Best Writingtips Podcasts (2025)

1
#286 - Finding Inspiration Through Loss, Pandemic Reflections and Honoring Pablo 1:39:53

Play Pause

1d ago1:39:53

1:39:53

Welcome to Episode 286 of the Spun Today Podcast, the show anchored in writing but truly unlimited in its scope. I’m your host, Tony Ortiz, and today we’re diving into something both personal and nostalgic: a throwback tribute episode to my good friend and Spun Today alum, Pablo Mosquera Jr. In this heartfelt installment, we revisit one of our annu…

1
Episode 478: Nick Paumgarten says, 'The Reporting Suggests the Root System' 1:06:22

24h ago1:06:22

1:06:22

"I'm a guy who needs a lede. I need the lede to work. I need it to be compelling. And it doesn't have to be the best place to begin. It just has to be a place to begin that works and that amuses and sucks you in. I. So once I have a lede, then that will lead to another place," says Nick Paumgarten. Wow, so today we have Nick Paumgarten and can I te…

1
Episode 477: David Howard and the Search for Stories He Believes In 1:30:37

8d ago1:30:37

1:30:37

"It's honestly one of the biggest gambles I've taken in my career," says David Howard, the journalist behind "Conversations with a Hit Man," this for the Atavist Magazine. David is a journalist and author, and in this conversation we talk about: Nonverbal stuff, so the importance of doing this stuff in person The grand puzzle of a piece Looking for…

1
Episde 476: Amanda Heckert Helps the Rider Stay on the Horse 1:16:24

15d ago1:16:24

1:16:24

"The story is the horse, and the writer is the rider of the horse, and you as the editor, need to help guide them along. And if the rider starts to fall off, you put them back on, and it's your job to lead them safely into the barn. At no point should you shove the rider off the horse, get on yourself and ride it into the distance," says Amanda Hec…

1
Episode 475: For Dane Huckelbridge, Spacing Out is Part of the Process 1:19:31

15d ago1:19:31

1:19:31

"If you don't cultivate other interests or travel or spend time with friends, this and that, you don't have anything to write about," says Dane Huckelbridge, author of Queen of All Mayhem (William Morrow). Dane returns to the show to talk about his latest book, but also a smattering of other juicy writer topics such as: Procrastination Writing arou…

1
#285 – Turning Real Life into Art: Writing Takeaways from Standup, Storytelling, and Politics 1:03:03

21d ago1:03:03

1:03:03

Welcome to another episode of the Spun Today Podcast with your host, Tony Ortiz—the show anchored in writing and limitless in scope. In this episode, Tony dives deep into the creative process and storytelling power behind Andrew Schulz's latest Netflix comedy special, "Life." You'll hear how Schulz's masterful blend of vulnerability, humor, and inn…

1
Episode 474: How to Reconfigure the Fireworks with Yi Shun Lai 1:03:39

22d ago1:03:39

1:03:39

"One of the things I've done is to reconfigure the fireworks. The fireworks for me now are getting to have this thing off my desk so I get to work on something new. That's the firework," says Yi Shun Lai, an author, writer, and instructor. Our occasion for this show was an essay she wrote for Writer Magazine about "arrival fallacy," this notion tha…

1
Episode 473: Finding the Frame with Hampton Sides 1:10:10

1M ago1:10:10

1:10:10

"I would say my books are about three quarters research and sort of mining my research, and then one quarter writing," says Hampton Sides, author of several New York Times bestselling works of narrative history, including his latest, now in paperback, The Wide Wide Sea. It's published by Doubleday. So Hampton was great. There was a moment halfway t…

1
#284 - Sinners: Creativity, Symbolism, and Storytelling Insights from Ryan Coogler’s Latest Film 1:00:33

1M ago1:00:33

1:00:33

Welcome back to another episode of Spun Today. In this episode, I dive into a creative review and breakdown of the film Sinners, written and directed by Ryan Coogler. I pull out writing insights, character craft, and the power of blending personal history with big genre themes—sharing lessons any writer or creative can use to fuel their own work. B…

1
Episode 472: Melissa Febos and the Art of Personal Exploration with 'The Dry Season' 1:10:13

1M ago1:10:13

1:10:13

"I talked to my wife, and she was like, 'You're probably tired. You've been writing this book non stop for six months, and you probably just need a break. Like, go get a gelato and chill out.' And I was like, 'I can't,' then I was like, 'All right, fine, I will.' And then I ate a bunch of ice cream and watched the Pam Anderson documentary on Netfli…

1
Episode 471: The Cassidy Randall Residency at CNF Pod Continues! 1:11:10

1M ago1:11:10

1:11:10

"We are sort of drinking from a fire hose of content right now. And it makes me wonder, because I feel like I'm stuck on this wheel that I have to produce all the time. Do I even want to write for money anymore? I don't know," says Cassidy Randall, author of the book Thirty Below, and back for her second Atavist story "The Longest Journey." Writing…

