Welcome to 500 Words, a letter about indie publishing, artificial intelligence, and the creative process. Though I write about AI, I'm not an AI fanboy. I'm interested in interrogating IA, which means I'm going to question all of its basic assumptions. The reason for this is that I am a recovering early adopter, meaning that once I was an enthusiastic grabber and tester of all new technology. But I've become more skeptical of the bright, shiny tech object, and I question the motives of the peopl...
Dec 19, 2024•5 min•Ep. 34
Welcome to 500 Words. When I worked as a news writer and producer, I acquired a habit that I am now trying to break. Back then, every day, I churned through as many print and internet sources as I could get my eyes on. Now, the more news I read, the worse I feel. In the episode, I go on to talk about how I've tried to change my news input habits. In INTERROGATING AI, I cover Pokemon Go's data grab, Jerry Garcia's immortal voice, and the influx of VC funding into a startup that is developing auto...
Nov 22, 2024•5 min•Ep. 33
Well, that didn't go well. A majority of Americans have voted for hate, choosing a criminal to lead us. It feels like a day, or a few days, or maybe a whole week to dip into despair or try to recharge. I have given some time over to despairing and mourning, and now I'm working on the recharge. Can there be dialogue in our divided land? Is it worth it to try reaching across the aisle?
Nov 10, 2024•2 min•Ep. 32
A moment for station identification for new readers and listeners: 500 Words is a weekly-ish newsletter with two regular columns: INTERROGATING AI, which examines our use of artificial intelligence, and BLURBOMATIC, a monthly curated list of book reviews. I'll also keep you updated about books I'm publishing, productions in progress, new courses and trainings, and podcasts I'm launching or publicizing. I have made a point of writing about productive uses for AI, like using a chatbot as a writing...
Oct 18, 2024•5 min•Ep. 31
There are many AI unknowns this week. To sort them out, let's follow the money. OpenAI is restructuring from a non-profit to a for-profit company. Its Chief Technology Officer, Mia Murati, announced that she's leaving. Murati played a pivotal role in getting OpenAI CEO Sam Altman booted from the company last year, and she briefly became its CEO in his absence. Then, with Microsoft's financial backing, Altman regained control over the company. Whatever power struggles occurred behind the scenes, ...
Sep 27, 2024•4 min•Ep. 30
Hey, you human? Prove it. With more AI-generated slop that I can handle on my screens these days, I say it's time to issue online credentials that will prove that you're a human being. We have driver's licenses to prove who we are when we get behind the wheel, and we have passports to prove who we are when we cross a border. You need a photo ID to buy a gun. On the internet, you can be a dog, and nobody would know. I listened today to a couple of bots doing their own podcast, and they were prett...
Sep 20, 2024•4 min•Ep. 29
Not only are people buying more books, but they are also talking about them more often, in more venues. BookTok helped sell about 20 million books in 2021, more than 2.4% of book sales for that year. The #booktok hashtag has more than 200 billion views on TikTok, which is like saying every person in the world has viewed the hashtag 25 times. Confession: I've never looked at that hashtag in its home environment, on TikTok. I'm not interested in another blippy platform. I'm looking instead for lon...
Sep 13, 2024•4 min•Ep. 28
Hello, and welcome to 500 Words. It didn't seem that long ago that the experts said that nobody would buy physical books anymore. Well, Barnes & Noble is thriving, on track to open 58 new stores this year. That's the fastest pace the company has set for openings since 2009. Physical books are winning in the age of social media, aided *by* social media, like Facebook, TikTok and the popular #booktok hashtag. The new Barnes & Noble stores will be coming to New Orleans, Northbook, IL, Conro...
Aug 30, 2024•3 min•Ep. 27
How can you be sure I'm me and you're you? I'm asking because a person's vocal identity is hard to verify online, even if you know their voice well. Synthetic speech generation has gotten so good, it's close to impossible to tag a voice as real just by listening to it. Earlier this year, New Hampshire voters received a robocall that sounded like Joe Biden. Biden's voice told them to “save your vote for November,” encouraging them not to vote in the presidential primary. Doesn't sound like someth...
