The Other 51

By Brian Moritz

Writing advice? We've got that. A podcast that gets your favorite writers to spill their secrets. Every episode is a new writer: comic artists to Broadway scribes, sports reporters to authors.

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FAQs about The Other 51:

How many episodes does The Other 51 have?

The podcast currently has 219 episodes available.

The Other 51 episodes:

November 16, 2017 Episode 48: Introductory Lexicography with Kory Stamper
Kory Stamper has the best job title of any guest in the history of The Other 51.
She’s a lexicographer at Merriam-Webster.
She writes the dictionary.
No, the dictionary doesn’t just appear, handed down by the grammar gods. It’s written by people. People like Kory.
Kory talks what it’s like to wield the power to decide what part of speech a word is. She describes her job, and she and Brian talk about how people who write the dictionary are much more open about language and usage then you might assume. There’s a difference between language and writing, and Kory describes that. Kory talks about her book Word by Word and how writing the dictionary has made her more attuned to the rhythm of her language and her writing.
Kory also gives Brian the perfect gift idea for his wife.
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37min
November 09, 2017 Episode 47: Detective Work with Scott Pitoniak
Scott Pitoniak is one of the defining voices in sports writing in Upstate New York. He’s written about the Buffalo Bills, Syracuse University, and sports in and around Rochester for the better part of three decades.
Scott joins Brian at Spot Coffee in Rochester (excuse the ambient noise and fun 80s music in the background), which is appropriate for a couple of writers. Scott talks about what it was like to cover the Buffalo Bills during the late 1980s and in their Super Bowl run in the early 1990s and why Marv Levy is his favorite coach he ever covered. Scott, who spent much of his career writing for the Democrat and Chronicle, talks about what makes Rochester such a unique sports town and what makes upstate New York special.
Scott also describes what it was like to write a book with Lou Gramm of Foreigner and a book about Jim Boeheim. Scott also discloses what his dream book project is.
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38min
November 02, 2017 Episode 46: Fargo Auto Kings with Matt Vautour
The Atlantic 10 Media Association reunion tour continues, as long-time listener, first-time caller Matt Vautour joins Brian to talk about the life of a college sports beat writer.
Matt, who covers the University of Massachusetts for the Daily Hampshire Gazette, and Brian reminiscence about their days covering the A-10 in the late 1990s and early 2000s, with the requisite John Chaney stories (for every Phil Martelli, theres a Darelle Porter ). This leads to a larger discussion about how being a beat writer has changed over the past 20 years. Matt talks about how message boards were the original Twitter, what it was like to cover John Calipari as a student journalist, and how everything is a story these days.
They also talk about how blogging has changed. Matt used to say that his blog was like the deleted scenes part of a DVD, which now is two dated technological references. But he and Brian talk about how publishing news online and social media has totally changed what we considered “blogging.” Matt also discusses why he’d like to write three minutes of a stand-up comedy routine.
Matt also makes the best obscure West Wing reference you’ll hear on the internet all day.
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43min
October 26, 2017 Episode 45: You Podcast? with Jen Moritz
Jen Moritz is the best editor Brian knows. And he’s not just saying that because he married her.
Really, she’s awesome.
And since Brian’s been talking to writers for more than a year, he figured it was time to get the scoop from an editor.
Jen, who is the senior copy editor at Dixon Schwabl advertising, talks about what makes a good editor and how editing should be like gardening. You know your Facebook friend who posts memes about its/it’s and how they love grammar? Jen tells us that just shows they don’t know what an editor does. She also gives writers advice on how to instantly improve their writing — use ALL the contractions, folks! End your sentence in for. It’s OK!
Jen also tells us what grammar tells us about the identity of The Last Jedi. She also reveals Brian’s biggest sin as a writer.
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34min
October 19, 2017 Episode 44: Generic Hot Actor Guy with Alysa Auriemma
In the first return guest spot on The Other 51, author and professor Alysa Auriemma is back.
Brian promised Alysa the chance to talk about her love of Chris Evans, and so there is a lot of talk about Chris Evans. A lot of Chris Evans talk. Then there’s a super-deep dive into the state of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Things get super nerdy, folks.
But buried in all of this is an important question for writers — what is the role of fandom in our work? Is it like sports writing, where fandom is traditionally a very separate thing? Or can fandom play a role in how we conceptualize and write stories?
