massachusetts.      Buy Halfway from Home: Essays   Sarah's Website   Review of Halfway from Home: Essays from Kirkus Review   Split Rock Review-Review of Halfway from Home   At about 2:20, Sarah talks about her early relationships with reading and writing, and about how she wanted to write stories about often-overlooked working-class people   At about 4:20, Sarah cites some early favorite books and writers, and she analyzes the ways she reads a favorite, Joan Didion, now differently than she did then   At about 7:00, The two discuss class and how it is talked about in our society (or not) and represented in literature    At about 9:00, Sarah discusses how she got excited about writing-she shouts out to a high school teacher who gave a meaningful and transformative journal assignment and invited Sarah to keep writing   At about 13:00, Sarah references nonfiction writers who thrilled her in college-like Audre Lorde, Sandra Cisneros, and Jamaica Kincaid-and thrill her today, like Chen Chen, Ada Limón, Donika Kelly, Saeed Jones, Dorothy Chan, and torrin a. greathouse     At about 14:40, Sarah recounts the genesis of her Halfway From Home collection and answers Pete's questions about making the individual essays cohere   At about 17:40, Pete summarizes the book's first essay and its “dig sites” and focus on her father's whimsy and her love of dirt-it's called “Excavation”    At about 19:00, Sarah speaks to the significance of “excavation” in the first story and beyond   At about 21:00, Pete compliments the story's “imagined ending” and Sarah speaks about its significance and background    At about 23:25, Sarah discusses the power and symbolism of fire and light, cold and darkness, as featured in her book   At about 26:10, The two discuss ideas of homes, serenity, and respite from traumas and chaos   At about 31:30, The two discuss her essay on cartography   At about 35:40, Pete muses   At about 37:00, The history of Sarah's family in mines is discussed, along with the multiple meanings of “descendants”   At about 40:50, Sarah talks about “complicating humanity,” especially with regards to her grandfather and grandmother   At about 42:15, Pete asks about the end of an essay and how Sarah approached its second-person address   At about 44:20, The two discuss nostalgia and its connections to the essays, the intriguing concept of saudade, and nostalgia's history as something to be discouraged   At about 48:35, Pete recounts how nostalgia has informed the podcast's ethos   At about 50:45, Sarah confesses to being “anti-time” (!) and the two reference a classic Saved by the Bell scene   At about 54:45, Cycles of violence as depicted in the essay are examined   At about 56:45, Sarah reflects on how she sees and saw he father throughout her collection and in more recent times   At about 1:01:00, Pete notes the ways in which women in Sarah's family are portrayed in her collection    At about 1:02:30, Pete compliments a beautiful scene with father and daughter and Sarah talks about the nostalgia associated with parents and childhood-Pete    At about 1:04:45, Sarah shares an interesting new project involving combatting ableist writing as default    At about 1:05:50, The two fan boy/girl over Alice Wong's work   At about 1:06:15, Sarah shouts out her publisher Split Lip Press as a place to buy her book   At about 1:06:45, Sarah gives out social media/contact information    You can now subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and leave me a five-star review. You can also ask for the podcast by name using Alexa, and find the pod on Stitcher, Spotify, and on Amazon Music. Follow me on IG, where I'm @chillsatwillpodcast, or on Twitter, where I'm @chillsatwillpo1. You can watch this and other episodes on YouTube-watch and subscribe to The Chills at Will Podcast Channel. Please subscribe to both my YouTube Channel and my podcast while you're checking out this episode.    Sign up now for The Chills at Will Podcast Patreon: it can be found at patreon.com/chillsatwillpodcastpeterriehl     Check out the page that describes the benefits of a Patreon membership, including cool swag and bonus episodes. Thanks in advance for supporting my one-man show, my DIY podcast and my extensive reading, research, editing, and promoting to keep this independent podcast pumping out high-quality content!    NEW MERCH! You can browse and buy here: https://www.etsy.com/shop/ChillsatWillPodcast    This is a passion project of mine, a DIY operation, and I'd love for your help in promoting what I'm convinced is a unique and spirited look at an often-ignored art form.    The intro song for The Chills at Will Podcast is “Wind Down” (Instrumental Version), and the other song played on this episode was “Hoops” (Instrumental)” by Matt Weidauer, and both songs are used through ArchesAudio.com.    Please tune in for Episode 192 with Donovan X Ramsey. He is a journalist, author, and indispensable voice on issues of identity, justice, and patterns of power in América; When Crack Was King: A People's History of a Misunderstood Era comes out on June 11, i.e. the day this episode with Sarah has been published.  The episode will air on July 18.