This Podcast Will Change Your Life

This episode stars Shawn Samuelson Henry (Made in Maine). It was recorded over the Zoom between the This Podcast Will Change Your Life home studio in Chicago, IL and Henry's home in the Tar Heel state, also known as North Carolina, and not Maine, in September 2023.

This episode stars Matt Micheli (Two Minutes With The Devil, Scratched, The White). It was recorded over the Zoom between the This Podcast Will Change Your Life home studio in Chicago, IL and Micheli's home in the Republic of Texas in August 2023.

This episode stars Daniel Cooney, Andrew Fredericks, Gabriel Joffe, Karla Murthy & Jamie Diaz (Love, Jamie, Daniel Cooney Fine Art). It was recorded over the Zoom between the This Podcast Will Change Your Life home studio in Chicago, IL and a variety of locations across the country in July 2023.

Things Start was published as part of the short story collection After the Flood, which was released by CCLaP in 2014. The collection represents Part Three of the linked short story collection UPSTATE re-released in 2020 by Tortoise Books (and originally released under the title The New York Stories by CCLaP in 2015).

Things Start is the final chapter of UPSTATE: The Podcast.

Things Start is read by Sara Lippmann (BIO below).

INTRO/OUTRO music is Drinking of Me and was generously provided by Monkey Wrench.

READER BIO
Sara Lippmann is the author of the novel Lech (Tortoise Books) and the story collections Doll Palace (re-released by 7.13 Books) and Jerks (Mason Jar Press.) Her fiction has been honored by the New York Foundation for the Arts, and her essays have appeared in The Millions, The Washington Post, Catapult, The Lit Hub and elsewhere. With Seth Rogoff, she is co-editing the anthology Smashing the Tablets: Radical Retellings of the Hebrew Bible for SUNY Press. She is a founding member of the Writing Co-Lab and lives with her family in Brooklyn. For more, visit https://www.saralippmann.com/.

https://www.tanzerben.com/blog/upstate-the-podcast

This episode stars Laura Carney (My Father's List). It was recorded over the Zoom between the This Podcast Will Change Your Life home studio in Chicago, IL and Carney's home in the great state of New Jersey in June 2023.

Something Like This was published as part of the short story collection After the Flood, which was released by CCLaP in 2014. The collection represents Part Three of the linked short story collection UPSTATE re-released in 2020 by Tortoise Books (and originally released under the title The New York Stories by CCLaP in 2015).

Something Like This is read by Clayton Smith (BIO below).

INTRO/OUTRO music is Drinking of Me and was generously provided by Monkey Wrench.

READER BIO
Clayton Smith is an award-winning author, a professor, and a podcaster whose work includes the novels Apocalypticon, Na Akua, and Anomaly Flats, and the comedy podcast Is This a Ghost? He is head of the Marketing program at Columbia College Chicago, where he teaches courses in digital media strategy and emerging platforms. He currently lives with his wife and two daughters just outside of Chicago, and he is very good at whiskey. You can find his work at StateOfClayton.com.

https://www.tanzerben.com/blog/upstate-the-podcast

Night Swimming was published as part of the short story collection After the Flood, which was released by CCLaP in 2014. The collection represents Part Three of the linked short story collection UPSTATE re-released in 2020 by Tortoise Books (and originally released under the title The New York Stories by CCLaP in 2015).

Night Swimming is read by Mike Smolarek (BIO below).

INTRO/OUTRO music is Drinking of Me and was generously provided by Monkey Wrench.

READER BIO
Mike Smolarek writes from Riverside, Illinois, just outside of Chicago. He has been published in Train River Short Stories, Two With Water, and Daddy Cool, an anthology of writing by and for dads edited by Ben Tanzer. He has been part of several reading series, including Two With Water/Curbside Splendor and Essay Fiesta. His favorite color is green and he can be found at http://msmolarek.blogspot.com//.

https://www.tanzerben.com/blog/upstate-the-podcast

Longing was published as part of the short story collection After the Flood, which was released by CCLaP in 2014. The collection represents Part Three of the linked short story collection UPSTATE re-released in 2020 by Tortoise Books (and originally released under the title The New York Stories by CCLaP in 2015).

