Episode 175 Notes and Links to Jordan Harper’s Work       On Episode 175 of The Chills at Will Podcast, Pete welcomes Jordan Harper, and the two discuss, among other things, his early reading and writing, his forays into journalism and creative writing, a pivotal screenwriting opportunity, his work writing for the small screen and lessons learned in this world regarding writing style and appropriate behaviors; additionally, his recent book, Everybody Knows, gets the spotlight, with discussions of the importance of LA as setting, the worlds of Hollywood and politics as representative of so many larger parts of society, writing genre (or not), the book’s links to police corruption and deputy gangs, and the moral ambiguity that reigns in the book.   Jordan Harper is the Edgar-Award winning author of EVERYBODY KNOWS, SHE RIDES SHOTGUN and LOVE AND OTHER WOUNDS. Born and educated in Missouri, he now lives in Los Angeles, where he works as a writer and producer for television.   Buy Everybody Knows   Jordan Harper's Substack   Maureen Corrigan Reviews Everybody Knows for NPR’s Fresh Air   Jim Ruland Reviews Everybody Knows for The Los Angeles Times At about 6:50, Jordan talks about growing up in Jefferson City, MO, and his reading habits in his childhood and adolescence    At about 9:25, Jordan talks about his fandom of Hunter S. Thompson and how he was inspired to take creative writing and journalism due to Thompson’s influence   At about 12:10, Jordan gives background on a pivotal Warner Bros program that helped him get a writing job with The Mentalist after being moved by directors like Michael Mann, Tarantino, Scorcese,    At about 14:25, Jordan responds to Pete’s questions about finding his place in the writer’s room, and Jordan narrates a summary of his television writing career, including a lot of work with Bruno Heller and Monica Cutter   At about 18:50, Jordan talks about the benefits of the sometimes-formulaic writing style for the screen   At about 20:30, Jordan responds to Pete’s question about if he watches TV differently now that he is a TV writer    At about 23:10, Pete asks Jordan about his thoughts on labels-”crime writer, etc.”- for literary genres, and Jordan and Pete shout out top-tier writers like Steph Cha, Megan Abbott, and Tod Goldberg   At about 25:25, Pete wonders what fiction provides for Jordan, writing in this style versus nonfiction   At about 29:10, Jordan ruminates on the ways in which Hollywood particularly has systems in place like those for which Mae from Everybody Knows works   At about 31:40, Pete defines “noir” and Jordan connects this to the book’s moral ambiguity and darkness and ending   At about 32:50, Jordan discusses the research process for this book and his other work    At about 35:35, Pete lays out the book’s opening and outlines the narrator, Mae’s, job and personality   At about 36:25, Pete shares a stirring quote from the book’s Hannah Heard that is resonant    At about 37:35, Jordan describes Mae’s company and the idea of real-life PR firms and spokespeople, including what inspired the book’s title    At about 41:55, Jordan describes a truism of much of society’s ideas of performance versus action    At about 43:05, The two discuss ideas of acculturation in any industry with power and “bending to the powers”; **Good Fellas and A Bronx Tale references!   At about 45:25, Pete references a powerful and memorable scene involving the Los Angeles Sheriffs’ Department, and Jordan explains a change in wording in policy and legal standards    At about 46:55, Mae’s childhood is described, as well as discussion of how much of her personality and mantras were “nature,” and how much were “nurture”   At about 48:55, Jordan talks about how when high-pressure and morally ambiguous    At about 51:35, Jordan gives some cool inside info on characters on tv and in movies and their physical progress through filming   At about 53:00, Pete notes the importance of the “unsaid” in the book and Pete and Jordan ruminate on ideas of silences in society   At about 55:35, Jordan reflects on ideas of moral ambiguity and “soft nihilism” in his work and in the world   At about 57:00, Pete shouts out some incredibly skillful dialogue in the book   At about 58:25, Jordan talks about the important quote from Hannah Heard and shines a light on Corey Feldman’s allegations, for one, as emblematic of much of the world of Hollywood power   At about 1:01:25, Pete asks Jordan’s about real-life connections to BlackGuard from the book and describes the draw of main character Chris   At about 1:03:55, Jordan points out Winnie M. Li’s Complicit as an example of those who have written eloquently about The “Me Too” Movement in saying that he    At about 1:05:10, Pete brings up a moving and honest scene involving main character Chris, and Jordan talks about why he chose to “zoom out” in this scene   At about 1:06:55, The two discuss a telling scene and anecdote about a French style of eating the whole bird, and Jordan and Pete note the sweeping symbolism of the napkin   At about 1:08:45, The two discuss the differences between power and visibility and power and responsibility, especially with regard to how Mae and her company work   At about 1:09:45, The passive voice is discussed (hehe-get it?) with regard to public statements from PR firms and spokespeople    At about 1:11:30, Pete highlights the ways in which Mae and Chris thrive on action, and Jordan notes how they often don’t think about the why and how this affects their often willful ignorance of what they do on a daily basis   At about 1:13:45, Pete reflects on Chris and Mae pursuing “The Life,” and Jordan comments on how the two live lies together    At about 1:15:10, Pete asks Jordan about the book’s setting, and Jordan reflects on Los Angeles as “América writ large”   At about 1:17:35, Pete remarks on Jordan’s precision with CalGangs in the book with John Montez, and Jordan talks about the real-life police ridealong that inspired this part   At about 1:19:45, Pete highlights a resonant line that is emblematic of the greatness of the book and Jordan gives background on its usage; Pete connects the quote to Parker, the highly unethical politician in the book      You can now subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and leave me a five-star review. You can also ask for the podcast by name using Alexa, and find the pod on Stitcher, Spotify, and on Amazon Music. Follow me on IG, where I’m @chillsatwillpodcast, or on Twitter, where I’m @chillsatwillpo1. You can watch other episodes on YouTube-watch and subscribe to The Chills at Will Podcast Channel. Please subscribe to both my YouTube Channel and my podcast while you’re checking out this episode.    Sign up now for The Chills at Will Podcast Patreon: it can be found at patreon.com/chillsatwillpodcastpeterriehl     Check out the page that describes the benefits of a Patreon membership, including cool swag and bonus episodes. Thanks in advance for supporting my one-man show, my DIY podcast and my extensive reading, research, editing, and promoting to keep this independent podcast pumping out high-quality content!    NEW MERCH! You can browse and buy here: https://www.etsy.com/shop/ChillsatWillPodcast    This is a passion project of mine, a DIY operation, and I’d love for your help in promoting what I’m convinced is a unique and spirited look at an often-ignored art form.    The intro song for The Chills at Will Podcast is “Wind Down” (Instrumental Version), and the other song played on this episode was “Hoops” (Instrumental)” by Matt Weidauer, and both songs are used through ArchesAudio.com.   Please tune in for Episode 176 with Raegan Pietrucha. She writes, edits, and consults on professional and creative bases. Head of a Gorgon is her debut full-length poetry collection. Her debut poetry chapbook, An Animal I Can't Name, won the 2015 Two of Cups Press competition.     The episode will air on April 4.

Episode 174 Notes and Links to Allegra Hyde’s Work       On Episode 174 of The Chills at Will Podcast, Pete welcomes  Allegra Hyde, and the two discuss, among other things, her lifelong love of reading and love for librarians (like her mom!) and libraries, her varied reading and writing genres, inspirations for her dazzling and inventive worldbuilding, dark humor, the main throughline of her story collection, ideas of climate change, “global weirding,” action and inaction, encroaching technology, misogyny and patriarch with regard to climate issues, and why she has hope for our world.      Allegra Hyde is the author of ELEUTHERIA, which was named a "Best Book of 2022" by The New Yorker. She is also the author of the story collection, OF THIS NEW WORLD, which won the John Simmons Short Fiction Award. Her second story collection, THE LAST CATASTROPHE, is out in the world as of today, March 28, published by Vintage.    A recipient of three Pushcart Prizes, Hyde's writing has also been anthologized in Best American Travel Writing, Best of the Net, and Best Small Fictions. Her stories, essays, and humor pieces have appeared in The New Yorker, American Short Fiction, BOMB, and many other venues.    Hyde has received fellowships and grants from the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference, the Sewanee Writers' Conference, The Elizabeth George Foundation, the Lucas Artist Residency Program, the Jentel Foundation, the U.S. Fulbright Commission, and elsewhere.    She currently teaches at Oberlin College.     Buy The Last Catastrophe   Allegra Hyde's Webpage   Our Culture Mag Profile of Allegra Hyde and The Last Catastrophe     At about 7:10, Pete compliments The Last Catastrophe, referring to Allegra’s work as “prophet[ic],” and Allegra talks about her mindset with her book now entering the world   At about 9:15, Allegra talks about her childhood relationships with the library, reading, and writing; she shouts out her love for The Chronicles of Narnia and audiobooks in general   At about 10:45, Pete wonders about any childhood experiences that may have steered Allegra to particular types of reading    At about 12:10, Pete highlights a particular story from the collection that is indicative of Allegra’s skill with worldbuilding; she explains her approach to worldbuilding   At about 14:10, Allegra describes the “privilege” in doing authorial research and she and Pete shout out librarians and decry the recent spate of book banning   At about 15:40, Pete asks Allegra about who/what she is reading these days; she highlights Sleepwalk by Dan Chaon and Thornton Wilder   At about 17:15, Pete references the book’s blurb as “dazzling and inventive” (Alexandra Kleeman) and Allegra describes her approach in writing one of those “dazzling” stories   At about 18:55, Allegra defines “retrofuturism,” and she describes how it was guiding her in these stories; she points out her story “Democracy in América” as an example   At about 20:15, Allegra characterizes the throughline of her short story connection, defining and expounding upon the term “Global Weirding”   At about 23:05, Pete cites an important and evocative opening line of the collection and asks Allegra about the line’s larger meaning and if it served as a catalyst   At about 24:45, Pete and Allegra discuss the plot and significance of the story “Mobilization”   At about 27:55, Pete references a joke from Marc Maron and inaction on climate change/global weirdness; Allegra highlights the need to approach the crisis from a communal lens   At about 29:20, Pete refers to grass and drought issues and its connection to wealth and    At about 30:05, Pete quotes from the book and he and Allegra discuss ideas of optimism and pessimism regarding the future, particularly with regard to climate change/global weirdness   At about 32:35, Pete references the story “Zoo Suicides” and Allegra speaks to the story’s intent and how it was “after” Donald Barthelme and Dana Diehl   At about 35:00, The two discuss the power of the dark humor in the book, and Allegra discusses the story “Afterglow” and its connections to global weirding and a more individual story of grief   At about 38:45, Allegra discusses the gender identity of the narrator of “Democracy in América” and talk about issues particular to America, especially as seen from outside the US   At about 40:55, Allegra describes the process of “Consignment,” which speaks to ideas of consumerism and an American obsession with youth and beauty, from the above story   At about 42:25, Commodification and issues of wealth inequality are discussed with regards to her story collection, especially with regards to how wealth and global weirding are so closely linked   At about 44:40, Pete highlights “The Future is a Click Away” as a standout story and he and Allegra discuss “The Algorithm” in the story as almost “mythical” and “god-like”   At about 47:30, “Cougar” is discussed as another story that deals with encroaching technology, and Allegra talks about “merg[ing] real pieces from her life with research and imagination   At about 49:40, “Endangered” and its statements on the state of art and artists, as well as captivity and endangerment in today’s world, is discussed    At about 52:30, Misogyny and what Allegra calls “the mysterious nature of ‘Chevalier’ ” are discussed, as well as ideas of invisibilia, both by the world at large and by the narrator of the story, who may be more directed by love than she would let on   At about 56:00, Allegra connects her stories to patriarchy and global weirding   At about 58:00, Pete and Allegra discuss legislative action and other ways in which women and other oppressed groups are being ignored and degraded    At about 58:55, Allegra explains why she “chafe[s]” against her writing being described as “satirical”    At about 59:30, Pete laugh over the absurd and awesome story involving a woman    At about 1:00:25, Allegra explains how she finds cause for optimism despite some often dark topics that populate the world and her work   At about 1:03:15, Allegra shouts out her upcoming tour dates, and shouts out Ben Franklin/Mindfair Books as one of many places to buy her book   At about 1:04:35, Allegra highlights her exciting upcoming project-there are caves involved!    You can now subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and leave me a five-star review. You can also ask for the podcast by name using Alexa, and find the pod on Stitcher, Spotify, and on Amazon Music. Follow me on IG, where I’m @chillsatwillpodcast, or on Twitter, where I’m @chillsatwillpo1. You can watch other episodes on YouTube-watch and subscribe to The Chills at Will Podcast Channel. Please subscribe to both my YouTube Channel and my podcast while you’re checking out this episode.    Sign up now for The Chills at Will Podcast Patreon: it can be found at patreon.com/chillsatwillpodcastpeterriehl     Check out the page that describes the benefits of a Patreon membership, including cool swag and bonus episodes. Thanks in advance for supporting my one-man show, my DIY podcast and my extensive reading, research, editing, and promoting to keep this independent podcast pumping out high-quality content!    NEW MERCH! You can browse and buy here: https://www.etsy.com/shop/ChillsatWillPodcast    This is a passion project of mine, a DIY operation, and I’d love for your help in promoting what I’m convinced is a unique and spirited look at an often-ignored art form.    The intro song for The Chills at Will Podcast is “Wind Down” (Instrumental Version), and the other song played on this episode was “Hoops” (Instrumental)” by Matt Weidauer, and both songs are used through ArchesAudio.com.

