As a first-generation college student, Camille Pagan thought she’d study medicine. She ended up writing about health and then penned her first novel after the birth of her daughter, selling it at auction in a six-figure deal. But all was not easy after that. While Camille has enjoyed a hearty career as the bestselling author of eight novels, she endured ups, downs and redirects along the way and now guides other writers in staying the course to build success as an author. In the latest episode o...
Jan 27, 2023•35 min•Ep. 135
What began as penance for speeding has become a beloved radio show-turned-podcast called Simply Scottish that allows writer Andrew McDiarmid to stay connected to his heritage and his homeland. “Being an immigrant has enriched my life,” says Andrew, who emigrated to the United States from Scotland at the age of 11 and straddles cultures and countries in his identity and his affiliations. In the latest episode of the Make Meaning Podcast , host Lynne Golodner interviews Andrew McDiarmid about the ...
Jan 13, 2023•33 min•Ep. 134
In her latest poetry collection, Sara Henning tries to make meaning of grief, after losing her mother to metastatic colon cancer. “I lost my center,” Sara says, and Terra Incognita is her way to regain a firm stance on this earth. In this episode, Sara does a live reading of her poem “Queening” around the 25-minute mark. In the latest episode of the Make Meaning Podcast , host Lynne Golodner interviews Sara Henning about where poetry comes from, how to let the soul speak and how to keep on livin...
Dec 30, 2022•46 min•Ep. 133
Episode 132 – Merryn Glover – Literary Fiction about Place Merryn Glover writes literary fiction from the Scottish Highlands , deep into the Cairngorm Mountains. Her lyrical prose invokes place and relationship in gorgeous ways, her words rising from the page to attach to the reader’s heart. Born in Kathmandu and raised in Nepal, Pakistan and India, Merryn is the daughter of Australian missionaries and moved to Scotland after she met the love of her life. In the latest episode of the Make Meanin...
Dec 16, 2022•55 min•Ep. 132
Weina Randel emigrated to the United States from China at the age of 24, switching from her native Chinese to English, as she began to write fiction. She wrote a duology about China’s first and only female emperor, Wu Zetian , and then penned a truly stunning historical novel called The Last Rose of Shanghai , about a love story between a Chinese woman and a Jewish refugee in Shanghai during World War II. In the latest episode of the Make Meaning Podcast , host Lynne Golodner interviews Weina Ra...
Dec 02, 2022•32 min
Merle Saferstein has been journaling since 1974, so when she decided to comb through her nearly 400 journals to create a book, she knew it would not be an easy endeavor. It has taken the better part of the last two decades to create LIVING AND LEAVING MY LEGACY, volume 1 , which debuted in June 2022 to much acclaim. Volume 2 will be published in June 2023. In the latest episode of the Make Meaning Podcast , host Lynne Golodner interviews Merle Saferstein – the first guest to make a repeat appear...
Nov 18, 2022•41 min
Rosina Lippi writes under her own name and under the pseudonym Sara Donati, and her Wilderness series of six historical novels is some of the most gorgeous fiction you’ll ever read. A former linguistics professor, Rosina has been writing for decades and built quite a following, even as the publishing industry has changed. In the latest episode of the Make Meaning Podcast , host Lynne Golodner interviews Rosina Lippi about how to make fiction your career, frustrations with book marketing, and how...
Nov 04, 2022•48 min
Imagine starting a company to give yourself an income source that is compatible with your role as a mom of small children. And then, as that company grows, realizing your role is really about creating opportunities for others – providing meaningful, flexible work, access to great content and guidance to reach goals and grow influence. And then, 10 years in, you write a book about everything you learned and have an early reader community of more than 400 people who are chomping at the bit to read...
Jun 30, 2022•35 min
So many writers say they write to figure out what they believe or make sense of a situation. Ly Tran says she writes to overcome self-doubt and to celebrate her voice. More than that, she says her words connect her to others, and the best part of putting a book in the world is the feedback she gets from readers who say that her story touched them in a deep and meaningful way. In the latest episode of the Make Meaning Podcast , host Lynne Golodner interviews Ly Tran about her memoir, House of Sti...
Jun 17, 2022•29 min
Do you do fun things often? Do you take risks? Are you connected to a community that makes you feel good about who you are? These are essential elements of a healthy life, according to Dr. Indigo Willing , who started skateboarding in her 40s, after finishing her PhD and becoming a “mum.” It was something she always wanted to do but never thought it was open to her – and now she’s not only great on the board, she’s a global role model for creating access for all who want to hop on. In the latest...
