Dan Dissinger welcomes back his former professor Dr. Steve Mentz, chair of the Saint John’s University English Department, to discuss his latest book of poems Sailing Without Ahab and the Blue Humanities. They dive into (no pun intended) Dr. Mentz’s writing journey in and out of the poems in Sailing Without Ahab, the interconnected writing process and relationship between the creative space of poetry and academic scholarship when it came to creating Sailing Without Ahab, his personal and scholastic history with water, teaching Moby-Dick, and the challenges of writing in the voice of Ishmael. Steve also reads several poems from Sailing Without Ahab and discusses some of the more intricate details about these pieces.

This is such a rich episode both for writers and scholars alike, and being on the precipice of National Poetry Month, this is a great way to start it off.

Dan Dissinger welcomes Tony Stubblebine, CEO of Medium.com, to talk about the power of authenticity in writing online and how Medium’s platform helps to create a space where authors of all levels can find and cultivate an audience. Tony dives into how he went from software engineer to the CEO of Medium.com. He shares his goals for Medium to create an online community where people create and share meaningful content and how Medium is a place where all people get to be teachers and students. The conversation touches on the transformative power of writing, the challenges posed by AI-generated content, and the importance of human connection in the digital age. This is the type of episode Writing Remix is all about, so sit back, take notes, and get inspired to put pen to paper (so to say). Share this episode with someone in your life that is an aspiring writer.

Dan & Stephanie Renée Payne start a series of podcast episodes called “Inspired Belonging” on Writing Remix. On this inaugural episode, Dan & Stephanie explore their thoughts and understandings of belonging, it’s connection to writing, and how the late great bell hooks plays such a deep role in Inspired Belonging workshops, presentations, and pedagogy. TheyContinue reading "Introducing Inspired Belonging"

Dan welcomed his colleagues in the USC Writing Program Dr. Leah Pate, Dr. Tamara Black, & Dr. Rory Lukins to do a deep dive into their project “Reimagining Assessments: Contract Grading’s Untapped Benefits for Learning, Teaching, and Well-Being.” This conversation covers the results of their research and the impact contract grading has on student writingContinue reading "109. Reimagining Assessments: Exploring the Untapped Benefits of Contract Grading w/ Dr. Leah Pate, Dr. Tamara Black, & Dr. Rory Lukins"

Dan welcomed back Dr. Danielle Lee to Writing Remix last year for the fifth annual Big Rhetorical Podcast Carnival, which was focused on ‘Politics and Rhetorics, Navigating Civility, Culture, and Crisis.’ Their conversation went deep into the need for a civility in the current political landscape, how the lack of civility is escalating dehumanization fromContinue reading "108. Exploring Civility, Discourse, & Hope w/ Dr. Danielle Lee"

Dan welcomes Dr. Meghan P. Nolan back to Writing Remix to discuss preparing for the Spring 2025 semester and some of the ways she’s looking to expand, shift, and reimagine approaches to writing instruction. Meghan also talks about the balance between her duties as a writing professor and the Chair of the Sam Draper HonorsContinue reading "107. Preparing for Spring 2025 w/ Dr. Meghan P. Nolan"

In this solo episode of Writing Remix, Dan discusses how to effectively convert academic conference presentations into engaging podcast episodes. He shares personal experiences and lessons learned from shifting his traditional conference approach to a more interactive and participatory format using his multiple podcasts. Dan emphasizes the importance of recording and archiving presentations, networking, andContinue reading "106. How I Leverage My Podcast at Academic Conferences"

Dan invites Dr. Bailey McAlister, sommelier, Rhetoric & Communications professor, & pop-culture critic to talk all about how she merges her love of wine and the wine community with her PhD research, the impact that 2020 had on the wine & beverage industry, how sommeliers are using personal narratives to introduce people to wine, community building in the world of wine, how she teaches process-oriented writing to her students, and so much more. So, grab a glass, your favorite beverage, and settle in for another Writing Remix!

Dan recorded LIVE from the Southwest Popular/American Culture Association Conference in Albuquerque, NM w/ USC colleagues Jen Sopchockchai Bankard & P.T. McNiff of the Long Take Review podcast. Shoutout to SWPACA, the tech guy who helped make this happen, and everyone that came out to support! Their presentation, “Between Two Scholastic Worlds: Teaching, Blogging, andContinue reading "104. LIVE! from The Southwest Popular/American Culture Association Conference w/ The Long Take Review Podcast"

Content Warning: This episode has discussions about mental health issues, body dysmorphia, eating disorders, & suicidal ideation. Dan invites artist Dr. Ally Zlatar to talk about the imperative role artists & art play in the world to communicate empathy, create community, & as a tool for empowerment. This is such a deep episode with aContinue reading "103. Being an Artist w/ Dr. Ally Zlatar"