Episode 173 Notes and Links to Rachel Heng’s Work       On Episode 173 of The Chills at Will Podcast, Pete welcomes  Rachel Heng, and the two discuss, among other things, her love of reading and her early relationships with the written word and multilingualism, her research and the family stories concerning Singapore’s transformation and its history of ethnic diversity and kampong culture, the book’s “complications” concerning the ways in which “The Great Reclamation” played in on micro- and macro levels for the people of Singapore, her beautiful portrayals of change, grief, and guilt, and her inspirations for writing the book.   Rachel Heng is the author of the novels The Great Reclamation (Riverhead, 2023) and Suicide Club (Henry Holt, 2018), which has been translated into ten languages worldwide and won the Gladstone Library Writer-In-Residence Award. Rachel's short fiction has appeared in The New Yorker, McSweeney's Quarterly, One Story, Kenyon Review, and has been recognized by anthologies including Best American Short Stories, The Pushcart Prize, Best Small Fictions and Best New Singaporean Short Stories. She was recently longlisted for the 2021 Sunday Times Short Story Award, “the world’s richest and most prestigious prize for a single short story.” Her non-fiction has been listed among Best American Essays’ Notable Essays and published in Al Jazeera, Guernica, BOMB Magazine, The Rumpus and elsewhere. She has received fellowships from the National Endowment of the Arts, Vermont Studio Center, Sewanee Writers' Conference, Fine Arts Work Center and the National Arts Council of Singapore. Rachel received her MFA in Fiction and Playwriting from the Michener Center for Writers, UT Austin, and her BA in Comparative Literature & Society from Columbia University.     Buy The Great Reclamation   Rachel Heng's Webpage   Rachel Speaks about The Great Reclamation on NPR’s Weekend Edition with Scott Simon   Oprah Daily Cover Reveal and Article about The Great Reclamation     At about 7:50, Rachel discusses her mindset and emotions as her book tour begins with a March 28 event with Kirstin Chen and the book is published on March 28    At about 8:55, Pete asks about Rachel’s early relationship with the written word and multilingualism; Rachel talks about a heavy diet of British writers in school in Singapore and her route to becoming a writer   At about 12:40, Rachel discusses seeds for the book and research done for the book, including how the book came from a “curiosity to revisit that time” often referenced by older family members   At about 14:35, Rachel speaks to the ethnic makeup of Singapore, and how British colonialism affected Singapore’s ethnic history   At about 16:40, Pete reads the book’s epigraph and Rachel explains its connection to themes from the book, including Singapore’s look to the future   At about 19:10, The two characterize the Lee family    At about 20:25, Pete cites the wonderful opening line of the book and asks Rachel about the meanings and personal significance of the kampong    At about 23:55, Rachel expands upon ideas of the “kampong spirit” and the communal “national fabric” of Singapore for the duration of the book and now   At about 25:40, Pete wonders if there any connection between recent pushes toward MAGA and her book’s subject matter   At about 26:50, Pete and Rachel discuss Uncle’s character and sympathies for him   At about 27:25, The two lay out early events in the book with Ah Boon and family locating ethereal islands and Rachel gives background on how POV and a key throughline inspired the beginning of the book   At about 30:00, Pete talks about the slow inevitability of change in the book and asks Rachel about Pa’s parenting style   At about 31:40, Rachel gives background on Siok Mei, her family life, and what draws her and Ah Boon to each other   At about 33:55, Pete highlights the powerful and beautiful flashbacks in the book   At about 34:45, Pete cites Rachel’s skill with recognizable yet dynamic characters   At about 35:15, Pete quotes from the book to provide background on Ma and her marriage to Pa   At about 35:50, Pete and Rachel discuss the significance of the Japanese occupation in 1942 and its aftereffects   At about 38:30, Pete describes an important decision that Pa and Uncle are faced with during the Japanese occupation   At about 39:25, Pete and Rachel discuss “The Disappearing Years” and the post-war attitude exhibited by Ah Boon and Singaporeans    At about 42:15, The two discuss student protests that came about when Siok Mei and Ah Boon reacted to the real-life controversial case involving Nadra   At about 44:30, Rachel talks about the “Gah Men” and the ways in which they acted and were perceived by the public   At about 46:45, Natalie is discussed as representative of the government, especially with regard to diction like “greater good,” and Rachel describes parts of Singaporean history as “complicated” and “an interesting case study”    At about 50:20, Rachel talks about the environmental effects of The Great Reclamation    At about 51:25, Class division is described as a book theme through an anecdote from Natalie   At about 52:30, Pete quotes government officials from the book and ideas of “greater good”   At about 53:00, Pete compliments Rachel’s depictions of grief and she speaks to inspirations for these depictions   At about 54:40, Rachel explains a quote of hers regarding her perspective in writing this book while living in the US    You can now subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and leave me a five-star review. You can also ask for the podcast by name using Alexa, and find the pod on Stitcher, Spotify, and on Amazon Music. Follow me on IG, where I’m @chillsatwillpodcast, or on Twitter, where I’m @chillsatwillpo1. You can watch other episodes on YouTube-watch and subscribe to The Chills at Will Podcast Channel. Please subscribe to both my YouTube Channel and my podcast while you’re checking out this episode.    Sign up now for The Chills at Will Podcast Patreon: it can be found at patreon.com/chillsatwillpodcastpeterriehl     Check out the page that describes the benefits of a Patreon membership, including cool swag and bonus episodes. Thanks in advance for supporting my one-man show, my DIY podcast and my extensive reading, research, editing, and promoting to keep this independent podcast pumping out high-quality content!    NEW MERCH! You can browse and buy here: https://www.etsy.com/shop/ChillsatWillPodcast    This is a passion project of mine, a DIY operation, and I’d love for your help in promoting what I’m convinced is a unique and spirited look at an often-ignored art form.    The intro song for The Chills at Will Podcast is “Wind Down” (Instrumental Version), and the other song played on this episode was “Hoops” (Instrumental)” by Matt Weidauer, and both songs are used through ArchesAudio.com.   Please tune in for Episode 174, another episode dropping today, March 28, celebrating pub day for Allegra Hyde.  Allegra Hyde is a recipient of three Pushcart Prizes and author of ELEUTHERIA, named a "Best Book of 2022" by The New Yorker. She’s also the author of the story collection, OF THIS NEW WORLD, which won the John Simmons Short Fiction Award, and her second story collection, THE LAST CATASTROPHE, is her new one. The episode will go live around noon on March 28.

Episode 172 Notes and Links to Robert Lopez’s Work       On Episode 172 of The Chills at Will Podcast, Pete welcomes  Robert Lopez, and the two discuss, among other things, growing up on Long Island, his renewed vigor for, and focus on, reading and writing in his early 20s, his inspirations in writers like Hemingway and Carver, John D’Agata, Eula Biss, ideas of erasure and assimilation that populate the book, his Puerto Rican heritage, his love of tennis as a sport and as metaphor, the idea of "dispatches" and how they inform his book, and his writing style of understatement and braided narrative.      Robert Lopez is the author of three novels, Part of the World, Kamby Bolongo Mean River —named one of 25 important books of the decade by HTML Giant, All Back Full, and two story collections, Asunder and Good People. A new novel-in-stories, A Better Class Of People, was published by Dzanc Books in April, 2022. Dispatches from Puerto Nowhere, his first nonfiction book, was published by Two Dollar Radio on March 14 of this year. His fiction, nonfiction, and poetry has appeared in dozens of publications, including Bomb, The Threepenny Review, Vice Magazine, New England Review, The Sun, and the Norton Anthology of Sudden Fiction – Latino. He teaches at Stony Brook University and has previously taught at Columbia University, The New School, Pratt Institute, and Syracuse University. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.   Buy Dispatches from Puerto Nowhere   Robert Lopez's Webpage   Sara Lippman Reviews Dispatches from Puerto Nowhere for Chicago Review of Books     At about 7:15, Robert describes the experience of having a book recently out in the world   At about 8:20, Robert discusses his adolescent reading habits    At about 9:50, Robert gives background on how a TV production class senior year of college inspired him to become an ardent reader and writer   At about 11:20, Robert responds to Pete’s questions about Long Island and its cultural norms   At about 14:15, Pete asks Robert about writers and writing that inspired him to become a writer himself; Robert points out a few, especially Raymond Carver and Ernest Hemingway   At about 16:25, The two talk about their shared preference for Hemingway’s stories over his novels   At about 17:00, Pete shouts out Robert’s paean to Hemingway’s “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place”   At about 18:05, Robert speaks to the book’s background and seeds for the book in response to Pete’s questions about what it was like to write nonfiction/memoir   At about 21:20, Pete cites a blurb by Eula Biss that trumpets the book’s universality and specificity, leading Robert to define “Puerto Nowhere”   At about 23:20, Pete and Robert connects a quote from the book to Robert’s comment that the book is more in search of questions than answers/conclusions    At about 26:05, Pete posits Sigrid Nunez’s work as an analogue to Dispatches from Puerto Nowhere   At about 27:15, Vivían Gornick, Maggie Nelson, Eula Biss, Ander Monson, John D’Agata are referenced as writers whose work is “in conversation” with Robert’s   At about 28:35, Pete asks about the structure/placing of the dispatches, and Robert describes how the book was put together with some sage advice from Eric Obenauf at Two Dollar Radio   At about 30:50, Pete aska bout Robert’s understanding of “dispatches” and what it was like to write in first-person/personally   At about 32:25, Pete references two important lines from the book-the book’s opening line and its connection to forgetting, and an important quote and its misquote from Milosz, which Robert breaks down   At about 36:00, Pete and Robert highlight and analyze key quotes from the book dealing with Spanish language loss and forced and subtle assimilation and connections to cultural erasure   At about 40:40, Robert discusses the parallel storyline from the book that deals with his grandfather, about whose journey to the States   At about 42:20, Pete wonders if Robert still has designs ongoing to Puerto Rico and doing family research after the pandemic    At about 43:40, Tennis references in the book are highlighted, and Robert talks about how and why he made connections to important topics in the book, like police violence and racism and loss in the family   At about 51:35, Robert describes a good friend referenced in the book who is a great example    At about 52:35, the two discuss second-generation Americans and forward and the realization that often there are many more creature comforts as the generations go in   At about 55:10, Pete compliments the book’s powerful understatement and a resonant image involving Robert’s grandfather eating     You can now subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and leave me a five-star review. You can also ask for the podcast by name using Alexa, and find the pod on Stitcher, Spotify, and on Amazon Music. Follow me on IG, where I’m @chillsatwillpodcast, or on Twitter, where I’m @chillsatwillpo1. You can watch other episodes on YouTube-watch and subscribe to The Chills at Will Podcast Channel. Please subscribe to both my YouTube Channel and my podcast while you’re checking out this episode.    Sign up now for The Chills at Will Podcast Patreon: it can be found at patreon.com/chillsatwillpodcastpeterriehl     Check out the page that describes the benefits of a Patreon membership, including cool swag and bonus episodes. Thanks in advance for supporting my one-man show, my DIY podcast and my extensive reading, research, editing, and promoting to keep this independent podcast pumping out high-quality content!    NEW MERCH! You can browse and buy here: https://www.etsy.com/shop/ChillsatWillPodcast    This is a passion project of mine, a DIY operation, and I’d love for your help in promoting what I’m convinced is a unique and spirited look at an often-ignored art form.    The intro song for The Chills at Will Podcast is “Wind Down” (Instrumental Version), and the other song played on this episode was “Hoops” (Instrumental)” by Matt Weidauer, and both songs are used through ArchesAudio.com.   Please tune in for Episode 173 and 174, TWO episodes dropping on March 28, celebrating pub days for Rachel Heng and Allegra Hyde.     Rachel Heng is author of the novels The Great Reclamation-her new one-and Suicide Club, which has been translated into ten languages worldwide and won the Gladstone Library Writer-In-Residence Award. Her short fiction has been recognized by anthologies including Best American Short Stories, The Pushcart Prize, Best Small Fictions and Best New Singaporean Short Stories.    Allegra Hyde is a recipient of three Pushcart Prizes and author of ELEUTHERIA, named a "Best Book of 2022" by The New Yorker. She’s also the author of the story collection, OF THIS NEW WORLD, which won the John Simmons Short Fiction Award, and her second story collection, THE LAST CATASTROPHE, is her new one.    The episodes air March 28.

Episode 171 Notes and Links to Danielle Prescod’s Work       On Episode 171 of The Chills at Will Podcast, Pete welcomes  Danielle Prescod, and the two discuss, among other things, Danielle’s voracious reading as an adolescent and beyond, issues of body image in school and in the fashion world, her work in the fashion publishing world and how her personal experiences as recounted in her enthralling and enlightening Token Black Girl can be seen as microcosmic in relation to larger societal issues of racism, fatphobia, and misogyny.        Danielle Prescod is an author, content creator, and journalist. She is also a fifteen-year veteran of the beauty and fashion industry and a graduate of NYU’s Gallatin School of Individualized Study. A lifelong fashion obsessive, she was most recently the style director of BET.com. Her book, Token Black Girl, is part memoir, part narrative nonfiction and an exploration of the ways that modern media can influence one’s self-esteem. Buy Token Black Girl   Danielle Prescod's Website   From Marie Claire: #Read with MC Review of Token Black Girl At about 7:00, Danielle talks about her prodigious reading and love of reading as a kid.    At about 8:50, Danielle describes the feeling of seeing her book out in the world   At about 10:00, Danielle charts some of that early reading-a lot of YA-Judy Blume, Pascal, V.C. Andrews, etc.   At about 11:30, Pete asks Danielle about how she sees her childhood reading in hindsight, and she talks about ideas of representation and references a powerful quote from Tracee Ellis Ross   At about 13:25, Danielle highlights Marley Dias and her incredibly impressive #1000blackgirlbooks project   At about 16:20, Danielle talks about 2020 and the high amount of anti-racism books that came to prominence and how the white mainstream as an audience    At about 17:55, Danielle speaks to the seeds for her career in fashion, and her love of writing and magazines   At about 19:35, Pete lays out the book’s introduction and he and Pete and Danielle discuss her focus on a 2003 magazine cover that was emblematic of ideas of erasure of women of color   At about 21:20, The definitions and explanations of a “token white girl” are explained; Danielle speaks to assimilation and indoctrination as described in the book; Danielle talks about the “limiting” binary of racism   At about 23:40, Danielle explains a “pretty naive concept” she had as a younger person    At about 25:25, Danielle talks about racism when falsely viewed through a “nice/mean” dichotomy and the injurious effects of this mindset   At about 28:40, Pete cites moving examples of racism experienced by Danielle’s grandfather and asks her about how his experiences and her parents’ experiences led to the ways she and her sister were raised and taught   At about 30:10, Danielle responds to Pete’s questions about racism and the ostensibly liberal environments she grew up in   At about 33:45, Pete highlights Danielle’s poetic language with a few examples regarding white supremacy and a fitting citing of Dubois; Danielle speaks to ideas of pressures in “representing” Black people   At about 35:10, The two discuss Danielle’s early environment at NYLON-and the greater societal environment- and how it affected her   At about 38:00, Danielle speaks to allure of fashion and its attendant issues    At about 40:00, Danielle gives an standout explanation of “fashion theory” and connects it to human history    At about 43:20, Danielle and Pete discuss a pivotal scene from the book that deals with discussions on body image in a college class of hers   At about 44:50, Danielle responds to Pete’s questions about connections between problematic societal body image issues and features and media coverage and ideas of stakeholders    At about 48:00, Pete compliments Danielle’s depictions and personal story   At about 49:10, Pete refers to a particularly egregious example of racism experienced by Danielle   At about 49:55, Danielle speaks to the “psychological warfare” of the publishing/fashion worlds, and its similarities to high school dramas, and she Pete discuss how society and these worlds often mirror each other   At about 51:00, Pete is highly complimentary of Danielle’s honesty in her book and Danielle speaks about what she might tell her younger self and other younger people about ways to find more peace   At about 54:40, Pete and Danielle reflect on ideas of perpetuating racism through societal norms   At about 55:55, Danielle shares edifying reader feedback she’s gotten regarding the book   At about 56:35, Danielle shares an exciting future project she’s working on   At about 58:20, Danielle provides social media and contact info  You can now subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and leave me a five-star review. You can also ask for the podcast by name using Alexa, and find the pod on Stitcher, Spotify, and on Amazon Music. Follow me on IG, where I’m @chillsatwillpodcast, or on Twitter, where I’m @chillsatwillpo1. You can watch other episodes on YouTube-watch and subscribe to The Chills at Will Podcast Channel. Please subscribe to both my YouTube Channel and my podcast while you’re checking out this episode.    Sign up now for The Chills at Will Podcast Patreon: it can be found at patreon.com/chillsatwillpodcastpeterriehl     Check out the page that describes the benefits of a Patreon membership, including cool swag and bonus episodes. Thanks in advance for supporting my one-man show, my DIY podcast and my extensive reading, research, editing, and promoting to keep this independent podcast pumping out high-quality content!    NEW MERCH! You can browse and buy here: https://www.etsy.com/shop/ChillsatWillPodcast    This is a passion project of mine, a DIY operation, and I’d love for your help in promoting what I’m convinced is a unique and spirited look at an often-ignored art form.    The intro song for The Chills at Will Podcast is “Wind Down” (Instrumental Version), and the other song played on this episode was “Hoops” (Instrumental)” by Matt Weidauer, and both songs are used through ArchesAudio.com.   Please tune in for Episode 172 with Robert Lopez. He is author of three novels, including Kamby Bolongo Mean River—named one of 25 important books of the decade by HTML Giant, All Back Full, two story collections, and a novel-in-stories, A Better Class Of People. The LA Times wrote, "Lopez has the ability to give readers whiplash with his unconventional and bewitching stories."  The episode will air on March 24.