Longing is read by Paula Bomer (BIO below).

INTRO/OUTRO music is Drinking of Me and was generously provided by Monkey Wrench.

READER BIO
Paula Bomer is the author of the novels Tante Eva and Nine Months, the story collections Inside Madeleine and Baby and other Stories, and the essay collection, Mystery and Mortality. She grew up in South Bend, Indiana and has lived for over 30 years in Brooklyn. Her work has appeared in The Cut, Bomb Magazine, The Mississippi Review, Los Angeles Review of Books, TalkSpace and elsewhere.

https://www.tanzerben.com/blog/upstate-the-podcast

This episode stars Suzanne Clores (The Extraordinary Project Podcast, Memoirs of a Spiritual Outsider). It was recorded in-person, and outdoors, yes, in-person and outdoors, at Berger Park on the north side of Chicago, IL in May 2023, not 2024.

A Different Story was published as part of the short story collection After the Flood, which was released by CCLaP in 2014. The collection represents Part Three of the linked short story collection UPSTATE re-released in 2020 by Tortoise Books (and originally released under the title The New York Stories by CCLaP in 2015).

A Different Story is read by Dr. Mike McClelland (BIO below).

INTRO/OUTRO music is Drinking of Me and was generously provided by Monkey Wrench.

READER BIO
Like Sharon Stone and the zipper, Dr. Mike McClelland is originally from Meadville, Pennsylvania. He has lived on five different continents but now resides in Illinois with his husband, two sons, and a menagerie of rescue dogs. He is the author of the short fiction collection Gay Zoo Day and teaches creative writing at Eastern Illinois University. His fiction, essays, and poetry have appeared or are forthcoming in Rolling Stone, The New York Times, WIRED, Boston Review, Vox, The Baffler, Fairy Tale Review, and a number of literary magazines and anthologies. He is a graduate of Allegheny College, The London School of Economics, the MFA Program at Georgia College, and the University of Georgia's Creative Writing PhD program. Find him online at magicmikewrites.com.

https://www.tanzerben.com/blog/upstate-the-podcast

We Were All Here was published as part of the short story collection After the Flood, which was released by CCLaP in 2014. The collection represents Part Three of the linked short story collection UPSTATE re-released in 2020 by Tortoise Books (and originally released under the title The New York Stories by CCLaP in 2015).

We Were All Here is read by Mallory Smart (BIO below).

INTRO/OUTRO music is Drinking of Me and was generously provided by Monkey Wrench.

READER BIO
Mallory Smart is a Chicago-based writer and the Editor-in-Chief of the publishing house, Maudlin House. She also talks about music and literature on the podcast, Textual Healing. Her first novel, The Only Living Girl in Chicago, was released from Trident Press.

https://www.tanzerben.com/blog/upstate-the-podcast

This episode stars Gogo Germaine, a.k.a. Erin K. Barnes (Glory Guitars). It was recorded over the Zoom between the This Podcast Will Change Your Life home studio in Chicago, IL and Germaine's home in the wilds of Colorado in April 2023.

What We Talk About When We Talk About The Flood was published as part of the short story collection After the Flood, which was released by CCLaP in 2014. The collection represents Part Three of the linked short story collection UPSTATE re-released in 2020 by Tortoise Books (and originally released under the title The New York Stories by CCLaP in 2015).

What We Talk About When We Talk About The Flood is read by Christian Winn (BIO below).

INTRO/OUTRO music is Drinking of Me and was generously provided by Monkey Wrench.

READER BIO
Christian Winn is a fiction writer, poet, teacher of creative writing, and literary event producer living and working in Boise, Idaho. He is the author of the story collections NAKED ME and What's Wrong With You is What's Wrong With Me, and has two novel manuscripts and a collection ready to roll out into the world in 2023. He is the cofounder and Director of Storyfort and Story Forward and served as the State of Idaho's Writer in Residence from 2016 - 2019. His work has appeared in McSweeney's, Ploughshares, The Chicago Tribune's Printers Row Journal, Glimmer Train, Joyland, and elsewhere. Find out more about things Christian Winn at christainwinn.com.

https://www.tanzerben.com/blog/upstate-the-podcast

Vision was published as part of the short story collection After the Flood, which was released by CCLaP in 2014. The collection represents Part Three of the linked short story collection UPSTATE re-released in 2020 by Tortoise Books (and originally released under the title The New York Stories by CCLaP in 2015).

