The Other 51

John Branch, the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist at The New York Times and author of the upcoming anthology, “Sidecountry,” joins Brian to talk about his career as a writer and reporter. 

John talks about the process of putting together the anthology of his sports writing from The Times, and what it’s like to be a reporter who never re-reads his stories to go back over his past work. He talks about how he remembers the experience of writing and reporting his stories much more than the stories themselves. He also talks about what life as a reporter is like after winning a Pulitzer, what it’s like when one of stories becomes a verb, and the backstory of how Snowfall became a multimedia piece. 

He and Brian also do a deep dive into his journalistic philosophy, “I try to write stories you didn’t know you wanted to read.”

John Branch

John on Twitter

Sidecountry: Tales of Death and Life from the Back Roads of Sports

Snowfall: The Avalanche at Tunnel Creek

What Is A Summit

The Bear’s Ears by David Roberts

Barbarian Days by William Finnegan

The Library Book by Susan Orlean

How Lucky by Will Leitch

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Lyndsey D’Arcangelo, a sports writer for The Athletic, joins Brian to talk about journalism, social media, and her upcoming book, “Hail Mary: The Rise and Fall of the National Women’s Football League.” 

Lyndsey describes her twisty career path that took her from college to an office job in Boston to an office job at the Buffalo News and finally back to sports writing. She tell Brian how using Twitter turned her career around in a good way (for real — she’s the one) and how she advocates for women’s sports while maintaining journalistic distance. 

Lyndsey tells Brian about how she and co-author Britni de le Cretaz came up with the idea for the book on the NWFL, how they divided the the writing and reporting, how they got sources to trust them with their stories, and why these untold stories are so important. 

Lyndsey D’Arcangelo

Lyndsey on Twitter

Courtside Column: The WNBA’s first game was a defining moment for me

Hail Mary: The Rise and Fall of the National Women’s Football League

Broken Horses: A Memoir by Brandi Carlile

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Dave Bidini, an author, guitar player in the Rheostatics, and publisher of the West End Phoenix, joins Brian to talk all things writing and journalism. 

Dave and Brian revisit “On A Cold Road,” the oral history/diary Dave wrote after his band toured with The Tragically Hip in 1996. Dave talks about what that book means to him all these years later. 

Dave discusses the importance of his family’s typewriter, why books were magical to him as a kid and what books and writing were formative to him as a young man. Dave also defends sportswriting and discusses how the structure and the language of great sports journalism influences his own work. 

Dave talks about his songwriting process (hint: there is no process), why he started the West End Phoenix, and why community journalism is so vital now. 

Dave on Twitter

West End Phoenix

Dave’s books

On a Cold Road: Tales of Adventure in Canadian Rock

Rheostatics on Spotify

Shooting Midnight Cowboy: Art, Sex, Loneliness, Liberation, and the Making of a Dark Classic

Love: A Novel

Alexandra Fuller’s books

Body

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Will Leitch joins Brian to talk about pandemic life, sports journalism and Will’s upcoming novel, How Lucky. 

Will and Brian talk about their lives during the pandemic, how sports journalism survived its self-perceived existential crisis, and how sports’ return helped pave the the way for a return to normalcy. 

Will then talks about his upcoming book, which he calls the purest distillation of what he feels abut the world. He talks about how he came up with the idea for How Lucky, why he wanted to write a story about someone with Spinal Muscular Atrophy and the history of the internet, and why he decided to write it as a novel. Will describes his Wonderboys moment with his agent and what it was like when he found out that Stephen King liked his book. 

There’s also advice for young writers (and Brian) about how to be more disciplined as a writer. Yes, it’s hard. The trick is to trick yourself out of not doing something. 

Will Leitch on Twitter

Will’s Weekly Newsletter

How Lucky on Amazon

How Lucky on Bookstore

Episode 7: Creative Wigwams with Will Leitch

Kevin Wilson’s books

The Shakespeare Requirement by Julia Schumacher

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A warning: This episode includes discussion about suicide, depression and anxiety. If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide or is in emotional distress, contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1–800–273- TALK(8255) or at suicidepreventionlifeline.org.

Jeff Passan, an ESPN MLB Insider, joins Brian to do a deep dive into the remarkable story on San Francisco Giants’ outfielder Drew Robinson. 

Jeff describes how he first learned about Robinson’s attempted suicide, how he connected with Robinson over FaceTime, and how his years breaking transactions as a baseball reporter made this story, Jeff walks through how he consulted with experts on suicide before even interviewing Robinson and why being a person before being a journalist mattered with this story. Jeff tells how his seven-hour interview with Drew was the hardest most emotionally taxing thing he’s ever done in journalism, describes what it was like to interview his family members, and the details that still stick with him. Jeff also talks about important figuring out the story’s structure was and what it was it like to sit down to write, knowing how important a story this was.

Jeff and Brian also talk about their experiences as Buffalo News sports interns, and why desk people are their favorite people.

