Best Writingtips Podcasts (2025)

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Episode 491: How Tracy Slater Broke Her Book into Steps 1:13:31

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2h ago1:13:31

1:13:31

"Writing a book is so overwhelming. I need to have a book that's like so many steps in between. So what I do to manage my own anxiety and overwhelm about that is I'm really, really obsessed with breaking everything into little steps so that all I need to do is the next step and then I don't get overwhelmed," says Tracy Slater, author of Together in…

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Episode 490: Seeing the Fish and the Tank with Jeff Chang 1:16:30

2h ago1:16:30

1:16:30

"When I got back to [writing], it was like an athlete or a martial artist coming back to the practice, and the endorphins start running back. And you remember the joy that you had in it, also the struggles of it, but you're back in it, and then I couldn't be stopped," says Jeff Chang, author of Water, Mirror, Echo. Today we have Jeff Chang, and wha…

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#290 – Building the Lucas Literacy Lab: One Writer’s Journey from Home Classroom to School Founder 1:23:31

1h ago1:23:31

1:23:31

Welcome back to the Spun Today podcast! In this inspiring episode, host Tony Ortiz sits down with returning guest Amanda Lucas—educator, writer, and now founder of her very own microschool, the Lucas Literacy Lab. Amanda shares her incredible journey of resilience, starting from homeschooling her daughters during the pandemic to navigating the bure…

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Episode 489: Staying Power, Book Promotion, Platform, and 'Slip,' a Memoir-Plus with Mallary Tenore Tarpley 1:25:20

8d ago1:25:20

1:25:20

"For many of us, myself included, it's easy to want to be on the New York Times bestseller list, or the USA Today bestseller list, and to try to get an amazing number of week-one sales, but it's important to remember that those lists are really hard to get on, and there can be this nice long tail in terms of the impact of a book where maybe it does…

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Episode 488: Bill McKibben, the Dark Realist, Faces the Light 59:25

2d ago59:25

59:25

"The point of my book and the point of this big day of action that we're doing across the country is to drive that notion away that this isn't alternative energy, that it's the obvious, straightforward, common sense and very beautiful way to power the world going forward. To use the analogy I've been using, it's not any longer the Whole Foods of en…

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#289 – Voices of 9/11: Recounting Stories from New Yorkers (Re-release) 2:23:45

2h ago2:23:45

2:23:45

Welcome to Episode 269 of Spun Today, where we dive deep into personal stories of resilience, reflection, and creativity in the face of one of the most transformative events in modern history—the 9/11 attacks. Today, we are honored to have a plethora of voices sharing their firsthand experiences, each providing a unique lens on that tragic day. Fro…

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Episode 487: Robert Weintraub and the 'American Hindenburg' 1:22:36

4d ago1:22:36

1:22:36

Robert Weintraub is a best selling author and, most recently, wrote "American Hindenburg" for The Atavist Magazine.. We’re going to hear from lead editor Jonah Ogles about his side of the table and how he advises people to model their stories after previously published ones and how there’s never really a wasted moment by doing as much research as p…

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Episode 486: Cartooning is the Children's Table of Art, says Roz Chast 1:04:57

11d ago1:04:57

1:04:57

"I really love this medium. I think cartooning is an incredible medium. There aren't a lot of rules. You can, if you can, really make it up. You can make it suit you," says Roz Chast a cartoonist and artist whose work routinely appears in The New Yorker. So today we have Roz Chast. You know Roz Chast, and if you don’t, quite frankly I hope we never…

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Episode 485: Tensions and Textures with Poet Patrycja Humienik 1:07:41

18d ago1:07:41

1:07:41

"God, I feel like I'm still enduring that, like it's this sort of ongoing thing where I'm not sure I ever if I'll ever get to a place where I feel like my work and ambitions for the work and daydreams about writing and art-making ever meet my taste," says Patrycja Humienik. For Ep. 485 we've got Patrycja Humienik. She’s a poet and her debut collect…

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#288 - Daredevil’s Gray Morality and Emotional Hooks: Storytelling Insights for Writers 1:03:49

26d ago1:03:49

1:03:49

Welcome to Episode 288 of the Spun Today Podcast with Tony Ortiz, where creativity takes the spotlight and storytelling is always at the heart of the conversation. In this episode, Tony dives deep into the writing brilliance of the Daredevil TV series, exploring seasons one through four and unearthing valuable insights every writer and creative can…

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Episode 484: Rax King is Sloppy 1:06:03

25d ago1:06:03

1:06:03

"I am tyrannical about noise and about quiet. I don't feel that I can control the amount of mess I make. I mean, I know I can, but I kind of can't. And there's just so many things about my character that are really detrimental to having a writing process, which I need, and it's just so opposed to everything that's going on in my disgustoid little s…

