Episodes - Page 2 | writing class radio

May 15, 2024

181: What Do I Do if I Have Nothing Left to Write About?

Today on our show, we bring you a story by our own Allison Langer. Her essay is called My Mom And I Fought For 55 Years. Now Battling My Son Is Making Me Rethink Everything, which was originally published in Huffington Post, May 16, 2023.

May 1, 2024

180: The Forest Raised Me Better than My Father

Today on our show, we bring you a story by Darby Bergl, a PhD student at The Center for Ecosystem Science and Society (ECOSS) at Northern Arizona University (NAU). Her story is about resilience and survival in the face of a volatile father. Darby has a passion for ecology and the study of carbon dy…

April 17, 2024

179: How to Use Science to Create an Emotional Connection to Place.

Today on our show, we bring you a story by Keven Griffen, a PhD student at The Center for Ecosystem Science and Society (ECOSS) at Northern Arizona University (NAU). Her story uses science to understand an emotional connection to place. She did it by having us fall in love with the place. She set t…

April 3, 2024

178: Is it Rape if You Were Blackout Drunk?

Today on our show we bring you a story by Morgan Sutton that embodies everything a story should embody. The story uses no extra words; the narrator looks inside herself; and the story matters to the broader world.

March 20, 2024

177: How to See Beauty in Small Things

Today on our show, we bring you a story by Jasmine Anenberg, a PhD student at The Center for Ecosystem Science and Society (ECOSS) at Northern Arizona University (NAU) . Her story is about losing a friend, but gaining somethi...

March 13, 2024

176: Flying Home or Someplace Better

Today on our show, we bring you a story by Jennifer Byrne, who conjures the courage to leave her husband after she's faced with removing a bird that flew into her house. Her story is an excellent example of using a book-end structure.

Feb. 28, 2024

175: Fighting Fire with Aspen and Birch

Nick’s story takes a personal experience that has been burned into his memory. As an undergraduate student, he and his housemates almost burned down the neighborhood when they got rid of their Christmas trees. This experience led him to his work today, building natural fire breaks in the forest of …

Feb. 14, 2024

174: For the Love of Science

Happy Valentine’s Day. Today on our show, we bring you a story that was originally performed on stage at the Flagstaff Festival of Science in October 2023. This was a Collaboration with The Center for Ecosystem Science and Society (ECOSS) at Northern Arizona University (NAU) and Story Collider, a p…

Feb. 7, 2024

173: Birds Will Be Birds

Today on our show, we bring you a story by Christopher Blackwell. Chris is 42 and serving a 45-year prison sentence in Washington. Chris’s story came to us through writer and Chris’s mentor, Jamie Beth Cohen. This episode is about taking a small moment and bringing big meaning. Through details a…

Jan. 24, 2024

172: How to Start a New Job

Today on our show, we bring you a story by Sumitra Mattai. Sumitra is a writer and textile designer based in New York City. She holds a BFA in Textile Design from the Rhode Island School of Design and an MFA in Creative Writing from The New School.

Jan. 10, 2024

171: Can You Find Humor in Addiction?

Today on our show, we bring you a story by Maxine Poupko, a semi-retired nurse, long-time student of Writing Class Radio, and hilarious person. Maxine is a master at writing humor and writing the truth. Of course someone can learn the craft of writing, but there might be some debate about whether y…

Dec. 27, 2023

170: Here's Why I Resolve to Fail More

Today on our show we’re talking about the writing process and how getting rejected is just part of the fun. After our own Andrea Askowitz takes a class on rejection taught by Elissa Bassist, she develops a new way of thinking about failure. If you are not getting rejected, you’re not in the game. Y…

Dec. 13, 2023

169: My Brother's in Prison. Could I Have Done More?

Today on our show, we’re talking about structure and planting seeds. You’ll hear a story by Claire Tak called The Unopened Letter. Claire is a freelance writer and editor living in Denver.

Nov. 29, 2023

168: How to Write about Life When Everyday Is a Reminder of Death?

Today on our show, we are talking about hot topic/cold prose and when and why to write in the present tense vs. past. The story we share is written in the present tense, which gives readers the feeling that they're going through the situation with the narrator, in real time.

Nov. 15, 2023

167: Even Though I'm Judging You, Don't Judge Me for Being a Chopper Mom

Today on our show, we’re talking about writing with personality and being vulnerable. And when we say vulnerable, we mean including the hard things, good and bad, about ourselves. You’ll hear a story by Dr. Jane Marks, who is a conservation ecologist and professor of Aquatic Ecology at Northern Ari…

Nov. 1, 2023

166: The Most Unique Essay We've Ever Aired

Today on our show, we bring you a story by Kimberly Elkins . Kimberly is the author of the novel, WHAT IS VISIBLE , which was a New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice and named to several Best of 2014 lists. She’s written...

Oct. 18, 2023

165: A Psychiatric Hospital Nearly Ruined My Life

This episode is about how to write a near perfect essay. The story was written by Banning Lyon who writes about a harrowing childhood experience in a psychiatric ward. His essay was previously published in the Washington Post. After we discuss Banning’s story, you’ll hear an interview with the auth…

Oct. 4, 2023

164: Can We Live on Through Our Writing?

Today on our show, we bring you a story by Amy Paturel, which is a great example of how to write about someone else while still including the narrator in a big way. Paturel incorporates her husband’s late wife’s writing into a story that is both emotional, tender, and beautifully composed. She answ…

Sept. 20, 2023

163: Letters to My Son in Prison–Why Writing Matters.

On this episode, we bring you a story by Ken Guidroz. Ken’s story shows us the importance of writing and sharing stories, especially with people we either don’t understand or who don’t understand us. Ken says writing to his son in prison ignited an honest exchange he never would have had without wr…

Sept. 6, 2023

162: Do As I Say Not As I Do

If you are wondering how to help a friend who is grieving or have ever felt like you don't know what to say or do when someone dies, this episode will help. After you hear the story, we’ll discuss one of our biggest writing tips: be the biggest asshole in a story (but not with your editor). Allison…

Aug. 23, 2023

161: You Look Great BECAUSE You’ve Aged

On this episode, we bring you a story by our own Andrea Askowitz . A version of this essay was published April 2023 on CNN and titled What Justine Bateman Gets Exactly Right About Beauty. You’ll hear tips on how to bring in o...

Aug. 9, 2023

160: Cliches Saved My Life

Today on our show, we bring you a story by student Emily Henderson. The story is called Cliches Saved My Life.

July 26, 2023

159: Rash Decisions

Today on our show, we bring you a story by student Kim Costigan. Kim wrote this story while on our December 2022 writing retreat in Key Largo. This story crushed us and made us love Kim even more. What I want you to listen for is the anecdote at the end. This is one of our favorite ways to end a st…

July 12, 2023

158: My Dead Mother Brings My Sister and Me Together Once a Year

Today on our show, we bring you a story by Maxine Poupko. Maxine’s story is a great example of character development, showing the tiny details in a complex relationship, and bringing the reader into a different world. Maxine wrote this story for the Writing Class Radio retreat in February 2023. The…