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Episode 402: The Stentorian-Voiced Dudely Bro-ness of Rob Harvilla

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For a couple weeks, visit combeyond.bu.edu, use the promo code NARRATIVE25 at checkout and get 25% your tuition for the two-day Power of Narrative Conference. And, no, I don’t get any dough.

By Brendan O’Meara

Rob Harvilla (@robharvilla) returns to talk about the end of his world famous podcast 60 Songs that Explain the 90s and the book based on the same name.

In this conversation we talk about several of his episodes that made an impression on me, namely the “Sabotage,” “It’s Good to be King,” “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” and “Enter Sandman.” We talk about a lot of things that his podcast has meant to him since he conceived of it in 2020, that year we still haven’t seemed to leave yet.

Episode 401: Jessica Camille Aguirre on Racking Up Rejections, Online Nothing Burgers, and The Atavist’s “Watch It Burn”

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By Brendan O’Meara

Jessica Camille Aguirre (@jessicacaquirre) is a freelance journalist based out of Berlin, Germany, and she’s got a ripping piece for this month’s Atavist, “Watch It Burn.” Two scammers, a web of betrayal, and Europe’s fraud of the century.

It deals with carbon credits and the scammers were quick to pounce on this upstart industry.

Episode 400: Richard Blanco on Fever Writing and Finding the Poem within the Poem

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By Brendan O’Meara

For Episode 400, we wanted to go big, presidential-inaugural-poet big. Richard Blanco, @poetrichardblanco on IG, author of the collection Homeland of My Body (Beacon Press), graced out airwaves for a milestone episode.

Great talk about the messiness of writing a book, showing early drafts to students to let them see what a bloody mess the process is, and Richard reads two poems from HOMB.

The list of Richard’s accolades are bonkers-crazy. In 2023, he was won the National Humanities Award and he was named the first ever poet laureate in Miami-Dade County. He’s the author of two memoirs, The Prince of Los Cocuyos and For All of Us, One Today: An Inaugural Poet’s Journey.

The show’s Instagram and Threads handle is @creativenonfictionpodcast.

And you know I’d rather you sign up for my Up-to-11 Newsletter. Signup form is below you and to your right. Book recs, book raffles, cool stuff curated by me for you, fun and entertaining. First of the month. No spam. Can’t beat it.

Consider supporting the show via Patreon patreon.com/cnfpod. Shop around if you want to support the community. The show is free but it ain’t cheap.

Free ways to support the show?

Subscribe and download and share across your socials. And don’t forget to consider leaving a kind review on Apple Podcasts. Those go a LONG way.

Now in Paperback: ‘Simple is the Way to Go’ with Mirin Fader

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This originally aired on December 10, 2021 as Episode 291.

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By Brendan O’Meara

What’s not to love about Mirin Fader (@mirinfader)?

She’s an incredible writer and reporter. She’s a senior staff writer for The Ringer. On top of that, she’s generous and insightful, and she brought all of that and more to this episode of the podcast.

We talk about her feature on Tyler Skaggs, a notable selection for Year’s Best Sports Writing.

We also dig into her biography Giannis: The Improbable Rise of an MVP.

We talk about failure and persistence and writing and ledes. This is a dream conversation if you’re into the nuts and bolts of writing and reporting long features and books.

Her feature on the late Gigi Bryant also was a notable selection for YBSW, so that’s yet another feather in Mirin’s hat.

The show’s Instagram and Threads handle is @creativenonfictionpodcast.

Consider supporting the show via Patreon patreon.com/cnfpod. Shop around if you want to support the community. The show is free but it ain’t cheap.

Free ways to support the show?

Subscribe and download and share across your socials. And don’t forget to consider leaving a kind review on Apple Podcasts. Those go a LONG way.

Episode 399: William Ralston Recounts a Harrowing Rescue for The Atavist

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By Brendan O’Meara

William Ralston is a freelancer journalist and he comes on the show to talk about “Mayday,” his long feature about a harrowing rescue of four children after a deadly plane crash for The Atavist.

Right from the start, William grabs the reader and doesn’t let you go, man. Maybe you’ll consider subscribing to The Atavist Magazine. I don’t get any kickbacks, so I do it out of the goodness of Grinch-sized heart (before he serves up the roast beast).

William’s work has appeared all over the place. He’s a dogged reporter, so we get into that quite a bit.

