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Podcast

Animals, Conservation, Memoir, Non Fiction, Wildlife, Writers on Writing

Jul 07: Award-winning Nature Writer Takes Us Inside A Season of Flight & Wonder

July 8, 2026

David Gessner celebrates 25th anniversary edition of Return of the Osprey.

Return of the Osprey with David Gessner

David Gessner spent his career chasing wild things with a pen – from ospreys, grizzlies, and hurricanes, to a red-tailed hawk named Flaco who captivated the hearts of New York. But it’s the osprey that changed him.

For six months, Gessner traded his desk for a bike, a kayak, and binoculars, fully immersing himself in one nesting season on his home turf of Cape Cod. The result is Return of the Osprey: A Season of Flight and Wonder, part memoir, part natural history, part love letter to a bird once called the very symbol of the New England coast.

We discuss the near-extinction of the osprey, what saved them, and why – even after their remarkable recovery – their fight for survival isn’t over. We also unpack the writer’s side of the story: How you take six months of notebooks, obsession, and raw wonder and shape it into a book so beloved it’s been reissued in a 25th-anniversary edition, with a new foreword from Helen MacDonald.

Meet David Gessner

David Gessner is the author of 14 books that blend a love of nature, humor, memoir, and environmentalism, including the New York Times bestselling, All the Wild That Remains, Return of the Osprey, Sick of Nature and Leave It As It Is. A professor at the University of North Carolina Wilmington, and the founder and Editor-in-Chief of the literary magazine, Ecotone, his writing has been featured in the New York Times Magazine, Outside, Sierra, Audubon, Orion, and more. Awards include a Pushcart Prize and the John Burroughs Award for Best Nature Essay for his essay Learning to Surf. In 2017 he hosted the National Geographic Explorer show, The Call of the Wild.

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Fiction, Magical Realism, Mystery, Writers on Writing

Jul 01: Joanne Harris Returns to the World of Chocolat with Vianne

July 1, 2026

Secrets, love, betrayal, magic, & storytelling

Vianne – A Novel with author Joanne Harris

Few writers have woven magic into everyday stories quite like Joanne Harris. The multiple award-winning, internationally bestselling author, enchanted millions with her signature blend of magical realism – including the revered Chocolat, the novel that introduced the world to Vianne Rocher.

In Vianne, Harris returns to France where it all began. Her long-awaited prequel leads us on a journey into the untold origins of one of contemporary fiction’s most unforgettable characters.

On this episode, Joanne talks craft: How she builds characters that linger long after the final page, what it takes to move fluidly across genres without losing her voice, and the storytelling instincts that have defined a career spanning decades. Plus, we learn a few surprising, fun facts about the woman behind the magic.

Meet Joanne Harris

With a French mother and English father, maybe it was a given that Joanne Harris (OBE, FRSL) would blend both worlds to create magic. While teaching fulltime Joanne published three novels, including Chocolat (1999), which was made into an Oscar-nominated film starring Juliette Binoche.

Since then, she has written more than 20 novels, plus novellas, short stories, game scripts, the libretti for two short operas, several screenplays, a stage musical (with Howard Goodall) and three cookbooks. Her books are published in over 50 countries and have won a number of British and international awards.

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Health & Wellness, Non Fiction, Personal Development, Self-help

Jun 24: How to Avoid the “At Our Age” Grumble Club with Aging Expert Dawyne Clark

June 25, 2026

Miracle Morning After 50: A Proven Path to Joy, Vitality, and Purpose for Aging Adults

The Miracle Morning After 50 with Dwayne J. Clark

“You get up in the morning, and you don’t let the old man in!” ~ Clint Eastwood

That was the actor-director’s sharp response when asked why he still worked well into his 90s. Oh, if only it were that simple, you’re thinking …

But there are ways to stay more youthful, mobile, and you can even reverse certain issues through lifestyle says aging expert Dwayne Clark.

It’s not about intensity or slowing down or narrowing your life. It’s about showing up, living with purpose, and the C-word – consistency.