Episode 170 Notes and Links to Richard T. Rodriguez’s Work       On Episode 170 of The Chills at Will Podcast, Pete welcomes  Richard T. Rodriguez, and the two discuss, among other things, Richard’s childhood full of voracious reading and master wordsmiths in his family, books and media and music that spoke to him and speaks to him, evolving ideas of Chicanismo, masters of Chicanx literature and music and cultural studies, and the seven songs/chapters that constitute his stellar book and build upon ideas of “touch” and a “kiss across the ocean.”      Richard T. Rodríguez is Professor of Media and Cultural Studies and English at the University of California, Riverside. He specializes in Latina/o/x literary and cultural studies, film and visual culture, and gender and sexuality studies, and holds additional interests in transnational cultural studies, popular music studies, and comparative ethnic studies. The author of Next of Kin: The Family in Chicano/a Cultural Politics (Duke University Press, 2009), which won the 2011 National Association for Chicana and Chicano Studies Book Award, and A Kiss across the Ocean: Transatlantic Intimacies of British Post-Punk and U.S. Latinidad (Duke University Press, 2022), he is currently completing Undocumented Desires: Fantasies of Latino Male Sexuality. The 2019 recipient of the Richard A. Yarborough Mentoring Award, granted by the Minority Scholars' Committee of the American Studies Association, he is the co-principal investigator on a University of California MRPI grant titled "The Global Latinidades Project: Globalizing Latinx Studies for the Next Millennium." His show, "Dr. Ricky on the Radio," can be heard weekly on KUCR.  Buy A Kiss Across the Ocean:  Transatlantic Intimacies of British Post-Punk and U.S. Latinidad   Richard T. Rodriguez's University of California at Riverside Page   Razorcake Review and Summary of A Kiss Across the Ocean     At about 8:00, Richard talks about growing up and his relationship with language and the written word, including the impacts from his parents, who were “wordsmiths” and bilingual    At about 9:45, Richard shouts out Phuc Tran’s Sigh, Gone in describing his own reading and childhood experiences   At about 10:45, Richard discusses his college years at Cal Berkeley, and the huge impact June Jordan and Yusef  Komunyaaka had on him   At about 13:00, Richard responds to Pete’s question about ideas of representation in what Richard read growing up-he points out Victor Villaseñor and Alfred Arteaga, among others   At about 14:40, Pete and Richard discuss the power of Villarreal’s Pocho   At about 16:20, Pete asks Richard about evolving ideas/definitions for “Chicano”   At about 18:35, Richard responds to Pete asking about any “ ‘Eureka’ moments” and how James Clifford in grad school helped him with a “reassessment of language”   At about 20:25, Richard talks about who and what he’s teaching as a college professor, including work by Alex Espinoza, Phuc Tran, and James Spooner    At about 24:05, Pete lays out some of the power of the beginning of the book and asks Richard about how he “saw the world anew” through Boy George and other musicians; he mentions how the music informed his reading and art intake   At about 27:10, Richard describes what spoke to him about Johnny Rotten’s quote about hanging out with Chicanos in SoCal   At about 28:30, Francesca Royster and Carl Stanley and others are referenced as Richard describes what was going on in the world and in his life as impetus for writing the book   At about 30:45, the two discuss teenage years and why they are such “prime” years for music celebration and exploration    At about 33:20, Melissa Mora Hidalgo, with Mozlandia, and Gustavo Arellano are shouted out as models for Richard’s work   At about 35:50, Richard explains “post-punk” and “new-wave” and how he wanted to “reclaim ‘post-punk’ ”   At about 38:15, Pete lays out the structure of the book, compliments its melding of academic and poetic writing, and asks about “goth”-its definition(s) and connections to the focus of Chapter One-Siouxsie and the Banshees   At about 41:40, Richard comments on Kid Congo Powers and his important connections to SoCal Chicano culture and to the Cramps/Siouxsie   At about 43:00, Pete asks Richard to explain his specific use of “touch” in the book   At about 45:20, Richard describes how Latinx writers have been touched by Siouxsie and the Banshees, often referencing the band in their work   At about 46:20, Richard describes his meeting with/touch by Siouxsie   At about 46:45, Richard describes Adam Ant and his connection to Chapter Two’s “Prince Charming,” with both being “two-sided”   At about 49:40, Chapter Three, Bauhaus, and ideas and possibilities of “goth” as racially diverse; the two discuss Myriam Gurba’s work on the general topic and Love and Rockets as a mutual   At about 54:15, Chapter Four is discussed with “Latina queer sensibilities” as a main focus and Marc Almond’s connections to John Rechy’s work   At about 59:10, The two talk about “othering” and exoticization that comes from    At about 1:01:00, Ideas of “secondhand” and history and zoot suits and masculinity are discussed, topics from the book’s Chapter Five   At about 1:04:45, Richard examines conversations around cultural appropriation and Chris Sullivan’s work with the zoot suit and “Latin” music   At about 1:07:05, The two talk about Chapter Six and Pete compliments Richard’s melding of personal and cultural; the chapter deals with “Mexican Americanos” and Frankie Goes to Hollywood, in addition to lead singer Holly Johnson’s solo work   At about 1:12:30, Richard gives background on The Pet Shop Boys and their work with hip hop and freestyle music and the connections between freestyle music and Latinx artists   At about 1:15:50, Pete uses an example of “authenticity” that Richard analyzes so skillfully as an example of ignorance   At about 1:16:50, Richard speaks to the book’s conclusion and the greatness possible through tribute bands in “translating” and “regenerating” music   At about 1:20:10, Richard calls attention to Orange County’s Ghost Town   At about 1:21:45, Richard talks about future projects   At about 1:22:50, Tainted Love shoutout!   At about 1:23:45, Richard recommends LibroMobile, City Lights Bookstore, and other places to buy his book and gives his social media info      You can now subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and leave me a five-star review. You can also ask for the podcast by name using Alexa, and find the pod on Stitcher, Spotify, and on Amazon Music. Follow me on IG, where I’m @chillsatwillpodcast, or on Twitter, where I’m @chillsatwillpo1. You can watch other episodes on YouTube-watch and subscribe to The Chills at Will Podcast Channel. Please subscribe to both my YouTube Channel and my podcast while you’re checking out this episode.    Sign up now for The Chills at Will Podcast Patreon: it can be found at patreon.com/chillsatwillpodcastpeterriehl     Check out the page that describes the benefits of a Patreon membership, including cool swag and bonus episodes. Thanks in advance for supporting my one-man show, my DIY podcast and my extensive reading, research, editing, and promoting to keep this independent podcast pumping out high-quality content!    NEW MERCH! You can browse and buy here: https://www.etsy.com/shop/ChillsatWillPodcast    This is a passion project of mine, a DIY operation, and I’d love for your help in promoting what I’m convinced is a unique and spirited look at an often-ignored art form.    The intro song for The Chills at Will Podcast is “Wind Down” (Instrumental Version), and the other song played on this episode was “Hoops” (Instrumental)” by Matt Weidauer, and both songs are used through ArchesAudio.com.   Please tune in for Episode 171 with Danielle Prescod. Danielle is an author, content creator, and journalist. Danielle Prescod is a fifteen-year veteran of the beauty and fashion industry and a graduate of NYU’s Gallatin School of Individualized Study. A lifelong fashion obsessive, she was most recently the style director of BET.com. Her book, Token Black Girl, is part memoir, part narrative nonfiction and an exploration of the ways that modern media can influence one’s self-esteem.    The episode will air on March 21.

Episode 169 Notes and Links to Justin Tinsley’s Work       On Episode 169 of The Chills at Will Podcast, Pete welcomes  Justin Tinsley, and the two discuss, among other things, Justin’s formative and transformative experiences with reading powerful works like The Autobiography of Malcolm X and by masters who combined sports and culture/politics, his wonderful experiences at Hampton University, his learned love of storytelling from his beloved grandmother, the Blog and Kazaa (!) eras, working on a wide variety of stories for Andscape and ESPN, his life-changing experiences with standout mentors and colleagues like Danyel Smith and Tony Reali, the surreal experiences associated with being a panelist on Around the Horn, and Christopher Wallace and The Notorious B.I.G. and the macro and micro that affected his life and legacy and were affected by his life and legacy.      Justin Tinsley is the author of It Was All a Dream: Biggie and the World That Made Him, and Host of ESPN’s 30 For 30 Nipsey Hussle original podcast, The King of Crenshaw. He is Sports and Culture Senior Reporter at Disney’s Andscape and weekly guest on ESPN’s Around the Horn. Buy It Was All a Dream: Biggie and the World that Made Him   Justin Tinsley's Website   Listen to The King of Crenshaw Podcast Series on Nipsey Hussle At about 1:50, Justin responds to Pete’s questions about his familial and writerly inspirations, and Justin    At about 5:20, Justin shares an interesting story about his unforgettable and generative conversations with the “phenomenal” Craig Hodges, and Pete and Justin discuss the power of The Jordan Rules    At about 9:40, Justin discusses some of the most formative writers and writing in his life, including the “important” The Autobiography of Malcolm X and work by Ralph Wiley, Danyel Smith and Elliott Wilson   At about 13:25, Justin shouts out his friend and contemporary David Dennis, Jr., and his powerful book and writing   At about 14:15, Justin speaks to the powerful ways in which Hampton University and Historically Black Colleges (HBCUs) have influenced him and enhanced his life, including the “most important class [he] ever took at Hampton”   At about 17:00, Justin talks about his days in the “Kazaa Era” and his work in curating music for friends and followers    At about 19:25, Justin discusses his time at ESPN, starting in 2015, being hired by Jason Whitlock, and his work with The Undefeated (which later became Andscape)   At about 21:50, Justin talks about an incredible story regarding Marvin Gaye’s Detroit Lions’ tryout   At about 24:55, Justin gives a moving backstory regarding drives with his grandmother and what he means by the tagline on his website: “Drawing sophisticated parallels between culture and sport”   At about 28:40, Justin gives background on his beginnings on Around the Horn and how he balances being in awe of the show that has been a lifelong favorite and his own performance on the show   At about 30:50, Justin describes the greatness of Tony Reali and gives background on how Tony helped Justin start with the show, and the talent from Here for It, including Monica McNutt   At about 35:40, Justin and Pete discuss more of what makes the show great, including the lack of points that come with the serious topics   At about 38:45, Pete notes how Justin has gotten some life-changing emails and phone calls, which Justin uses to give backstory on seeds for his book on The Notorious B.I.G.   At about 42:25, Justin relates how the pandemic affected the research for his book on Biggie   At about 43:50, Justin recounts some writing advice that helped him broaden his subject matter for the book   At about 46:45, Pete shares the profound line that Christopher Wallace said in his last recorded interview that informed Justin’s writing and is described in the book’s Introduction    At about 48:45, Justin and Pete reflect on the extreme youth of Biggie and Tupac and ideas of “what might have been”   At about 51:20, Justin talks about the memories of Christopher Wallace and talking with people who still have a lifelong heartbreak, including Chico del Vec’s    At about 54:00, Justin discusses the moving last chapter of the book that deals with CJ Wallace, Christopher Wallace, Jr.   At about 56:50, Pete notes the true appreciation and respect for Voletta Wallace, and how Justin so aptly wrote a nuanced book that reflected both macro and micro and the book’s subtitle   At about 58:30, Justin reflects on the profundity of the mural anecdote mentioned in the book, especially profound as it involves DJ 50 Grand and his recent sad death   At about 1:01:40, Pete brings some “lightning-round” questions, including questions    At about 1:02:50, Pete shouts a friend out and is wowed by a real-life reference    At about 1:05:30, Pete sums up the greatness of the book and connects it back to the guiding quote from Christopher Wallace   At about 1:06:20, Justin reads a passage from the book that serves as a sort of summation of the book, in that it neither glorifies nor assails him-on Page 321    At about 1:10:00, Justin shouts out places to buy his book, Books-a-Million   At about 1:11:00, Justin talks about future projects and ideas   At about 1:13:05, Justin gives out social media-jtinsley86 is his TikTok    You can now subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and leave me a five-star review. You can also ask for the podcast by name using Alexa, and find the pod on Stitcher, Spotify, and on Amazon Music. Follow me on IG, where I’m @chillsatwillpodcast, or on Twitter, where I’m @chillsatwillpo1. You can watch other episodes on YouTube-watch and subscribe to The Chills at Will Podcast Channel. Please subscribe to both my YouTube Channel and my podcast while you’re checking out this episode.    Sign up now for The Chills at Will Podcast Patreon: it can be found at patreon.com/chillsatwillpodcastpeterriehl     Check out the page that describes the benefits of a Patreon membership, including cool swag and bonus episodes. Thanks in advance for supporting my one-man show, my DIY podcast and my extensive reading, research, editing, and promoting to keep this independent podcast pumping out high-quality content!    NEW MERCH! You can browse and buy here: https://www.etsy.com/shop/ChillsatWillPodcast    This is a passion project of mine, a DIY operation, and I’d love for your help in promoting what I’m convinced is a unique and spirited look at an often-ignored art form.    The intro song for The Chills at Will Podcast is “Wind Down” (Instrumental Version), and the other song played on this episode was “Hoops” (Instrumental)” by Matt Weidauer, and both songs are used through ArchesAudio.com.   Please tune in for Episode 170 with Richard T. Rodríguez, a Renaissance Man and Professor of English at the University of California, Riverside. He is the author of A KISS ACROSS THE OCEAN  from Duke Press, and Dr. Ricky on the Radio at KUCR, 88.3FM    The episode will air on March 14.

