Tag: books

Episode 229: A License to be Curious with ‘Fossil Men’ author Kermit Pattison

Kermit Pattison in the field in Ethiopia. Love the notebook in the pocket.

By Brendan O’Meara

Kermit Pattison (@KermitPattison) steps up this week to talk about his new book Fossil Men: The Quest for the Oldest Skeleton and the Origins of Humankind (William Morrow, 2020).

It’s a great read about the rivalries among scientists, the purity of the mission, discovery and inquiry. Kermit does an admirable job of making this science accessible.

We talk about:

  • His license to be curious
  • Developing his chops as a reporter
  • Deciding what to leave in and leave out
  • His Bookshelf for the Apocalypse (!) and much more!

Keep the conversation going on social media @CNFPod. Consider leaving a kind a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts. I’ll be sure to read it on the air and give you the love you deserve.

A Patreon page is coming VERY soon, so I want to prime the pump for that. I’m excited to offer some cool goodies and access and coaching for those who are willing to take the leap. It’ll help keep the lights on. This enterprise is free, but it ain’t cheap!

Kermit’s Bookshelf for the Apocalypse

Norton Anthology of Poetry
A John Le Carre novel
Collected Works of Charles Dickens
Fossil Men
A blank journal

A special call out to journalists and nonfiction writers who could use some extra support in these unpredictable times. Writers House Pittsburgh is accepting applications for a 6 month residency starting as early as January 2021. The Writers House is a physical home and long-term residency seeking to provide housing stability, mentorship, and community when you need it most. Head over to WritersHousePittsburgh.org to learn more. Applications will close on November 30th. 

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Episode 228: Annie Duke Tells You How to Decide

Annie Duke
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By Brendan O’Meara

Annie Duke (@AnnieDuke) is a world-class poker player and the author of How to Decide: Simple Tools for Making Better Choices.

This book is essential reading because what is more fundamental to life than making decisions? It provides a framework for making the most educated decisions, objective decisions, and the context to tell you whether or not a bad outcome was, in fact, the result of a bad decision.

There are many instances where you make a great decision, but the outcome is horrible. When you see the play calling at the end of Super Bowl when New England beat Seattle, you realize Pete Carroll’s decision to throw was a brilliant decision, but it had the worst possible outcome.

It’s a bad throw. But that’s not the point. Annie breaks this play down in the podcast.

Great decision … TERRIBLE outcome. What if they complete the pass? Greatest, gutsiest call in history! That’s resulting and that’s what Annie gets at, among other things, in her new book.

Keep the conversation going by linking up to the show on social media, @CNFPod.

Books by Annie

How to Decide
Thinking in Bets: Making Smarter Decisions When You Don’t Have All the Facts
How I Raised, Folded, Bluffed, Flirted, Cursed and Won Millions

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Episode 224: Patrick Radden Keefe’s Atypical Path to Narrative Journalism, Writing Books and Making ‘Wind of Change’

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By Brendan O’Meara

Is there anybody out there better than Patrick Radden Keefe? There are a few on his level, but I wouldn’t say anyone is better and here he is.

He says, “What can I leave out? And that point where I can start leaving things out becomes very liberating because then, in a way, the reporting continues, but it’s narrowing.”

He’s the author of three books (and a fourth coming out in 2021) and it’s his latest book, Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland that was on everybody’s list, like, Barack Obama’s list. I’m just tickled I have the same initials as Obama.

Patrick also is the host of Wind of Change, the incredible podcast that tries to solve the mystery behind the Scorpions song “Wind of Change” and whether or not the CIA had a hand in writing it.

Keep the conversation going on social media @CNFPod and consider leaving a kind review of the podcast so more people can find it, CNFers like you. It only takes a few minutes to tap away but will have a HUGE impact on the show.