Jeff Passan on Twitter

Drew Robinson’s Remarkable Second Act

Alive: The Drew Robinson Story

Reporting on Suicide

Reporting on Suicide Recommendations

The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline

Inside the dual legacies of NFL players’ union boss DeMaurice Smith

Facebook is a Doomsday Machine

I Am Not A Solider, but I’ve Been Trained to Kill

New York Times Columnist David Brooks Blogged For Facebook’s Corporate Site

Pappyland by Wright Thompson

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Dr. Michael Mirer, a visiting assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, joins Brian to talk about researching and teaching journalism. 

Michael and Brian talk about the challenges of brining writing classes to the online environment. Michael also describes his career path from a kid in Detroit who wanted to write for a literary magazine, to being a sports journalists in the oil patch of New Mexico and California, to eventually graduate school in Wisconsin. 

Michael, who is probably the leading scholar in boundary work in sports journalism, breaks down exactly what “boundary work” is, why it’s so important to understanding journalism in 2021, and the evolving relationship between sports journalists and team websites. He tells Brian why teaching professionalism is the most important thing to teach journalism students, and how journalists need to embrace change rather than fight it. 

Michael Mirer on Twitter

Michael on Google Scholar

Arthur Ashe: A Life by Raymond Arsenault

Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow

Grant by Ron Chernow

The inheritance of Archie Manning by Wright Thompson

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Jennifer Ashley Tepper, a Broadway producer, historian and author joins Brian to talk about the fourth volume of her delightful series, The Untold Stories of Broadway. 

Jennifer (who produced Be More Chill), talks about where her love of obscure and forgotten musicals comes from, and how that obsession turned into a book series. She talks about the decision to frame her books by each Broadway theater. Jennifer also talks about how her research and writing process has evolved in the past decade, and how her writing and editing process is like assembling a puzzle. 

Jennifer also tells Brian about the Fallen Five theaters and gives him her best quick story for each of the three Broadway theaters he’s been to. 

Jennifer Ashley Tepper

Jennifer on Twitter

The Untold Stories of Broadway, Vol. 4

The Untold Stories series

Two Kids and a Broadway Star Episode 6: Jennifer Ashley Tepper

Not Since Carrie by Ken Mendalbaum

Everything Was Possible: The Birth of the Musical Follies by Ted Chapin

Dancing Man by Bob Avian

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Composer and lyricist Rob Rokicki joins Brian to do a deep dive into The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical. 

Rob and Brian talk about The Lightning Thief’s long journey from a one-hour free show made for kids to a full-on Broadway musical. Rob discusses how he got involved in the project, how he became familiar with the world of Percy Jackson and how he worked to make a show that rang true to the series’ devoted fans. Rob describes how he worked collaboratively with book writer Joe Tracz to stay true to the books, how early feedback from kids kept them on track, what scene from the book they learned they absolutely had to keep, and how Rob used different instruments to find the voices of each character. 

Rob also talks about how he spent 2020, the importance of equity in theater, and what people can do to support theater during the COVID–19 shutdown. 

Rob Rokicki on Spotify

Rob on Twitter

Rob’s Website

The Lightning Thief Musical

The Actors Fund

Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS

Geva Theater Center

Syracuse Stage

Spotlight Studios

The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker

The River by Peter Heller

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Tyler Dunne returns to the show to talk about his new NFL newsletter, Go Long. 

Tyler discusses why he decided to start a newsletter with Substack and why he believes this is the future of sports journalism. He talks about the lessons he learned from watching his dad start his own company and what it means to bet on yourself. 

Tyler and Brian also talk about the challenges of reporting via Zoom and how the early morning hours can be the best time of day to write. 

There is also much praise for the Buffalo Bills and Jeff Pearlman. Also, Tyler’s dog Ed - the breakout Instagram Star of Quarantine — makes an appearance. 

[Go Long with Tyler Dunne](https://www.golongtd.com/

Tyler on Twitter

The Pressure is on Josh Allen

What Sammy Watkins Believes

Three-Ring Circus by Jeff Pearlman

Episode 132: Role Players with Jeff Pearlman

Episode 96: A Little Kelly Tripuka with Tyler Dunne

Episode 3: Tyler Dunne

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Screenwriters Keith and Juliet Giglio join Brian to talk about writing Christmas movies for Lifetime, including their most recent, Dear Christmas. 

Keith, a professor at Syracuse University, and Juliet, a professor at SUNY-Oswego (where Brian teaches), talk about how their careers took them from being screenwriters in Los Angeles to academics in Central New York, and how an off-handed comment about the Christmas Prince led them to pitching and writing their first Christmas movie, “A Very Nutty Christmas.” Keith and Juliet describe how they pitch their movies to Paula and Melissa Joan Hart, how they use index cards and Trello to break stories, and how they collaborate on their scripts. 

The couple also discuss their four favorite Christmas movies. There is much praise for Jack Black. 

Dear Christmas

A Very Nutty Christmas

Christmas Reservations

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