Episode 168 Notes and Links to Dur e Aziz Amna’s Work       On Episode 168 of The Chills at Will Podcast, Pete welcomes Dur E Aziz Amna, and the two discuss, among other things, her early relationship with writing and reading and multilingualism, formational and transformational texts and writers and mentors, and themes of home, ignorance, xenophobia, connection, maturity, misogyny, and so much more, as chronicled in her stellar novel.    Dur e Aziz Amna is from Rawalpindi, Pakistan, and now lives in Newark, USA. Her work has appeared in the New York Times, Financial Times, and Al Jazeera, among others. She was selected as Forbes 30 Under 30 in 2022, and won the 2019 Financial Times / Bodley Head Essay Prize. She is a graduate of Yale College and the Helen Zell Writers' Program at the University of Michigan. AMERICAN FEVER is her debut novel. Buy American Fever   Dur e Aziz Amna's Website   Sana Goyal Reviews American Fever for The Guardian   Anandi Mishra Reviews American Fever for Los Angeles Review of Books At about 6:30, Pete asks Dur e about any secret societies she was part of at Yale   At about 7:25, Pete highlights a standout line from the book   At about 8:45, Dur e speaks about her early language and reading experiences, a “segmented” life of English, Urdu, and Punjabi   At about 12:35, Dur e responds to Pete’s inquiry about the ways in which Urdu as a language informs her writing in English    At about 15:05, The two discuss “I love you” as an interesting use of language logic, particularly with regard to a line from the book   At about 16:50, Dur e responds to Pete’s questions about books and writers that changed her trajectory and how college exposed her to specific writers and genres   At about 18:20, Dur e highlights contemporary reads that thrill and inspire her, and talks of Peter Ho Davies, Nishanth Injam, and Julie Buntin as inspiring mentors    At about 20:05, Dur e gives backgrounds on the book’s genesis    At about 23:40, Pete recounts some key early lines from the book and focuses on the skillful   At about 25:20, Dur e gives background on Kelly, the narrator, Hira’s, host mom and her motivations and reader feedback on the character    At about 27:55, Dur e talks about her curiosity in exploring power dynamics between Kelly and Hira   At about 29:20, The two discuss Hira’s desires to leave    At about 32:40, Dur e gives background on the exchange program that was the basis for Hira’s fictional program    At about 36:50, Dur gives unbelievable stats about the history of tuberculosis and how it’s shaped our world   At about 38:20, The two talk about Hira’s parents and the ways in which their attitudes are representative of ideas about class    At about 43:50, Dur e responds to Pete’s questions about why Hira’s parents let her go to the States   At about 46:30, Pete asks Dur e about a memorable scene involving a car ride and Dur e gives the real-life parallels    At about 49:00, Pete compliments Hira for her nuanced writing   At about 50:30, Pete wonders about Hira’s place as an outsider and as welcomed in her Oregon town   At about 52:40, Pete outlines Hira’s creeping sickness and Dur e reflects on ideas of blame for the sickness    At about 55:30, Pete brings up Ali and Hira’s relationship and her views of the relationship    At about 57:30, Pete asks Dur e to distinguish between the way Hira and Hamid act as exchange students, and this brings up discussion of a “frustrating” thing about Hira for Dur e   At about 1:00:20, Dur e and Pete marvel over similarities between Hira’s quarantine and the world of Covid and talk about the ramifications of Hira’s tuberculosis diagnosis and recovery    At about 1:02:20, Ideas of home are discussed that dovetail with independence    At about 1:03:10, Ideas of gender roles are discussed through the lens of a scene involving a scarf in the book   At about 1:05:20, Saima Sitwat shoutout!   At about 1:06:15, Dur e blithely talks about her upcoming project   At about 1:07:00, Dur e gives backstory on her love for the book’s US cover   At about 1:08:20, Dur e shouts out places to buy her book and social media/contact info    You can now subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and leave me a five-star review. You can also ask for the podcast by name using Alexa, and find the pod on Stitcher, Spotify, and on Amazon Music. Follow me on IG, where I’m @chillsatwillpodcast, or on Twitter, where I’m @chillsatwillpo1. You can watch other episodes on YouTube-watch and subscribe to The Chills at Will Podcast Channel. Please subscribe to both my YouTube Channel and my podcast while you’re checking out this episode.    Sign up now for The Chills at Will Podcast Patreon: it can be found at patreon.com/chillsatwillpodcastpeterriehl     Check out the page that describes the benefits of a Patreon membership, including cool swag and bonus episodes. Thanks in advance for supporting my one-man show, my DIY podcast and my extensive reading, research, editing, and promoting to keep this independent podcast pumping out high-quality content!      NEW MERCH! You can browse and buy here: https://www.etsy.com/shop/ChillsatWillPodcast    This is a passion project of mine, a DIY operation, and I’d love for your help in promoting what I’m convinced is a unique and spirited look at an often-ignored art form.    The intro song for The Chills at Will Podcast is “Wind Down” (Instrumental Version), and the other song played on this episode was “Hoops” (Instrumental)” by Matt Weidauer, and both songs are used through ArchesAudio.com.    Please tune in for Episode 169 with Justin Tinsley, the author of It Was All a Dream: Biggie and the World That Made Him, and Host of ESPN’s 30 For 30 Nipsey Hussle original podcast, The King of Crenshaw. He is Sports and Culture Senior Reporter at Disney’s Andscape and weekly guest on ESPN’s Around the Horn     The episode will air on March 7.

Episode 167 Notes and Links to Mai Der Vang’s Work         On Episode 167 of The Chills at Will Podcast, Pete welcomes Mai Der Vang, and the two discuss, among other things, her childhood as bilingual and a voracious reader, formative writers and writing in her life, catalysts to write about Hmong culture, and specifically the towering achievement that is Yellow Rain, with its depiction of an often-dehumanized and preyed upon people and other pertinent issues of empire and colonization.      Mai Der Vang is the author of Yellow Rain (Graywolf Press, 2021), winner of the Lenore Marshall Poetry Prize from the Academy of American Poets, an American Book Award, and a finalist for the 2022 Pulitzer Prize in Poetry, along with Afterland (Graywolf Press, 2017), winner of the First Book Award from the Academy of American Poets. The recipient of a Lannan Literary Fellowship, her poetry has appeared in Tin House, the American Poetry Review, and Poetry, among other journals and anthologies. She teaches in the MFA Program in Creative Writing at Fresno State.            Buy Yellow Rain   Mai Der Vang's Website   “Review: YELLOW RAIN – Mai Der Vang (Graywolf Press),” by Ronnie K. Stephens, The Poetry Question, November 18, 2021   Interviews/Press for Mai At about 6:40, Pete and Mai Der shout Fresno stars like Lee Herrick, Juan Felipe Herrera,    At about 8:00, Mai gives background on her reading and language relationships, starting from childhood, and leading to an overview of her multigenerational family background and Hmong as her first language    At about 12:00, Mai responds to Pete’s question about representation for Hmong people in the literary world, including the awkward links to Fadiman’s The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down   At about 16:15, Mai discusses writers and writing that have been “game-changers” for her, including the work of Juan Felipe Herrera, Cathy Park Hong, Solmaz Sharif, and Douglas Kearney   At about 19:00, Pete asks Mai about any “ ‘Eureka’ moments” that have guided her into writing as a profession; she cites the Hmong Community Writers’ Collective as a guiding force    At about 21:35, Mai answers Pete’s questions about ideas of dialogue and silence in Hmong communities regarding the “Secret War” and its aftermath    At about 24:15, Pete outlines Yellow Rain’s opening and asks Mai about “following the rains”-she details her research (10 years!)   At about 25:05, Pete refers to a review of the book from The Poetry Question saying the book “defies genre”-Pete asks about goals in mind for the book, regarding its unique and diverse styles   At about 27:40-34:05, Pete cites the Wikipedia article regarding “Yellow Rain” and asks Mai for a background on it in connection to the Hmong and their lives post-”Secret War”   At about 34:05, Pete quotes from and asks about some of the collection’s early poems and refers to ideas of the Hmong as disregarded; Mai discusses an oft-quoted line about “gardening”   At about 36:20, Pete and Mai make comparisons between Roberto Lovato’s incredible work with Unforgetting and Mai’s work   At about 37:10, Pete and Mai discuss a disastrous and racist Radiolab interview regarding the Hmong and yellow rain    At about 39:00, Pete and Mai discuss the theme of dehumanization that runs throughout her collection    At about 40:40, Mai talks about the ineptitude and missteps that led to an inability to make definitive proclamations about yellow rain’s provenance    At about 44:05, The two discuss the double meanings of “specimen” and the ways in which a possible chemical weapon used against the Hmong was incredibly destructive and hard to trace   At about 45:30, The bees are investigated and discussed-ideas that bee feces may have been the reason for the yellow mist were put forth   At about 49:00, Ideas of colonization and American empire are investigated via the book’s poems    At about 52:35, Pete reads a line that sums up so profoundly ideas of “what if’s” and    At about 53:50, Mai talks about ideas of resistance and about any possible political and cultural actions-i.e., the future and any advocacy    At about 59:00, Mai reads the last poem of the collection, “And Yet Still More” and discusses some key lines    At about 1:02:55, Mai gives contact and social media info     You can now subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and leave me a five-star review. You can also ask for the podcast by name using Alexa, and find the pod on Stitcher, Spotify, and on Amazon Music. Follow me on IG, where I’m @chillsatwillpodcast, or on Twitter, where I’m @chillsatwillpo1. You can watch other episodes on YouTube-watch and subscribe to The Chills at Will Podcast Channel. Please subscribe to both my YouTube Channel and my podcast while you’re checking out this episode.    Sign up now for The Chills at Will Podcast Patreon: it can be found at patreon.com/chillsatwillpodcastpeterriehl          Check out the page that describes the benefits of a Patreon membership, including cool swag and bonus episodes. Thanks in advance for supporting my one-man show, my DIY podcast and my extensive reading, research, editing, and promoting to keep this independent podcast pumping out high-quality content!    This is a passion project of mine, a DIY operation, and I’d love for your help in promoting what I’m convinced is a unique and spirited look at an often-ignored art form.    The intro song for The Chills at Will Podcast is “Wind Down” (Instrumental Version), and the other song played on this episode was “Hoops” (Instrumental)” by Matt Weidauer, and both songs are used through ArchesAudio.com.    Please tune in for Episode 168 with Dur e Aziz Amna. She is from Rawalpindi, Pakistán, now living in Newark, NJ, her work has appeared in the New York Times and Al Jazeera, among others; was selected as Forbes 30 Under 30 in 2022; her standout debut novel is American Fever.    The episode will air on February 21.

Episode 166 Notes and Links to Kai Harris’s Work       On Episode 166 of The Chills at Will Podcast, Pete welcomes Kai Harris, and the two discuss, among other things, her early reading, formative books like Anne of Green Gables and works she read later by Ernest Gaines and Toni Morrison, her current loves in terms of writers and writing, the power of flashback and juxtaposition, as well themes of grief, loss, racism, and many more from her book, and the interesting decision-making that went in to writing the book as she did.        Kai Harris is a writer and educator from Detroit, Michigan. She uses her voice to uplift the Black community through realistic fiction centered on the Black experience, and she is the author of What The Fireflies Knew, the first fiction title from Tiny Reparations Book. She is an Assistant Professor of Creative Writing at Santa Clara University (GO BRONCOS!)          Buy What the Fireflies Knew   Kai Harris's Website   The New York Times “Shortlist” Features What the Fireflies Knew as Part of “The Lives of Black Women, at Home and Abroad” At about 6:35, Kai shouts out places to buy her book (Keppler’s and BookShop Santa Cruz, among others) and upcoming events, in addition to describing the exciting audiobook and paperback extra features   At about 8:20, Kai describes the playlist she made for the paperback edition   At about 10:50, Kai talks about her early reading habits, including how she often read beyond her age, much like her book’s protagonists    At about 11:45, Kai connects her choice of using Anne of Green Gables in her book to themes and connections in the book   At about 13:40, Kai relates how reading A Lesson Before Dying and other books by Black authors changed her literary mindset and worldview   At about 16:00, Kai recounts the importance of discovering Toni Morrison’s work   At about 17:00, Kai describes Jesmyn Ward (especially Salvage the Bones), as a writer who challenges and thrills her    At about 18:55, Kai compliments some favorites in Destiny Birdsong and Deesha Philyaw   At about 22:10, Pete cites Ecclesiastes and a famous quote on stories as cyclical and related   At about 23:10, Kai responds to Pete’s questions about how Detroit has informed her and her writing, and she also describes how writing became a possibility for her   At about 25:45, Kai talks about working as a professor and how her different classes excite her in various ways   At about 29:10, Pete shares a meaningful quote from Kai’s Acknowledgments and asks Kai about seeds for the book   At about 31:30, Pete cites the book as enjoyable for many ages and wonders about how Kai and her publishers see the book’s place as young adult, etc.   At about 34:50, Pete lists some skillful use of childlike vocabulary and references that make the narrator’s POV so powerful and successful   At about 36:10, Pete highlights the book’s stunning opening line and the two discuss the importance of the book’s setting as a cultural turning point   At about 37:20, Pete lays out early events in the book as the book’s family grieves in different ways   At about 38:30, Pete asks Kai about the chronology of the book, as far as how she wrote it and how its flashbacks serve as strong juxtaposition; she gives background on different iterations of the book   At about 40:15, Kai details her thinking on depicting the father of KB in the book   At about 44:25, The two discuss the events surrounding a friendship and its implications; Pete highlights an especially moving scene involving Granddaddy   At about 46:30, Kai discusses the “lived realities” of racism that motivated her to write her book’s characters and events as she did   At about 49:35, Kai describes her mindset after being the victim of racism at a young age    At about 51:00, Pete lays out the situation between Nia and KB and Kai responds to questions from readers about writing from Nia’s perspective    At about 56:30, Kai talks about manifestations of grief shown by KB’s mom and expands upon her struggles and shares how she made the mother’s experience “radical”   At about 59:25, Pete and Kai discuss the fateful interactions between KB and Rondell and how she decided to write these scenes as they are   At about 1:03:25, Pete and Kai talk about Granddaddy and his life’s arc and guilt that he feels, as well as some wise words that he shares    At about 1:05:30, Kai details her emotions in writing the ending   At about 1:07:10, Kai responds to Pete’s questions about what feedback she’s received regarding the book, as well as the ways in which her characters have become “people” of their own   At about 1:10:00, Kai outlines exciting future projects   At about 1:13:30, Kai describes exciting exposure for her book   You can now subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and leave me a five-star review. You can also ask for the podcast by name using Alexa, and find the pod on Stitcher, Spotify, and on Amazon Music. Follow me on IG, where I’m @chillsatwillpodcast, or on Twitter, where I’m @chillsatwillpo1. You can watch other episodes on YouTube-watch and subscribe to The Chills at Will Podcast Channel. Please subscribe to both my YouTube Channel and my podcast while you’re checking out this episode. Sign up now for The Chills at Will Podcast Patreon: it can be found at patreon.com/chillsatwillpodcastpeterriehl          Check out the page that describes the benefits of a Patreon membership, including cool swag and bonus episodes. Thanks in advance for supporting my one-man show, my DIY podcast and my extensive reading, research, editing, and promoting to keep this independent podcast pumping out high-quality content! This is a passion project of mine, a DIY operation, and I’d love for your help in promoting what I’m convinced is a unique and spirited look at an often-ignored art form. The intro song for The Chills at Will Podcast is “Wind Down” (Instrumental Version), and the other song played on this episode was “Hoops” (Instrumental)” by Matt Weidauer, and both songs are used through ArchesAudio.com. Please tune in for Episode 167 with Mai Der Vang is the author of Yellow Rain, winner of the Lenore Marshall Poetry Prize from the Academy of American Poets, an American Book Award, and a finalist for the 2022 Pulitzer Prize in Poetry, along with Afterland, winner of the First Book Award from the Academy of American Poets.  The episode will air on February 17.