Books by Patrick

Say Nothing
Snakehead An Epic Tale of the Chinatown Underworld & the American Dream
Chatter: Uncovering The Echelon Surveillance Network And The Secret World Of Global Eavesdropping

Patrick’s Bookshelf for Apocalypse

To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf
Pale Fire by Vladimir Nabokov
Pnin by Nabokov
The Secret History by Donna Tartt
The Last Sumaruai by Helen Dewitt



Episode 223: ‘Why Are You Making it, and Who is it for?’ with Kristen Meinzer

Kristen Meinzer

By Brendan O’Meara

“I spend a lot of time thinking about promotion. This isn’t Field of Dreams,” says Kristen Meinzer, @kristenmeinzer on Twitter.

You might remember Kristen from her first soiree on the podcast a few months ago when she and Jolenta Greenberg came by to talk about the book they co-wrote, How to be Fine.

She’s back for a solo show to talk about her book So You Want to Start a Podcast: Finding Your Voice, Telling Your Story, and Building a Community that Will Listen (William Morrow, 2019).

I’m self-taught, been doing this thing for eight years, and I found so many incredible nuggets in this book. The thing is, it’s ostensibly about podcasting, but you can apply the principles to anything.

We talk about structure in writing and in podcasting, why are you starting a podcast and who is it for, pet peeves in podcasting, mistakes new producers make, promoting a show, and what exactly a producer does.

Good stuff.

Please subscribe to the show wherever you get your podcasts, tell a friend, and consider leaving a kind review on Apple Podcasts. Keep the conversation going on social media. It’s @CNFPod across Twitter, IG, and FB.

Kristen’s Bookshelf for the Apocalypse or Library for the End of the World (in pictures!)

Leave the show a voicemail and I’ll answer your question on the show!

Gotta get that monthly newsletter! Here’s a link to the archive. It only goes back to March 2019, but you’ll get the drift.

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Episode 203: Emma Copley Eisenberg — A Window into Journalism World

Emma Copley Eisenberg

“I often talk to my students and I feel like I’m looking at the story through a dirty window. And I just want you to take the pane of glass out so I can see the story,” says Emma Copley Eisenberg, @frumpenberg.

By Brendan O’Meara

Happy #CNFriday, CNFers!

Emma Copley Eisenberg is here to talk about The Third Rainbow Girl. It’s been highly touted as one of the better debut works of nonfiction. It’s great for its blending of genres and pushing the boundaries of what it means to write “true crime.”

If you’re looking for a whodunnit, this is not your book, which should pique your interest even more.

A few things we riff on:

  • A window in journalism world
  • Structure
  • Her book’s many false starts
  • And pushing the boundaries of creative nonfiction

Be sure you’re subscribed to the podcast wherever you get them (search Creative Nonfiction Podcast) and keep the conversation going on social media: @CNFPod here, here, and here.

If you dig the show, consider leaving a kind review on Apple Podcasts.

And, of course, subscribe to the monthly newsletter to receive reading recommendations and to be entered in a monthly raffle for books!

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Episode 170: Leslie Jamison — Make It Scream, Make It Burn, and the Bounded Infinity of Nonfiction

Photo by Beowulf Sheehan

By Brendan O’Meara

“Essays took on this energy for me in part because they’re unofficial and in part because they brought me in contact with the world that felt really generative.” — Leslie Jamison (@lsjamison on Twitter)

Always nice when you can have straight-up badasses like Leslie Jamison on the show. I’ve spoken with some great essayists on the podcast, like Elena Passarello, Elizabeth Rush, Natalie Singer, among others.

In this episode we riff on how she had to let language to the work for her and not let the language be this shiny veneer without substance, the bounded infinity of nonfiction, and much, much more.

Her new book is Make It Scream, Make It Burn (Little, Brown, 2019) and it’s a joy to read. Leslie is also the bestselling author of The Empathy Exams, The Recovering and the novel The Gin Closet.

