Podcasts | Waywords Studio

By Steve Chisnell

Wanderings On Literature and Language... more

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FAQs about Podcasts | Waywords Studio:

How many episodes does Podcasts | Waywords Studio have?

The podcast currently has 38 episodes available.

Podcasts | Waywords Studio episodes:

December 27, 2025Writing Back: Letters to Humanity
26 Dec 2025
Episode 6.21 –
Writing Back: Letters to Humanity
A different sort of New Year Resolution, moving us from personal improvement to public advocacy! Let’s write an essay of address, framing our passions into a perspective that would make Le Guin proud!
Texts from this episode:
Nazim Hikmet: Letters to Taranta-Babu, 1935
Aimé Césaire: Notebook of a Return to the Native Land, 1939
Walt Whitman: various poems from Leaves of Grass, 1855
Mahmoud Darwish, “Identity Card,” 1965
Chimamanda Adichie: Dear Ijeawele, 2017
Complete Resources: https://waywordsstudio.com/project/le-guin-omelas/
CHAPTERS
00:00 New Years, New Laments
06:16 Intro Theme
06:50 Why Write Back
12:06 Our Writing Prompt: Anchor & Sting
21:34 Topics, Topics, Topics
26:21 I’m Writing, Too
37:30 Closing Credits
===
New to Literary Nomads? Check out my introductory episodes (0.1-0.3) to find out what’s going on here! I’ve got an episode for readers, for teachers, and for students: https://waywordsstudio.com/podcasts/waywords-podcast/
Have a Question? Literary Nomads Mailbag: https://forms.gle/WKGp1YWrazNZ3TLt8
Transcript: https://waywordsstudio.com/general/transcript/6-21-writing-back-letters-to-humanity
===
Literary Nomads is the primary program of Waywords Studio (https://waywordsstudio.com). The podcast posts new material each week, with thought-provoking examinations of literature around selected questions or themes and several smaller supplemental episodes in between the larger programs: history, writing, and contemporary applications of ideas.
Visit us for expanded resources for guests and the Waywords community, for other programs and writing, and for opportunities to support our goal to expand reading. Resources available can include full bibliographies of material referenced, full and partial texts, annotated editions, supplemental and expanded episodes, fictional explorations, teaching and learning resources, additional essays, and online courses.
Website: https://waywordsstudio.com
Newsletter: https://waywordsstudio.kit.com/
Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Tumblr, and LinkedIn: @ Waywords Studio
CREDITS:
Original music by Randon Myles (https://randonmyles.com/)
Chapter headings by Natalie Harrison and Sarah Skaleski
USING THIS WORK:
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. It is open to be used and adapted for all not-for-profit uses with proper attribution.
MLA CITATION:
Chisnell, Steve. “6.21 Writing Back: Letters to Humanity,” Literary Nomads. Waywords Studio, 26 Dec 2025, https://waywordsstudio.com/project/le-guin-omelas/.
...more
39min
December 19, 2025The Great Societies: Lowry’s “The Giver”
19 Dec 2025
Episode 6.20 –
The Great Societies: Lowry’s The Giver
Another thorny utopia, Lowry’s Community practices a different kind of strategy to the Hideous Bargain: ethical evasion, a too tempting strategy for all of us. Political? Yes. But also a YA fantasy vision of what some of the latest writers and thinkers believe we’re doing already.
Texts from this episode:
Lois Lowry, The Giver, 1993
Rabih Alameddine, Comforting Myths, 2024
Omar El Akkad, One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This, 2025
Complete Resources: https://waywordsstudio.com/project/le-guin-omelas/
CHAPTERS
00:00 Choosing Ugliness
05:45 Intro Theme
06:19 Evasion Modeling
11:40 Meaning and Politics in The Giver
20:58 Price Tags for Blissful Ignorance
25:00 At Stake: The Sanitation of Memory
33:30 Where To?
36:44 Closing Credits
===
New to Literary Nomads? Check out my introductory episodes (0.1-0.3) to find out what’s going on here! I’ve got an episode for readers, for teachers, and for students: https://waywordsstudio.com/podcasts/waywords-podcast/
Have a Question? Literary Nomads Mailbag: https://forms.gle/WKGp1YWrazNZ3TLt8
Transcript: https://waywordsstudio.com/general/transcript/6-20-the-great-societies-the-giver/
===
Literary Nomads is the primary program of Waywords Studio (https://waywordsstudio.com). The podcast posts new material each week, with thought-provoking examinations of literature around selected questions or themes and several smaller supplemental episodes in between the larger programs: history, writing, and contemporary applications of ideas.
Visit us for expanded resources for guests and the Waywords community, for other programs and writing, and for opportunities to support our goal to expand reading. Resources available can include full bibliographies of material referenced, full and partial texts, annotated editions, supplemental and expanded episodes, fictional explorations, teaching and learning resources, additional essays, and online courses.
Website: https://waywordsstudio.com
Newsletter: https://waywordsstudio.kit.com/
Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Tumblr, and LinkedIn: @ Waywords Studio
CREDITS:
Original music by Randon Myles (https://randonmyles.com/)
Chapter headings by Natalie Harrison and Sarah Skaleski
USING THIS WORK:
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. It is open to be used and adapted for all not-for-profit uses with proper attribution.
MLA CITATION:
Chisnell, Steve. “6.20 The Great Societies: Lowry’s The Giver,” Literary Nomads. Waywords Studio, 19 Dec 2025, https://waywordsstudio.com/project/le-guin-omelas/.
...more
38min
December 12, 2025The Great Societies, Pt 2: Metropolis & The Ways of Meaning
12 Dec 2025
Episode 6.19 –
The Great Societies, Pt 2: Metropolis & The Ways of Meaning
We finish our discussion of the silent film Metropolis and answer our question of art and politics by examining the text, context, and reader meaning-making.
