Today on our show, we bring you a story by Keven Griffen, a PhD student at The Center for Ecosystem Science and Society (ECOSS) at Northern Arizona University (NAU). Her story uses science to understand an emotional connection to place. She did it by having us fall in love with the place. She set the scene and raised the stakes.  Keven’s story was originally performed on stage at the Flagstaff Festival of Science in October 2023. This was a Collaboration with ECOSS, Northern Arizona...

Today on our show we bring you a story by Morgan Sutton that embodies everything a story should embody. The story uses no extra words; the narrator looks inside herself; and the story matters to the broader world. The story is so important because it explains a very dangerous and ugly assumption that is often made about women who’ve been raped. Morgan does it by examining her own situation and her own assumptions. There’s no preaching. And there’s nothing dogmatic. This is what writing and...

Today on our show, we bring you a story by Jasmine Anenberg, a PhD student at The Center for Ecosystem Science and Society (ECOSS) at Northern Arizona University (NAU). Her story is about losing a friend but gaining something he taught her, which is seeing the beauty in small things. She takes this lesson into her fieldwork as she studies mosses in dirt. Her story was originally performed on stage at the Flagstaff Festival of Science in October 2023. This was a Collaboration with ECOSS,...

Today on our show, we bring you a story by Jennifer Byrne, who conjures the courage to leave her husband after she's faced with removing a bird that flew into her house. Her story is an excellent example of using a book-end structure. Jennifer has been published in the New York Times (Tiny Love Stories), The Cut, Psychology Today, Good Housekeeping, Atlas Obscura, McSweeney's Internet Tendency, The New Yorker Daily Shouts and The Guardian. She lives in New Jersey.  Writing Class Radio is...

Today on our show, we bring you a story by Nick Link, a PhD student in the Mack Lab and part of the Center for Ecosystem Science and Society (ECOSS) at Northern Arizona University. His story was originally performed on stage at the Flagstaff Festival of Science in October 2023. This was a Collaboration with ECOSS, Northern Arizona University, and Story Collider, a podcast that airs true science stories. We worked with Dr. Bruce Hungate and Dr. Jane Marks, ecologists and professors at NAU....

Happy Valentine’s Day. Today on our show, we bring you a story that was originally performed on stage at the Flagstaff Festival of Science in October 2023. This was a Collaboration with The Center for Ecosystem Science and Society (ECOSS) at Northern Arizona University (NAU) and Story Collider, a podcast that airs true science stories. We worked with our narrator of today’s story Dr. Bruce Hungate and Dr. Jane Marks, a conservation ecologist and professor at NAU, who happens to be married to...

Today on our show, we bring you a story by Christopher Blackwell. Chris is 42 and serving a 45-year prison sentence in Washington. Chris’s story came to us through writer and Chris’s mentor, Jamie Beth Cohen. This episode is about taking a small moment and bringing big meaning. Through details and emotion, Chris tells us so much about himself and his surroundings. When birds nest on the windowsill of the prison, all the men gather round. Their usual differences melt away. When the birds fly...

Today on our show, we bring you a story by Sumitra Mattai. Sumitra is a writer and textile designer based in New York City. She holds a BFA in Textile Design from the Rhode Island School of Design and an MFA in Creative Writing from The New School. Her essays on family, food and culture have been published widely. For more information, www.sumitramattai.com, Instagram @sumitramattai, or subscribe to her newsletter, "Clothbound," highlighting textiles in art, design and everyday life. Her...

Today on our show, we bring you a story by Maxine Poupko, a semi-retired nurse, long-time student of Writing Class Radio, and hilarious person. Maxine is a master at writing humor and writing the truth. Of course someone can learn the craft of writing, but there might be some debate about whether you can learn to write the truth. Maxine shows us it's possible. She's been writing with Writing Class Radio for the last five years and we have seen her writing transform. At first her writing...

Today on our show we’re talking about the writing process and how getting rejected is just part of the fun. After our own Andrea Askowitz takes a class on rejection taught by Elissa Bassist, she develops a new way of thinking about failure. If you are not getting rejected, you’re not in the game. You will hear the story Andrea wrote after her 643rd rejection. Andrea’s story is called, “I’ve Been Rejected 643 Times. Here’s Why I Resolve to Fail More." Writing Class Radio is hosted by Allison...

Today on our show, we’re talking about structure and planting seeds. You’ll hear a story by Claire Tak called The Unopened Letter. Claire is a freelance writer and editor living in Denver. She has a column in PrisonJournalismProject.org called Outside/In, where she writes about her brother’s incarceration. Claire is currently writing a memoir. As a child of Korean-American parents, her book deals with the “immigrant guilt” she faced growing up.  For more Claire, subscribe to her Substacks:...

Today on our show, we are talking about hot topic/cold prose and when and why to write in the present tense vs. past. The story we share is written in the present tense, which gives readers the feeling that they're going through the situation with the narrator, in real time. Today’s essay is by Dr. Colleen Arnold who is a physician and freelance writer in Lexington, Virginia.  Dr. Arnold has written for Insider, Wall Street Journal, Chicken Soup for the Soul among others. She is a mom to...