Today we share some of the small changes you can make that can make a mighty difference. For example, the importance of creating and maintaining a life that you look forward to. Living well and strong. And other personal and scientific insights from The Miracle Morning After 50: A Proven Path to Joy, Vitality, and Purpose for Aging Adults including how Dwayne overhauled his own life.

Meet Dwayne J. Clark & Coauthor Hal Elrod

Dwayne J. Clark couthored The Miracle Morning After 50 with Hal Elrod, the bestselling author of the original Miracle Morning movement. As the chairman, CEO, and founder of Aegis Living, Dwayne Clark is known for redefining the industry. Hal Elrod is the bestselling author of 12 books, including The Miracle Morning, the revolutionary book that has transformed the lives of millions of people worldwide.

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Non Fiction, Psychology, Relationships, Self-help, Social Issues

Jun 10: You’d Never Join a Cult, Right? Daniella Mestyanek Young Says”You’re probably already in a cult. You just don’t know it…”

June 10, 2026

Why We Hand Our Power to High-Control Groups & How To Get It Back

The Culting of America: What Makes a Cult and Why We Love Them with Daniella Mestyanek Young

Today’s guest is a leading expert on group-think, high-control situations, corporate cultures, clubs, and some of the most insidious cults in America. She says, you might want to look at some of the organizations and people you associate with, before it’s too late.

Last time we spoke with Daniella Mestyanek Young it was about Uncultured, Daniella’s escape from the insidious Children of God cult. Today we explore some of the insights in her latest book, The Culting of America: What Makes A Cult & Why We Love Them.

We look at the difference between cults, groups, and clubs. Discuss a couple of well-known organizations and corporations that meet the 10 criteria shared by all cults. We unpack what makes cults dangerous. How to recognize the signs of high-control groups before it’s too late. And why, and how, we get sucked into them.

Meet Daniella Mestyanek Young

Daniella Mestyanek Young is a cult survivor, U.S. Army veteran, Harvard-trained organizational psychologist, and the author of two books about high-control groups—her critically- acclaimed memoir Uncultured. And her latest, The Culting of America. Born into the Children of God—the infamous sex cult known for weaponizing religion, sexuality, and isolation—Daniella escaped at 15, only to join another high-control institution: the United States Army. She became one of the first women to serve on an integrated ground combat team in Army history, while working as an intelligence officer who studied terrorists for a living. Her work sits at the intersection of leadership, identity, group psychology, and coercive control.

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Creativity, Inspirational, Non Fiction, Personal Development, Psychology, Self-help

Jun 03: You’re so close. The finish line’s in sight. Then you stop. Stall. Self-sabotage. Sound familiar?

June 4, 2026

A Deeper Dive Into Reaching The Final 8th with Bridgit Dengel Gaspard

The Final 8th: Enlist Your Inner Selves to Accomplish Your Goals with Bridgit Dengel Gaspard

If you’ve ever stopped working toward a goal you swore you wanted – a promotion, relationship, creative dream – right before it became reality, returning guest Bridgit Dengel Gaspard says: You’re not weak. You’re not broken. You’re definitely not self-destructive. You’re simply human … and not every part of you wants what you think you want.

Picking up where our last conversation ended, we drill down into Bridgit’s groundbreaking work with inner selves, exploring what it really takes to cross the finish line.

We unpack more neuroscience behind inner selves. What happens in your brain when different “parts” of you pull in different directions. How culture impacts you. How to turn your inner critic into an ally – it’s not your enemy; it’s a protector in a bad disguise.