Jun 03, 2022•28 min
Sometimes inspiration comes from sources very close to home. While spending more time with his family during the Covid-19 pandemic, Jeffrey was inspired to pass on his experience and values to younger generations by writing a children’s book starring his own grandchildren, I Don’t Want to Turn 3 . In the latest episode of the Make Meaning Podcast , host Lynne Golodner interviews Gramps Jeffrey about his business background, his transition from entrepreneur to author of children’s books, and why ...
May 27, 2022•16 min
As a young woman, Dorit Sasson moved to Israel and served in the Israel Defense Forces as a lone soldier. After 18 years, Dorit returned to the United States, and those decisions, along with the details of her life in both places, inspired two memoirs about straddling cultures, languages, and definitions of home. In the latest episode of the Make Meaning Podcast , Dorit speaks with host Lynne Golodner about her books, Accidental Solider and Sand and Steel , which were driven by her determination...
May 13, 2022•25 min
It took 10 years for Karen Baum Gordon to write and publish her memoir, The Last Letter: A father’s struggle, a daughter’s quest, and the long shadow of the Holocaust , under the guidance of a friend who was an editor at McGraw-Hill . The book explores generations of her family through letters, while grappling with the ancestral trauma and psychological legacy of terror, genocide and persecution. In the latest episode of the Make Meaning Podcast , Karen speaks with host Lynne Golodner about the ...
Apr 29, 2022•26 min
The colonizing of America separated Indigenous people from their nourishing “ first foods ,” plant and animal species that native communities relied upon for subsistence, ceremony and medicine. More than a decade ago, the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community (KBIC) , Michigan Technological University (MTU) , and the Western UP Planning and Development Region came together to create a space that celebrated and preserved the knowledge and cultural identity of tribal people living in Michigan’s Upper Peni...
Apr 15, 2022•26 min
Stephanie Steinberg always knew she wanted to be a writer. From a young age, she chased her creative nature, which led her to become a published author, a successful journalist, and an inspiring entrepreneur. In the latest episode of the Make Meaning Podcast , Stephanie speaks with host Lynne Golodner about their passion for their alma mater (University of Michigan), Stephanie’s two books , her experience as editor-in-chief of the Michigan Daily at the University of Michigan (where Lynne was a s...
Mar 15, 2022•24 min•Ep. 121
Jacqueline Suskin has been a poet all her life. It’s something she was born with, she says, and this passion for poetry has led her to build a career where people pay her to write poems about their experiences, their longings, their celebrations, and their desires. In the latest episode of the Make Meaning Podcast , Jacqueline speaks with host Lynne Golodner about Poem Store , the entrepreneurial venture she created in 2009 by taking a typewriter to public spaces and writing spontaneous poems fo...
Feb 14, 2022•35 min
Noor A’wad and Rabbi Hanan Schlesinger may have come to the question of how Palestinians and Israelis can co-exist on land that they both claim as sacred from different perspectives, but through their work with Roots , the Palestinian Israeli Grassroots Initiative for Understanding, Nonviolence and Transformation, they are figuring out a way to share the land while respecting both communities’ claims on it. In this first episode of 2022, the Make Meaning Podcast looks at one of the world’s great...
Jan 15, 2022•39 min
Elizabeth Gowing’s life changed when she moved from London to Kosovo in 2006 for her partner's job on what was supposed to be a six-month contract. Fifteen years later, Elizabeth speaks Albanian, teaches English and leads The Ideas Partnership , an NGO that offers support to people through education, health and social welfare as well as offering literacy classes, and arts and dance sessions. Driven by a background in primary education and education policy, Elizabeth launched the nonprofit organi...
Dec 15, 2021•31 min
Steven Wingate writes to learn foundational truths such as: Who are we? And, why do we behave the way we do? A resident of South Dakota, Steven sets his novels in the center of America, known as the heartland, flyover country or a big open expanse of unbridled wilderness. He writes about this place that he calls home to showcase its beauty and its people. Two of his books, The Leave Takers and Of Fathers and Fire have found acclaim in the Nebraska Flyover Fiction series. In the latest episode of...
Nov 15, 2021•34 min
In a way, every person is a storyteller, according to Jake Neher , senior producer for Detroit Today on 101.9 FM WDET in Detroit. As co-host of the weekly series and podcast MichMash, not only does Jake have storytelling gifts, but he brings a huge passion for gardening to guide his curiosity when choosing guests and asking questions. As his radio career took him to Barrow, Alaska, New York City and finally Detroit, Jake nurtured this interest in growing things, via a little hydroponic garden in...