Today on our show, we’re talking about writing with personality and being vulnerable. And when we say vulnerable, we mean including the hard things, good and bad, about ourselves. You’ll hear a story by Dr. Jane Marks, who is a conservation ecologist and professor of Aquatic Ecology at Northern Arizona University (NAU). Jane has been taking classes with Writing Class Radio (WCR) for three years including hiring team WCR to help craft and produce a night of live storytelling at NAU. The show...

Today on our show, we bring you a story by Kimberly Elkins. Kimberly is the author of the novel, WHAT IS VISIBLE, which was a New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice and named to several Best of 2014 lists. She’s written for The Atlantic, The New York Times, The Iowa Review, The Chicago Tribune, The Los Angeles Review of Books, Glamour, Slice, The Cincinnati Review, and Best New American Voices. She was a Finalist for the National Magazine Award, and has also won a New York Moth StorySlam....

This episode is about how to write a near perfect essay. The story was written by Banning Lyon who writes about a harrowing childhood experience in a psychiatric ward. His essay was previously published in The Washington Post. After we discuss Banning’s story, you’ll hear an interview with the author on what his process was like, the difficult emotions writing the memoir brought up, and the cold call he made to find his agent. Banning Lyon is the author of The Chair and The Valley, which...

Today on our show, we bring you a story by Amy Paturel, which is a great example of how to write about someone else while still including the narrator in a big way. Paturel incorporates her husband’s late wife’s writing into a story that is both emotional, tender, and beautifully composed. She answers the question: Can we live on through writing? She shows us that we can live on through the notes in the margins even if those notes are never published. This story was originally published in...

On this episode, we bring you a story by Ken Guidroz. Ken’s story shows us the importance of writing and sharing stories, especially with people we either don’t understand or who don’t understand us. Ken says writing to his son in prison ignited an honest exchange he never would have had without writing. This exchange changed their relationship forever. Ken Guidroz served in the ministry, leading the Santa Clarita Church of Christ and designs specialty retirement plans for companies. He is...

On this episode, you’ll hear a story by our own Allison Langer. You may have read her story in HuffPost, where she was published on Jan 16, 2023. The story ran with this title: People Say I'm A Grief Expert, But When My Friend's Husband Died, I Did Something I Deeply Regret. If you are wondering how to help a friend who is grieving or have ever felt like you don't know what to say or do when someone dies, this episode will help. After you hear the story, we’ll discuss one of our biggest...

On this episode, we bring you a story by our own Andrea Askowitz. A version of this essay was published April 2023 on CNN and titled What Justine Bateman Gets Exactly Right About Beauty. You’ll hear tips on how to bring in outside evidence for a more effective opinion piece and how to use the news stories, popular in the media, to create a personal essay. Andrea Askowitz has been published in The New York Times, Salon, The Rumpus, Huffington Post, Glamour, AEON, The Writer, Manifest-Station,...

Today on our show, we bring you a story by student Emily Henderson. The story is called Cliches Saved My Life. The whole story is 354 words. It’s a lesson in going huge by going small. It’s also inspires a discussion about when and when not to use cliches in your writing. Emily Henderson has been featured before on Writing Class Radio: Ep 144: When Is a Gift More than a Gift? That story is about living through Xmas after the death of a child. It’s a beautiful and sad story and one of our...

Today on our show, we bring you a story by student Kim Costigan. Kim wrote this story while on our December 2022 writing retreat in Key Largo. This story crushed us and made us love Kim even more. What I want you to listen for is the anecdote at the end. This is one of our favorite ways to end a story. It shows how the narrator has been impacted by the situation in real time.  Kim has been writing with us for a few years now, and Kim is the perfect example of someone who started green and...

Today on our show, we bring you a story by Maxine Poupko. Maxine’s story is a great example of character development, showing the tiny details in a complex relationship, and bringing the reader into a different world. Maxine wrote this story for the Writing Class Radio retreat in February 2023. The story was workshopped and refined with feedback and encouragement from the group. If you have a strained relationship with a member of your family, this episode is for you! Maxine Poupko is a...

Today on our show, we bring you a story by Corey Devon Arthur. Corey has served 25 years on a life sentence for robbery and murder and is currently housed at Otisville Correctional Institution in New York. Corey is an artist and writer who has been published on Writing Class Radio and The Marshall Project, among others. Corey’s stories have aired on Episode 120: My Pen Uncovers the Real Me, Episode 128: My New Manifesto, and Episode 143: Cutting Needless Words.  This story is a great example...

Today on our show, we bring you a story by Jenny Powers. Jenny is a New York-based freelance reporter. She writes for HuffPost, The Cut, Business Insider, Fortune, and more. She is working on a memoir called, "Smooth Operator: Confessions of an Accidental Phone Sex Vixen." You can see more of her work at https://www.clippings.me/jpowers. Jenny’s essay originally appeared in The Cut and is titled “Outsourcing My Orgasm.” We trimmed just slightly for the podcast. We love so many things about...