We explore why we stay too long in jobs, relationships, and situations that no longer serve us. Inner dynamics that keep us stuck. And The Final 8th – that last stretch between where you are and where you want to be, and why it’s often the most psychologically loaded terrain of the entire journey

Meet Bridgit Dengel Gaspard

A psychotherapist, voice dialog coach, author, and founder of the NY Voice Dialogue Institute, Bridgit Dengel Gaspard has led workshops for Omega Institute, New York Open Center, and many other organizations. She’s a former performer and comic, and as therapist and voice dialogue expert, specializes in overcoming creativity blocks. The foreword to The Final 8th: Enlist Your Inner Selves to Accomplish Your Goals is written by the original creators of voice dialogue, Hal and Sidra Stone.

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Adventure, Biography, History, Journalism, Non Fiction, Writers on Writing

May 27: Triumph, Tragedy, and History’s Greatest Arctic Rescue with Buddy Levy

May 27, 2026

“Gripping account of a fatal polar adventure.” ~ Kirkus Reviews

Realm of Ice and Sky with author Buddy Levy

National Outdoor Book Award winner Buddy Levy returns to Conversations Live with Vicki St. Clair, and takes us somewhere few people have survived to describe.

Realm of Ice and Sky: Triumph, Tragedy, History’s Greatest Arctic Rescue isn’t just a polar adventure. As Buddy explains, this is the history of an idea. The audacious, dangerous dream of reaching the North Pole by airship. If it worked, it would mark a seismic shift in exploration – out with dog sleds and frostbitten toes, and in with airborne travel.

Spoiler alert: The Arctic had other plans.

We explore a nearly forgotten chapter of history: A dramatic 19th-century rescue mission that pushed three extraordinary explorers to the edge of human endurance. We follow their journeys, hubris, heartbreak, and barely-believable heroism. And Buddy shares how he stitched these lost stories together into narrative that reads like a thriller.

P.S. Hear our previous conversation on Buddy’s earlier book, Empire of Ice and Stone here.

Meet Buddy Levy

Buddy Levy is the author of nine books. His work has appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, NPR, and USA Today. TV audiences may know him from 25 episodes of HISTORY Channel’s Brad Meltzer’s DECODED, or as an on-camera expert in The Frontiersmen: The Men Who Built America, the four-part HISTORY series executive produced by Leonardo DiCaprio.

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Environment, History, Journalism, Non Fiction, Science

May 20: How Millions of Americans Were Duped by a Strategic Anti-Science Campaign

May 20, 2026

This is not a doom & gloom story. It’s a detective story. With heroes, villains, & a cast of very memorable characters.

The Parrot and the Igloo: Climate and the Science of Denial with NYT Bestselling author David Lipsky

In The Parrot and the Igloo: Climate and the Science of Denial, author David Lipsky reveals one of the greatest deceptions in American history – the deliberate, funded, and strategically cast campaign to make millions of people doubt what scientists already knew.

It was planned. Programmed. And paid for.

The story begins with three inventors named Edison, Westinghouse, and Tesla, who built our technological world without knowing what they’d set into motion. From there, Lipsky follows scientists who identified the danger and sounded the alarm of what was to come, including the moment everything changed.

We discuss who won the talent audition to become America’s 1st Celebrity Doubter. How the playbook developed to cast doubt on products such as aspirin and cigarettes was repurposed to target climate science. How a nation that once celebrated scientific discoveries became a country split between believers, and a well-organized army of disinformation hucksters and propagandists.

Meet Bestselling Author David Lipsky

David Lipsky’s work has appeared in The New Yorker, Harper’s, NPR’s All Things Considered, and The New York Times. He is the author of the New York Times bestsellers Absolutely American and Although Of Course You End Up Becoming Yourself, the basis for the movie The End of the Tour. The Parrot And The Igloo is possibly David Lipsky’s most important work to date: It’s a New York Times Editors’ Choice, a New Yorker and Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2023, and a USA Today Must Read.

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Creativity, Journalism, Non Fiction, Personal Development, Science, Writers on Writing

May 13: Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times Journalist Unpacks the Myths & Mysteries of Creativity

May 13, 2026

Author Matt Richtel says most of us are creative … even if you think you’re not!