1
Episode 470: Megan Baxter is Into Rewilding Her Writing 1:03:47

1M ago1:03:47

1:03:47

"I've also learned in this rewilding experiment that so much of our time as writers takes place off the page, as we're thinking about our concepts, as we're doing research, and when I actually do come to the page and have a chance to actually type out these ideas, I've done so much pre-writing over the course of the previous season that that draft …

1
#283 – Cycles of Life, Loss, and Stories: Honoring Friendship and Remembering Pablo Mosquera Jr. 1:34:17

2M ago1:34:17

1:34:17

Welcome to Episode 283 of the Spun Today podcast—the only podcast anchored in writing, but unlimited in scope. I’m your host, Tony Ortiz, and in this deeply personal and heartfelt episode, I invite you to join me as I honor the memory of my dear friend and Spun Today alumni, Pablo Mosquera Jr., who tragically passed away earlier this year. This epi…

1
Episode 469: John O'Connor on the Meaning of Bigfoot 1:06:12

2M ago1:06:12

1:06:12

"I don't feel envy. I don't think. Maybe in some deeper and maybe even more troubling psychological level. I do feel competition with with people, competition over resources, trying to claim certain ideas, stake a claim to certain ideas before other people can, especially when you're working with the subject that's in the public sphere. You don't h…

1
Episode 468: Local Journalism and the Folly of Fame with Maggie Messitt 1:20:28

2M ago1:20:28

1:20:28

"I genuinely feel that those of us writing books need to remember that we are writing them simply because we feel the desperate need to write that particular thing. And unless I feel that way, I shouldn't be writing it because it's not for the financial benefit. It is not because it gives me more time to do things with other people. It doesn't matt…

1
Episode 467: How to Bounce Back from 'Viscerally Negative' Feedback with Will Bardenwerper 1:22:38

2M ago1:22:38

1:22:38

Will Bardenwerper grew up playing baseball and even was a member of his college team at Princeton. As a result, he has a great perspective to write about baseball as he does in Homestand: Small Town Baseball and the Fight for the Soul of America (Doubleday). That soul, in this book, is partially under attack from private equity firms gobbling up an…

1
Episode 466: Katie Goh on Issues of Identity and the Trappings of Mythology 1:13:24

2M ago1:13:24

1:13:24

"Mythology can be really a dangerous thing, because mythology feels like it can't be changed, or it's always been something," says Katie Goh, author of Foreign Fruit: A Personal History of the Orange (Tin House Books). Katie Goh is a writer and editor based out of Edinburgh, Scotland. She’s also the author of the slim book “The End: Surviving the W…

1
Episode 465: Miranda Green Searches for the Harm 1:20:06

2M ago1:20:06

1:20:06

"You want to be able to nab the details, but then you also want to be able to tell the story of why this matters and who's harmed by this, and finding the harm is oftentimes the hardest part of investigative reporting," Miranda Green, an investigative reporter. Her latest piece is for The Atavist Magazine titled "All That Glitters" about the seedy …

1
Episode 464: John Glionna is a Clown Who Makes Balloons That Kids Don't Like 58:09

3M ago58:09

58:09

"We're sadistic motherf*ckers," says John Glionna, @johnglionna on the Instagrams. John is a longtime journalist and author of No Friday Night Lights (Bison Books). He made a name for himself at the Los Angeles Times pursuing what would be called "Glionna stories," stories about invisible people who have rich lives all their own. In this episode we…

1
Episode 463: Leah Sottile on Building Scenes, Sagging Middles, and the Fever Dream of the American New Age 1:03:19

3M ago1:03:19

1:03:19

"It's kind of a mix of reporting to the very last minute to put off writing, and then when I have to write, having a panic attack, and then, like, booking a hotel room for a week and not leaving that room. This is the thing I have done until I figure it out," says Leah Sottile, in a live event at Gratitude Brewing. She is the author of Blazing Eye …

1
Episode 462: On Podcasting and Gardens with Debbie Millman 57:27

3M ago57:27

57:27

"I'm much more interested in how a person achieves something than in what they specifically achieved," says Debbie Millman, the "Pod Mother" and OG podcaster, twenty years in for Design Matters. She's also the author of the new book Love Letter to a Garden (Timber Press). In this episode, we talk about: The 20 year arc of Design Matters What people…

1
Episode 461: For Nick Davidson, Stories Hunt the Storyteller 1:19:38

3M ago1:19:38

1:19:38

Nick Davidson, @nickgdavidson on IG, says, "We usually think of hunting stories and looking for ideas, but I feel like it's the other way around: stories hunt the storyteller, and I'm just prey." Nick's latest piece is for The Atavist Magazine titled "The Balloon That Fell From the Sky." His work has appeared in Outside, VICE Sports, Garden & Gun, …