Episode 165 Notes and Links to Anna Hogeland’s Work       On Episode 165 of The Chills at Will Podcast, Pete welcomes Anna Hogeland, and the two discuss, among other things, her early reading and writing, the formative writers, writing, and UC Irvine MFA program that set her on her own writing path, her embrace of Marvel movies as cathartic, her rationale in structuring her book like she did, and the myriad themes and real-life connections that come from the great losses experienced by mothers and loved ones in her profound book.      Anna Hogeland is a psychotherapist in private practice, with an MSW from Smith College School of Social Work and an MFA from UC Irvine. She lives in Vermont.            Buy The Long Answer   Anna Hogeland's Website   LitHub Article: "After Two Pregnancy Losses, I Wrote the Book I Needed to Read”   Brenda Shaughnessy Reviews The Long Answer for The New York Times At about 6:30, Anna shouts out contact info and places (like The Bennington Book Shop) to buy her book The Long Answer   At about 7:15, Anna discusses her “interrupted path” to becoming a writer and her early relationships with reading and writing   At about 9:45, The two talk about David Foster Wallace Infinite Jest and the hubbub around it   At about 10:35, Anna discusses her path to the MFA and reading that inspired and thrilled her, as well as her positive experiences with a loving workshop partner and workshops in general    At about 14:25, Anna gives background on her time applying to and being accepted at UC Irvine’s    At about 15:40, Anna lists some formative writers and current favorites, including Elena Ferrante and Thomas Bernhard   At about 18:20, Pete bringing up Anna’s skill with writing using various tones and POVs leads to Anna explaining her philosophy of writing versatility    At about 20:20, Anna responds to Pete’s question about her writing informs her work as a psychotherapist, and vice versa   At about 25:40, Anna gives background on seeds for the book, as well as her initial visions for the book’s structure   At about 29:10, the two focus on Elizabeth’s chapter to start the book and the icy relationship between the narrator and her sister Margot   At about 31:30, Pete asks about how grief and traumas and resulting relationships are connected in the book and in real life, and Anna speaks to ideas of resentment and wrongs    At about 36:10, The two discuss a memorable and clever scene that ends Part I revolving around mother/son bonds   At about 39:30, Pete and Anna recount Part II and Corrie’s page-turning and action-packed and salacious stories   At about 43:35, The short chapter is discussed with regards to its diction and angry tone    At about 46:35, The two discuss our collective inability to grieve and the awkwardness and silence that often is part of this process   At about 49:20, The juxtaposition between Ruth and Anna’s pregnancy losses are discussed, including the moving writing that focuses on the banal    At about 52:00, Anna focuses on the silences that often accompany pregnancy loss and how common these losses are   At about 53:10, Anna and Pete discuss Marvel-Anna finds them “so moving”   At about 55:10, The two discuss Marisol’s chapter in which Anna has taken a weekend away on an important anniversary    At about 57:15, Anna responds to Pete’s questions about Marisol’s mindset and reasons behind an infatuation with her bosses   At about 58:30, Anna lays out ideas of manipulation and vulnerability that characterize the relationship between Marisol and Ellen   At about 1:01:15, Pete highlights a moving scene between Anna and Marisol    At about 1:02:05, Pete recaps (without spoilers) the fitting last chapter and    At about 1:03:25, Anna responds to Pete’s question about meaningful feedback she’s received about the book   At about 1:05:50, Anna talks about future projects    You can now subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and leave me a five-star review. You can also ask for the podcast by name using Alexa, and find the pod on Stitcher, Spotify, and on Amazon Music. Follow me on IG, where I’m @chillsatwillpodcast, or on Twitter, where I’m @chillsatwillpo1. You can watch other episodes on YouTube-watch and subscribe to The Chills at Will Podcast Channel. Please subscribe to both my YouTube Channel and my podcast while you’re checking out this episode. Sign up now for The Chills at Will Podcast Patreon: it can be found at patreon.com/chillsatwillpodcastpeterriehl          Check out the page that describes the benefits of a Patreon membership, including cool swag and bonus episodes. Thanks in advance for supporting my one-man show, my DIY podcast and my extensive reading, research, editing, and promoting to keep this independent podcast pumping out high-quality content! This is a passion project of mine, a DIY operation, and I’d love for your help in promoting what I’m convinced is a unique and spirited look at an often-ignored art form.    The intro song for The Chills at Will Podcast is “Wind Down” (Instrumental Version), and the other song played on this episode was “Hoops” (Instrumental)” by Matt Weidauer, and both songs are used through ArchesAudio.com.    Please tune in for Episode 166 with Kai Harris. who is a writer and educator from Detroit, Michigan. She uses her voice to uplift the Black community through realistic fiction centered on the Black experience, and she is the author of What The Fireflies Knew, the first fiction title from Tiny Reparations Book. She is an Assistant Professor of Creative Writing at Santa Clara University (GO BRONCOS!)    The episode will air on February 14.

Episode 164 Notes and Links to Yasmin Ramirez’s Work      On Episode 164 of The Chills at Will Podcast, Pete welcomes Yasmin Ramirez, and the two discuss, among other things, her early reading and music loves, her unique and powerful relationship with her beloved “Ita,” her family dynamics, teenage rebellion, the power of Nirvana, the power of her classes at UTEP, and issues and themes revolving around her magnificent memoir.      Yasmin Ramirez is a 2021 Martha's Institute of Creative Writing Author Fellow as well as a 2020 recipient of the Woody and Gayle Hunt-Aspen Institute Fellowship Award. Her fiction/CNF works have appeared in Cream City Review and Huizache among others. She is an Associate Professor of English, Creative Writing, and Chicanx Literature at El Paso Community College. She stays active in the Borderplex arts community and serves on the advisory board of BorderSenses, a literary non-profit. Her memoir ¡Ándale, Prieta!, by Lee and Low Books, is now available.              Buy ¡Ándale, Prieta!: A Love Letter to My Family   Yasmin Ramirez's Website   Hip Latina Article about ¡Ándale, Prieta!: A Love Letter to My Family At about 6:50, Yasmin describes the multiple meanings of “Andale, Prieta” in context of her book    At about 7:50, Yasmin shouts out upcoming virtual and in-person Washington Library and Él Paso (UTEP) events, as well as a book club with Las Comadres    At about 8:30, Yasmin highlights her contact and social media info as well as bookstores that she recommends for buying her book   At about 9:55, Yasmin and Pete discuss her early relationships with language and reading   At about 11:55, Yasmin references formative and transformative reading, including some Anne Rice works   At about 14:30, Yasmin responds to Pete’s questions about her ideas of representation in being able to read borderland-inspired books; she cites “The Danger of a S   At about 17:35, Pete and Yasmin discuss cliques from their adolescent years and Yasmin’s love of Nirvana and music’s role in that part of her life   At about 20:00, Yasmin lists some writers she has taught at the college level, like José Olivarez, Luis Alberto Urrea, Maria Hinojosa, Juliet Takes a Breath by Gabby Rivera, and Black Flamingo by Dean Atta   At about 22:00, Yasmin notes how a reliance on the unchanging “canon” dissuades students from reading   At about 22:55, Yasmin shouts out memoirists, like Sonya Livingston, Joy Castro, and Nick Flynn, who inspire and thrill her   At about 25:05, Yasmin talks about seeds for the book and how it seemingly had a mind of its own in directing her    At about 26:20, Pete asks Yasmin about the role of Dr. Abarca’s UTEP class on food and writing and some of her takeaways from the class and the feedback she received from Lex Wiliford   At about 28:15, Pete notes Yasmin’s skill in making her child’s POV “authentic” and how her book starts in the “middle” with a resonant line regarding breast cancer and her grandma (“Ita”)   At about 29:30, Yasmin discusses meanings of “prieta,” both in the outside world and in her life   At about 31:50, Pete cites Yasmin as her Ita’s “sombra,” and talks about time spent with her as her mom worked “at the bridge”-Yasmin talks about how it “clicked” that her mom had a dangerous job   At about 34:10, Pete asks about what made Yasmin’s mom and Ita clash at times   At about 37:10, Pete reads a moving quote from the book that relates to the significance of scars, and Yasmin talks about the genesis of a part of the book that catalogs her Ita’s scars    At about 40:00, Yasmin thinks of who might play her Ita in a movie version    At about 40:40, Pete references a particularly personal memory from Yasmin and a beautiful passage about her relationship with her Ita   At about 42:20, Pete notes the power and writerly skill that makes up the last part of the book’s Part I; Yasmin gives background on this part and her rationale   At about 45:00, Pete and Yasmin discuss the beginning of the book’s Part II and Yasmin describes her “distancing” from her father and “feeding the wrong wolf”   At about 48:15, Yasmin talks about awkward teenage visits to see her father to try to rekindle something    At about 50:00, Yasmin describes her time working in retail in Dallas and the resulting events in El Paso; she describes how everything was “muted” upon her Ita’s death   At about 53:40, Yasmin talks about the “hambre de Dios” in context of the book   At about 55:25, Yasmin discusses the “rejuvenation” that came with her return to El Paso   At about 59:25, Yasmin describes the true enthusiasm shown by Lex Wiliford and the ways in which    At about 1:02:50, Yasmin and Pete discuss the “heaviness” from a powerful dream and the significance of Yasmin’s mammogram and this revelatory dream   At about 1:06:40, Yasmin describes a future project-YA!-that plays with ideas of music’s influence in an adolescent’s life    At about 1:08:05, Pete compliments the book’s allusions to music that reminds Yasmin of her grandma    You can now subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and leave me a five-star review. You can also ask for the podcast by name using Alexa, and find the pod on Stitcher, Spotify, and on Amazon Music. Follow me on IG, where I’m @chillsatwillpodcast, or on Twitter, where I’m @chillsatwillpo1. You can watch other episodes on YouTube-watch and subscribe to The Chills at Will Podcast Channel. Please subscribe to both my YouTube Channel and my podcast while you’re checking out this episode. Sign up now for The Chills at Will Podcast Patreon: it can be found at patreon.com/chillsatwillpodcastpeterriehl          Check out the page that describes the benefits of a Patreon membership, including cool swag and bonus episodes. Thanks in advance for supporting my one-man show, my DIY podcast and my extensive reading, research, editing, and promoting to keep this independent podcast pumping out high-quality content! This is a passion project of mine, a DIY operation, and I’d love for your help in promoting what I’m convinced is a unique and spirited look at an often-ignored art form. The intro song for The Chills at Will Podcast is “Wind Down” (Instrumental Version), and the other song played on this episode was “Hoops” (Instrumental)” by Matt Weidauer, and both songs are used through ArchesAudio.com.    Please tune in for Episode 165 with Anna Hogeland. She’s a psychotherapist in private practice, her novel The Long Answer, has been described by Kirkus Review as “A startling meditation on grief and family and betrayal.”    The episode will air on February 7.