Discussed in the episode:
A definition of Context:
with / accompanying / outside of (traditional definitions)
as a Limitation
as Dialogue
as Horizon
as Motive
Complete Resources: https://waywordsstudio.com/project/le-guin-omelas/
CHAPTERS
00:00 Art Against the Emperor
04:37 Intro Theme
05:12 Reading the Text: Architecture pf Exploitation
15:38 Blinding Ourselves with Plot
22:03 Reading Context
30:51 Revisionism and Metropolis
36:56 Reader Readings
45:39 Accountability for Politics and Arts
49:27 Closing Credits
===
New to Literary Nomads? Check out episode 5.00 to find out what we’re all about: https://waywordsstudio.com/podcasts/waywords_podcast/an-introduction-and-irony/
Have a Question? Literary Nomads Mailbag: https://forms.gle/WKGp1YWrazNZ3TLt8
Transcript: https://waywordsstudio.com/general/transcript/6-19-the-great-societies-pt-2/
===
Literary Nomads is the primary program of Waywords Studio (https://waywordsstudio.com). The podcast posts new material each week, with thought-provoking examinations of literature around selected questions or themes and several smaller supplemental episodes in between the larger programs: history, writing, and contemporary applications of ideas.
Visit us for expanded resources for guests and the Waywords community, for other programs and writing, and for opportunities to support our goal to expand reading. Resources available can include full bibliographies of material referenced, full and partial texts, annotated editions, supplemental and expanded episodes, fictional explorations, teaching and learning resources, additional essays, and online courses.
Website: https://waywordsstudio.com
Newsletter: https://waywordsstudio.kit.com/
Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Tumblr, and LinkedIn: @ Waywords Studio
CREDITS:
Original music by Randon Myles (https://randonmyles.com/)
Chapter headings by Natalie Harrison and Sarah Skaleski
USING THIS WORK:
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. It is open to be used and adapted for all not-for-profit uses with proper attribution.
MLA CITATION:
Chisnell, Steve. “6.19 The Great Societies, Pt 2: Metropolis & The Ways of Meaning,” Literary Nomads. Waywords Studio, 12 Dec 2025, https://waywordsstudio.com/project/le-guin-omelas/.
...more
51min
December 05, 2025Is All Art Political? The Great Societies, Pt. 1: Metropolis
5 Dec 2025
Episode 6.18 –
Is All Art Political? The Great Societies, Pt. 1: Metropolis
It seems everything is politics these days. But at least can’t we keep art pure? You know, art for art’s sake? I offer my thoughts on the topic while we examine the classic silent film, Metropolis (1927).
In the process, we discuss an indigenous protest against American Art, the nature of ideology, an opening definition of a Great Society, and the four areas of inquiry we must pursue to answer the question, “Is All Art Political?”
The Author’s Intention
The Text Itself
The Context Around the Text
The Reader’s Thinking
This Part 1 considers the first of these by asking what we know about the creators of the German silent film; Part 2 will look at the next three approaches.
Some links to items mentioned:
An Indigenous Takeover of the MET: https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/an-indigenous-takeover-of-the-met-asks-who-should-be-writing-art-history-1234757699/
Metropolis (1927): https:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFzHH9EL9x0
Complete Resources: https://waywordsstudio.com/project/le-guin-omelas/
CHAPTERS
00:00 Great Garden Walls
09:03 Intro Theme
09:38 Framing the Talk
19:18 Some Metropolis Backstory
29:58 Harbou and Lang: Artist’s Intent
37:30 Author Trouble
48:38 Where This Leaves Us
52:49 Closing Credits
===
New to Literary Nomads? Check out episode 5.00 to find out what we’re all about: https://waywordsstudio.com/podcasts/waywords_podcast/an-introduction-and-irony/
Have a Question? Literary Nomads Mailbag: https://forms.gle/WKGp1YWrazNZ3TLt8
Transcript: https://waywordsstudio.com/general/transcript/6-18-the-great-societies-pt-1/
===
Literary Nomads is the primary program of Waywords Studio (https://waywordsstudio.com). The podcast posts new material each week, with thought-provoking examinations of literature around selected questions or themes and several smaller supplemental episodes in between the larger programs: history, writing, and contemporary applications of ideas.
Visit us for expanded resources for guests and the Waywords community, for other programs and writing, and for opportunities to support our goal to expand reading. Resources available can include full bibliographies of material referenced, full and partial texts, annotated editions, supplemental and expanded episodes, fictional explorations, teaching and learning resources, additional essays, and online courses.
Website: https://waywordsstudio.com
Newsletter: https://waywordsstudio.kit.com/
Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Tumblr, and LinkedIn: @ Waywords Studio
CREDITS:
Original music by Randon Myles (https://randonmyles.com/)
Chapter headings by Natalie Harrison and Sarah Skaleski
USING THIS WORK:
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. It is open to be used and adapted for all not-for-profit uses with proper attribution.
MLA CITATION:
Chisnell, Steve. “6.18 Is All Art Political? The Great Societies, Pt. 1: Metropolis,” Literary Nomads. Waywords Studio, 5 Dec 2025, https://waywordsstudio.com/project/le-guin-omelas/.
...more
55min
November 28, 2025True Horror: Le Guin, Poe, Cavarero, Bataille, and Arendt
28 Nov 2025
Episode 6.17 –
True Horror: Le Guin, Poe, Cavarero, Bataille, and Arendt
NOTE: While nothing explicit or graphic is named in this episode, it does touch upon difficult and challenging psychological topics, so it is not recommended for those sensitive to violence and war.
