The Other 51

Nicole Schuman has worked professionally in digital media, in format or another, since 2006.

Somehow, she’s never been a guest on a podcast before this.

Nicole joins Brian this week, and they talk about living through the week that the Coronavirus pandemic became real in the U.S. Nicole talks about what it’s like to live in New York City during the pandemic, what it’s like to write the media aspect of this story, and how she tries to maintain her own mental health after thinking about the virus all day every day. Her cat plays a prominent role here.

Nicole also traces the arc of her career, from her childhood dream of writing for the Buffalo News to her current gig as a reporter and content producer at PR Newswire. She talks about her work on This Built America, how David Carr influenced her, and how she approaches storytelling. It’s all about people.

At 26 years old, Troy Smith found himself laid off from his job as a reporter at the Democrat and Chronicle in Rochester. He was shocked. But he did what he had done his whole career. He got back to work. He had started a music magazine at St. Bonaventure University. He and a partner started a tattoo magazine in Rochester, and that got him noticed by Cleveland.com, where he now works as an entertainment reporter. Troy joins Brian this week to talk about his career in journalism, how his desire to be a sports writer was curtailed by a stint covering cross country, and what it’s like to be an entertainment reporter both in Rochester and Cleveland. Troy discusses how he ranked every member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, how St. Bonaventure prepared him for his career, and shares his rules for writing good online headlines.

This episode was supposed to be an interview with a recent college graduate about what it’s like to be entering journalism in 2020.

Instead, Cameron Hurst — a recent St. Bonaventure graduate and current part-time sports writer in his hometown of Jamestown, N.Y. - just regales Brian with story after story. Among them:

- How members of his family were in cahoots both with Lucille Ball and gangsters during prohibition.

- How Cameron found himself performing Lucy’s “vitameatavegamin” bit for Lucie Arnez, Lucy and Desi’s daughter.

- How he started his own sports blog in high school and how that led to his interest in journalism.

- How a family friend predicted he would end up at St. Bonaventure.

- How he covered the Buffalo Diocese’s sexual abuse scandal, including translating push notifications from the Vatican.

Cameron Hurst

Cameron on Twitter

The Rowdy Raider

DePerro’s Call for Malone’s Resignation Is Justified

Vitameatavegamin

Buzzers, burner accounts and conspiracies: Inside baseball’s day of epic chaos by Jeff Passan

Fifty years later, untold stories from St. Bonaventure’s unforgettable run to the Final Four by Tim Graham

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In the first episode of 2020, Brian’s joined by Bruce Arthur, sports columnist for the Toronto Star.

Being a good son of a border town, Brian asks Bruce what it was like to watch The Tragically Hip’s final concert with members of the Canadian Olympic Team on the final night of the Rio Olympics. Many Hip memories are shared.

Bruce discusses his unconventional career path in journalism, what makes college newsrooms so special, and what he learned as an intern at the National Post, and how a writer can improve as by reading great (and bad) sports writing and internalizing what you see.

Bruce and Brian talk about the role of a sports columnist at a major metro newspaper, what it was like to cover the Toronto Raptors’ championship, and how the best writing can fundamentally change your worldview.

Bruce Arthur

Bruce on Twitter

Love-in for the Hip at Rio’s Canada House

The Raptors are the champs. And it’s because of Masai Ujiri

Episode 19: The Fine Art of Hanging Out with Chris Jones

Epsiode 106: The Uncool Kid in the Lunch Room with Jesse Doughterty

This Tom Hanks Story Will Help You Feel Less Bad by Taffy Brodesser-Akner

God’s Away on Business by Spencer Hall.

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Marnie Eisenstadt, a reporter for Syracuse.com and The Post-Standard who was named the 2018 Journalist of the Year by the New York State Associated Press Association, joins Brian this week.

Marnie talks about what it has been like to report on stories in Syracuse lately, whether it was a shooting at the Destiny USA mall or the on-going instances of racism at Syracuse University. Marnie and Brian discuss why stories about real people doing things that matter still resonate within a community, and how Marnie uses social media to find stories and connect with sources.

Marnie also does a deep dive into the reporting and writing of the series she did with a colleague on a rogue AA group in Syracuse. How do you report on something where there are no public documents? Marnie talks about the importance of reporting and of viewing sources as real people, not just pegs on a board.

She and Brian also bond over their mutual love of Mo Willems.

Fresh off covering the Washington Nationals’ World Series title for the Washington Post, Jesse Dougherty talks about what it’s really like to be a major-league beat writer.

