#83 Finding Southern Comfort In A Good Book with Meg Reid

#83 Finding Southern Comfort In A Good Book with Meg Reid

Joining me on the podcast today is Meg Reid, the executive director of the Hub City Writers Project in Spartanburg, South Carolina, and the publisher of Hub City Press, where she finds and champions new and overlooked voices from the American South, including Carter Sickels, Drew Lanham, Ashley M. Jones, and Anjali Enjeti. An editor and book designer, Meg’s essays have appeared online in outlets like DIAGRAM, the Oxford American, and The Rumpus. She holds an MFA in Nonfiction from the University of North Carolina Wilmington, where she served as Assistant Editor of the literary magazine, Ecotone, and worked for the literary imprint Lookout Books. She was a Publishers Weekly Star Watch 2021 Honoree. You will hear: * The goal of the Hub City Writers Projects to expand underserved stories and introduce people to the new South * How Meg came to the South * Current trends in the book market and why it may be harder to find the book you need to read * Aliteracy vs. Illiteracy - Well educated people who CAN read, but choose not to read - competing media (doom scrolling, streaming on demand, etc) and not taking the time to be alone in your head * Getting people in bookstores to make reading less of a solo adventure * And more! Links:   Meg’s Website: https://www.megreid.com/ [https://www.megreid.com/] Connect with Stephen: Twitter: https://twitter.com/SER1897 [https://twitter.com/SER1897] YouTube: https://youtube.com/@ThePlayTyperGuy [https://youtube.com/@ThePlayTyperGuy] Email: ser1840@gmail.com Join  the Player Typer Guy Patreon: https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbC1PWHZvdXhzd1ctcjFQR2JGODFkSWNNVGNxd3xBQ3Jtc0ttV2NwdjFaVDN6YzhlVVkwYUJ5dVBHc2tMajQyMjQ3alpvWEJiS1cyWVBYQThaOHAyWlJlMWFZWHRMQnhkX2REcGhIV1FoOHZTV0tKN2RLWWRNNU9tQVFGTlNTcVdrTHRiNnlrMFBKMm9ibmJyLTJVUQ&q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.patreon.com%2Fstephenrobinson&v=MfjmKexJVdchttps://www.patreon.com/stephenrobinson [https://www.patreon.com/stephenrobinson]

#82 Third Annual Tony Awards Special with Raven Snook - Part 2

My friend Raven Snook is a writer, editor, performer, mom and all-around diva (in the positive sense of the word) who’s currently the editor in chief for TDF Stages and a contributing theater critic for Time Out New York. She joins me once again to discuss this year’s Tony Awards. This is part two of our kibbitz session, and we discuss Death of a Salesman, the musical flop Queen of Versailles, and The Jellicle Ball, an actually good version of Cats. Links:   Raven's website: www.ravensnook.com [http://www.ravensnook.com] Connect with Stephen: Twitter: https://twitter.com/SER1897 [https://twitter.com/SER1897] YouTube: https://youtube.com/@ThePlayTyperGuy [https://youtube.com/@ThePlayTyperGuy] Email: ser1840@gmail.com Join  the Player Typer Guy Patreon: https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbC1PWHZvdXhzd1ctcjFQR2JGODFkSWNNVGNxd3xBQ3Jtc0ttV2NwdjFaVDN6YzhlVVkwYUJ5dVBHc2tMajQyMjQ3alpvWEJiS1cyWVBYQThaOHAyWlJlMWFZWHRMQnhkX2REcGhIV1FoOHZTV0tKN2RLWWRNNU9tQVFGTlNTcVdrTHRiNnlrMFBKMm9ibmJyLTJVUQ&q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.patreon.com%2Fstephenrobinson&v=MfjmKexJVdchttps://www.patreon.com/stephenrobinson [https://www.patreon.com/stephenrobinson]

#81 Third Annual Tony Awards Special with Raven Snook - Part 1

My friend Raven Snook is a writer, editor, performer, mom and all-around diva (in the positive sense of the word) who’s currently the editor in chief for TDF Stages and a contributing theater critic for Time Out New York. She joins me once again to discuss this year’s Tony Awards, but first, we chat about Rocky Horror, Chicago, and the current state of musicals. (This was recorded before the sad announcement that my beloved Death Becomes Her is closing at the end of June.) Raven’s work has also appeared in New York Magazine, Yahoo Parenting, the New York Post, The Village Voice, Bon Appétit, Better Homes & Gardens and Parents.com, among others. We’ll be back next week for part two of our kibbitz session. Guest Info:  Raven Snook is a writer, editor, performer, mom and all-around diva (in the positive sense of the word) who’s currently the Editor of Creative Content for TDF and a contributing theater critic for Time Out New York. Raven's work has also appeared in New York Magazine, Yahoo Parenting, the New York Post, The Village Voice, Bon Appétit, Better Homes & Gardens and Parents.com, among others. Links:   www.ravensnook.com [http://www.ravensnook.com] Connect with Stephen: Twitter: https://twitter.com/SER1897 [https://twitter.com/SER1897] YouTube: https://youtube.com/@ThePlayTyperGuy [https://youtube.com/@ThePlayTyperGuy] Email: ser1840@gmail.com Join  the Player Typer Guy Patreon: https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbC1PWHZvdXhzd1ctcjFQR2JGODFkSWNNVGNxd3xBQ3Jtc0ttV2NwdjFaVDN6YzhlVVkwYUJ5dVBHc2tMajQyMjQ3alpvWEJiS1cyWVBYQThaOHAyWlJlMWFZWHRMQnhkX2REcGhIV1FoOHZTV0tKN2RLWWRNNU9tQVFGTlNTcVdrTHRiNnlrMFBKMm9ibmJyLTJVUQ&q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.patreon.com%2Fstephenrobinson&v=MfjmKexJVdchttps://www.patreon.com/stephenrobinson [https://www.patreon.com/stephenrobinson]