Oct 15, 2021•37 min
Dean Stark began working at Sacramento Waldorf School when he was 21. That was 37 years ago, and when he began, he had no intention of staying so long because he imagined he would go on to coach at bigger and bigger schools until he possibly landed an opportunity to coach college basketball. But staying was a great decision - perhaps the decision of his lifetime, Dean says. In the latest episode of the Make Meaning Podcast , Dean speaks with host Lynne Golodner about how coaching SacWaldorf team...
Sep 10, 2021•35 min
Nancy Sharp experienced an exceptional grief when her husband died from brain cancer at the age of 39, when their twins were toddlers. She eventually left New York City for Denver to start over amid the mountain air. She left a public relations career and became a Guided Autobiography instructor, as well as the author of the bestselling memoir, Both Sides Now: A True Story of Love, Loss, and Bold Living . Her writing and her work inspire resilience. In the latest episode of the Make Meaning Podc...
Aug 15, 2021•31 min
When Ramona Pintea turned 40, she decided to close her interior design business and start a new path following her true passion — art. During the beginning of the pandemic, she created a piece called Mother Earth which looks at the hope amongst all the terrible things happening. She shared it on Facebook and discovered a huge audience of supporters which spurred her to create the art series Urban Queen. In the latest episode of the Make Meaning Podcas t, Ramona speaks with host Lynne Golodner ab...
Jul 15, 2021•27 min
The reason John Wynn has built an entertainment empire and impact school children is because he begins each day with daily devotion and family check-ins. That, and the way he keeps his father’s legacy front of mind. The Reno, Nev.-based third-generation pastor and entrepreneur says he watched his father become the first African-American to host a local religious TV show and be the first Black man to sit on the Governor’s cabinet – and he knew that he would follow in his footsteps. In the latest ...
Jun 15, 2021•34 min
The coronavirus pandemic has changed the world in so many ways. For some people, the past year has led to a major shift in the work they do, either by necessity or by desire – both of which are reasons that propelled Rebecca Jeffreys to end her 35-year career as a professional flutist and launch Sprouting Health Families. In the latest episode of the Make Meaning Podcast , Rebecca speaks with host Lynne Golodner about how she turned her journey parenting a child with autism into an effort to sup...
May 31, 2021•21 min
Margaret Trimer has created a varied and fascinating career with a focus on building educational opportunities for children and girding communities with value and voice. She does this, she says, by following her personal core values. Beginning at the Detroit Free Press as a reporter covering education, Margaret has moved through roles as founder and director of one of the highest performing charter school districts in the region, president and CEO of Junior Achievement of Southeast Michigan , co...
May 17, 2021•28 min
For Michael Ziman , life has been relatively easy. He grew up enjoying the nature of the Jersey Shore, and built a career building vacation homes in his favorite place. But when the COVID-19 pandemic shut the world down last year, he started to realize how damaged nature had been by human intrusion – and how clear and beautiful it became when humans stepped away. In the latest episode of the Make Meaning Podcast , host Lynne Golodner speaks with Michael about how the pandemic inspired him to be ...
May 03, 2021•25 min•Ep. 109
The past year was a challenge in so many ways, and relationships were impacted in many ways by long lockdowns, economic turbulence, and the need to work at home while guiding children in doing school remotely. But there was a sunny side for some relationships as couples settled in to more time together without the distractions of “normal” life. While some relationships reached a breaking point during the coronavirus pandemic, many grew stronger. Research shows trends in both directions, with a f...
Apr 19, 2021•45 min
After 20 years as a teacher and school principal, Jan Tinetti knows the damage period poverty can do to young girls and women seeking to build a better life. Children as young as six would miss a week of school each month due to a lack of products to support their monthly cycle. When she became Minister for Women in the New Zealand Parliament, Jan partnered with Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern in launching an Access to Period Products pilot program in 2020 to provide free products to schools. In t...
Apr 05, 2021•31 min
When Lynne Golodner pivoted from journalism to public relations and marketing, she had a love-hate relationship with the PR field; it felt like crossing over to the dark side, she recalls. But Nancy Marshall , founder and CEO of Marshall Communications in Maine, never had such misgivings about the field of public relations. She loved it from a young age and has been thrilled with her decades-rich career in the industry. In the latest episode of the Make Meaning Podcast , Nancy speaks with host L...
Mar 22, 2021•24 min•Ep. 106
