Curiosity 54: Writing podcasts

I like listening to podcasts, especially when I do my laps around our local Frog Pond (10,000 steps, baby). I usually listen to The Daily, The Ezra Klein Show, No Stupid Questions, Freakonomics, and when a rare episode drops, Cocktail Party Takeaways, about classic books we all know and love.  

Today, while cooking chili and cornbread, I listened to Write About Now with Jonathan Small—a conversation with "story coach and author" Lisa Cron titled "What You Think You Know about Story Is Wrong." I was distracted by tending my Instant Pot and weighing cornbread ingredients, but one main message I got from the discussion was that backstory is everything. It need not be spelled out completely in the actual stories we read (in fact, it probably shouldn't be), but it informs a character's behavior and is the foundation for consistency. It was an interesting conversation. 

(It also gave me a bit of insight as we watched the final two episodes of the five-season Six Feet Under [2001–2005]. Boy, was backstory a heavy hitter in that show.)

Anyway, it got me wondering about the best podcasts about writing. It's been a while since I did a roundup of "best podcasts" on any particular subject, but I'm not sure I've ever done one on writing. So, here's a smattering, some of which I've heard, some of which I'm cataloguing here for future reference..

Starting with one I also should have included in the above list: First Draft: A Dialogue on Writing with Mitzi Rapkin—the most recent episode is a conversation with Michael Cunningham, author of The Hours and, newly published, Day. 

The Writer's Voice, from the New Yorker, in which authors read their own short stories (mostly). 

Tin House's Between the Covers, including the project Crafting with Ursula, where established writers discuss how Ursula Le Guin influenced them. 

The Writing Life, from the National Centre for Writing—conversations with authors, often in the context of specific genres or techniques.

Writing Excuses: 15-minute episodes devoted to the craft and voice of writing.

DIY MFA Radio: tools and techniques, in somewhat longer (30-to-40-minute) segments. 

Missing Pages, not really about writing so much as about the publishing industry and publishing politics. Still, it looks interesting.

I checked out a few "best of" lists while compiling this list, and... I'm not convinced about many of the entries. But there sure are a lot of podcasts out there!

Anyway, here's a few that I, at any rate, might be interested in listening to as I walk around the Frog Pond.