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Episode 442: Steven Hyden Revisits Springsteen’s ‘Born in the USA’

By Brendan O’Meara

Promotional support is brought to you by the Power of Narrative Conference, celebrating its 26th year on the last weekend of March 28 and 29. 300-400 journalists from around the world are coming. Keynote speakers Susan Orlean, Connie Schultz, and Dan Zak will deliver the knowledge. Listeners of this podcast can get 15% off your enrollment fee by using the code CNF15. To learn more visit combeyond.bu.edu … and use that CNF15 code.

We’ve got Steven Hyden today (@steven_hydenwriter on IG). He returns to the show to talk about There Was Nothing You Could Do: Bruce Springtseen’s ‘Born in the USA’ and the End of the Heartland. It is published by Hachette Books.

Episode 439: Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz and Paul Peart-Smith Bring a Graphic Interpretation of “An Indigenous People’s History of the United States” to Life

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By Brendan O’Meara

It being a week before Americans, by and large, celebrate a major Thursday holiday, it seemed like great timing to have Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz and Paul Peart-Smith on the show to talk about the graphic interpretation Roxanne’s seminal text An Indigenous People’s History of the United States (Beacon Press).

Here’s a link to the source text and a link to the graphic text. Both incredible, must-read books, learning that takes place, as Roxanne writes, “outside the academy.”

Episode 438: How It’s All Connected with Taiyon J. Coleman

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By Brendan O’Meara

Hey, CNFers, very happy to introduce you to (in case you haven’t met) Taiyon J. Coleman, a leader, instructor, professor, and the author of Traveling without Moving: Essays from a Black Woman Trying to Survive in America (Univ. of Minnesota Press).

It’s a fine collection that highlights systemic injustices that go largely invisible to people of privilege, like myself. So it’s all the more important to read about the experiences of our fellow Americans, to find a greater sense of empathy and feel the weight of their truths. We need to mainline other truths, people! The book is heavy and buoyant, and I hope you’ll consider picking up a copy.

Episode 436: Mira Ptacin and the Story of How One Town Drove Out a Nazi

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By Brendan O’Meara

It’s that Atavistian time of the month and Mira Ptacin (@miramptacin) is here! She is a writer, journalist, teacher, and did you see that sweater in her pic? Her story for The Atavist Magazine, “The Crash of the Hammer,” details how one town in rural Maine ran a new-Nazi (Christopher Polhaus, aka Hammer) out of town.

The crux of the piece is this notion of the paradox of tolerance. When you become tolerant of intolerant people (because tolerance) you invite the conditions for greater intolerance. Tolerating intolerance ultimately squashes out tolerance. Hence the paradox.

Episode 435: Seth Godin Travels at the Speed of Trust in ‘This is Strategy’

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By Brendan O’Meara

What a treat to have Seth Godin back on the podcast, his third CNFin’ rodeo. He’s here this time around to talk about his latest (as of 2024) book This is Strategy: Make Better Plans (Author’s Equity).

It’ll make you think. Like … it’ll MAKE you think, if you follow me.

Episode 433: The Perils of Playing it Safe with Chase Jarvis

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By Brendan O’Meara

What a joy to have Chase Jarvis (@chasejarvis) back on the show. He is the author of Creative Calling, and his second book is Never Play It Safe: A Practical Guide to Freedom, Creativity, and a Life You Love (Harper Business). It’s available wherever you buy books, and if you head to https://chasejarvis.com/never-play-it-safe/ you can get some bonus materials. Trust me. You’ll want them.

Chase was the founder of the pioneering online learning platform Creative Live. He sold the company, and that catalyzed an entirely uncertain path. The book tracks that journey as he embodies the message at the core of the book that playing it safe is most dangerous thing we can do … creatively speaking. Not, you know, cycling without a helmet or courting disaster down a dark alley.

Episode 431: Sean Enfield, Author of ‘Holy American Burnout’ Hates the Word Burnout

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By Brendan O’Meara

Sean Enfield (@seanseanclan) is the author of Holy American Burnout (Split/Lip Press), a fine essay collection that pushes the boundaries of form and is a cross-section of teaching, music, race, and a whole lot more.

Sean is an educator, a bassist, a poet, an essayist, and a whole lot more.

In this conversation, we talk about how Sean hates the word burnout, how he encourages his students to be creative kleptomaniacs, and a whole lot more.

Episode 429: What Does It Mean to be a ‘Hungry Author’?

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By Brendan O’Meara

What is a “hungry author”? Setting aside pre-breakfast jokes, what does it mean?

Authors Ariel Curry (@arielkcurry) and Liz Morrow (@liz_morrow), it’s:

A writer who is determined to succeed. They want to and will be published. They take feedback well and don’t shy away from the hard work. You will find their butts in the chairs and fingers on the keyboard. They believe in their ideas and know they will impact others.

And so it is in their book Hungry Authors: The Indispensable Guide to Planning, Writing, and Publishing a Nonfiction Book (Rowman & Littlefield). Lots of great, juicy tidbits in this book that really makes you think your Big Idea through.

Ariel and Liz also co-host the helpful Hungry Authors (@hungryauthors) podcast, another fine resource to lean into.

Episode 428: Brin-Jonathan Butler Remembers Flacco the Owl

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By Brendan O’Meara

Brin-Jonathan Butler is a frequent guest of the podcast, and he returned to talk about Flacco the Owl, among other things.

Brin is the kinda guy I can just listen to for ours. He’s operating on another level, certainly a level far above my Windows 95 operating system.

Brin is the author of a few books, namely The Grandmaster and The Domino Diaries.

Episode 424: Tommy Tomlinson on Aiming for One-Word Summations, the Blurt, and ‘Dogland’

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By Brendan O’Meara

Tommy Tomlinson (@tommyltomlinson) is on the show to talk about dogs … and writing … and about his book Dogland: Passion, Glory, and Lots of Slobber at the Westminster Dog Show (Avid Reader Press).

Tommy is a journalist and author whose work has appeared in Esquire, ESPN the Magazine, Garden & Gun, and a million other places. He’s also the author of the brilliant memoir Elephant in the Room: One Fat Man’s Quest to Get Smaller in a Growing America.

I have a soft spot in my heart for very accomplished writers and journalists who speak so openly and candidly about writing and doing the work, and Tommy brings all that to this conversation.