Atavist – Page 3 – Home of The Creative Nonfiction Podcast

Episode 359: Shannon McCaffrey

Who doesn’t like a good elephant story? Shannon McCaffrey, @shannonajc1, she of the Atlanta Journal Constitution, wrote a piece called “Sanctuary” for this month’s Atavist Magazine.

Here’s a little nugget from the piece:

There are many kinds of love stories. This one involves a woman and an elephant, and their bond spanning nearly 50 years. It involves devotion and betrayal. It also raises difficult questions about the relationship between humans and animals, about control and freedom, about what it means to own another living thing.

Shannon wrote this piece on spec as it was part of her MFA project from the University of Georgia. This is something of a rarity for Seyward Darby, editor-in-chief of the Atavist, and we talk a little bit about that at the top of the show.

In this conversation, you’ll find:

Episode 354: Nile Cappello

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By Brendan O’Meara

Nile Cappello (@liketheriver_) is back!

You might remember her from this:

Here’s a link to that story, “The Girl in the Picture.”

And she’s back, this time to talk about kidfluencer culture in “Crushed.” Brace yourself, CNFers, this one’s a doozie.

Episode 349: Madeline Bodin

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By Brendan O’Meara

It’s that Atavistian time of the month! This time we speak with Madeline Bodin, a freelance journalist based out of Vermont.

Her piece “The Curious Case of Nebraska Man” is the story of a fossilized tooth that spurs the debate over evolution and creationism and, as often happens in this country, pins science into a corner where it must be defended again, again, and again.

In this pod, I also speak with editor-in-chief Seyward Darby. Sidebar: She has a new piece in The Guardian about abused beagles. Is there nothing she can’t do? Maybe play drums …

Episode 340: J.B. MacKinnon

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By Brendan O’Meara

It’s that Atavistian time of the month! And this time we have J.B. MacKinnon, author of the feature “True Grit.”

This piece chronicles the harrowing journey a few feral cows made during a hurricane in North Carolina’s Outer Banks. Let’s just say cows can swim … a LONG time if needed.

J.B. is the author or coauthor of five books of nonfiction. An award-winning journalist, his work has appeared in such publications as the New Yorker, National Geographic, and the Atlantic, as well as the Best American Science and Nature Writing anthologies. He is an adjunct professor of journalism at the University of British Columbia, where he teaches feature writing.

Episode 336: Cassidy Randall

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By Brendan O’Meara

Cassidy Randall is a freelance writer based out of Montana, and her piece for The Atavist Magazine, “Alone at the Edge of the World,” just dropped.

It’s a harrowing piece and one that really flexes the muscles of what a reporter/writer can do to re-create scenes when they weren’t present for the “main action.”

We talk about how reading fiction helps her with her nonfiction, dealing with rejection, attention to rhythm in sentences, pacing, and a whole lot more.

Episode 331: Seyward Darby

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By Brendan O’Meara

Seyward Darby is here to talk about her investigative piece about the alleged sexual misconduct at a progressive public school in Los Angeles. It’s the first piece she’s ever written for the magazine she edits, something she was cognizant of when reporting and writing this piece. As a result, she was that much harder on herself. The title of the piece is “Fault Lines,” and you most certainly need to check it out.

We talk about how she handled reporting on and interviewing the Jane Does at the center of this case and how she was able to make the story “Atavisty.” Consider subscribing to the Atavist Magazine** so you get access to stories past and present.

Episode 326: Jana Meisenholder

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By Brendan O’Meara

Jana Meisenholder is a freelance journalist based out of Los Angeles and she’s got a new piece out for The Atavist Magazine. It’s an incredible tale of drive and obsession.

Jana’s work has appeared in Rolling Stone, the Wall Street Journal, and, now The Atavist.

This episode was my COVID episode (still sparring with it, though I think the worst is behind me). Sometimes when I do these interviews you see threads dangling in the conversation and you have to make a choice which thread to pull. If I wasn’t so sick, I would’ve pulled on a couple, but I couldn’t. I simply … could … not. THAT SAID, this episode still came out great.

Jana’s piece follows Andres Beckett, a Mexican-American man hellbent on finding mentorship to lead him over the edge of the Suicide Race. It’s a trip, man.

We start off by talking to editor-in-chief Seyward Darby before we get into the skeleton, the meat, and the bones with Jana.

Episode 323: Leigh Baldwin and Sean Williams

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By Brendan O’Meara

Leigh Baldwin and Sean Williams are here to talk about “Follow the Leader,” their latest piece for The Atavist.

Here’s the teaser for it:

“In the waning days of the Iron Curtain, Rainier Sonntag helped fuel the neo-Nazi movement that still plagues Germany today. He was also a Communist spy—and he was working for Vladimir Putin.”

Go ahead, TRY and not read it.

Episode 318: Greg Donahue

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By Brendan O’Meara

Greg Donahue (@GregJDonahue) is a freelance journalist, and he returns to The Atavist Magazine for “The Fugitive Next Door.”

It’s a riveting story, but what else would you expect from the Atavist or Greg?

Greg talks about some of his writerly insecurities, the power of endings, and a dynamite recommendation dealing with sentences.

We start off this episode speaking with Jonah Ogles, the lead editor of this piece.

More show notes TK. I promise!

Episode 313: ‘A Crime Beyond Belief” for The Atavist with Katia Savchuk

Is this not the greatest headshot you’ve ever seen?

View on Zencastr

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By Brendan O’Meara

Katia Savchuk speaks fluent Russian. She went to Harvard. She went to the Columbia School of Journalism. She’s written for The New Yorker, The Washington Post, Forbes and … The Atavist!

And that’s what brings Katia (@katiasav) to the podcast this week as we talk about her piece “A Crime Beyond Belief.” It’s an incredible feat of reporting, writing, structure, tension, all the things.

We talk about her Talk of the Town in a recent issue of The New Yorker, “Vlog of War.” We talk about how her viral tweet got her grandmother and father out of Kyiv.

My 94 yo grandmother, a Holocaust survivor, is trapped in her Kyiv apartment with my father. She can’t really walk, and he can’t drive due to a disability. If anyone knows of any resources that can help with evacuation, please let me know.
— Katia Savchuk (@katiasav) March 5, 2022

A rare instance of social media doing some good in this world.

Anyway …

We also talk about tape recorders, empathy, organization, it’s a great chat.

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