We finish our side trail on the implications of Poe’s horror by stepping more deeply into our own capacity to violence, reaching finally to Le Guin’s own direction: look to our modern political scene and the impulse to annihilation. From Poe’s violence without motive to Bataille’s celebration of it and Cavarero’s call to embrace our primal call to the necessity of care, we are left with Le Guin’s reference to the “banality of evil,” a direct indication to what she’s also been discussing all along: Arendt’s accounting of totalitarianism in World War 2 and after; its true horror.
Some links to items mentioned:
Reading Guide to Arendt’s The Origins of Totalitarianism: https://waywordsstudio.com/project/arendts-the-origins-of-totalitarianism
Complete Resources: https://waywordsstudio.com/project/le-guin-omelas/
CHAPTERS
00:00 Listener Advisory
00:44 Marking Our Trail
12:27 Opening Theme
13:03 The Pathology of Annihilation
19:26 Utility and Annihilation
34:00 Alignments: Structural Horrorism
46:59 The Burden of Complexity
51:35 Closing Credits
===
New to Literary Nomads? Check out episode 5.00 to find out what we’re all about: https://waywordsstudio.com/podcasts/waywords_podcast/an-introduction-and-irony/
Have a Question? Literary Nomads Mailbag: https://forms.gle/WKGp1YWrazNZ3TLt8
Transcript: https://waywordsstudio.com/general/transcript/6-17-true-horror
===
Literary Nomads is the primary program of Waywords Studio (https://waywordsstudio.com). The podcast posts new material each week, with thought-provoking examinations of literature around selected questions or themes and several smaller supplemental episodes in between the larger programs: history, writing, and contemporary applications of ideas.
Visit us for expanded resources for guests and the Waywords community, for other programs and writing, and for opportunities to support our goal to expand reading. Resources available can include full bibliographies of material referenced, full and partial texts, annotated editions, supplemental and expanded episodes, fictional explorations, teaching and learning resources, additional essays, and online courses.
Website: https://waywordsstudio.com
Newsletter: https://waywordsstudio.kit.com/
Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Tumblr, and LinkedIn: @ Waywords Studio
CREDITS:
Original music by Randon Myles (https://randonmyles.com/)
Chapter headings by Natalie Harrison and Sarah Skaleski
USING THIS WORK:
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. It is open to be used and adapted for all not-for-profit uses with proper attribution.
MLA CITATION:
Chisnell, Steve. “6.17 True Horror: Le Guin, Poe, Cavarero, Bataille, and Arendt,” Literary Nomads. Waywords Studio, 28 Nov 2025, https://waywordsstudio.com/project/le-guin-omelas/.
...more
53min
November 21, 2025Poe: Horror, Pathology, and the Necessity of Care
21 Nov 2025
Episode 6.16 –
Poe: Horror, Pathology, and the Necessity for Care
*NOTE: While nothing explicit or graphic is named in this episode, it does touch upon difficult and challenging psychological topics, so it is not recommended for those sensitive to violence and war.
We say Poe has influence the genre of horror, but have we really considered what that influence has revealed to us across the generations? What happens when we tell stories of a culture that has abandoned its moral foundations? In this episode, I reflect on the role of horror as a cultural mirror or cultural alarm, that current trends away from the good-evil binary offer a unique consequence for us, and that Poe understood it. We also look at Adriana Cavarero’s idea of “horrorism” and how it fits itself to our reading.
Some links to items mentioned:
My review of Ann Radcliffe’s The Mysteries of Udolpho: https://waywordsstudio.com/general/reviews/the-mysteries-of-udolpho-by-ann-radcliffe/
My blog series of zombies and Army of the Dead: https://waywordsstudio.com/essay/zzsg-ch1-identification/
Complete Resources: https://waywordsstudio.com/project/le-guin-omelas/
CHAPTERS
00:00 Listener Advisory
00:37 RomZom
05:39 Opening Theme
06:14 The Sociology of Horror
17:18 Our 19th Nervous Breakdown
32:11 The Aesthetic of a Hideous Bargain
42:07 Beyond Madness
47:46 Strenuous Moods
50:09 Closing Credits
===
New to Literary Nomads? Check out episode 5.00 to find out what we’re all about: https://waywordsstudio.com/podcasts/waywords_podcast/an-introduction-and-irony/
Have a Question? Literary Nomads Mailbag: https://forms.gle/WKGp1YWrazNZ3TLt8
Transcript: https://waywordsstudio.com/general/transcript/6-16-poe-horror-pathology
===
Literary Nomads is the primary program of Waywords Studio (https://waywordsstudio.com). The podcast posts new material each week, with thought-provoking examinations of literature around selected questions or themes and several smaller supplemental episodes in between the larger programs: history, writing, and contemporary applications of ideas.
Visit us for expanded resources for guests and the Waywords community, for other programs and writing, and for opportunities to support our goal to expand reading. Resources available can include full bibliographies of material referenced, full and partial texts, annotated editions, supplemental and expanded episodes, fictional explorations, teaching and learning resources, additional essays, and online courses.
Website: https://waywordsstudio.com
Newsletter: https://waywordsstudio.kit.com/
Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Tumblr, and LinkedIn: @ Waywords Studio
CREDITS:
Original music by Randon Myles (https://randonmyles.com/)
Chapter headings by Natalie Harrison and Sarah Skaleski
USING THIS WORK:
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. It is open to be used and adapted for all not-for-profit uses with proper attribution.
MLA CITATION:
Chisnell, Steve. “6.16 Poe: Horror, Pathology, and the Necessity for Care,” Literary Nomads. Waywords Studio, 21 Nov 2025, https://waywordsstudio.com/project/le-guin-omelas/.
...more
52min
November 08, 2025The Hideous Heart – Poe’s Aesthetic of Accountability
7 Nov 2025
Episode 6.15 –
The “Hideous Heart:” Poe’s Aesthetic of Accountability