Episode 163 Notes and Links to Margo Candela’s Work         On Episode 163 of The Chills at Will Podcast, Pete welcomes Margo Candela, and the two discuss, among other things, her love for her local library, her bilingualism, formative books and writers, writing The Neapolitan Sisters between other books, the book’s interesting and skillful takes on POV, sex scenes, and challenging cliches, her love of dialogue. and the storylines and histories that make her characters so interesting and completing and sympathetic.       Margo Candela was born and raised in Los Angeles and began her writing career when she joined Glendale Community College’s student newspaper. She transferred to San Francisco State University as a journalism major, and upon graduation began writing for websites and magazines before writing her first two novels, Underneath It All and Life Over Easy. She returned to Los Angeles to raise her son and wrote More Than This and Good-bye to All That. The Neapolitan Sisters is her fifth novel and her first after a decade-long hiatus from writing. She now lives in San Francisco.           Buy The Neapolitan Sisters   Margo Candela's Website   Booklist Review for The Neapolitan Sisters   Facebook for Author Margo Candela   Instagram: @MargoCandela  Twitter: @MargoCandela    Subscribe to Margo Candela's Newsletter At about 7:25, Margo describes her earliest reading, her bilingualism, and her relationship with words   At about 9:15, Pete’s got jokes (en español!)    At about 9:40, Margo talks of the enchantment on Pepper Avenue   At about 12:55, Margo responds to Pete’s question: “Did you feel represented in what you read?”   At about 14:50, Margo discusses some honesty/challenges to cliche in her book   At about 17:00, Margo and Pete discuss the book as a “saga,” and how Margo wrote the book through a “hiatus”   At about 19:00, Margo relates how Toni Kirkpatrick and her interacted in the manuscript and publishing phases of the book   At about 21:00, Pete asks Margo about any challenges with continuity/seamlessness around POV   At about 24:00, Margo gives background on the work she did and her philosophy about writing dialogue   At about 26:45, Margo gives some background on the character of Claudia and her dialogue   At about 29:05, Pete recounts the early events of the book and asks Margo about Maritza   At about 32:00, Pete and Margo characterize Auggie and his relationship with Maritza   At about 33:50, Claudia as a “giver” is described, as well as the reasons for her versatile and hardened demeanor   At about 36:10, Margo explains how she wrote the Hollywood scenes in the book, including basing some work dynamics on Margo’s own experiences    At about 38:15, Pete uses a quote from the book that connects the girls’ parenting and Claudia’s mental health awareness   At about 40:20, Margo describes a story involving maraschino cherries that is illustrative of Maritza’s stubbornness    At about 42:30, Pete wonders if Maritza is in love with Auggie, and Margo’s answer is intricate and perhaps surprising    At about 44:40, Dooley and her background and her motivations are described   At about 48:00, Pete wonders about the girls’ parents, especially the father, and their lack of active parenting; Margo notes the reasoning for the parents’ depictions     At about 50:45, Pete shouts out Ethan Jacobs, “too-good-to-be-true” and his relationship with Claudia, including how Claudia’s history plays in   At about 52:20, Margo explains the importance of the sex scenes in the book   At about 54:05, Pete offers to help Margo get Fabio for a future book cover   At about 54:50, The two talk about the sisters reconciling and telling old stories about their childhoods, with beautiful and tragic memories   At about 56:00, Pete highlights a stunning and sad and well-drawn scene involving Dooley   At about 56:50, Margo responds to Pete’s question about how she knew the book was done   At about 1:00:15, Margo does some casting (Selena Gomez! Chris Evans!) in case the book goes to the big or small screen   At about 1:02:40, Margo talks about future projects   At about 1:03:20, Margo shouts out Books, Inc. and Green Apple Books, among others, as good places to buy her book, and Margo reminds readers to do reviews(!) and gives out contact info and her newsletter info and shouts out Porto’s (sooo good)    You can now subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and leave me a five-star review. You can also ask for the podcast by name using Alexa, and find the pod on Stitcher, Spotify, and on Amazon Music. Follow me on IG, where I’m @chillsatwillpodcast, or on Twitter, where I’m @chillsatwillpo1. You can watch other episodes on YouTube-watch and subscribe to The Chills at Will Podcast Channel. Please subscribe to both my YouTube Channel and my podcast while you’re checking out this episode.    Sign up now for The Chills at Will Podcast Patreon: it can be found at patreon.com/chillsatwillpodcastpeterriehl    Check out the page that describes the benefits of a Patreon membership, including cool swag and bonus episodes. Thanks in advance for supporting my one-man show, my DIY podcast and my extensive reading, research, editing, and promoting to keep this independent podcast pumping out high-quality content! This is a passion project of mine, a DIY operation, and I’d love for your help in promoting what I’m convinced is a unique and spirited look at an often-ignored art form. The intro song for The Chills at Will Podcast is “Wind Down” (Instrumental Version), and the other song played on this episode was “Hoops” (Instrumental)” by Matt Weidauer, and both songs are used through ArchesAudio.com.    Please tune in for Episode 164 with Yasmin Ramirez. She is a 2021 Martha's Institute of Creative Writing Author Fellow as well as a 2020 recipient of the Woody and Gayle Hunt-Aspen Institute Fellowship Award. Her outstanding memoir is ¡Ándale, Prieta!    The episode will air on February 3.

Episode 162 Notes and Links to Erin Keane’s Work       On Episode 162 of The Chills at Will Podcast, Pete welcomes Erin Keane, and the two discuss, among other things, her early voracious reading, her work as writer and editor and Editor-in-Chief, and ideas from her memoir of life imitating art, art versus artist, patterns of misogyny and burdens laid upon women and girls, a “runway” versus a “missing girl,” and other salient issues and themes that come from her mother and family’s stories.       Erin Keane was born in New Jersey and raised in Kentucky and feels both states are misunderstood. RUNAWAY: Notes on the Myths that Made Me, her debut full-length nonfiction book, is a memoir in essays about her parents/pop culture/gender. She’s also the author of three collections of poetry: Demolition of the Promised Land (Typecast Publishing, 2014 — out of print), Death-Defying Acts (WordFarm, 2010), and The Gravity Soundtrack, (WordFarm, 2007). She’s Editor in Chief At Salon, she writes mostly about culture and drinks, including the cocktails-and-mindfulness column The Oracle Pour, in which she dresses her writing about life up in drink recipe clothes. She’s a public radio alum and daily newspaper-trained, and she cut her teeth in the beautiful wild world of the alt-weekly. Erin is a member of the graduate faculty of Spalding University’s Sena Naslund-Karen Mann School of Writing, where she teaches creative nonfiction, poetry, and professional writing.              Buy Runaway: Notes on The Myths that Made Me   Erin Keane's Website   “Why do guys like George Santos lie? I asked myself the same thing about my father” from Salon Magazine   Lorraine Berry Reviews Runaway for The Los Angeles Times   Excerpt from Runaway in Salon Magazine: “A girl's skeleton in the museum: On runaways, the Jersey Shore and a cold case that haunted me” At about 6:25, Erin describes her childhood love of, and experiences with, reading, storytelling, and the written word    At about 10:50, Pete shouts out Shel Silverstein’s legacy, and Erin references being “weirdly seen” in some of the darker literature intended for kids    At about 13:00, Erin lists books by Stephen King as inspirations for her in many ways, including in the ways in which King incorporated pop culture into his work; David Wojahn, too, is cited for his daring and skillful poetry   At about 17:00-20:00, Erin shouts out Predator from Ander Monson as a recent book that has thrilled and impressed her, as well as Liz Prato’s Kids in America   At about 22:45, Erin responds to Pete’s questions about reading for pleasure    At about 24:30, Erin discusses her Dec. 31 article for Salon about George Santos and his lies; she discusses it as a “timely topical book tie-in essay” as the article and Erin’s book discuss her father’s problems with truth    At about 30:00, Erin gives background on seeds for her book Runaway, particularly a 2015 expose by Mariel Hemingway and how it led Erin to completely reexamine Woody Allen’s Manhattan in relation to her parents’ own relationship    At about 33:35, Pete and Erin discuss ideas of cognitive dissonance involving her father and those who saw the marriage between a 15 yr old and mid 30 yr old, including Erin’s grandparents   At about 36:35, Pete and Erin muse about Erin’s grandmother’s phone habits and Erin describes the research she did to find out about phone card “hacks” in the 1970s when Erin’s mom had run away but was able to use public phones   At about 41:10, Erin examines the ways in which her grandparents saw her mother’s years on the road and ideas of generational guilt and penance and lessons learned    At about 42:15, Erin discusses the ways in which her mother/daughter relationship and her and her brother’s behavior was affected by their mother’s history and parents’ reactions   At about 45:00, Pete cites some profound lines from the beginning chapter that deal with misogyny and allowing male artists huge leeway with their art often being dismissed as distinct from their motivations/actions    At about 46:20, Erin speaks about ideas of “wayward” men being “saved” by women and the burdens and unfairness involved    At about 49:20, Pete asks Erin about her usage of “survivor’s guilt” in the book   At about 52:40, Erin discusses the horrific case of “Sandy” at the Smithsonian as a microcosm of the greater runaway “epidemic” of the 1970s   At about 57:25, The two discuss ideas of the connections between women’s agency and men’s comfort and how this played out in her family’s stories    At about 1:01:00, Erin details her mother’s struggles and tries to home in on reasons for her leaving home at age 13   At about 1:04:30, Erin discusses her research for the book in light of a famous journalistic credo   At about 1:07:45, Pete and Erin discusses some happy moments in her mother’s story, and also some scary and traumatic events    At about 1:09:00, Erin analyzes an incident from her high school years that has grown in importance and significance as the years have gone on, as well as how the incident was informed by her mother’s history     At about 1:12:00, Pete reflects on his reaction to the above story, and ideas of projection and “accuser/accused”   At about 1:13:15, Erin expands upon ideas of the leeway and honors bestowed upon men, and how women (including Cait O’Riordan and Yoko Ono and other pop culture/artistic figures) have been minimized by society   At about 1:19:00, Pete compliments the book as a whole, including its profound ending image     You can now subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and leave me a five-star review. You can also ask for the podcast by name using Alexa, and find the pod on Stitcher, Spotify, and on Amazon Music. Follow me on IG, where I’m @chillsatwillpodcast, or on Twitter, where I’m @chillsatwillpo1. You can watch other episodes on YouTube-watch and subscribe to The Chills at Will Podcast Channel. Please subscribe to both my YouTube Channel and my podcast while you’re checking out this episode.    Sign up now for The Chills at Will Podcast Patreon: it can be found at patreon.com/chillsatwillpodcastpeterriehl          Check out the page that describes the benefits of a Patreon membership, including cool swag and bonus episodes. Thanks in advance for supporting my one-man show, my DIY podcast and my extensive reading, research, editing, and promoting to keep this independent podcast pumping out high-quality content!    This is a passion project of mine, a DIY operation, and I’d love for your help in promoting what I’m convinced is a unique and spirited look at an often-ignored art form.    The intro song for The Chills at Will Podcast is “Wind Down” (Instrumental Version), and the other song played on this episode was “Hoops” (Instrumental)” by Matt Weidauer, and both songs are used through ArchesAudio.com.    Please tune in for Episode 163 with Margo Candela, whose decade-long hiatus from book publishing ended recently with the beautiful and funny and haunting and profound book, The Neapolitan Sisters.    The episode will air on January 31.

Episode 161 Notes and Links to Matthew Salesses’ Work       On Episode 161 of The Chills at Will Podcast, Pete welcomes Matthew Salesses, and the two discuss, among other things, his early relationships with writing and language, his latest book (out January 17!), The Sense of Wonder, its connection to real-life events and Korean dramas, its background and themes and implications, and his processes in writing the book and his 2021 smash, Craft in the Real World and its ideas that shift the paradigms of teaching writing in workshops and reevaluating ideas of “relatability,” bias, and audience.    Matthew Salesses is the author of The Sense of Wonder, national bestseller Craft in the Real World, the 2021 finalist for the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction Disappear Doppelgänger Disappear, and two other novels. Adopted from Korea, he has written about adoption, race, and Asian American masculinity in The Best American Essays 2020, NPR's Code Switch, the New York Times blog Motherlode, and The Guardian, among other media outlets. BuzzFeed has named him one of 32 Essential Asian American Writers. He lives in New York City, where he is an Assistant Professor of Writing at Columbia University.            Buy Craft in the Real World   Matthew Salesses' Website   The Washington Post Review of The Sense of Wonder-by Ron Charles   New York Times Discussion of Craft in the Real World: Rethinking Fiction Writing and Workshopping by Laila Lalami   At about 7:20, Matt shouts out his launch party on publication day (January 17) for The Sense of Wonder, an event at with “BFF” Kirstin Chen at Books are Magic in Brooklyn at 7pm EST: in-person and on YouTube Live   At about 8:40, Matt describes his relationship with language and books as a kid and ideas of agency and reading fantasy    At about 11:00, Matt describes the scant examples of representation that was available   At about 12:45, Matt describes what he read at school   At about 13:40, Matt traces early moments in his writing career, as well as the omnipresence of books in his house   At about 14:55, Matt responds to Pete’s question about who/what his students are reading, and he highlights the resonance of Katie Kiramura’s writing   At about 16:20, Matt gives background on the beginnings of The Sense of Wonder, including connections to Jeremy Lin    At about 19:20, Pete and Matt lay out the book’s main characters, and Matt explains the cool name for the star basketball player,    At about 20:45, Pete cites the book’s epigraph and how the book opens   At about 21:45, Matt explains how Robert Sung and Won Lee, two of the book’s main characters, are similar and dissimilar    At about 23:40, Matt and Pete discuss the connections between Powerball! and Robert Sung and their distinct and shared trajectories, including how a woman loved by both, Brit Young, is a dynamic character    At about 26:00, Pete outlines the hysteria that surrounds Won’s standout play and Matthew details Won’s coach’s behavior    At about 28:30, Matthew expands upon how a “scarcity model” plays out in the book with Sung and Won, and how it manifested in Matthew’s own life   At about 30:50, Matthew describes the significance of a scene that Pete compliments as “icky,” including   At about 33:00, Carrie Kang is described and her and Won’s backstories are laid out as Pete brings up connections to agency as seen in both of Matt’s recent books   At about 35:15, Matt describes the “living funeral” done in the book, and how this storyline with Carrie’s sister K having Stage IV Cancer mirrors the story of Matt’s own wife    At about 37:50, Pete dates himself with a ridiculous movie reference and Matthew talks about the sections in which Carrie lays out basics of K Dramas; his answer touches upon ideas of “audience”   At about 40:30, Pete asks Matthew to define “wonder,” especially as used in the book   At about 41:50, the two discuss the second half of the book, including Matthew’s skillful usage of timing and connections to K Drama storylines   At about 44:35, Pete compliments the ending, including the clever and intriguing last sentence of the book   At about 45:00, Pete highlights a profound quote about wonder from K at her “living funeral”   At about 46:25, Matthew responds to Pete’s questions about Craft in the Real World and ideas of “unlearning” after Pete’s notes the book’s immediate appeal to all readers, including its special place among educators   At about 47:35, Pete asks Matthew about the significant example he uses in the book about “query” versus “ask” with dialogue   At about 49:30, Pete notes the book’s two-half structure and notes the emphasis on craft as necessarily cultural; Matt speaks to ideas of writing as apolitical or “outside   At about 51:40, Matt and Pete discuss ideas of “know[ing] your audience” and its connection to craft   At about 53:10, Matt describes short-sighted criticisms from Western readers/writers   At about 54:35, Matt and Pete discuss the importance of Gish Jen pointing out a survey/experiment that fleshes out differences in types of literature types, and how Western critics often limit and unfairly criticize Asian and American-writing; Matt also refers to ideas of “hybridity” as stated by Lisa Lowe   At about 56:55, Pete asks about how Matthew runs his workshops and responds to Pete’s question about ways in which to keep workshops balanced and    At about 59:00, Matthew shares positive feedback that comes from readers of his book, and Pete shares a quote from the book that sums up its greatness      You can now subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and leave me a five-star review. You can also ask for the podcast by name using Alexa, and find the pod on Stitcher, Spotify, and on Amazon Music. Follow me on IG, where I’m @chillsatwillpodcast, or on Twitter, where I’m @chillsatwillpo1. You can watch other episodes on YouTube-watch and subscribe to The Chills at Will Podcast Channel. Please subscribe to both my YouTube Channel and my podcast while you’re checking out this episode.    Sign up now for The Chills at Will Podcast Patreon: it can be found at patreon.com/chillsatwillpodcastpeterriehl     Check out the page that describes the benefits of a Patreon membership, including cool swag and bonus episodes. Thanks in advance for supporting my one-man show, my DIY podcast and my extensive reading, research, editing, and promoting to keep this independent podcast pumping out high-quality content!    This is a passion project of mine, a DIY operation, and I’d love for your help in promoting what I’m convinced is a unique and spirited look at an often-ignored art form.    The intro song for The Chills at Will Podcast is “Wind Down” (Instrumental Version), and the other song played on this episode was “Hoops” (Instrumental)” by Matt Weidauer, and both songs are used through ArchesAudio.com.    Please tune in for Episode 162 with Erin Keane, whose RUNAWAY: Notes on the Myths that Made Me, her debut full-length nonfiction book, is a memoir in essays about her parents/pop culture/gender. Erin is also Editor in Chief at Salon Magazine and the author of three collections of poetry.       The episode will air on January 24.

