Podcasts | Waywords Studio

Podcasts | Waywords Studio

By Steve ChisnellSociety & CultureEducationArtsBooks
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Podcasts | Waywords Studio episodes

  • Writing 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/.

      39 min
    • The 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/.

        38 min
      • The 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/.

            51 min
          • Is 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?”

            1. The Author’s Intention
            2. The Text Itself
            3. The Context Around the Text
            4. The Reader’s Thinking

              5. 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/.

                55 min
              • True 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/.

                  53 min
                • Poe: 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/.

                    52 min
                  • The 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/.

                      53 min
                    • 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/.

                      22 min

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