Audio Magazine Issue No. 1: Isolation

By Brendan O’Meara

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It’s been a long time coming, but, at long last, here is the inaugural Creative Nonfiction Podcast Audio Magazine!

The essays take you to edges of isolation and what that means to these five brilliant contributors.

I’m very proud of this, and I’m thrilled to keep improving the product and developing it.

As you know, this is the show where I usually speak to badass writers about the art and craft of telling true stories. So it’s my esteemed pleasure to bring you true stories on the feed.

Now, this inaugural issue will forever be free for all, but subsequent issues will only be available for members in the Patreon community. The first tier grants you exclusive access to the 2021 audio mag, which I hope will publish around June/July. The new theme and submission guidelines are at the end of this audio mag. Very exciting!

You’ll want to keep the conversation going on social media @CNFPod and let me know what you think of this exciting enterprise.

Continue reading “Audio Magazine Issue No. 1: Isolation”

Episode 230: Meichi Ng, the Barely Functional Adult behind ‘Barely Functional Adult’

By Brendan O’Meara

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Meichi Ng is the genius behind Barely Functional Adult, her wildly popular web comic. Her first book is … Barely Functional Adult: It’ll All Make Sense Eventually (Harper Perennial).

I can’t speak highly enough about it. It’s hilarious and heartfelt.

In this episode we chat about:

  • Holding onto positive thoughts in a negative world
  • The scary nature of hitting publish
  • Her comic workflow
  • Balancing images and prose and lots more

You can now become a Patreon member of the CNFin’ community. I have four tiers of membership and if you do the math on the BIG tier, it’s actually a killer deal.

Becoming a member supports the podcast, supports the audio mag, grants you exclusive content, transcripts, and access to me as an editor and coach. Every dollar goes into producing the show and leading to more creative independence, which means I can make more cool stuff for you.

I know it’s a big ask, but I figure it’s better than a tip jar as you’ll get some cool stuff in exchange for your membership.

Keep the conversation going on social media @CNFPod and consider leaving a kind review on Apple Podcasts. They help with the packaging of the show. If you can’t or don’t want to leave one on Apple, you can email me a review and I’ll read it on air and use it as I court sponsors.

Don’t forget to subscribe to the free monthly newsletter where I share reading recommendations, articles, blogs, and what you might have missed from the world of the CNFin’ podcast. First of the month. No spam. Can’t beat it.

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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 227: The Futility of Reassurance and Being on the Hook with Seth Godin

Seth Godin Photo credit: Darius Bashar and Archangel
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By Brendan O’Meara

“That’s what the practice is. It’s for people who have read enough blog posts or books to know the method, but for whatever reason look straight at the method and blink,” says Seth Godin.

Seth is the author of twenty books and I’m thrilled to celebrate his latest book, The Practice: Shipping Creative Work.

It’s an incredible book and the book we need for these distracting and troubling times. You’ll want to pair this book with The Dip and This is Marketing. And Linchpin.

You’ll want to keep the conversation going on social media, @CNFPod, across the Big Three.

Signing up for the my monthly newsletter is where it’s at! Reading recommendations, writing tips, and news from the podcast. I hosted the first CNFin’ Zoom Happy Hour for newsletter subscribers. If you want to come to the next one, subscribe! Once a month. No spam. Can’t beat it.

If I’ve made something worth sharing, I hope you you’ll considering linking up to the show on social media. And if you have a moment, leave a kind review on Apple Podcasts.

OK, that’s it, friend. Please enjoy.

Episode 226: Edward Parnell’s In Search of a Haunted Country in ‘Ghostland’

Edward Parnell

By Brendan O’Meara

Edward Parnell, the author of Ghostland: In Search of a Haunted Country (William Collins), comes by the show to talk about the new book, a book that is part travel log, culture log, and memoir.

It is a haunting read, a mournful read, so naturally I dug it.

You can find Edward @edward_parnell on Twitter.

We talk about our shared love of Kurt Vonnegut, keeping the fun in writing, his approach to take this book away from the traditional grief memoir path, and lots more.

Keep the conversation going on social media @CNFPod and be sure to sign up for the monthly newsletter where I give out reading recommendation, podcast news, and writing tips. This month I plan to try something new: An exclusive Zoom link to have a little happy hour. First of the month. No spam. Can’t beat it.

Other Books by Edward Parnell

The Listeners

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Episode 225: Amalia Andrade Dances with Her Fears

By Brendan O’Meara

What a pleasure to have Amalia Andrade (@amaliaandrade_ on Twitter) on the podcast to talk about her new book What You Think About When You Bit Your Nails: A Fear and Anxiety Workbook (Penguin Life).

She’s so damn cool and her style of drawing and writing is so fun and whimsical. I think you’re gonna dig her.

We talk about:

  • Her childhood growing up in Columbia
  • Fear and anxiety
  • Ira Glass and the creative gap (video below)
  • Developing along with her audience
  • And how drawing can alleviate your anxieties

Consider leaving a kind review on Apple Podcasts so more CNFers like YOU will see it. Subscribe to my monthly newsletter where you’ll get great reading recommendations, be entered in raffles for books and maybe, just maybe, be invited to a Zoom Happy Hour on the first of the month, the day the newsletter goes out. You’ll have to subscribe, open the newsletter, and follow the link at the appropriate time.

Cheers!

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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 222: Catherine Grace Katz on One-Word Distillations, the Thrill of Research and ‘The Daughters of Yalta’

By Brendan O’Meara

Catherine Grace Katz, author of The Daughters of Yalta: The Churchills, Roosevelts, and Harrimans: A Story of Love and War, joins me to talk about her new book.

You can find her @Catherine_Katz on Twitter.

Catherine graduated from Harvard with a BA in history in 2013. She earned an MPhil in modern European history from Christ’s College at the University of Cambridge in 2014, and now is pursuing her JD at Harvard Law School.

You could say she was punching down in class coming by to speak with me.

She joins the ranks of several historians who have been on the show like Laura Hillenbrand, Bob Batchelor, and James Carl Nelson, to name a few.

We talk about her upbringing in Chicago and how stories were such an early part of her life, her dissertation on modern counterintelligence, research, and her Bookshelf for the Apocalypse. All great stuff.

Keep the conversation going on social media @CNFPod across the Big Three and consider leaving the show a kind review on Apple Podcasts. Drop me a line if you have questions, want me to work with you on your book or essay, or you just want to say hello.

Catherine’s Bookshelf for the Apocalypse

A Gentleman in Moscow
Emma
Anne Green Gables
The Martian
To Kill a Mockingbird
In Command of History

Brendan does not get a kickback for any book sales via affiliate links. This is why he fails.

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