Vision is read by Adam Lawrence (BIO below).

INTRO/OUTRO music is Drinking of Me and was generously provided by Monkey Wrench.

READER BIO
Residing in New York City’s Lower East Side, Adam Lawrence works for brands, documentary filmmakers, and anyone else who stumbles across his Music Supervision, Footage Research, and related Licensing/Clearance services. Classically Gen-X. Informal post-formalist. Recent enthusiastic convert to planking. Husband, Father. Doer of photos and assorted multidisciplinary art stuffs. Adam can be found on Twitter (@madaecnerwal) & Flickr (flickr.com/photos/adamlawrence/).

https://www.tanzerben.com/blog/upstate-the-podcast

Freddie's Dead was published as part of the short story collection After the Flood, which was released by CCLaP in 2014. The collection represents Part Three of the linked short story collection UPSTATE re-released in 2020 by Tortoise Books (and originally released under the title The New York Stories by CCLaP in 2015).

Watching And Waiting is read by Robert James Russell (BIO below).

INTRO/OUTRO music is Drinking of Me and was generously provided by Monkey Wrench.

READER BIO
Robert James Russell is the author of the forthcoming graphic memoir Hard Body: A Personal History of My Form on Display (Simon & Schuster, 2024). He is the founding editor of the literary journal CHEAP POP. His illustrations and writing have appeared in print and online at NPR, The Rumpus, The Offing, Shenandoah, Gulf Coast, New South, and Passages North, among others. A native of Michigan, Robert lives and works in Lincoln, Nebraska. You can find his art and writing at robertjamesrussell.com, or on Twitter/Instagram at @robhollywood.

https://www.tanzerben.com/blog/upstate-the-podcast

This episode stars Noah Michelson (HuffPost Personal). It was recorded over the Zoom between the This Podcast Will Change Your Life home studio in Chicago, IL and Michelson's home in the borough of Brooklyn in March 2023.

This episode stars Timothy Gager (Best of Timothy Gager: Poems, Essays, and Stories, 
The Thursday Appointments of Bill Sloan, Short Street, and as you will learn, much, much more). It was recorded over the Zoom between the This Podcast Will Change Your Life home studio in Chicago, IL and Gager's home in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts (the second episode in a row originating from the Commonwealth might I add) in March 2023.

Watching And Waiting was published as part of the short story collection After the Flood, which was released by CCLaP in 2014. The collection represents Part Three of the linked short story collection UPSTATE re-released in 2020 by Tortoise Books (and originally released under the title The New York Stories by CCLaP in 2015).

Watching And Waiting is read by Pete Anderson (BIO below).

INTRO/OUTRO music is Drinking of Me and was generously provided by Monkey Wrench.

READER BIO
Pete Anderson is the author of the novel Wheatyard and the short story collection Where the Marshland Came to Flower. He has lunched and drank with Ben Tanzer for fifteen great years. He once drove through Binghamton on a long road trip, but, unable to find a diner for breakfast, kept going without stopping, and finally settled for Hardee’s along the interstate. 

https://www.tanzerben.com/blog/upstate-the-podcast

The Runner was published as part of the short story collection After the Flood, which was released by CCLaP in 2014. The collection represents Part Three of the linked short story collection UPSTATE re-released in 2020 by Tortoise Books (and originally released under the title The New York Stories by CCLaP in 2015).

The Runner is read by Ray Charbonneau (BIO below).

INTRO/OUTRO music is Drinking of Me and was generously provided by Monkey Wrench.

READER BIO
Ray Charbonneau is the author of a number of books on running. That number is currently five. His work has appeared in the Boston Globe, the Christian Science Monitor, Marathon & Beyond, and other publications. He's also the host of Tardis Jukebox on WMFO-FM, a show that's been called "the best hour of radio in the Boston area." Ray has run more than thirty marathons and ultramarathons, including one and a half 100 mile races, without winning a single one. But there's always tomorrow. Find out more at y42k.com.

https://www.tanzerben.com/blog/upstate-the-podcast

Untrammeled was published as part of the short story collection After the Flood, which was released by CCLaP in 2014. The collection represents Part Three of the linked short story collection UPSTATE re-released in 2020 by Tortoise Books (and originally released under the title The New York Stories by CCLaP in 2015).

