The Other 51

Dr. Chris Mackwoski, an author and professor of communication at St. Bonaventure University, joins Brian to talk about writing, the Civil War, the secrets to productivity, and more. 

Chris and Brian, who are colleagues at the Jandoli School of Communication, talk about Chris’ long and winding career path. Chris talks about how spending time as a radio reporter in Maine, working in public relations, working as a playwright and a blogger helped shaped him as a writer. 

Chris describes his work writing about the Civil War, why he finds that topic to be so endlessly fascinating, and why he views himself as a writer who happens to write about history, not a historian. He discusses the importance of his writing environment and why that is key to his productivity, what time of day he’s always liked writing, Remember to take the time to take the walk. 

Chris Mackowski’s books on Amazon

Emerging Civil War

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

The Road by Cormac McCarthy

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Donna Ditota, who was recently named the New York State Sportswriter of the Year, joins Brian to talk about her career covering sports in Syracuse and Central New York. 

Being Bona Pride Day, Donna and Brian naturally start with some St. Bonaventure talk. Donna, a 1983 graduate, tells Brian what Russel J. Jandoli was really like, and talks about how her experience as a basketball player continues to inform her work to this day. It’s all about empathy, an underrated trait for journalists. 

Donna traces her career path from St. Bonaventure to her current gig as an award-winning Syracuse men’s basketball beat writer for Syracuse.com. She tells Brian what makes Jim Boeheim so great to cover, why open locker rooms are so important to sports journalism (and why Zoom interviews suck), and walks through her process in writing a profile story. 

Find out what life is like as a ACC men’s basketball beat writer and voter in the AP Top 25 really looks like, and also why transcribing is the worst, but also the best. 

Donna Ditota on Twitter

Donna at Syracuse.com

Journalism alumna, Syracuse sportswriter Donna Ditota named New York Sportswriter of the Year

Jesse Edwards works to summon an inner mean as he rises from obscurity to become one of the ACC’s most improved players

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Mike Sielski of The Philadelphia Inquirer joins Brian for a deep dive into the writing and reporting of his new book, “The Rise: Kobe Bryant and the Pursuit of Immortality.”

Mike describes how and why a book about Kobe’s life growing up in Philadelphia was the book for him to write. Why are biographies that focus on a slice of a famous person’s life so meaningful? Mike talks about his reporting process, how time at the Lower Merion Historical Society proved to be invaluable, and how keeping Kobe as the metaphorical sun helped him balance all of the necessary contextual background information. 

Mike and Brian talk a lot about Lower Merion and Philadelphia, how they are characters in the book, and why a sense of place is so vital to this story. Mike describes the types of questions he used to get at the Kobe story we didn’t know yet. It’s about being honest and upfront with the people you interview. 

This podcast also serves as the backdoor pilot for the Godzilla Geek podcast Brian and Mike really should just launch already. 

Buy The Rise

The Rise on Amazon

Mike Sielski on Twitter

Episode 18: Saran Wrap Octopus with Mike Sielski

Episode 69: That’s Good Thinking There, Cool Breeze

Empire of Pain by Patrick Radden Keefe

The White Darkness by David Grann

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Author Alysa Auriemma is back to talk about her debut novel All Daughter’s Rise, which is out TODAY on Amazon Kindle. 

Alysa tells Brian about her book’s long journey to publication, why she decided to self-publish through Amazon Kindle, and how writing this book was both fun and stressful. Alyssa discusses how she learned to lean into the fact that her characters are messy and awkward, how you can speak things into existence but still have to do the work, and how Wheel of Time helps her explain her book. 

There is also a breakdown of Rogers the Musical. Trust me. We could do this all day. 

All Daughter’s Rise on Amazon

The Things They Carried

The Old Guard comics

The Rise by Mike Sielski

Save the City

In writing, self-publishing debut novel, Alysa Auriemma remains unapologetically true to herself

Episode 126: Use Your Words with Alysa Auriemma

Episode 105: Genre is Dead with Alysa Auriemma

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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To honor the life and legacy of Stephen Sondheim, Rob Rokicki, Joe Iconis and Brennan Saur join Brian to discuss his influence on their lives and their craft.

Stephen Sondheim, Titan of the American Musical, Is Dead at 91

Episode 143: Back to the Book with Rob Rokicki

Episode 121: You Have To See Point Break with Joe Iconis

Episode 13: Joe Iconis

Brennan Saur at New Play Exchange

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Seth Wickersham of ESPN joins us for a deep dive into the writing and reporting of his book on Tom Brady, Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots, "It's Better to be Feared."