Episode 160 Notes and Links to Saima Sitwat’s Work       On Episode 160 of The Chills at Will Podcast, Pete welcomes Saima Sitwat, and the two discuss, among other things, her relationship with languages and growing up in Karachi, Pakistan, her early love of reading, her early writing and “chill-inducing” reads, her triumphs and challenges and funny anecdotes mentioned in her book from her days in the United States, her evolving “Americanism” and faith, her activism, places within the American Desi and American Muslim cultures, all chronicled in her 2020 book, and her continuing work to share compelling stories in different media.            Saima A. Sitwat is an author, speaker and educator. She was born and raised in Karachi, Pakistan and migrated to the United States of America in 2003.  Saima holds an M.A. in English Linguistics from the University of Karachi, Pakistan and a Master of Public and International Affairs (MPIA) from the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs, University of Pittsburgh. She is also an alumna of the Leadership Pittsburgh Class XXXV. Saima believes in the power of storytelling. Her love for stories has taken her from corporate boardrooms in downtown skyscrapers to Punxsutawney, a town in rural Pennsylvania, on Groundhog Day. She puts her faith in the word, written and spoken, to provide healing and challenging pre-existing paradigms. Her writings have encompassed a vast array of topics and genres from penning opinion pieces and investigative reports to policy papers and developing strategic plans.  From professional writings to personal narratives, Saima always strives to find a singular anchor, that is the story at the core. The story might belong to a person, or a business or nonprofit organization, but the vision and mission is always defined by the one true story behind it.  Saima is the author of her newly published memoir, “American Muslim: An Immigrant’s Journey.”     Buy American Muslim: An Immigrant's Journey   Saima Sitwat's Website   Interview with Saima about “Becoming American” Series   At about 7:40, Saima gives background information on studying linguistics at university, as well as her relationship with languages growing up in Karachi, Pakistan    At about 11:00, Saima gives further information on growing up speaking Urdu and English, and Pakistani-inflected English   At about 14:40, Saima talks about her reading choices growing up   At about 17:40, Saima explains her career choices growing up, how writing has been a constant companion and how writing as a career she has come to in recent years   At about 19:00, Saima details two pieces written in Pittsburgh around 2015 and 2016 that received meaningful and positive feedback and that propelled her forward in pursuing writing     At about 21:20, Saima traces an evolution in the type of questions asked in recent years about Muslims and Muslim-Americans    At about 22:20, Saima shouts the book from which she is still “recovering,” the “realistic” Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng.   At about 24:20, Saima discusses the significance of the book’s cover   At about 26:00, Pete and Saima talk about the timing of the book and Saima’s “urgency” in publishing the book   At about 27:15, Saima describes the “conscious choice” she made in selecting her title   At about 28:35, Pete cites the skillful ways in which Saima charts her early days in the United States, and Saima recounts a humorous discrepancy in Fahrenheit and Celsius   At about 31:55, Saima explains “Americanism” and quotes a fellow immigrant writer discussing the unique way in which Americans make plans, as well as things learned from having two school-age children   At about 34:55, Saima gives background on the first chapter and a story involving the bathroom that is a microcosm of her early American days   At about 36:50, Saima further describes some learning moments in her early US days; she also highlights the warp speed with which globalism has led to shared cultural information   At about 40:30, Saima highlights positive attributes of the US that are charted in the book, including a sense of “want[ing] to understand” about other cultures   At about 41:25, Saima talks about her days in being dependent and independent in her early days in Chicago, and how she put up a “facade” in dealing with a new place without a lot of family around   At about 45:50, Saima shouts out Potbelly Restaurants    At about 46:35, Saima discusses the intricacies of her fitting in with, and learning about, Desi- American cultures   At about 51:05, Saima cites two turning points that inspired her to become more involved in writing, public policy, and other avenues   At about 56:55, Saima details a successful and unifying protest that she took part in to effect change in the educational arena   At about 1:04:20, Pete highlights Saima’s own learning and reading in preparing herself to discuss life and religious matters with her daughters   At about 1:05:20, Saima delineates differences between American Muslim practices and customs, and the Islamic and other cultural mores of Pakistan    At about 1:08:30, Saima details trying and triumphant times as the first female president of the Muslim Association of Greater Pittsburgh (MAP)   At about 1:12:30, Pete uses a quote from Saima’s book in framing questions about how Saima and other women are often misjudged and harshly judged for things that males would not be judged for   At about 1:14:15, Pete charts continuing activism from Saima as stated in her book, and Saima responds to Pete’s question about any pressures or burdens felt in being a sort of representative of Islam   At about 1:18:00, Pete focuses on the Covid “chronicle” that is the book’s ending, and he asks Saima how she might update the book   At about 1:21:35, Saima talks about her work with Better Stories work with the MD State Arts Council   At about 1:25:00, Pete and Saima praise Leila El-Haddad, her book The Gaza Kitchen, and her writing and storytelling abilities    You can now subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and leave me a five-star review. You can also ask for the podcast by name using Alexa, and find the pod on Stitcher, Spotify, and on Amazon Music. Follow me on IG, where I’m @chillsatwillpodcast, or on Twitter, where I’m @chillsatwillpo1. You can watch other episodes on YouTube-watch and subscribe to The Chills at Will Podcast Channel. Please subscribe to both my YouTube Channel and my podcast while you’re checking out this episode.    Sign up now for The Chills at Will Podcast Patreon: it can be found at patreon.com/chillsatwillpodcastpeterriehl          Check out the page that describes the benefits of a Patreon membership, including cool swag and bonus episodes. Thanks in advance for supporting my one-man show, my DIY podcast and my extensive reading, research, editing, and promoting to keep this independent podcast pumping out high-quality content! This is a passion project of mine, a DIY operation, and I’d love for your help in promoting what I’m convinced is a unique and spirited look at an often-ignored art form. The intro song for The Chills at Will Podcast is “Wind Down” (Instrumental Version), and the other song played on this episode was “Hoops” (Instrumental)” by Matt Weidauer, and both songs are used through ArchesAudio.com.    Please tune in for Episode 161 with Matthew Salesses, who is author of, among other stellar works, The Hundred-Year Flood and Craft in the Real World. He is the author of the forthcoming 2023 novel The Sense of Wonder and has written about adoption and race for NPR Code Switch, among other outlets.    The episode will air on January 17.

Episode 159 Notes and Links to Amanda Korz’s Work        On Episode 159 of The Chills at Will Podcast, Pete welcomes Amanda Korz, and the two discuss, among other things, formative and transformative texts and classes that changed her mindset and trajectory, her work as both creative and technical writer, her mindset in writing her award-winning poetry collection, seeds for the collection, for whom the collection is intended, and salient themes from her work.        Amanda Korz is a graduate of Mills College and is working on certificates in technical writing and user experience & web design. Her poetry witnesses previous versions of herself and intimately digs into mental illness, disability, and witchcraft. When she isn’t writing or studying, she enjoys hiking, camping, and is just getting into backpacking.   Buy It's Just a Little Blood   Amanda Korz's Page with Nervous Ghost Press   At about 6:25, Amanda talks about how biking and hiking have become big parts of her life    At about 10:40, Amanda details her writing and reading challenges and successes in her childhood    At about 13:30, Amanda discusses the reading analysis and discussion, especially of Frankenstein   At about 17:00, Amanda sets the record straight on misconceptions of Frankenstein from the eponymous novel    At about 19:10, Amanda lists transformative writers and works, including Ginsberg and his “Howl”   At about 21:50, Amanda responds to Pete’s question about how her work as a technical writer affects her poetry, and vice versa   At about 24:00, Amanda explains why she writes in first person and details the beginnings of her poetry writing   At about 27:00, Amanda cites Mills College and its readings and classes and how it expanded her writing ability and confidence-shout outs to Matt Mejia and Arisa White   At about 29:25, Pete wonders if reading analytically affects Amanda’s reading for pleasure    At about 30:50, Pete highlights blurbs from stellar creatives and Pete starts discussion of the book by citing a poem that serves as a “pivot point” in discussing ignorance of menstruation   At about 32:20, Pete asks Amanda about seeds for her collection and its connection to ignorance; she responds by discussing the collection’s beginnings and a frenzy of writing as she was “struck by lightning”   At about 37:15, Pete cites lines from the collection that contrast the violence perpetrated by men and menstruation; this leads to her explaining the double-meaning of the title     At about 39:40, the two discuss a poem that illustrates the pain of IUD placement     At about 40:20, Amanda discusses ideas of “mystery” that have historically governed men’s and women’s roles, and menstruation specifically   At about 41:30, Pete points out “Medieval Period” as a creative and educational poem that Amanda gives background for-both personal and historical   At about 43:50, Pete references some strong imagery in Amanda’s work and generational “surprise”   At about 46:10, After citing her first experiences with menstruation, Amanda talks about how the discussions around the topic are now expanding    At about 49:00, The two discuss the “totality” of menstruation and Amanda responds to pete asking about who is/are the villain in the book   At about 52:30, The two discuss a particular poem, “They Vote Red” that goes from “micro to macro” and connects to political issues of today   At about 55:00, Amanda discusses her book and for whom she wrote the book   At about 58:25, Pete wonders about the writing experience for Amanda and about any future projects    You can now subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and leave me a five-star review. You can also ask for the podcast by name using Alexa, and find the pod on Stitcher, Spotify, and on Amazon Music. Follow me on IG, where I’m @chillsatwillpodcast, or on Twitter, where I’m @chillsatwillpo1. You can watch other episodes on YouTube-watch and subscribe to The Chills at Will Podcast Channel. Please subscribe to both my YouTube Channel and my podcast while you’re checking out this episode.  Sign up now for The Chills at Will Podcast Patreon: it can be found at patreon.com/chillsatwillpodcastpeterriehl     Check out the page that describes the benefits of a Patreon membership, including cool swag and bonus episodes. Thanks in advance for supporting my one-man show, my DIY podcast and my extensive reading, research, editing, and promoting to keep this independent podcast pumping out high-quality content!    This is a passion project of mine, a DIY operation, and I’d love for your help in promoting what I’m convinced is a unique and spirited look at an often-ignored art form. The intro song for The Chills at Will Podcast is “Wind Down” (Instrumental Version), and the other song played on this episode was “Hoops” (Instrumental)” by Matt Weidauer, and both songs are used through ArchesAudio.com.    Please tune in for Episode 160 with Jose Antonio Vargas, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, Emmy-nominated filmmaker, and Tony-nominated producer. A leading voice for the human rights of immigrants, his best-selling memoir, Dear America: Notes of an Undocumented Citizen, was published by HarperCollins in 2018. His second book, White Is Not a Country, will be published by Knopf in 2023. The episode will air on January 3.

