The Sunday Long Read Podcast

Glynnis MacNicol wisely says about writing that "not telling the truth leads to bad writing." She's spot on about that and quite a few other things in her new book, "No One Tells You This," which she discusses with Don on this week's episode. The two talk about her 40th birthday, solo travel, and how Glynnis once ended up eating steak for breakfast. Her book is a memoir about being 40, single, and childless, and although her stomach turns slightly at the phrase "deeply personal," Glynnis has received lots of praise for her book's honesty and clarity, which comes across in this week's episode.

This week's episode includes explicit language.

Her website: http://www.glynnismacnicol.com

Prologue excerpt: https://medium.com/s/story/the-stories-my-mother-gave-me-eea33a5f953d

A review of "No One Tells You This": https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/glynnis-macnicol-no-one-tells-you-this-review_us_5b47666de4b0e7c958f8c35d

18:00 - First chapter/Amazon link to the book: https://www.amazon.com/No-One-Tells-You-This/dp/1501163132

41:00 - NYT story w/steak anecdote: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/05/style/no-kids-happy.html

A reporter's reporter, Sy Hersh characterizes his work this way: "I'm constantly walking into editors’ offices and throwing a dead rat full of lice on their desk. Maybe he’s still alive and moving.” Hear his unfiltered thoughts on his career and journalism.

This week's episode contains explicit language.

Amy Chozick moved to New York after college with nothing but a set of clips from her college newspaper and now, 17 years later, is the New York Times bestselling author of the campaign memoir "Chasing Hillary." In this week's episode, Don (the co-author of a 2007 Clinton book with Jeff Gerth) chats with Amy, a Times reporter, about Hillary Clinton, and the pair trade war stories about the blowback the Clinton camp has dished out to journalists who write unauthorized books about Clinton. They also evaluate the media's approach to the 2016 election and talk about Hillary's press team, a notorious group Amy refers to as "The Guys."

This week's episode contains explicit language.

Steve Almond says of writing: “The idea is that you are trying to show the reader somebody whose life is in disequilibrium and who is struggling with some universal bewilderment.” His newest book, Bad Stories: What the Hell Just Happened to our Country, is out now. It’s his tenth. He has also published more than 150 short stories and is the co-host of the popular Dear Sugars podcast. He and Don discuss the value of good editing, the apprenticeship a young writer should undergo, and much more.

Where is Rachel Syme's favorite people-watching perch in New York City? What would her ideal beat be? One of our favorite profile writers—and a soon-to-be author—discusses those topics and many, many more on this week's podcast. She also explains the "tricky, transactional nature of profile writing," how she thinks of interviews as first dates, and why she wound up discussing detergent one afternoon on Twitter. Plus, Don's conversation with Rachel begins and ends with stirring discussions of F. Scott Fitzgerald's work (before Don shares his true feelings about Ernest Hemingway). Enjoy!

DVN: How many writers are you mentoring right now?

SS: I think like 600.

Don and Shea discuss how he first resorted to writing, how comments got him a job, how he found his unique voice, and the first compliment Bill Simmons gave him. From the first to graduate high school in his family to a New York Times bestseller, Serrano's story—just like his personality—is one-of-a-kind.

"What kind of globalization should we want? There are lots of different versions of it, and we have a particular version that at this moment is pissing off a lot of people—but it doesn't have to be that way."

Atossa has spent most of her journalism career investigating issues of globalism, from how global elites act at a level above states to how the global poor get caught up in the system. In 2015, she wrote a book on the topic, and issues of statehood and citizenship are in the news now as much as ever. Atossa explains how she ended up focusing on the topic and the "real reason" she became a journalist; offers a few tips for fellow freelancers; and discusses the joy of surfing.

"I'm not that special," Washington Post national arts reporter Geoff Edgers says. "All I do is call a million people." That's how he's written unforgettable profiles on every star from Lionel Richie to David Letterman. Edgers shares his process with Don, discusses what he looks for in a potential profile subject, and shares his Bill Murray story. The two also discuss Edgers' newest project: Edge of Fame, a podcast co-produced by WBUR which gets the audience even closer to today's biggest entertainers (for the most recent episode on Jimmy Kimmel, Edgers left his recorder on the comedian's desk for an entire day).

Enjoy!

After writing the Oral History of Inside Sports for The Sunday Long Read, and as he launches a new journalism archive project debuting today, Alex catches up with Don—who calls Alex "America's Curator Laureate." As for his new website, thestacksreader.com, Alex said: "I just want to have a destination where things that would ordinarily have been discarded have a place to live—does that make sense?"

"We're all a product of our path to the current moment, and my path is a little bit different," Michael says. He has worked his way up from covering exurban news to writing about the President for POLITICO. And he says that journey, which included stories about a dead sheep and a woman who disappeared inside her own home, helps him today. "My path was through small areas and rural areas in New York state and in Florida ... it can't hurt when I go out to quote-unquote Trump country—which is to say, most of the country—and talk to people."

Michael also talked about his first lucky break in the business, how a lack of access can sometimes be liberating, and why he considers his audience to be just about every single person on planet Earth.