There really isn’t that much to say about Poe, is there? He’s just creepy. But wait. What if we could explain the supposed madness in all these stories? We look at the narrators of Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Tell-Tale Heart,” “The Imp of Perversity,” and “The Cask of Amontillado.” Along the way we consult several of his essays of the aesthetic, of literary craft, in order to understand what he may be up to.
Poe’s Works Discussed:
“The Tell-Tale Heart” (Read aloud in a recent episode)
“The Imp of Perversity” (Read aloud in a recent episode)
“The Cask of Amontillado”
“Review of Twice-Told Tales”
“The Philosophy of Composition”
“Review of Night and Morning”
“The Poetic Principle”
“Eureka”
Complete Resources: https://waywordsstudio.com/project/le-guin-omelas/
CHAPTERS
00:00 Peeking In
07:54 Opening Theme
08:28 The Moral Door; The Vulture Eye
16:00 Structure, Confession, and Control
27:08 Accountability & The Aesthetic of Betrayal
37:12 Sanity Defense
44:39 And If We Object?
50:45 Closing Credits
===
New to Literary Nomads? Check out episode 5.00 to find out what we’re all about: https://waywordsstudio.com/podcasts/waywords_podcast/an-introduction-and-irony/
Have a Question? Literary Nomads Mailbag: https://forms.gle/WKGp1YWrazNZ3TLt8
Transcript: https://waywordsstudio.com/general/transcript/6-15-hideous-heart
===
Literary Nomads is the primary program of Waywords Studio (https://waywordsstudio.com). The podcast posts new material each week, with thought-provoking examinations of literature around selected questions or themes and several smaller supplemental episodes in between the larger programs: history, writing, and contemporary applications of ideas.
Visit us for expanded resources for guests and the Waywords community, for other programs and writing, and for opportunities to support our goal to expand reading. Resources available can include full bibliographies of material referenced, full and partial texts, annotated editions, supplemental and expanded episodes, fictional explorations, teaching and learning resources, additional essays, and online courses.
Website: https://waywordsstudio.com
Newsletter: https://waywordsstudio.kit.com/
Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Tumblr, and LinkedIn: @ Waywords Studio
CREDITS:
Original music by Randon Myles (https://randonmyles.com/)
Chapter headings by Natalie Harrison and Sarah Skaleski
USING THIS WORK:
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. It is open to be used and adapted for all not-for-profit uses with proper attribution.
MLA CITATION:
Chisnell, Steve. “The ‘Hideous Heart:’ Poe’s Aesthetic of Accountability,” Literary Nomads. Waywords Studio, 7 Nov 2025, https://waywordsstudio.com/project/le-guin-omelas/.
...more
53min
October 31, 2025 Waypoint – “The Imp of Perversity”

