In the second half of this file, The Guardian writer, psychology journalist, and author of the critically acclaimed book The Antidote: Happiness for People Who Can’t Stand Positive Thinking, Oliver Burkeman, dropped by the program to talk to me about the writer’s journey, turning a weekly column into a book, and rethinking positive thinking. Rainmaker.FM is Brought to You By Discover why more than 80,000 companies in 135 countries choose WP Engine for managed WordPress hosting. Start getting mor...
Mar 14, 2017•26 min•Transcript available on Metacast The Guardian writer, psychology journalist, and author of the critically acclaimed book The Antidote: Happiness for People Who Can’t Stand Positive Thinking, Oliver Burkeman, dropped by the program to talk to me about the writer’s journey, turning a weekly column into a book, and rethinking positive thinking. Rainmaker.FM is Brought to You By Discover why more than 80,000 companies in 135 countries choose WP Engine for managed WordPress hosting. Start getting more from your site today!Oliver wri...
Mar 07, 2017•26 min•Transcript available on Metacast In the second half of this file, the psychology and culture journalist, editor, and author of the recent book The Power of Meaning, Emily Esfahani Smith, returned to talk to me about the writing life and why our search for meaning is so important right now. Rainmaker.FM is Brought to You By Discover why more than 80,000 companies in 135 countries choose WP Engine for managed WordPress hosting. Start getting more from your site today!Emily has an M.A. in applied positive psychology, and in additi...
Feb 28, 2017•24 min•Transcript available on Metacast The psychology and culture journalist, editor, and author of the recent book The Power of Meaning, Emily Esfahani Smith, stopped by the show this week to talk to me about the writing life and why our search for meaning is so important right now. Rainmaker.FM is Brought to You By Discover why more than 80,000 companies in 135 countries choose WP Engine for managed WordPress hosting. Start getting more from your site today!Emily has an M.A. in applied positive psychology, and in addition to being ...
Feb 21, 2017•23 min•Transcript available on Metacast In Part Two of this interview, award-winning screenwriter and author of the debut novel All Our Wrong Todays, Elan Mastai, returned to talk about his fiction debut, the science of time travel, and finding inspiration in dark places. The writer and producer has written movies for both indie and Hollywood studios, including scripts for Fox, Sony, Warner Brothers, and Paramount. His most recent film – What If, a comedy starring Daniel Radcliffe, Zoe Kazan, Adam Driver, and Mackenzie Davis – premier...
Feb 07, 2017•35 min•Transcript available on Metacast This is a special edition of the show where we take a glimpse behind the scenes at how we produce the program, and the people responsible for it. As Rainmaker.FM approaches it’s 2nd anniversary, I thought it apropos to examine how we got here. This is going to be fun! It may seem like I’m just a guy in a garage – like so many podcasters – who interviews writers and then frantically scrambles to produce the show in the margins of my real job as a multimedia producer for Rainmaker Digital. I do ho...
Jan 31, 2017•1 hr 6 min•Transcript available on Metacast The award-winning screenwriter and author of the debut novel All Our Wrong Todays, Elan Mastai, dropped by the show this week to talk about his fiction debut, the science of time travel, and finding inspiration in dark places. The writer and producer has written movies for both indie and Hollywood studios, including scripts for Fox, Sony, Warner Brothers, and Paramount. His most recent film – What If, a comedy starring Daniel Radcliffe, Zoe Kazan, Adam Driver, and Mackenzie Davis – premiered at ...
Jan 24, 2017•35 min•Transcript available on Metacast In Part Two of this file the writer and managing editor of Francis Ford Coppola’s award-winning magazine Zoetrope: All-Story, Manjula Martin, returns to the show this week to talk about her new book and “…the realities of making a living in the writing world.” Manjula is the founder of the website Who Pays Writers?, an invaluable service dedicated to helping freelance writers anonymously share current publication rates and their experiences getting paid. As managing editor of Zoetrope: All-Story...
Jan 17, 2017•25 min•Transcript available on Metacast The writer and managing editor of Francis Ford Coppola’s award-winning magazine Zoetrope: All-Story, Manjula Martin, paid a visit to the show this week to talk about her new book and “…the realities of making a living in the writing world.” Manjula is the founder of the website Who Pays Writers?, an invaluable service dedicated to helping freelance writers anonymously share current publication rates and their experiences getting paid. As managing editor of Zoetrope: All-Story magazine, a title t...
Jan 09, 2017•23 min•Transcript available on Metacast The business and culture journalist and bestselling author of the recent book The Revenge of Analog, David Sax, returned to the show to talk about the writing life, the importance of real things in a digital world, and the revenge of paper. David is a freelance writer whose work has appeared in Bloomberg Businessweek, The New York Times, The New Yorker online, and other publications. The author’s first book, Save the Deli, was an Los Angeles Times bestseller and won the James Beard Award for Wri...
