Épisodes

  • Episode 61: Writing The Book about Katrina with Andy Horowitz

    Episode 61: Writing The Book about Katrina with Andy Horowitz
    Oct 20 2025
    We’re speaking with UConn Associate Professor of History Andy Horowitz, who also serves as the Connecticut State Historian. We talk about Andy’s first book, Katrina: A History, 1915-2015 (https://www.hup.harvard.edu/books/9780674271074) (Harvard University Press, 2020) which won a 2021 Bancroft Prize in American History, and was named the 2021 Humanities Book of the Year by the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities, and a 2020 Best Nonfiction Book of the Year by Publishers Weekly. He has also written for The Atlantic, Time, the Boston Globe, the Washington Post, Rolling Stone, and the New York Times. We talk about what it means to write about disasters and about the place where you live; writing about people who are currently alive; being a presentist historian; and what it means to write “important books.” Don't forget to rate and review our show and follow us on all social media platforms here: https://linktr.ee/writingitpodcast Contact us with questions, possible future topics/guests, or comments here: https://writingit.fireside.fm/contact
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    46 min
  • Episode 60: Why Our Public Persona Matters to the Stories We Write with Jim Loeffler

    Episode 60: Why Our Public Persona Matters to the Stories We Write with Jim Loeffler
    Oct 6 2025
    We’re speaking with Jim Loeffler, Felix Posen Professorship in Modern Jewish History at Johns Hopkins University about how our public persona affects the stories we tell and pitch to editors. We talk about Loeffler’s publishing experience with academic presses, academic-trade, and why moving to trade press has been so different. We talk about some of the challenges involved in Loeffler's forthcoming book about antisemitism and free speech, which includes contemporary material about Charlottesville 2017, which Loeffler experienced as a UVA Jewish Studies professor, a Jewish community member, and then as a reporter, who covered the Charlottesville trial for the Atlantic. We also discuss the challenges of changing institutions, and the benefits of editing an academic journal and gaining a wider perspective on readers’ reports. Don't forget to rate and review our show and follow us on all social media platforms here: https://linktr.ee/writingitpodcast Contact us with questions, possible future topics/guests, or comments here: https://writingit.fireside.fm/contact
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    54 min
  • Episode 59: When dissertations do not become tenure books & research becomes NYT Op-eds with Miriam Udel

    Episode 59: When dissertations do not become tenure books & research becomes NYT Op-eds with Miriam Udel
    Sep 22 2025
    We’re talking with Emory Professor Miriam Udel about lessons from a career full of writing highs and challenges, beginning with the realization that the dissertation will not become the first book. We talk about learning how to understand the gradations of rejection letters; the value of pitching editors in person; why spending time on works of translations may be highly worthwhile even when they do not count for tenure and promotion; when hiring a book publicist is useful for academics; writing Op-Eds; mentoring younger scholars; and having a memoir-in-progress in the drawer. Don't forget to rate and review our show and follow us on all social media platforms here: https://linktr.ee/writingitpodcast Contact us with questions, possible future topics/guests, or comments here: https://writingit.fireside.fm/contact
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    58 min
  • Episode 58: Finding Joy in Writing After Burn-Out

    Episode 58: Finding Joy in Writing After Burn-Out
    Sep 8 2025
    We’re talking with Distinguished Professor of Art History at Cleveland State University about building a scholarly foundation for future historians of art through writing and then moving in a new direction with more popular writing. We talked about writing for Smithsonian Magazine; writing about artists who are still alive; how to surmount the challenges of getting your editor to include images in your book; and when cold-calling really pays off. Don't forget to rate and review our show and follow us on all social media platforms here: https://linktr.ee/writingitpodcast Contact us with questions, possible future topics/guests, or comments here: https://writingit.fireside.fm/contact
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    40 min
  • Episode 57: Deciding When (and When Not) to Write the Hard Stuff with Claire Sufrin

    Episode 57: Deciding When (and When Not) to Write the Hard Stuff with Claire Sufrin
    Aug 25 2025
    We’re talking with Dr. Claire Sufrin, editor of Sources: A Journal of Jewish Ideas and Senior Editor at the Shalom Hartman Institute of North America about writing choices and how they affect our academic lives. We talk about choosing to leave a traditional academic position and how that affects our writing; writing about personal matters; deciding not to turn the dissertation into a book; and about the schedule of an editor. Don't forget to rate and review our show and follow us on all social media platforms here: https://linktr.ee/writingitpodcast Contact us with questions, possible future topics/guests, or comments here: https://writingit.fireside.fm/contact
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    49 min
  • Episode 56: From Academic Writing to Self-Help with Liz Arleo, MD

    Episode 56: From Academic Writing to Self-Help with Liz Arleo, MD
    Aug 11 2025
    We’re speaking with Dr. Elizabeth Arleo, Professor of Radiology at Weill Cornell Medical College (WCMC), an Attending Radiologist at the New York-Presbyterian Hospital (NYPH), and Editor-in-Chief of the radiology journal Clinical Imaging about writing the books we feel called to write. For Liz, this meant writing self-help and children’s books. We talk about using National Novel Writing Month (November) to kick-start writing habits, and about moving from academic-style writing to a more accessible style of writing. We also talk about getting an agent and fitting writing into busy career and family schedules. Don't forget to rate and review our show and follow us on all social media platforms here: https://linktr.ee/writingitpodcast Contact us with questions, possible future topics/guests, or comments here: https://writingit.fireside.fm/contact
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    29 min
  • Episode 55: Choosing the Next Project with Mark Oppenheimer

    Episode 55: Choosing the Next Project with Mark Oppenheimer
    Jul 28 2025
    We’re talking with Mark Oppenheimer, author, professor, podcaster, and editor of the online journal Arc: Religion, Politics, Et Cetera, about a varied writing career defined by openness to the next interesting project (one of those current projects is writing Judy Blume’s biography). We talk about writing a great sentence; how academics can best position their research and ideas for the popular press; when a university press is the best option for a project; writing biography; rejection; how to teach writing; and the freelancing life. Don't forget to rate and review our show and follow us on all social media platforms here: https://linktr.ee/writingitpodcast Contact us with questions, possible future topics/guests, or comments here: https://writingit.fireside.fm/contact
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    55 min
  • Episode 54: What to do when the book editor says, ‘This won’t sell’ with J.E. Smyth

    Episode 54: What to do when the book editor says, ‘This won’t sell’ with J.E. Smyth
    Jul 14 2025
    We talk with historian and film critic J.E. Smyth about her most recent book, Mary C. McCall Jr.: The Rise and Fall of Hollywood's Most Powerful Screenwriter. We talk about writing the kinds of books called “recovery projects,” and how commitment to the subject helps us get beyond discouragement from the publishing world. In speaking about writing biography, we talking about finding your writing voice; the challenges of subjects who are political moderates; weighing the advantages of trade press v. academic press; at what stage of your project to approach an editor/agent about your project (and the advantages of holding the ms. book until it’s done; and how best to approach the children/family members of your subject. Don't forget to rate and review our show and follow us on all social media platforms here: https://linktr.ee/writingitpodcast Contact us with questions, possible future topics/guests, or comments here: https://writingit.fireside.fm/contact
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    47 min