#80 Reality Checking The Bulwark With Steward Beckham And Evan Stern - PART 2

Reality Checking the Bulwark is the ongoing project by Steward Beckham [https://open.substack.com/users/82506717-steward-beckham?utm_source=mentions] and Evan Stern [https://open.substack.com/users/20571446-evan-stern?utm_source=mentions]. As Steward says, “We believe that institutions matter, but when institutions fail, democracy falters. And institutions that are built to counter Trump should not repeat the same mistakes that laid the groundwork for Trump. We respect and value the The Bulwark, but when it becomes a central pillar of our pro-democracy movement, it also needs to be interrogated for narrating our political stories in the same frames that may have produced the problem and also may not be the medicine for that problem. So that’s why we want to identify its failures in the best faith possible.” Steward and Evan return for Part Two of our discussion about The Bulwark, the Never Trump movement, and who controls the Democratic Party narrative. Enjoy! And go check out Steward and Evan’s substacks, Stew on This and Certain Thoughts. Make sure you check out episode 79 of the podcast to hear Part 1 of this enlightening conversation! Links: Evan’s Substack: https://substack.com/@therealevanstern [https://substack.com/@therealevanstern] Steward’s Substack: https://substack.com/@stewardbeckham [https://substack.com/@stewardbeckham] Stew on This Podcast: https://www.stewonthis.com/podcast [https://www.stewonthis.com/podcast] Connect with Stephen: Twitter: https://twitter.com/SER1897 [https://twitter.com/SER1897] YouTube: https://youtube.com/@ThePlayTyperGuy [https://youtube.com/@ThePlayTyperGuy] Email: ser1840@gmail.com Join  the Player Typer Guy Patreon: https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbC1PWHZvdXhzd1ctcjFQR2JGODFkSWNNVGNxd3xBQ3Jtc0ttV2NwdjFaVDN6YzhlVVkwYUJ5dVBHc2tMajQyMjQ3alpvWEJiS1cyWVBYQThaOHAyWlJlMWFZWHRMQnhkX2REcGhIV1FoOHZTV0tKN2RLWWRNNU9tQVFGTlNTcVdrTHRiNnlrMFBKMm9ibmJyLTJVUQ&q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.patreon.com%2Fstephenrobinson&v=MfjmKexJVdchttps://www.patreon.com/stephenrobinson [https://www.patreon.com/stephenrobinson]

#79 Reality Checking The Bulwark With Steward Beckham And Evan Stern - PART 1

I’ve enjoyed Reality Checking the Bulwark, an ongoing project by Steward Beckham [https://open.substack.com/users/82506717-steward-beckham?utm_source=mentions] and Evan Stern [https://open.substack.com/users/20571446-evan-stern?utm_source=mentions]. As Steward says, “We believe that institutions matter, but when institutions fail, democracy falters. And institutions that are built to counter Trump should not repeat the same mistakes that laid the groundwork for Trump. We respect and value The Bulwark, but when it becomes a central pillar of our pro-democracy movement, it also needs to be interrogated for narrating our political stories in the same frames that may have produced the problem and also may not be the medicine for that problem. So that’s why we want to identify its failures in the best faith possible.” I was fortunate enough to speak about this in depth with Steward and Evan. Watch and/or listen to Part One here, and come back next week for Part Two. Also, go check out Steward and Evan’s substacks, Stew on This [https://open.substack.com/pub/stewardbeckham] and Certain Thoughts [https://open.substack.com/pub/certainthoughts]. You will hear: * Discussing The Bulwark - How it started and how it’s going * Why Steward and Evan decided to discuss conversations happening on the conservative site and debate whether they were getting things right as a talking point to Democrats who are looking to take a more conservative view on politics and their expansion beyond the “Never Trump” crowd * Is it arrogance or is it victory? - The Bulwark seems to be slow to catch up on matters that will shape an election (after the fact, by a mile) and have a very narrow viewpoint on whose opinion matters * Stereotypical archetypes are used (the moonshining hillbilly, the longhorn-riding Texan, the Callifornian juicer, etc.) to drive how politician candidates are told to talk to different voters, infantilizing and demoralizing voters * And more! Links: Evan’s Substack: https://substack.com/@therealevanstern [https://substack.com/@therealevanstern] Steward’s Substack: https://substack.com/@stewardbeckham [https://substack.com/@stewardbeckham] Stew on This Podcast: https://www.stewonthis.com/podcast [https://www.stewonthis.com/podcast] Connect with Stephen: Twitter: https://twitter.com/SER1897 [https://twitter.com/SER1897] YouTube: https://youtube.com/@ThePlayTyperGuy [https://youtube.com/@ThePlayTyperGuy] Email: ser1840@gmail.com Join  the Player Typer Guy Patreon: https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbC1PWHZvdXhzd1ctcjFQR2JGODFkSWNNVGNxd3xBQ3Jtc0ttV2NwdjFaVDN6YzhlVVkwYUJ5dVBHc2tMajQyMjQ3alpvWEJiS1cyWVBYQThaOHAyWlJlMWFZWHRMQnhkX2REcGhIV1FoOHZTV0tKN2RLWWRNNU9tQVFGTlNTcVdrTHRiNnlrMFBKMm9ibmJyLTJVUQ&q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.patreon.com%2Fstephenrobinson&v=MfjmKexJVdchttps://www.patreon.com/stephenrobinson [https://www.patreon.com/stephenrobinson]