Dec 19, 2016•36 min•Transcript available on Metacast The business and culture journalist and bestselling author of the recent book The Revenge of Analog, David Sax, dropped by the show to talk about the writing life, the importance of real things in a digital world, and the revenge of paper. David is a freelance writer whose work has appeared in Bloomberg Businessweek, The New York Times, The New Yorker online, and other publications. The author’s first book, Save the Deli, was an Los Angeles Times bestseller and won the James Beard Award for Writ...
Dec 12, 2016•33 min•Transcript available on Metacast The multiple New York Times bestselling author of The Blue Zones books and National Geographic Fellow, Dan Buettner, dropped by the show to talk about his world travels, life-saving longevity research, and some fantastic advice for writers. The author is an internationally recognized explorer who discovered five places in the world — called Blue Zones — where humans live the longest and healthiest, and his 2005 National Geographic cover story “The Secrets of Living Longer” was a finalist for a N...
Dec 05, 2016•37 min•Transcript available on Metacast The co-creator and co-writer of the #1 international hit podcast Welcome to Night Vale and New York Times bestselling co-author of the novel of same name, Jeffrey Cranor, dropped by the show to talk about the importance of collaboration, deadlines, and bad writing. In addition to producing and touring with the theater ensemble The New York Neo-Futurists, the playwright and author tours with live shows for the Night Vale Presents production banner, co-created with Joseph Fink. Night Vale Presents...
Nov 28, 2016•37 min•Transcript available on Metacast The co-creator and co-writer of the #1 international hit podcast Welcome to Night Vale and New York Times bestselling co-author of the novel of same name, Jeffrey Cranor, dropped by the show to talk about the importance of collaboration, deadlines, and bad writing. In addition to producing and touring with the theater ensemble The New York Neo-Futurists, the playwright and author tours with live shows for the Night Vale Presents production banner, co-created with Joseph Fink. Night Vale Presents...
Nov 21, 2016•34 min•Transcript available on Metacast Literary scholar, publishing consultant, and co-author of the critically acclaimed book The Bestseller Code, Jodie Archer dropped by to chat with me about her journey, the coming revolution in publishing, and the insecurities that all writers face. Rainmaker.FM is Brought to You By Discover why more than 80,000 companies in 135 countries choose WP Engine for managed WordPress hosting. Start getting more from your site today!Before earning her PhD from Stanford, Ms. Archer studied English at Camb...
Nov 14, 2016•29 min•Transcript available on Metacast Literary scholar, publishing consultant, and co-author of the critically acclaimed book The Bestseller Code, Jodie Archer dropped by to chat with me about her journey, the coming revolution in publishing, and the insecurities that all writers face. Rainmaker.FM is Brought to You By Discover why more than 80,000 companies in 135 countries choose WP Engine for managed WordPress hosting. Start getting more from your site today!Before earning her PhD from Stanford, Ms. Archer studied English at Camb...
Nov 07, 2016•27 min•Transcript available on Metacast International bestselling sci-fi and thriller novelist and screenwriter, Blake Crouch, took time-out from his busy schedule to talk to me about his mind-bending new book Dark Matter, and adapting his work for both film and TV. Rainmaker.FM is Brought to You By Discover why more than 80,000 companies in 135 countries choose WP Engine for managed WordPress hosting. Start getting more from your site today!The hybrid author has penned more than a dozen novels that have been translated into over 30 l...
Oct 31, 2016•24 min•Transcript available on Metacast International bestselling sci-fi and thriller novelist and screenwriter, Blake Crouch, took time-out from his busy schedule to talk to me about his mind-bending new book Dark Matter, and adapting his work for both film and TV. Rainmaker.FM is Brought to You By Discover why more than 80,000 companies in 135 countries choose WP Engine for managed WordPress hosting. Start getting more from your site today!The hybrid author has penned more than a dozen novels that have been translated into over 30 l...
Oct 24, 2016•25 min•Transcript available on Metacast The #1 New York Times bestselling author of 12 books, Jennifer Weiner, took a few minutes to talk with me about the writer’s life, her new memoir, and Revenge of the Nerds. Rainmaker.FM is Brought to You By Discover why more than 80,000 companies in 135 countries choose WP Engine for managed WordPress hosting. Start getting more from your site today!Before her prolific career as a novelist, Ms. Weiner started out as a small town newspaper reporter and freelancer, before signing her first big boo...
Oct 17, 2016•25 min•Transcript available on Metacast The #1 New York Times bestselling author of 12 books, Jennifer Weiner, took a few minutes to talk with me about the writer’s life, her new memoir, and Revenge of the Nerds. Rainmaker.FM is Brought to You By Discover why more than 80,000 companies in 135 countries choose WP Engine for managed WordPress hosting. Start getting more from your site today!Prior to her prolific career as a novelist, Ms. Weiner started out as a small town newspaper reporter and freelancer, before signing her first big b...