1
#282 – Journey from Freelance Writing to Teaching: Insights from Amanda Lucas 1:48:44

3M ago1:48:44

1:48:44

Welcome to another episode of the Spun Today podcast! In this captivating session, host Tony Ortiz sits down with Amanda Lucas, a middle school ELA teacher with a rich tapestry of experiences in both education and writing. Amanda shares her journey from being an aspiring writer and journalist to embracing her role as an educator. As an insightful s…

1
Episode 460:Pulitzer Prize-Winning Biographer Megan Marshall Takes on Personal Essays in 'After Lives' 1:03:47

4M ago1:03:47

1:03:47

Megan Marshall is the author of After Lives: On Biography and the Mysteries of the Human Heart (Mariner Books), a new collection of essays. Megan won the Pulitzer Prize in 2014 for Margaret Fuller: A New American Life. Podcast Specific Substack at creativenonfictionpodcast.substrack.com. Pre-order The Front Runner Promotional Sponsor: The Power of …

1
Episode 459: Cassidy Randall Talks Forgotten Histories, Sticky Notes, and the Power of Listening 51:31

4M ago51:31

51:31

“I could suddenly see — and this is how I know when I'm supposed to start writing — is that words start putting themselves together in my head, and I just have to get them out, right? Which doesn't happen all the time, but it did for this," says Cassidy Randall, author of Thirty Below: The Harrowing and Heroic Story of the First All Women's Ascent …

Writingtips Podcasts

1
Spun Today with Tony Ortiz

Tony Ortiz

1
The Creative Nonfiction Podcast with Brendan O'Meara

Brendan O'Meara

1
Author Create

Stephen Woodfin

1
Author Like a Boss Podcast

Ella Barnard

1
88 Cups of Tea

88 Cups of Tea

1
The Girls Are Writing!

Tasha Monét

1
The Writing Gym Podcast | Annalisa Parent | Writing Coach

Annalisa Parent

1
#286 - Finding Inspiration Through Loss, Pandemic Reflections and Honoring Pablo 1:39:53

1
Episode 478: Nick Paumgarten says, 'The Reporting Suggests the Root System' 1:06:22

1
Episode 477: David Howard and the Search for Stories He Believes In 1:30:37

1
Episde 476: Amanda Heckert Helps the Rider Stay on the Horse 1:16:24

1
Episode 475: For Dane Huckelbridge, Spacing Out is Part of the Process 1:19:31

1
#285 – Turning Real Life into Art: Writing Takeaways from Standup, Storytelling, and Politics 1:03:03

1
Episode 474: How to Reconfigure the Fireworks with Yi Shun Lai 1:03:39

1
Episode 473: Finding the Frame with Hampton Sides 1:10:10

1
#284 - Sinners: Creativity, Symbolism, and Storytelling Insights from Ryan Coogler’s Latest Film 1:00:33

1
Episode 472: Melissa Febos and the Art of Personal Exploration with 'The Dry Season' 1:10:13

1
Episode 471: The Cassidy Randall Residency at CNF Pod Continues! 1:11:10

1
Episode 470: Megan Baxter is Into Rewilding Her Writing 1:03:47

1
#283 – Cycles of Life, Loss, and Stories: Honoring Friendship and Remembering Pablo Mosquera Jr. 1:34:17

1
Episode 469: John O'Connor on the Meaning of Bigfoot 1:06:12

1
Episode 468: Local Journalism and the Folly of Fame with Maggie Messitt 1:20:28

1
Episode 467: How to Bounce Back from 'Viscerally Negative' Feedback with Will Bardenwerper 1:22:38

1
Episode 466: Katie Goh on Issues of Identity and the Trappings of Mythology 1:13:24

1
Episode 465: Miranda Green Searches for the Harm 1:20:06

1
Episode 464: John Glionna is a Clown Who Makes Balloons That Kids Don't Like 58:09

1
Episode 463: Leah Sottile on Building Scenes, Sagging Middles, and the Fever Dream of the American New Age 1:03:19

1
Episode 462: On Podcasting and Gardens with Debbie Millman 57:27

1
Episode 461: For Nick Davidson, Stories Hunt the Storyteller 1:19:38

1
#282 – Journey from Freelance Writing to Teaching: Insights from Amanda Lucas 1:48:44

1
Episode 460:Pulitzer Prize-Winning Biographer Megan Marshall Takes on Personal Essays in 'After Lives' 1:03:47

1
Episode 459: Cassidy Randall Talks Forgotten Histories, Sticky Notes, and the Power of Listening 51:31