Write About Now

Jennifer McAdam is a Scottish coal miner's daughter who lost her life's savings to a multimillion-dollar cryptocurrency scam called OneCoin. She even convinced many of her friends to invest before she realized it was all a big lie. But rather than wither away in shame, McAdam fought back, creating an online Victims’ Support Group and taking legal action. Her incredible story is captured in her new book Devil’s Coin: My Battle to Take Down the Notorious OneCoin Cryptoqueen. I interviewed Jennifer on my other podcast "Dirty Money" with my fearless co-host Dan Bova. If you like what you hear, please follow the show for more juicy tales of financial true crime.  Follow Dirty Money @ https://bit.ly/3v1S2yt Order Devil's Coin @ https://amzn.to/3toaUY9

Connell Barrett is a modern-day 'Hitch,' a dating coach who helps lovelorn men approach women, be more confident, and attract a great partner. In his new book Dating Sucks, but You Don't, he offers tips and insights that have "helped thousands of single men date amazing women." We talk about navigating dating in the #Metoo, Tinder world, the best ways to flirt and pay someone a compliment, getting over approach anxiety, and so much more.  Subscribe to my substack @ https://jonathan856.substack.com/ Check out Connell's new book @ https://jonathan856.substack.com/

Guest Lisa Cron is a story coach and author of Wired for Story, Story Genius, and Story or Die. Cron combines her wisdom of working with writers in the publishing and TV business with her fascination in the latest breakthroughs in neuroscience. She says that all humans are hardwired for story; we think in story. When writers tap into this, it triggers a dopamine rush that tells us to pay attention. The problem is too many writers don't know what makes a good story. They're stuck more in "writing well" than in writing in a way that triggers the brain to want more. In this interview, she untaps the the hidden source of great storytelling, with practical tips on how to apply it to your own work. 

Guest Kristal Brent Cook is a journalism professor at Hofstra and author of a new memoir called The Girl in the Yellow Poncho. Growing up in the 80s as a bi-racial child, Zook was raised by Black women after she was abandoned by her white father when she was a baby. The memoir explores Kristal’s journey to find her true identity and ultimately track down her alcoholic father, whom she’d never met. It’s a moving story, beautifully told, about forgiveness, healing, and finding your authentic identity. There’s even a surprise cameo by Slash of Guns and Roses.

The Talking Heads are talking again. Forty years after the release of their classic concert film “Stop Making Sense,” the movie and the band are back on the big stage—same as it ever was, or maybe even better. A remastered, 4k version of the movie was released in September, and the band is back on tour burning down the house. On this episode, host Jon Small revisits his interview with the band’s co-founder and drummer, Chris Frantz, who wrote a memoir about his once-in-a lifetime experience with the band in 2020. Frantz didn’t have the nicest things to say about the band’s lead singer David Byrne, but apparently they’re back on talking terms — and that’s great news because they’re one of the best bands of the 1980s. 

Devon Daniels joins the show to talk about her new book, The Rom Con. Inspired by a 1958 McCall's Magazine article entitled "129 Ways to Get a Husband," the novel gives a modern spin to antiquated and, weirdly, timeless dating advice. Daniels also discusses her unorthodox approach to writing, how her 'unicorn' first book got her multiple publishing offers, the odd appeal of the enemies to lovers genre, and what advice she would like to give her younger self.  Subscribe to Small Talk @ https://jonathan856.substack.com/ Follow the show on Instagram @WriteAboutNowPod Watch the interview on YouTube @ https://bit.ly/WriteAboutNowYouTube

Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon” opened this weekend, raking in an estimated $23 million at the box office. The gut-wrenching movie is based on the excellent book of the same name by my guest David Grann, who resurfaced the mostly forgotten story of a monstrous American crime in the 1920s. Known for his page-turning narratives and in-depth research, Grann has become one of the most successful and revered writers working today. He shares his tumultuous writer's origin story, his decision to give up his dream of writing editorials and focusing on long-read narratives, how he discovered the story of the Osage murders, and his process of researching and writing his books. The interview was recorded in 2018. To find out more about Jonathan Small, visit: https://writeaboutnowmedia.com/ Subscribe to my substack, Small Talk: https://bit.ly/smalltalksubstack Follow me on Instagram: @writeaboutnowpod

Guest Lori Majewski is a radio host, journalist, and co-author of Mad World: An Oral History of New Wave Artists and Songs That Defined the 1980s. She also holds the distinction of being my editor at YM magazine long ago when I wrote stories with titles like 'How to Tell If He's Crushing On You.' Lori is the biggest Duran Duran fan you will ever meet and parlayed her passion for that band into a career as a entertainment writer, 80s music expert, and on-air host of Fierce: Women In Music & Lust For Lists/First Wave on Sirius XM Radio. In our conversation, we talk about her writing origin story, why we just can't get enough of 80s music, and her advice to aspiring writers. 

It’s been 20 years since Ron Burgundy first appeared on the screen urging viewers to "stay classy." Film comedy historian Saul Austerlitz joins the show to talk about his new book Kind of a Big Deal: How Anchorman Stayed Classy and Became the Most Iconic Comedy of the Twenty-First Century, which celebrates this classic movie. Austerlitz shares the inside story of how Anchorman came to be, how it was written and cast, and how it ultimately launched the careers of future superstars like Will Ferrell, Steve Carell, and Paul Rudd. More than just a hilarious comedy, the film was actually a decade ahead of its time taking digs at toxic masculinity and MeToo sexism. You will be surprised at some of the tidbits Austerlitz uncovered in his research on the film. 

Alexander Stille talks about his fascinating new book, The Sullivanians: Sex, Psychotherapy, and the Wild Life of an American Commune. Led by a charismatic psychoanalyst, the Sullivanians flourished in Manhattan's tony neighborhood in the 1970s and 80s, attracting many brilliant, creative people as patients, including Jackson Pollack and Judy Collins. But what started as a utopian experiment in psychoanalysis devolved into a paranoid sex cult in which therapists controlled their patients' lives, instructing them who to sleep with and where they could work. The real tragedy is the story of the children, who were shipped off to boarding schools so that their parents could be free to sleep around and jettison the constraints of the nuclear family. Stille is an accomplished journalists and a professor at Columbia Journalism School.