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51min
October 12, 2017 Episode 43: Live at Oswego with Kate Fagan
Can a podcast be live? Sort of? Maybe? Brian gives it a try this week with Kate Fagan from ESPN, the author of one of the best books he’s read all year.
Fagan is the author of “What Made Maddy Run,” a poignant look at college, college athletics, social media, mental illness and more told through the lens of Madison Halloran. During her visit this week to SUNY Oswego (where Brian teaches), she sat down with Brian to talk about the book and about writing.
Kate and Brian talk about how she first heard about Madison’s story and walks through the reporting and writing process of both an ESPN The Magazine article and later, the book. Kate answers a question she expected to hear more frequently than she did, how writing Madison’s story has changed how she uses social media and how she took care of herself while writing such an emotional topic.
Along with the heavy issues, Kate and Brian also talk about what she learned from being on the 538 Hot Takedown podcast, how she found out about Hamilton before basically anyone else and also discusses why she hates Aaron Burr (the song. Not the guy.)
Special thanks to Jeff Bradbury and SUNY Oswego for the production help and to Dan Roberts for helping set this up.
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29min
October 05, 2017 Episode 42: The Right Details with Kevin Van Valkenburg
Hamilton. Jason Isbell. Sports writing.
Kevin Van Valkenburg is pretty much the perfect guest for The Other 51.
Kevin, a feature writer for ESPN The Magazine, joins Brian to talk about seeing the original cast of Hamilton (apparently, it was worth it). He and Brian talk a lot about their admiration for Jason Isbell and what makes him such a gifted lyricist and songwriter. They also talk about how to develop the instinct to find the right details, how Kevin connected with Eddy Lacy before writing a recent feature story, and why reading is so, so important to being a writer. Kevin, who taught for a semester at the University of Montana, also describes how teaching writing improved his own work, and how he showed his students that you are never too busy to do a great piece of writing.
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34min
October 03, 2017 The Best of The Other 51: Call Mr. Plow with Erik Malinowski
*This episode originally came out in February. Erik's book on the Golden State Warriors is out today.
Erik Malinowski of Bleacher Report talks about writing a book about the Golden State Warriors, our favorite Simpsons episodes (including which one to best introduce Brian’s daughter to the show), and why you should never Tweet. We also get super nerdy talking about Scrivener.
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33min
September 21, 2017 Episode 41: Song writing and St. Jude with Bob Crawford
Bob Crawford, bass player for The Avett Brothers, joins Brian to talk about his family’s connection to St. Jude, the work he's doing through the Press On Fund, and his quest to cure child cancer.
Bob talks about the day his then 22-month-old daughter, Hallie, was diagnosed with brain cancer and how St. Jude gave him and his family hope. He also discusses how his daughter’s diagnosis changed songwriting for him, and how he wrote part of The Avett Brothers' song “Good to You.” He and Brian also discuss their favorite Founding Fathers (Bob goes way off the board for his pick) and the theology of Thomas Merton.
Anyone who knows Brian knows he and his family are big fans of The Avett Brothers. They're also in the middle of a month-long Avett Nation fundraiser for St. Jude in Hallie Crawford's honor. So this is a special episode.
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29min
September 14, 2017 Episode 40: Stealing Money with Mike Jensen
Mike Jensen has Brian’s dream job.
When Brian was a young reporter covering St. Bonaventure basketball, his career goal was to write about college basketball in Philadelphia. That’s what Mike has been doing since the 1990s. The two covered some of the Atlantic 10’s most memorable games in the early 2000s, which always somehow involved St. Bonaventure and Temple. Today, they swap John Chaney stories (spoiler, he wasn’t calling about an adverb) and discuss what made the Temple coach so unique and so awesome to deal with. Mike talks about whether or not Chaney would be successful in this media environment.
Mike also discusses his year-long look series at the Philadelphia Inquirer about Philly Hoops. He talks about how Philadelphia basketball is a neighborhood of its own, how he picks his stories, why he’s not writing nostalgia stories in this series and defines what Philadelphia basketball is in 2017.
The only thing missing is Ray Cella.
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36min

FAQs about The Other 51:

How many episodes does The Other 51 have?

The podcast currently has 219 episodes available.

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The Other 51

FAQs about The Other 51:

How many episodes does The Other 51 have?

The Other 51 episodes:

FAQs about The Other 51:

How many episodes does The Other 51 have?

More shows like The Other 51

The New Yorker Radio Hour

The Bill Simmons Podcast

The Ryen Russillo Podcast