Jesse discusses what makes the baseball beat so unique, how it can totally warp your life, the advice he received from Barry Svrugla and Ben Shpigel and how transparency helps him to build relationships with his sources. He also walks through what it was like to cover the Nats’ come-from-behind win in the wild-card round, the insanity of Game 6 of the World Series, the pressure of writing Game 7 and why the off-season is in some ways more stressful.

Also this week, we remember Bill Lyon, the former Philadelphia Inquirer columnist who died this past weekend at age 81, with a clip from Mike Sielski’s interview in 2017.

Jesse Dougherty

Jesse on Twitter

MLB players never know what day it is

Nationals storm back late in wild-card game to stun Brewers, 4–3, advance to NLDS

Nationals win Game 6 with dominant Stephen Strasburg performance

This Nationals team will be forever bound by World Series glory built on defying odds

Episode 53: I Remember Getting an F with Jesse Dougherty

Episode 18: Saran Wrap Octopus with Mike Sielski

The most remote emergency room: Life and death in rural America

This Tom Hanks Story Will Help You Feel Less Bad

The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates

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For the fourth time, Alysa Auriemma joins Brian on The Other 51. But this time, there’s biggest stuff to talk about than Captain America, Chris Evans and Kylo Ren.

(I mean, they do talk about Avengers: Endgame. They’re not monsters.)

Alyssa joins Brian to talk about the writing and publication of her new book, “All Daughters Rise.” Alysa discusses the themes of her book and how she was inspired to write the book in part because of the gaps she saw in contemporary fiction. Where’s the intersectionality? Why does the main character always react so calmly when things happen? We’re all way more Scott Lang than Natasha Romanov, and maybe our fictions should reflect that.

Alyssa also discusses the book’s journey to publication, the challenges and frustrations she faced in trying to find an agent and a publisher, and why she made the decision to use Inkshares. She is nearly halfway to her goal of 750 preorders by January to get the book published.

Also, much praise is lavished upon Rainbow Rowell.

All Daughters Rise on Inkshares

Alysa on Twitter

Geek Love: A Novel by Katherine Dunn

The Married Man by Edmund White

Wayward Son by Rainbow Rowell

Carry On by Rainbow Rowell

Episode 52: Hating Kylo Ren with Alysa Auriemma

Episode 44: Generic Hot Actor Guy with Alysa Auriemma

Episode 27: Always Writing with Alysa Auriemma

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Joe Buscaglia, who covers the Buffalo Bills for The Athletic, joins Brian this week.

There is the requisite Harry Potter talk between two nerds, and the single hottest take in the history of The Other 51 is given. This yields to talk about another fantasy world, the Bills.

This leads to a discussion about how Joe balances matching the fans’ mood with a more measured approach to covering the team. Joe talks about how he avoids being a hot-take artist and, counterintuitively, how Twitter led him away from the loud opinions that often dominate sports media. The goal is to get fans to look at their team in a different way.

Joe talks about how NFL Game Pass changed the way he covers the Bills, his delightfully nerdy system for grading every player in every game, and the transition from a broadcast career to writing for The Athletic.

Joe at the Athletic

Joe on Twitter

Bills All–22 Review: Dissecting Josh Allen’s day and why there’s more to Zay Jones than meets the eye

‘New England doesn’t lose those types of games’: Sights and sounds from the two weeks that rocked Buffalo

‘You’re not going to outwork him’: How Joe Schoen became one of the most trusted voices in the Bills’ front office

Antonio Brown: New sexual misconduct accusation by Robert Klemko

Talking to Strangers audio book by Malcolm Gladwell

Puff

Harry Potter audio books

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Drew Gasparini, a composer/lyricist/all-around awesome guy, joined Brian in New York City this past weekend to talk about song writing, musical theater and the creative process.

Drew discusses the recent re-release party for his 2009 album, “I Could Use a Drink,” and what it was like to revisit songs he had written 10–15 years ago. How, exactly, did Simon’s mom take that message in “I’m A Little Bit”?

This leads to a greater discussion about the role of the writer in making their characters understandable, which dovetails into a long discussion about the musical adaptation of “It’s Kind of a Funny Story” that Drew is writing with his collaborator and best friend, Alex Brightman. Drew discusses how he and Alex came to the project, what their writing process is like, and how you take a powerful novel like Ned Vizzini’s and adapt it to the stage.

Drew talks at length about his collaboration process, why he’s so addicted to the creative lifestyle, and how he structures his work schedule to make sure his momentum is rarely broken.

Drew Gasparini

Drew on Twitter

Drew on Instagram

I Could Use a Drink

It’s Kind of a Funny Story

The World Doesn’t Require You by Rion Amilcar Scott

A Dream About Lightning Bugs: A Life of Music and Cheap Lessons by Ben Folds

A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman

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