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Episode 483: Off the Page and Into the Ears with Julia Barton 1:17:44

1M ago1:17:44

1:17:44

"That is the main difference between storytelling for the ear and writing, is that the cost of revisions is so much higher," says Julia Barton. We have Julia Barton. Julia was the third hire, I think I have that right, with Pushkin Industries, the podcast giant founded by Malcolm Gladwell. She was the executive editor of Pushkin and helped develop …

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Episode 482: Matthew Wolfe and the Grammar of Delight 1:23:20

1M ago1:23:20

1:23:20

"You have to finish it out. You have to report it, even if it's financially a terrible idea," says Matthew Wolfe. OK, it’s that Atavistian time of the month so we’re here to talk about Matthew Wolfe’s “The Talented Mr. Bruseaux: He made his name in Chicago investigating racial violence, solving crimes, and exposing corruption. But American’s first …

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#287 – Creative Accountability, AI Tools for Writers, Insights from Ta-Nehisi Coates and More! (Free Writing Session) 51:34

2M ago51:34

51:34

Welcome back to the Spun Today podcast! In this episode, Tony Ortiz dives deep into the creative process, taking you behind the scenes of his own writing journey. This is a special “free writing session” episode, where Tony shares his candid writing stats—celebrating the progress, confronting the setbacks, and reflecting on what it really takes to …

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Episode 481: Nieman Storyboard's Mark Armstrong Believes in the Beginners' Mindset 1:06:33

2M ago1:06:33

1:06:33

"Listening to podcasts, it's like, how do I start making them? That's been my approach, essentially try and take that beginner mindset into anything and try to teach myself new skills," says Mark Armstrong. Who do we have today? It’s Mark Armstrong! He is a producer, a writer, a singer, working at the intersection of storytelling and digital media.…

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Episode 480: Dana Jeri Maier Doesn't Trust Anyone with a Neat Desk 58:42

2M ago58:42

58:42

"Yeah, join the club of people who feel inadequate," says Dana Jeri Maier, a cartoonist and author of the graphic book on creativity Skip to the Fun Parts. This incredible artist is the author of Skip to the Fun Parts: Cartoons and Complaints About the Creative Process. It’s one of the best books on creativity because it deals with doubt, it deals …

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Episode 479: Jeff Sharlet and Finding Real Toads in Imaginary Gardens 1:15:59

2M ago1:15:59

1:15:59

"You're an outsider. And as you linger in that space, you start to become an insider ... but you're still an outsider. Don't forget that, even though you know more about it, you're an insider and an outsider," says Jeff Sharlet about when he's reporting on, say, far-right religious groups. OK, we’ve got Jeff Sharlet, which is pretty stunning when y…

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

2M 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, the late, great, Pablo Mosquera Jr. In this heartfelt installment, we revisi…

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

2M 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…

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

2M 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…

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

2M 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…

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

3M 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…

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

3M 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…

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

3M 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…

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

3M 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…

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1
Episode 491: How Tracy Slater Broke Her Book into Steps 1:13:31

1
Episode 490: Seeing the Fish and the Tank with Jeff Chang 1:16:30

1
#290 – Building the Lucas Literacy Lab: One Writer’s Journey from Home Classroom to School Founder 1:23:31

1
Episode 489: Staying Power, Book Promotion, Platform, and 'Slip,' a Memoir-Plus with Mallary Tenore Tarpley 1:25:20

1
Episode 488: Bill McKibben, the Dark Realist, Faces the Light 59:25

1
#289 – Voices of 9/11: Recounting Stories from New Yorkers (Re-release) 2:23:45

1
Episode 487: Robert Weintraub and the 'American Hindenburg' 1:22:36

1
Episode 486: Cartooning is the Children's Table of Art, says Roz Chast 1:04:57

1
Episode 485: Tensions and Textures with Poet Patrycja Humienik 1:07:41

1
#288 - Daredevil’s Gray Morality and Emotional Hooks: Storytelling Insights for Writers 1:03:49

1
Episode 484: Rax King is Sloppy 1:06:03

1
Episode 483: Off the Page and Into the Ears with Julia Barton 1:17:44

1
Episode 482: Matthew Wolfe and the Grammar of Delight 1:23:20

1
#287 – Creative Accountability, AI Tools for Writers, Insights from Ta-Nehisi Coates and More! (Free Writing Session) 51:34

1
Episode 481: Nieman Storyboard's Mark Armstrong Believes in the Beginners' Mindset 1:06:33

1
Episode 480: Dana Jeri Maier Doesn't Trust Anyone with a Neat Desk 58:42

1
Episode 479: Jeff Sharlet and Finding Real Toads in Imaginary Gardens 1:15:59

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