Episode 158 Notes and Links to Javier Zamora’s Work       On Episode 158 of The Chills at Will Podcast, Pete welcomes Javier Zamora, and the two discuss, among other things, his early love of learning and influences in his native Él Salvador, the effects of his family members on his world view, the accolades that have come with his writing and his original and continuing goals for his work, his memoir and his light and masterful touch with a young kid’s POV, the ways in which traumas and bonding and love were intertwined in his journey to the US, and how writing the book brought him to a greater understanding of the vagaries of human behavior and his own behaviors.      Javier Zamora was born in La Herradura, El Salvador, in 1990. At the age of nine he migrated to the United States to be reunited with his parents. Zamora holds a BA from the University of California, Berkeley, where he studied and taught in June Jordan's Poetry for the People; and an MFA from New York University. He is the recipient of scholarships to Bread Loaf, Frost Place, Napa Valley, Squaw Valley, and VONA Writer's Conferences; and fellowships from CantoMundo and Colgate University where he is the Olive B. O'Connor fellow. His poems also appear in Best New Poets 2013, Indiana Review, Narrative, Ploughshares, Poet Lore, Theatre Under My Skin (Kalina Press: El Salvador), and elsewhere. Zamora has had his work recognized with a Meridian Editor's Prize, CONSEQUENCE Poetry Prize, and the Organic Weapon Arts Chapbook Contest.e enjoys hiking, camping, and is just getting into backpacking.   Buy Solito   Javier Zamora's Website   The New York Times Book Review of Solito   September 2022 from The Los Angeles Times: “At 9, Javier Zamora walked 4,000 miles to the U.S. At 29, he was ready to tell the story” At about 7:30, Pete asks the important question: Does Salvadoran Spanish have the best groseria?    At about 8:10, Javier responds to Pete’s questions about his use of Spanish/Spanglish, and Salvadoran-specific words and his rationale/process in using the words    At about 11:50, Pete asks Javier about the awards and acclaim he has received and how it registers compared to the experience of sharing this personal story with the world   At about 14:45, Javier talks about pressures-external and internal-that have weighed him down and how therapy and healing through writing have lifted much of these pressures    At about 19:20, Javier speaks to Pete’s question about the writers who have inspired and thrilled and challenged him; Javier mentions the outsized encouragement provided by Roberto Lovato   At about 21:00, Javier cites the huge influences of June Jordan and Roque Dalton    At about 22:25, Pete asks Javier about his early relationship with the written word, and he mentions his grandfather’s and parents’ educational and political backgrounds and how they shaped his reading     At about 27:05, Javier traces his fairly-circuitous route to becoming a writer, including the impact of Guevara’s Motorcycle Diaries   At about 28:55, Javier responds to Pete’s question about how the Bay Area’s ethic has shaped him   At about 30: 10, Javier discusses the teaching of Salvadoran history in Él Salvador and how he was guided by this    At about 31:00, Javier and Pete highlight Immortal Technique and Rage Against the Machine as educational and radical musicians and inspirations   At about 32:10, Pete asks Javier about the meanings of the book’s title, and Javier focuses on the three main parts/time periods of him being ”solito”   At about 34:20, Pete wonders about Javier’s individual story and how it compares to, and was inspired by, more recent migrations of Salvadorans and Central Americans, particularly minors, and how journalism has erred in covering the    At about 39:30, Pete reads the epigraphs and Javier expands upon their importance and connections to the book   At about 41:00, Javier puts forth interesting ideas about the use of the word “immigrant” and suggests a possible substitute   At about 43:00, Javier expands upon ideas of the natural affinity that people (Americans, for one) have for children, and connections to the American immigration system     At about 44:30, Pete, stunned at the masterful ways in which Javier uses the POV of 9 yr old him, asks Javier how he managed to pull it off, and Javier talks about how his traumas have affected his growth   At about 47:10, Pete outlines the book’s beginnings before Javier goes to the US   At about 48:00, Javier discusses the importance of his bonding time with his grandfather right before he headed North; he highlights The Body Keeps the Score and how he saw his ACES Index.   At about 51:00, Javier explains the Cadejo and its significance for him   At about 52:40, Javier recounts the tortuous boat trip that is depicted in the book and describes the overwhelming fear   At about 54:55, Javier talks about the “Big Four” (formerly the “Big Six” the people who become bonded for life with Javier and ideas of “surviving” as manifested by different people on Javier’s journey   At about 58:30, Pete cites examples of charity depicted in the memoir and Pete compliments Javier’s humanizing his characters; Javier responds with his views of the coyotes and the ways in which the border “world of 1999 that [he] described is different than now”   At about 1:01:20, Pete asks Javier if his stated goal for the writing of the book has been accomplished    At about 1:03:00, Javier talks about his involvement with Undocupoets, and how the writing world deals with issues of citizenship   At about 1:05:55, Javier describes his upcoming project    At about 1:06:45, Loca the Cat makes an appearance!      You can now subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and leave me a five-star review. You can also ask for the podcast by name using Alexa, and find the pod on Stitcher, Spotify, and on Amazon Music. Follow me on IG, where I’m @chillsatwillpodcast, or on Twitter, where I’m @chillsatwillpo1. You can watch other episodes on YouTube-watch and subscribe to The Chills at Will Podcast Channel. Please subscribe to both my YouTube Channel and my podcast while you’re checking out this episode.     Sign up now for The Chills at Will Podcast Patreon: it can be found at patreon.com/chillsatwillpodcastpeterriehl     Check out the page that describes the benefits of a Patreon membership, including cool swag and bonus episodes. Thanks in advance for supporting my one-man show, my DIY podcast and my extensive reading, research, editing, and promoting to keep this independent podcast pumping out high-quality content! This is a passion project of mine, a DIY operation, and I’d love for your help in promoting what I’m convinced is a unique and spirited look at an often-ignored art form. The intro song for The Chills at Will Podcast is “Wind Down” (Instrumental Version), and the other song played on this episode was “Hoops” (Instrumental)” by Matt Weidauer, and both songs are used through ArchesAudio.com.    Please tune in for Episode 159 with Amanda Korz, whose poetry witnesses previous versions of herself and intimately digs into mental illness, disability, and witchcraft. Her poetry collection, It’s Just a Little Blood.    The episode will air on December 27.

Episode 157 Notes and Links to Ilana Masad’s Work       On Episode 157 of The Chills at Will Podcast, Pete welcomes Ilana Masad, and the two discuss, among other things, Ilana being raised bilingual and bicultural, her early reading and shifting literary interests, formative and transformative classes and mentors and books, her podcasting days, her work as a critic, and the myriad cultural issues and themes that manifest in her standout novel, All My Mother’s Lovers.    Ilana Masad is a queer Israeli-American writer of fiction, nonfiction, and criticism. Her work has appeared in The New Yorker, New York Times, LA Times, Washington Post, NPR, StoryQuartlerly, Tin House’s Open Bar, 7x7, Catapult, Buzzfeed, and many more. A graduate of Sarah Lawrence College, she has received her Masters in English from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln where she is currently a doctoral student. She is the author of the novel All My Mother’s Lovers.   Buy All My Mother's Lovers   Ilana Masad's Website   Ilana Reviews Rachel Monroe’s Savage Appetites for NPR   The Last Episode of The Other Stories Podcast   The Other Stories Podcast   At about 7:00, Ilana discusses her academic work as she finishes up her    At about 7:50, Ilana talks about growing up in Israel and homes in on her bilingual education and writing and reading in her early days   At about 10:30, Ilana responds to Pete wondering if Hebrew in particular in its structure informs her English writing; she cites formative experiences with Etgar Keret and his poetry reading series   At about 15:00, Ilana discusses early reading that inspired and thrilled her-including works by Tamora Pierce   At about 20:15, Ilana talks about the impact of realist fiction on her    At about 22:30, Brian Morton is referenced as Pete asks Ilana about how she began to gain momentum towards becoming a professional writer   At about 24:00, Ilana shares an anecdote about Kieron Winn and her time at Oxford; this anecdote is partly-related in this article printed in December 18, 2022’s Atlantic    At about 26:10, Ilana outlines her plan in transition from publishing into writing   At about 26:50, Pete asks Ilana about reading for “pleasure”/for “business”   At about 28:15, Pete wonders about book criticism involving “bad” books   At about 31:25, Ilana lists some favorite contemporary writers and writing, including Moriel Rothman-Zecher’s Before All the World   At about 34:00, Pete cites some background info on Ilana’s submission process that he learned from the great I’m a Writer…But Podcast, and Ilana responds to his question about the maxim “Kill your darlings”-she quotes R.O. Kwon’s advice   At about 35:45, Ilana gives background on some seeds for the book, including the dynamic opening line    At about 38:00, The two discuss the book’s three epigraphs and the book’s inciting incident in creating significance for the mother-daughter relationship throughout   At about 39:20, Pete compliments the book’s interesting structure and moving scene near the end as he asks Ilana about how she maintained continuity for the storyline   At about 41:50, The two discuss grief as presented in the book, and Pete asks Ilana to expound upon the connections between sex and death   At about 45:50, The two discuss the main character, Maggie’s, father Peter, and Pete makes a guess about his name’s provenance    At about 47:00, Pete asks Iris and her tastes and behaviors and personality and connections to intergenerational traumas and her history with an ex-husband    At about 48:25, Ilana responds to Pete’s questions about Maggie’s behaviors after feeling left out/forgotten by her mom, due to Maggie’s open lesbian lifestyle    At about 49:45, The idea of the shiva and the cool plot device that unveils with the letters to be delivered is brought up and explored; Ilana expands upon Maggie’s feelings     At about 52:00, Ilana discusses the vagaries of grief and how it manifests in life and in the book   At about 53:30, The two shout out Sacramento’s appearance in the book!   At about 55:00, Ilana discusses the varied men that Iris had as lovers and their connections to Maggie and her relationship with her mother   At about 56:00, Ilana compares and contrasts Maggie with herself and talks about Maggie’s “commitment issues” and its “self-sabotage”   At about 58:30, Ilana delineates the ways in which American/WASP cultures often deal with death in such different ways than what she is used to; this leads to discussion of ideas of wellness in the United States    At about 1:02:50, Ilana talks about how mourning and views of death are tied in to the byzantine healthcare system in the US; she uses Erin Brockovich as an example of the system’s faults   At about 1:05:35, Ilana gives background on Mac Lopez from the book as an “homage” to Zahn McClarnon   At about 1:09:00, Pete cites the last scenes as beautiful and stirring and shouts out the “loveable character” Peter-without giving spoilers!   At about 1:09:55, Ilana shares “lovely messages” from readers and highly encourages readers to reach out authors   At about 1:11:10, Ilana discusses her time as a podcast host for The Other Stories Podcast    You can now subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and leave me a five-star review. You can also ask for the podcast by name using Alexa, and find the pod on Stitcher, Spotify, and on Amazon Music. Follow me on IG, where I’m @chillsatwillpodcast, or on Twitter, where I’m @chillsatwillpo1. You can watch other episodes on YouTube-watch and subscribe to The Chills at Will Podcast Channel. Please subscribe to both my YouTube Channel and my podcast while you’re checking out this episode.     Sign up now for The Chills at Will Podcast Patreon: it can be found at patreon.com/chillsatwillpodcastpeterriehl     Check out the page that describes the benefits of a Patreon membership, including cool swag and bonus episodes. Thanks in advance for supporting my one-man show, my DIY podcast and my extensive reading, research, editing, and promoting to keep this independent podcast pumping out high-quality content! This is a passion project of mine, a DIY operation, and I’d love for your help in promoting what I’m convinced is a unique and spirited look at an often-ignored art form.    The intro song for The Chills at Will Podcast is “Wind Down” (Instrumental Version), and the other song played on this episode was “Hoops” (Instrumental)” by Matt Weidauer, and both songs are used through ArchesAudio.com.    Please tune in for Episode 158 with Javier Zamora. Born in El Salvador, he came unaccompanied to the US at age nine, much of the basis for his debut New York Times bestselling memoir, Solito, which has been featured on The Today Show and many other pubs; holds fellowships from, among many others, CantoMundo and the National Endowment for the Arts    The episode will air later tonight, on December 20.

Episode 156 Notes and Links to Namrata Poddar’s Work        On Episode 156 of The Chills at Will Podcast, Pete welcomes Namrata Poddar, and the two discuss, among other things, Namrata’s multilingual upbringing in Mumbai and abroad, her early reading, her early reading and writers who inspired her with their decolonial and other writing, her “living with her characters” for many years for her wonderful debut novel, how she would label/distinguish the novel, and salient themes of misogyny, home and its shifting definition, class division, and diaspora.        Namrata writes fiction and nonfiction, serves as Interviews Editor for Kweli, and teaches literature and writing at UCLA. Her work has appeared in several publications including Poets & Writers, Literary Hub, Longreads, The Kenyon Review, and The Best Asian Short Stories. Her debut novel, Border Less, was a finalist for Feminist Press’s Louise Meriwether Prize. Buy Border Less   Namrata Poddar's Website   2022 LA Times Article: “Namrata Poddar’s debut novel traverses borders — and conventional storytelling”   At about 7:10, Namrata discusses the title’s significance and her positioning “borderless” as two words   At about 7:40, Pete shouts out an original usage of language in Namrata’s book   At about 8:10, Namrata responds to Pete’s questions about her relationship with languages and the written word in her childhood   At about 13:40, Pete asks Namrata about how her ancestral lands of Rajahstan and the Tar Desert   At about 15:30, Pete uses the famous Toni Morrison quote in asking Namrata about representation and its connection to her own book; Namrata expands upon her early assigned reading and the “divorce” between colonized readings and the English she heard in her daily life   At about 18:10, Namrata lists writers who inspired her in her younger days; she cites both writers with colonial and non-colonial foci, including her “first brush…with the world of literature” in America’s Children by Rushdie   At about 25:35, The two discuss Frantz Fanon and him as part of the tradition/”legacy” that has inspired Namrata   At about 27:25, Namrata lists and describes some of the many countless writers who thrill and inspire her, including Natalie Diaz and Melissa Febos, and Imani Perry   At about 30:10, The two discuss Sandra Cisneros’ skill and standout stories   At about 31:15, Namrata reflects on the title’s myriad meanings for her book Border Less    At about 34:20, Pete notes the clever book structure and asks Namrata to talk about how she labels her book and why; she notes ideas of “fragments” coming from many non-Western traditions, and how her epigraph from Edouard Glisaant relates   At about 40:25, Pete wonders about the story 9/12 and talks about the alchemy of what makes it a great story/chapter; he asks Namrata what she thinks the story “accomplishes” and she connects the chapter to other parts of the book   At about 43:30, The two discuss the dynamics of the dynamic first story, and Pete   At about 44:50, The two discuss the “Ladies Special” chapter and Pete notes Mumbai serving as a character on its own, and Namrata discusses the myriad significance of som many parts of the story    At about 50:10, Pete notes some salient themes, including financial issues and class divisions, from the book, and Pete highlights      At about 55:00, The two discuss ideas of stability and independence, and Pete shares a simple but powerful quote from the book   At about 56:00, Namrata expands on the hyphens that mark those in the Indian Diaspora and differing views of, and experiences with, a return to India   At about 59:45, Pete discusses ideas of connectedness and ancestral ties    At about 1:00:30, Namrata outlines the paradox that is set up with families that are scattered “yet find family in each other,” as well as the evolving definition of “family”   At about 1:03:10, The two discuss the significance of the haveli that has been in Día’s family for generations    At about 1:04:00, Namrata responds to Pete’s questions about continuity in the book and writing a book that is a family saga that spreads out over many decades and multiple generations   At about 1:07:40, Namrata and Pete discuss Ricki, Día, and other strong female characters who buck the traditional gender roles and Ricki’s father’s nostalgic writing At about 1:10, Namrata gives her rationale for ending the book with a chapter that she uses    You can now subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and leave me a five-star review. You can also ask for the podcast by name using Alexa, and find the pod on Stitcher, Spotify, and on Amazon Music. Follow me on IG, where I’m @chillsatwillpodcast, or on Twitter, where I’m @chillsatwillpo1. You can watch other episodes on YouTube-watch and subscribe to The Chills at Will Podcast Channel. Please subscribe to both my YouTube Channel and my podcast while you’re checking out this episode.     Sign up now for The Chills at Will Podcast Patreon: it can be found at patreon.com/chillsatwillpodcastpeterriehl     Check out the page that describes the benefits of a Patreon membership, including cool swag and bonus episodes. Thanks in advance for supporting my one-man show, my DIY podcast and my extensive reading, research, editing, and promoting to keep this independent podcast pumping out high-quality content!    This is a passion project of mine, a DIY operation, and I’d love for your help in promoting what I’m convinced is a unique and spirited look at an often-ignored art form.    The intro song for The Chills at Will Podcast is “Wind Down” (Instrumental Version), and the other song played on this episode was “Hoops” (Instrumental)” by Matt Weidauer, and both songs are used through ArchesAudio.com.    Please tune in for Episode 157 with Ilana Masad. Ilana is a queer Israeli-American writer of fiction, nonfiction, and criticism; her work has appeared in The New Yorker, New York Times, LA Times, and many more; she is the author of the critically-acclaimed and awarded novel All My Mother’s Lovers.     The episode will air on December 20.