Aug 23, 2024•4 min•Ep. 26
Let's consider actors' voices as uncommon instruments, ready to fit vastly different roles and build big emotions with the smallest nuances of expression. Voice actors are hired on productions because their voice can be heavy as gravel or light as a butterfly. These voices may be virtually transparent to you, as you hear them narrating commercials, reading audiobooks, playing characters in animation and video games, and playing roles in podcasts. Some are famous, like Claire Danes and Maggie Gyl...
Aug 16, 2024•5 min•Ep. 25
An announcement about a new feature of the newsletter, Interrogating AI , your guide to collaborating with AI. Also, the new podcast is starting, and you can get your voice into it. Leave a comment at https://memo.fm/thefuturelab/ and we might play it on the air.
Aug 08, 2024•6 min•Ep. 24
Since I've been working on distributing my new book, I have been thinking about libraries. This summer, our family has been visiting our local library nearly every week. I'm researching a young audiences project with my youngest son as my consultant. He is a speedy reader--the other day we brought home a shopping bag of books that he will have read in a week. He is my database of YA storylines, characters, and themes. When we couldn't find a YA book in our local branch library, all we had to do ...
Aug 04, 2024•4 min•Ep. 23
Since I can't keep up with all the output *500 Words* requires on a weekly basis, I've brought in a collaborator, one with BIG ideas. They have written for Time, Place, Apple News, Pear News, Apricot, Fox, and Raccoon, but actually, I'm not sure, because they tend to make things up. Their résumé is a mile long, and they have ten pages of Google results, and they are offensive sometimes, but hell, I need the clicks. Also, a look back into the archives, for an essay called "Espresso." Creators &am...
Jul 26, 2024•6 min•Ep. 22
Navigating anxiety, embracing climate fiction, and preparing for a paywall in this edition of 500 Words.
Jul 18, 2024•4 min•Ep. 21
This is an audio version of 500 Words - Issue 81 - Let's enter the Flow State. It is read by Lee Schneider. Creative work starts with a flow state. A flow state is a state of focused attention that often leads to a sense of effortless peak performance. In a flow state, time melts away, and you can lose track of it, you push aside distractions, and self-doubt doesn't exist. Dropping “into the zone” like that can't be forced, but it can be cultivated. Here are a few ways I try to get there when I'...
Jul 17, 2024•5 min•Ep. 20
I'm writing today to celebrate the official publication of my second novel, Resist. It went live yesterday on Amazon, with more platforms to follow. It's been a journey, like running a marathon, and it's not over yet. (I'm writing a third novel now.) I'm grateful for everyone who has supported me in this, especially my wife, Tabby. Writing novels is an idea that I've had for myself since I was about nineteen, so this is a high point in work and life, and I'm happy to share it with you....
Jul 01, 2024•2 min•Ep. 19
This is an audio version of 500 Words - Issue 79 - Climate Positivity Have you heard that climate change is your fault? It's your fault that you drive a gas-guzzling car, overheat your home, run your air conditioner, travel by air, and make scrambled eggs on your gas-fired stove top. That's why we're in a climate crisis now. It's all you. But that's not true. The real evildoers are the fossil fuel companies. Read by Lee Schneider.
Jun 27, 2024•5 min•Ep. 18
Blurbs. You see them on the back of books. You see them in movie ads. Now, here they are in my newsletter. They're everywhere! Not really, but a few kind folks have blurbed my next book, Resist.
Jun 19, 2024•4 min•Ep. 17
500 Words is an ongoing conversation with creative people. We've profiled composers, photographers, and labyrinth makers. As we prepare our next short run of fiction for the web, we're featuring short-form conversations between father and son. Subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts. Subscribe to 500 Words .
Mar 22, 2021•2 min•Ep. 16
In this episode of Now Here’s Something, Bodhi and I go deep for three minutes about the dilemma we all face now: screen or paper. If you’re just joining me on the 500 Words journey, I’m posting a podcast as I work up the next numbered series of very short short story posts written exclusively for this newsletter. If you want to receive the posts in the order they are created, consider subscribing. Bodhi is my youngest son. He is eight. There have already been two fiction series posted on this b...
Mar 07, 2021•4 min•Ep. 15
Hello! During the last few months in this space, I’ve been posting a series of short-form stories from the future . I need to give the time machine a little rest (those things can overheat if used every day) and I need a little time to write up the ideas for the next short-form series. So, during this period of incubation and fermentation, I’d like to present a podcast. Bodhi, my youngest son, and I have recorded some blips that I hope you will enjoy. The first one asks the important question, “...