Inspired: Understanding Creativity – A Journey Through Art, Science and the Soul with Matt Richtel

Creativity sparks innovation in art, science, technology, business, sports, and life in general. But the origins of inspiration have long remained a mystery. Until now.

A talented narrative storyteller, Matt Richtel explores elements that ignite creativity in his book Inspired: Understanding Creativity – A Journey Through Art, Science, and the Soul.

Matt shares the authentic nature of creativity, its biological and evolutionary origins, its deep connection to spirituality, and the way it bubbles in each of us waiting to be released.

Today, we discuss: Matt’s challenges with the great muse, and how he managed them. Traits of successful creators. Conditions where creativity thrives. How we can get out of our own way, and move past creative blocks. And more.

Meet Matt Richtel

Matt Richtel is a Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times journalist, bestselling author, and novelist based in San Francisco, known for exploring the impact of technology on human behavior and health. He won the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting for a series on distracted driving. Richtel combines technical expertise and science reporting, with narrative storytelling in both his non-fiction and thriller novels.

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Fiction, Thriller, Writers on Writing

May 06: Brad Taylor on Shadow Strike: Assassins, Geopolitics, & Writing the World He Knows

May 6, 2026

Celebrating the 20th exciting Pike Logan mission

Shadow Strike – A Pike Logan Thriller with Brad Taylor

Brad Taylor has spent two decades writing thrillers that blend fiction with overseas intrigue, and real-life, boots on the ground action.

Shadow Strike – the 20th installment in Taylor’s Pike Logan series – begins when a rogue cell within Iran’s Revolutionary Guard orchestrates the escape of the world’s most dangerous assassin, a man known only as the Ghost. His mission, to kill the Israeli prime minister.

Brad shares how Shadow Strike came together, from the geopolitical fault lines that inspired it, to the research trips that took Brad from South America to the edge of the Antarctic. We talk about writing credible characters; what it’s like to watch real-world events catch up to a plot you finished months earlier. Hamas, Hezbollah, Patagonia, and Argentina. And, why Brad says we are sleepwalking our way to Armageddon.

Meet Brad Taylor

After more than 21 years, Brad Taylor retired from the army as a Special Forces Lieutenant Colonel. He held numerous Infantry and Special Forces positions, including eight years in 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment – Delta, where he commanded multiple troops and a squadron. He’s conducted operations in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other classified locations. Brad’s final assignment was the Assistant Professor of Military Science at The Citadel in Charleston, SC. When not writing, he serves as a security consultant on asymmetric threats for various agencies. 

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Coming of Age, Fiction, Writers on Writing

Apr 22: How Paula Saunders Dance Experiences Inspired A Successful Sequel

April 22, 2026

Starting From Here – A Novel

Starting from Here with author Paula Saunders

Write what you know, they say, and sometimes that’s good advice. In this case, award-winning author Paula Saunders leveraged her own experiences in the predatory world of dance to write Starting From Here.

A sequel to The Distance Home, the Starting From Here is set in the 1970s competitive world of ballet, where protagonist René faces everything from cults to sexual exploitation, industry predators, and the worst kind of betrayal. As much as she wants success, at heart she longs for someone to love and accept her just the way she is – dancer or not, successful or not, perfect or imperfect.

Paula shares her own experiences as an aspiring ballet dancer, and what led her to become a writer and author. We look at how writing Starting From Here helped Paula see her own mother differently. And grab a sneak peek at what it’s like writing a book when you’re married to another author.

Paula reveals how she developed her unique characters, how she defines creativity. And with 50+ years of progress since the ’70s, how times have changed for today’s young women. Or have they?

Meet Paula Saunders

Paula Saunders is a graduate of the Syracuse University creative writing program, and was awarded a postgraduate Albert Schweitzer Fellowship at the State University of New York at Albany, under Schweitzer chair Toni Morrison. Her first book, The Distance Home, was longlisted for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize and named one of the best books of the year by Real Simple. Her novel Starting From Here begins in Rapid City, South Dakota, which is also where Paula Saunders grew up.

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