Keep the conversation going on Twitter by tagging me and the show @BrendanOMeara and @CNFPod. Digital fistbumps for those who do it. I hope I’ve made something worth sharing with your people, so please link up to the show and encourage your CNFin’ buds to subscribe!

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Episode 168: Rachel Dougherty — Nonfiction for Kids, Day Jobs, and Finding Confidence

Rachel Dougherty!

“My writing life is being surrounded by 15 half-empty coffee cups which I keep dipping my paint brush into accidentally.” —Rachel Dougherty (@racheldoughertybooks)

I don’t have kids, but I love the idea of writing nonfiction books for kids. If that’s your jam, or a jam worth undertaking, then Rachel Dougherty is going to Blow. Your. Mind.

This was a fun episode where we talk about day jobs, confidence (or a lack thereof), finding time to do work that matters, and so much more.

Rachel is the author and illustrator of The Secret Engineer: How Emily Roebling Built the Brooklyn Bridge. She’s a Philadelphia-based illustrator, children’s author, and lifelong knowledge-hunter. She works in acrylic paint, ink, and pencil smudges, using humor and color to inspire curious young minds. Rachel is passionate about US history, scruffy little dogs, and board games. [I didn’t ask her about board games. I wish I had.]

Listen, social media is a lousy way to promote a podcast, but it’s a great place to keep the conversation going. I hope I’ve made something worth sharing, so let’s keep it up on Twitter @CNFPod, Instagram @cnfpod, and Facebook @CNFPodcast. Tag me and the show and I’ll jump in the fire.

Sign up for the monthly newsletter: book recommendations, cool articles, and what you might have missed from the world of the podcast.

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Episode 127—Sam Chiarelli ‘Digs’ Deep with Dino Memoir

Sam Chiarelli is the author of the memoir “Dig: A Personal Prehistoric Journey.”

By Brendan O’Meara

Did you know it’s Dinovember? Not die as in death, but dino as in dinosaurs, which is how and why today’s guest is Sam Chiarelli (@DinophileSam on Twitter), author of the memoir Dig: A Personal Prehistoric Journey, published by Hippocampus Books.

Continue reading “Episode 127—Sam Chiarelli ‘Digs’ Deep with Dino Memoir”

Episode 126—Glenn Stout on Shotgunning Ledes, Creative Chain Smoking, and ‘The Pats’

Glenn Stout is the author of several books, most recently “The Pats,” and the series editor for Best American Sports Writing.

By Brendan O’Meara

“You look for the narrative, which tells a larger story.” —Glenn Stout (@glennstout)

“I never try to write a valentine. I always try to tell the story straight.” —Glenn Stout

Buckle up, CNFers, I’m Brendan O’Meara and this is my podcast, the show where I speak to the best writers and filmmakers, producers and podcasters about the art and craft of telling true stories. I try and extract habits and routines around the work so you can apply those tools of mastery to your own work.

Continue reading “Episode 126—Glenn Stout on Shotgunning Ledes, Creative Chain Smoking, and ‘The Pats’”

Episode 85—Jamie Zvirzdin on Sincerity, Permission, and Hard Work

Jamie Zvirzdin was the runner up in Creative Nonfiction’s “Science and Religion” essay contest.

By Brendan O’Meara

Tweetables from Jamie Zvirzdin (@jamiezvirzdin):

“To be sincere is to be powerful and creative nonfiction allows me to do that, to be sincere.”

“I don’t want to be content with what I know.”

“I don’t believe in ghosts, the afterlife, and I don’t believe in the muse. I believe in hard work.”

Hey CNFers, hope you’re having a CNFin’ good week.

It’s The Creative Nonfiction Podcast, the show where I speak to the world’s best artists about creating works of nonfiction: leaders in the world of personal essay, memoir, narrative journalism, documentary film, and radio and try to tease out origins, habits, and craft so you can experiment with any cool nuggets you hear. Continue reading “Episode 85—Jamie Zvirzdin on Sincerity, Permission, and Hard Work”