Why Is This Good?

If you enjoyed this episode, consider joining our Patreon. Your support helps us keep the show running. Find out more at http://www.patreon.com/whyisthisgoodpodcast In this episode, we discuss “A Perfect Day for Bananafish” by J. D. Salinger. How can a simple presentation provide such a complex story? What’s the effect of a third-person, psychically distant point […]

If you enjoyed this episode, consider joining our Patreon. Your support helps us keep the show running. Find out more at http://www.patreon.com/whyisthisgoodpodcast In this episode, we discuss “Sweethearts” by Richard Ford. What can we learn from this story? How can a character’s emotions create tension in a story? How can a story’s premise wind up […]

If you enjoyed this episode, consider joining our Patreon. Your support helps us keep the show running. Find out more at http://www.patreon.com/whyisthisgoodpodcast In this episode, we discuss “This is Pleasure” by Mary Gaitskill. What can we learn from a story with two first-person narrators? How can physical description help characterize a character? How do the […]

If you enjoyed this episode, consider joining our Patreon. Your support helps us keep the show running. Find out more at http://www.patreon.com/whyisthisgoodpodcast In this episode, we discuss “Snow” by Dale Bailey. What can we learn from this action-packed apocalyptic survival story? How much does a story like this rely on our familiarity with the genre? […]

If you enjoyed this episode, consider joining our Patreon. Your support helps us keep the show running. Find out more at http://www.patreon.com/whyisthisgoodpodcast In this episode, we discuss “Leaf by Niggle” by J. R. R. Tolkien. What can we learn from this little tale? Is this a religious allegory? How does an allegorical framework limit how […]

If you enjoyed this episode, consider joining our Patreon. Your support helps us keep the show running. Find out more at http://www.patreon.com/whyisthisgoodpodcast In this episode, we discuss “This is How You Fail to Ghost Him” by Victoria McCurdy. What can we learn from a piece of flash fiction? How can flash fiction satisfy us? What […]

If you enjoyed this episode, consider joining our Patreon. Your support helps us keep the show running. Find out more at http://www.patreon.com/whyisthisgoodpodcast In this episode, we discuss “Cathedral” by Raymond Carver. What can we learn from a paradigm example of a short story? How can we fit an emotionally satisfying character arc into a short […]

If you enjoyed this episode, consider joining our Patreon. Your support helps us keep the show running. Find out more at http://www.patreon.com/whyisthisgoodpodcast In this episode, we discuss “Ghosts and Empties” by Lauren Groff. What can we learn from a ruminative story with very little plot? How can we turn our own real experiences into fiction? […]

If you enjoyed this episode, consider joining our Patreon. Your support helps us keep the show running. Find out more at http://www.patreon.com/whyisthisgoodpodcast In this episode, we discuss “The Country of the Blind” by H. G. Wells. Can a story be based on an aphorism? How does the Utopian tradition affect the telling? How would modern […]

If you enjoyed this episode, consider joining our Patreon. Your support helps us keep the show running. Find out more at http://www.patreon.com/whyisthisgoodpodcast In this episode, we discuss “Sea Oak” by George Saunders. What can we learn from this crazy, hilarious story? How can fiction bring internal conflict into concrete reality? How can we create a […]