Seth talks about what it's like see your first book on The New York Times bestseller list and what the past month has been like since the book came out.

He and Brian go deep into the writing and the reporting process of the book. Seth talks about the notes he’s saved for 20 years, how reporting the book changed due to the pandemic and how he became a better phone interviewer, the interview techniques he learned from John Sawatsky, how he figured out the book’s essential structure, how he wrote early in the morning and how Richard Ben Cramer’s work inspired him.

Seth Wickersham

It’s Better To Be Feared

The Question Man

John Sawatsky is highly questionable

I Keep Trying to Catch His Eye by Ivan Maisel

The Rise: Kobe Bryant and the Pursuit of Immortality by Mike Sielski

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Leah Stacy joins us to talk about life as an independent, freelance writer and journalist.

Leah first joined us back in 2016, when she was a professor at Nazareth College in Rochester, N.Y. This week, she and Brian talk about what she’s been up to since then. Topics include:

Leah’s professional and life strategy.

The scariest part about deciding to go independent, and how she overcame that.

How she accidentally got into writing about the food and beverage industry, and what she looks for in telling a restaurant’s story, and what 2020–2021 have been like for restaurants.

The upcoming launch of her new print literary magazine, Lilac.

How good a writer Taylor Swift is.

Leah Stacy

Leah on Twitter

Lilac Magazine

Writers and Lovers by Lily King

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

Ritz And Escoffier by Luke Barr

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Stuart Turton, the best-selling author of The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle and The Devil and the Dark Water, joins Brian to talk about writing, plot, Agatha Christie and more.

A former journalist (among many other jobs), Stuart wrote two of the Moritz family’s favorite books of the past three years. Among other topics, Stuart and Brian discuss:

How, exactly, did he plot out insanely intricate plot of The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle?

The amount of research he did for The Devin and the Dark Water. You’ll learn something you never would have guessed about a ship’s poop deck.

How he sees his young daughter in The Devil and the Dark Water.

Why he loves Agatha Christie, and why Brian is horribly wrong about his favorite work of hers.

How his characters take on lives of their own, and what that feels like as a writer.

Why being able to pack a backpack well is not exactly a translatable skill.

Stuart Turton on Twitter

The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle

The Devil and the Dark Water

And Then there Were None

Three Blind Mice and other stories

An Instance of the Fingerposts

Project Hail Mary

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Grammy and Juno-award winning musician Tania Elizabeth joins Brian to talk about the writing and recording of her upcoming album and more. 

Tania’s been a touring musician for nearly her entire life, and has spent the past seven years playing fiddle in the Avett Brothers. Before that, she was a founding member of The Duhks and toured extensively both on her own and as an accompanist. In 2021, she recorded her first solo record in nearly 10 years and hopes to release it in 2022. 

Tania and Brian discuss:

- The difference between a song and a fiddle tune
- What the pandemic was like for someone who’s been a touring musician since she was 16.
- The value of editing, both in songwriting and recording
- Tania’s songwriting process, and the importance of vulnerability in her art

Tania Elizabeth

Tania on Instagram

Listen to Tania’s music on Spotify

Dan Frechette

The Work of Byron Katie

Many Lives, Many Masters by Brian Weiss

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Five years ago, Brian started a podcast about writing, and his first guest was his dear friend, Dr. Molly Yanity.

To celebrate our fifth anniversary, Molly returns to talk about sports journalism, Brandi Carlile, academic writing and more.

Molly talks about how her writing live has changed over the past five years, how she balances writing with teaching and administrative work. Here’s the secret — being a sports writer was way harder than being in academia. Molly also describes how teaching sports journalism for a number of years made her better at sports writing when she covered the WNBA for The Athletic.

Molly discusses her upcoming edited book about the 2019 Women’s World Cup, and she turns the tables on Brian and asks him questions for a change. She puts him on the spot really quickly. They also geek out about the best things they’ve read lately.

Thanks to all of you who’ve listened and shared over the past five years. To many more!

Molly Yanity

Molly on Twitter

2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup: Media, Fandom, and Soccer’s Biggest Stage

Episode 89: Unintended Consequences Might Ensue with Bob Costas

Broken Horses: A Memoir by Brandi Carlile

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

The Overstory by Richard Powers

How Lucky by Will Leitch

Colson Whitehead books

Michael Chabon books

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