Write About Now

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. 

In this episode, we're talkin' bout the generations. Guest Dr. Jean Twenge is the author of the endlessly fascinating new book Generations: The Real Differences Between Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, Boomers, and Silents—and What They Mean for America's Future. Twenge dives into government surveys, databases, and scientific studies to give a revelatory report on why generations change, what makes each generation unique, and how we can learn from each other. I understand my kids and my parents so much better now! Subscribe to my substack Small Talk @ https://jonathan856.substack.com/ Check out my new TikTok video @ https://www.tiktok.com/@writeaboutnowpod Watch the interview on YouTube @https://bit.ly/WriteAboutNowYouTube  

When you think of your 'future self,' who do you see? The image is probably pretty blurry, but it doesn't have to be. My guest Hal Hershfield believes that by strengthening the connections between your present and future selves, you gain a new perspective on what's important—and create the future you want. Hershfield is the author of Your Future Self: How to Make Tomorrow Better Today and a Professor of Marketing, Behavioral Decision Making at UCLA’s Anderson School of Management. He spent over a decade researching how understanding our future selves can help us achieve our goals and hopes for the future. Topics discussed include:  How similar our future selves are to our present selves Why living in the now is not in opposition to planning for the future.  How thinking of our future self motivates us.  Techniques for connecting with your future self.  Subscribe to the Write About Now newsletter @ bit.ly/SmallTalkSubstack Watch interview @ bit.ly/WriteAboutNowYouTube

Guest Courtney Kocak is a writer, podcaster, and comedian based in LA. She reports frequently on taboo topics such as porn, sexuality, and sex work. On her podcast Private Parts Unknown, Courtney takes a Bourdain-like sexual tour around the world, revealing secret seductive subcultures. On this episode, she talks about why she enjoys writing about sex, her fascinating experience getting a happy ending massage in Tokyo, and what she's learned having an OnlyFans page. After you've finished listening head on over to her other podcast, The Bleeders, in which she grills me about writing the "Jake" column for Glamour magazine.  Listen to our interview on The Bleeders:  https://bit.ly/3YnMmJW Watch the video on YouTube: bit.ly/3Qv5fZn Subscribe to my Substack: https://jonathan856.substack.com/

UFOs are back in the news. Last month, three U.S. military veterans testified to the congress that the government had possession of "non-human" biologics. And my guest Harvard astrophysicist Avi Loeb recently led an exhibition to the bottom of the Pacific to retrieve what he believes could be materials from an extraterrestrial spacecraft. In this episode, we revisit my conversation with Dr. Loeb about his book, Extraterrestrial: The First Sign of Intelligent Life Beyond Earth  and his controversial belief that we have been visited by ETs.   For more information on Write About Now, visit: writeaboutnowmedia.com Subscribe to my newsletter @ jonathan856.substack.com