This conversation gets into trust, as well as learning how to write before you’re ready. Jonah Ogles also stops by to give some of those valuable insights into the editor side of the table.

The show’s Instagram and Threads handle is @creativenonfictionpodcast.

And you know I’d rather you sign up for my rage-against-the-algorithm. Signup form is below you and to your right. Book recs, book raffles, cool stuff curated by me for you, CNFin’ happy hour or writing group, writing prompts, fun and entertaining. First of the month. No spam. Can’t beat it.

Consider supporting the show via Patreon patreon.com/cnfpod. Shop around if you want to support the community. You make that possible. The show is free but it ain’t cheap.

Free ways to support the show?

Subscribe and download and share across your socials. And don’t forget to consider leaving a kind review on Apple Podcasts. Those go a LONG way.

Battery drain

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By Brendan O’Meara

I understand how tiresome it is when someone talks, talks, talks about social media use, the struggle of it, the do-we-really-need-it questions.

Over the years, you know my tendency is to rage against the algorithm. It’s my passion. I’ve deleted apps from my phone. Put them back on. Deleted certain accounts. You know the cycle; it’s the cycle of an addict.

A few weeks ago, I experienced a revelation regarding social media: It drains me. It makes me sluggish. I saps my motivation. It was a physical reaction.

Episode 398: Emily Sohn Explores the Complicated Legacy of Virginia Kraft

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By Brendan O’Meara

Emily Sohn (@tidepoolsink) is a freelance journalist based out of Minnesota. For Long Lead, she wrote “The Catch,” an in-depth feature about Virginia Kraft, a trailblazing and complicated woman who was one of the first female writers at Sports Illustrated.

It’s a gripping piece that delves into the ruthlessly ambitious life of Kraft, while weaving in present-day introspection from Emily.

We talk about how she arrived at the story, how she got her head around the research, and the dark night of the soul that always accompanies long work.

Emily’s work has appeared in Long Lead, National Geographic, the Washington Post, Outside, and the New York Times, among others.

Now in Paperback: Howard Bryant says ‘Everybody Gets Forgotten’

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This episode originally aired on June 10, 2022 as Episode 320.

By Brendan O’Meara

What a great interview to re-up. Tremendous insights into the craft of biography and the perfect way to lobby subjects about what it’s important for a credible journalist to tell their stories: Everybody gets forgotten. They might not thinks so, but it’s true. And Howard made that case to Rickey Henderson for Rickey: The Life and Legend of an American Original.

Howard is the author of several books including The Last Hero: A Life of Henry Aaron, The Heritage: Black Athletes, a Divided America, and the Politics of Patriotism, and Shut Out: A Story of Race and Baseball in Boston.

Now in Paperback: Matt Bell Refuses to be Done, Dammit

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By Brendan O’Meara

Matt Bell (@mdbell79) is here. Why? He’s got a great craft book out called Refuse to be Done: How to Write and Rewrite a Novel in Three Drafts.

What a great handbook to walk you through the generative pages and then the arduous task — the REAL work — of refining, rewriting, and revising.

This book will teach you patience.

This book will teach you perserverance.

This book will teach you the meaning of work.

Episode 397: Leah Sottile Riffs on Kurt Vonnegut’s Rules on Writing

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By Brendan O’Meara

Wow!

Leah Sottile is back, and this time she’s got a new paperback edition of When the Moon Turns to Blood to riff about. She even added a bonus chapter, which finally puts the bed the saga of Lori Vallow, the Doomsday Queen.

Leah also is the voice behind Bundyville and Burn Wild. Dude knows how to write an ending, that’s all I’ll say.

What was especially fun this time around with Leah was digging into Kurt Vonnegut’s Eight Rules on Writing and getting her take on them. Bookmark that link for your records. She’s a big Vonnegut fan, as am I, so that was a toe-tappin’ good time.

And ok but sure she also has a great newsletter, but you should subscribe to it and don’t unsubscribe. I know the pain of the unsubscribe all too well.

The show’s Instagram and Threads handle is @creativenonfictionpodcast.

Consider supporting the show via Patreon patreon.com/cnfpod. Shop around if you want to support the community. You make that possible. The show is free but it ain’t cheap.

Free ways to support the show?

Subscribe and download and share across your socials. And don’t forget to consider leaving a kind review on Apple Podcasts. Those go a LONG way.