Feb 26, 2021•3 min•Ep. 14
Sure, I write short-form essays for the web right here on 500 Words. I’m working on one today to share with you. I’m also the co-founder of a futurist network called FutureX. This week, we’re hosting an event about the future of school and work online. Spending so much more time on screens might be going well for you — or not. We’ve assembled an all-star group to discuss what’s coming next in school and work and answer your questions. It’s free. Click here for more information and to register. G...
Sep 28, 2020•55 sec•Ep. 13
Editor’s note: This is a guest podcast by Bodhi Schneider. He is eight. He’s also my son. He wrote the script and composed the music. How the climate crisis affects the food chain Hello, I am Bodhi Schneider and I’m gonna teach you how the climate crisis affects the food chain. First, do you know what climate change is? If you don’t hear is what it is: climate change can do a lot of damage. it is caused by greenhouse gases which include carbon dioxide and methane. These gases trap heat inside of...
Jul 31, 2020•1 min•Ep. 12
This week's call is with Vikram Chandra, novelist, software developer, and deep thinker about the creative process. I first discovered his work when I read his bestseller Geek Sublime: The Beauty of Code, the Code of Beauty, a book about the creative drives and lives shared by writers and coders. One of the book's most mind- blowing sections (I am re-reading it this week) is about the precision of Sanskrit as a language. In 500 BCE, a scholar named Panini wrote a grammar of Sanskrit that fit in ...
Aug 04, 2019•17 min•Ep. 11
In this special on-location edition of the podcast, Ady Floyd, a senior research manager at Trendhunter , shares her ideas and tips about creating a keynote speech. With 20,000,000 monthly views, TrendHunter.com is the world's largest, most popular trend community. The Toronto-based group leverages big data, human researchers, and AI to identify consumer insights and deep-dive opportunities for the world's most innovative companies. In exchange for recording this podcast and writing about them, ...
Jul 21, 2019•10 min•Ep. 10
This week's' conversation is with Adrian Fisher. This is a man who believes in the power of the rough pencil sketch. He believes in having control, but not. My art form is parallel rows of things. -- Adrian Fisher He is a maze designer. I can't seem to get enough of interviews with people who design and construct mazes, so you'll indulge me? Thanks. I think there is a parallel between creating mazes and writing stories and almost got Adrian to go along with the idea, but not quite. He was helpfu...
Jul 14, 2019•13 min•Ep. 9
This week's phone call is with David Tolzmann. David is the founder of The Labyrinth Company , which designs and builds walkable labyrinths in all media. He’s designed and crafted labyrinths in churches, medical centers, hospices, friaries, retreat centers, and schools, and for spiritual counselors, businesses, and individual homeowners all over the world. He made his first labyrinth nearly 25 years ago because a church group asked him to recreate a version of the world’s best-known labyrinth. “...
Jun 30, 2019•11 min•Ep. 8
This week’s interview is with Christina Dunbar, who has said, “Our culture is starving for story, for vulnerability, for truth telling, for personal story. Story creates meaning and we have a lack of meaning right now in the world.” Christina Dunbar is a storyteller, director, and producer of women’s stories for stage and film. She is star of the one-woman show, Dirty Me Divine. Christina is the founder of RED, a circle for performing artists, and creator of She Takes The Stage, a one-of-a- kind...
Jun 16, 2019•13 min•Ep. 7
Sound Designer Jeremy J. Lee This week's call is with Jeremy J. Lee, a sound designer. He's worked in theater productions and we talk about his adventures in podcasting. He's really proud of the sound design work he did for a podcast called Video Palace that was written and produced by the folks behind Blair Witch Project. Like that movie, Video Palace uses the concept of "found footage," media materials that seem like they were discovered out in the world, but were actually created in a studio....
Jun 02, 2019•13 min•Ep. 6
This week's interview is with Bobbi Lane, who has said memorably, "If you don’t have a concept then you don’t have a picture." What she means is that all the photographic technique in the world isn’t going to do you any good if you don’t have an idea for your image. Bobbi is an award-winning commercial photographer specializing in creative portraits on location and in the studio. Her corporate and editorial work includes corporate websites, annual reports, and hundreds of environmental portraits...
May 19, 2019•17 min•Ep. 5