31 October 2025
Waypoint - “The Imp of Perversity” (1845) by Edgar Allan Poe
https://waywordsstudio.com
Complete Resources: https://waywordsstudio.com/podcasts/waywords-podcast/
Another Halloween treat from Poe, a reading of this lesser-known tale which bears some comparison to “The Tell-Tale Heart.”
American pioneer of many literary traditions including the Gothic tradition, detective fiction, and science fiction, Poe was also a literary critic who well understood the goals of his art, to articulate the truth of beauty, focused on a single particular notion or idea.
Chapters
00:00 Intro
02:08 Title
02:26 Reading: “The Imp of the Perverse”
20:54 Outro
Transcript:
TRANSCRIPT: https://waywordsstudio.com/general/transcript/waypoint-reading-of-the-imp-of-perversity
Literary Nomads is the primary program of Waywords Studio (https://waywordsstudio.com). The podcast posts new material frequently, with deep-dive examinations of literature surrounded by smaller episodes which explore related texts, topics, and strategies for thinking.
Visit us for expanded resources for guests and the Waywords community, for other programs and writing, and for opportunities to support our goal to expand reading. Resources available can include full bibliographies of material referenced, full and partial texts, annotated editions, supplemental and expanded episodes, fictional explorations, teaching and learning resources, additional essays, and online courses.
Website: https://waywordsstudio.com
Newsletter: https://waywordsstudio.kit.com/
Social Media: @WaywordsStudio
YouTube: Waywords Studio
CREDITS:
Original music by Randon Myles (https://randonmyles.com/)
USING THIS WORK:
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. It is open to be used and adapted for all not-for-profit uses with proper attribution.
MLA CITATION:
Chisnell, Steve. “Reading of ‘The Imp of Perversity’,” Waywords Studio, 31 October 2025, https://waywordsstudio.com/project/waypoints/.
...more
22min
October 28, 2025 Waypoint – “The Tell-Tale Heart”
This story, a quintessential Poe classic, is perfect not only for its conception of the psychology of horror, but for our larger discussion in Le Guin's Journey 6.
...more
20min
October 11, 2025 Literary Nomads for Teachers
What is this podcast? I recommend you start here, with this introduction to Literary Nomads and get a taste of what the larger series offers!
...more
57min

FAQs about Podcasts | Waywords Studio:

How many episodes does Podcasts | Waywords Studio have?

The podcast currently has 38 episodes available.