Oct 10, 2016•28 min•Transcript available on Metacast In this special edition of the show, two writers joined me to opine the death of one of the most influential forms in the history of the written word. I posed the question that many great writers have pondered stretching across the last two centuries … Rainmaker.FM is Brought to You By Discover why more than 80,000 companies in 135 countries choose WP Engine for managed WordPress hosting. Start getting more from your site today!Is the novel dead? And maybe a more up-to-date version of that quest...
Oct 03, 2016•38 min•Transcript available on Metacast In this special edition of the show, two writers joined me to opine the death of one of the most influential forms in the history of the written word. I posed the question that many great writers have pondered stretching across the last two centuries … Of course these are famous — almost cliche — theoretical discussions that writers often chew on over stiff drinks, and they raise hackles for those of us who adore them. What you won’t find here is a highbrow literary dissertation, or even a very ...
Sep 26, 2016•35 min•Transcript available on Metacast Before kicking off the next season of the show, we wanted to share with you some highlights from our previous seasons. I don’t want to shortchange the most recent interviews with inspiring guests including Jay McInerney (’80s defining author of Bright Lights, Big City), Stephanie Danler (the bestselling author of Sweetbitter), the co-founder of Wired magazine Kevin Kelly, or How Neuroscientist Michael Grybko Defined Writer’s Block for us. But I do want to dig into the archives with you and pull ...
Sep 19, 2016•34 min•Transcript available on Metacast The bestselling author of 11 books, including the eighties defining Bright Lights, Big City, Jay McInerney, took a break to chat with me about his new book, the writing process, and some timeless tips from his mentor, Raymond Carver. Vanity Fair called Mr. McInerney “Our modern-day Fitzgerald,” and his most recent book — Bright, Precious Days — is described as “… a sexy, vibrant, cross-generational New York story — a literary and commercial triumph of the highest order.” The author is a renowned...
Aug 29, 2016•24 min•Transcript available on Metacast The bestselling author of 11 books, including the eighties defining Bright Lights, Big City, Jay McInerney, took a break to chat with me about his new book, the writing process, and some timeless tips from his mentor, Raymond Carver. Vanity Fair called Mr. McInerney “Our modern-day Fitzgerald,” and his most recent book — Bright, Precious Days — is described as “… a sexy, vibrant, cross-generational New York story — a literary and commercial triumph of the highest order.” The author is a renowned...
Aug 22, 2016•24 min•Transcript available on Metacast The instant national bestselling author of the acclaimed debut novel Sweetbitter, Stephanie Danler, stopped by the show to chat with me about her not-so-overnight success as a rising literary star. Ms. Danler signed a six-figure deal with Knopf for her first book, the coming-of-age story of a young woman transplanted into New York City’s upscale, cutthroat restaurant world. Bestselling author Jay McInerney called Sweetbitter “… a stunning debut novel, one that seems destined to help define a gen...
Aug 15, 2016•32 min•Transcript available on Metacast The instant national bestselling author of the acclaimed debut novel Sweetbitter, Stephanie Danler, stopped by the show to chat with me about her not-so-overnight success as a rising literary star. Ms. Danler signed a six-figure deal with Knopf for her first book, the coming-of-age story of a young woman transplanted into New York City’s upscale, cutthroat restaurant world. Bestselling author Jay McInerney called Sweetbitter “… a stunning debut novel, one that seems destined to help define a gen...
Aug 08, 2016•30 min•Transcript available on Metacast New York Times bestselling author and co-founder of Wired magazine, Kevin Kelly, stopped by the show to chat with me about his journey from travel journalist to famed futurist. Mr. Kelly’s storied and winding career has taken him around the world in search of visions of the new digital frontier. Kevin is a renowned TED speaker and author of multiple bestsellers including his latest, The Inevitable: Understanding the 12 Technological Forces That Will Shape Our Future, a title that offers an optim...
Aug 01, 2016•36 min•Transcript available on Metacast New York Times bestselling author and co-founder of Wired magazine, Kevin Kelly, stopped by the show to chat with me about his journey from travel journalist to famed futurist. Mr. Kelly’s storied and winding career has taken him around the world in search of visions of the new digital frontier. Kevin is a renowned TED speaker and author of multiple bestsellers including his latest, The Inevitable: Understanding the 12 Technological Forces That Will Shape Our Future, a title that offers an optim...
Jul 25, 2016•36 min•Transcript available on Metacast Welcome to another guest segment of ‘The Writer’s Brain’ where we pick the brain of a neuroscientist about the elements of great writing. This week’s show covers some possible origins and solutions to an ailment known only to writers. Research scientist Michael Grybko, of the Department of Psychology at the University of Washington, returned to help me pinpoint the mysteries of writer’s block from a scientific standpoint. If you missed the first three installments of The Writer’s Brain — on How ...
Jul 18, 2016•34 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