Untrammeled is read by Gerald Brennan (BIO below).

INTRO/OUTRO music is Drinking of Me and was generously provided by Monkey Wrench.

READER BIO
Gerald Brennan earned a B.S. in European History from West Point and an M.S. in Journalism from Columbia University. He's the author of Resistance, which Kirkus called “an extremely impressive debut,” and four space books including the forthcoming Alone on the Moon, which prompted one blurbist to dub him "the poet laureate of the desolation of space." His writing has appeared in the Chicago Tribune and Newcity, and he was on the latter's 2019 Lit 50 list of notable literary Chicagoans; he's also the founder of Tortoise Books, a Chicago-based independent press that WGN Radio's Rick Kogan recently called “…one of the best, most provocative, and rewarding publishing houses in the entire country.”

https://www.tanzerben.com/blog/upstate-the-podcast

This episode stars Shannon Downey (Badass Cross Stitch). It was recorded over the Zoom between the This Podcast Will Change Your Life home studio in Chicago, IL and Downey's current home in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in February 2023.

God's Work was published as part of the short story collection After the Flood, which was released by CCLaP in 2014. The collection represents Part Three of the linked short story collection UPSTATE re-released in 2020 by Tortoise Books (and originally released under the title The New York Stories by CCLaP in 2015).

God's Work is read by Barry Graham (BIO below).

INTRO/OUTRO music is Drinking of Me and was generously provided by Monkey Wrench.

READER BIO
Barry Graham is a writer and a gambler from Pennsylvania Dutch Country. 

https://www.tanzerben.com/blog/upstate-the-podcast

Barely Breathing was published as part of the short story collection After the Flood, which was released by CCLaP in 2014. The collection represents Part Three of the linked short story collection UPSTATE re-released in 2020 by Tortoise Books (and originally released under the title The New York Stories by CCLaP in 2015).

Barely Breathing is read by Tim Walikis (BIO below).

INTRO/OUTRO music is Drinking of Me and was generously provided by Monkey Wrench.

READER BIO
Tim Walikis aka [OMIT], Timo, Slick Wilson, etc…is an artist, sculptor, musician, and Art Dept. Scenic artist for films. Member of local 829. He has exhibited his art in New York and California. Tim has played guitar bass and sang in multiple bands in New York and California. He has been in the Buffalo band Monkey Wrench since 1989. Tim is from Upstate NY, but has lived in San Diego, Los Angeles, Lake Tahoe and Buffalo.

https://www.tanzerben.com/blog/upstate-the-podcast

Stabbed In The Back was published as part of the short story collection After the Flood, which was released by CCLaP in 2014. The collection represents Part Three of the linked short story collection UPSTATE re-released in 2020 by Tortoise Books (and originally released under the title The New York Stories by CCLaP in 2015).

Stabbed In The Back is read by Leesa Cross-Smith (BIO below).

INTRO/OUTRO music is Drinking of Me and was generously provided by Monkey Wrench.

READER BIO
Leesa Cross-Smith is a homemaker and the author of half a dozen books: Every Kiss A War, Whiskey & Ribbons, So We Can Glow, This Close To Okay, Half-Blown Rose, and the forthcoming Goodbye Earl. She lives in Kentucky with her high school sweetheart husband and their two teenagers.

https://www.tanzerben.com/blog/upstate-the-podcast

This episode stars Paul Lamb (One-Match Fire). It was recorded over the Zoom between the This Podcast Will Change Your Life home studio in Chicago, IL and Lamb's home (albeit, and sadly, not his cabin) somewhere in the greater Kansas City area (which is yes, home to the recent Super Bowl winning Chiefs) in December 2022.

How It Works was published as part of the short story collection After the Flood, which was released by CCLaP in 2014. The collection represents Part Three of the linked short story collection UPSTATE re-released in 2020 by Tortoise Books (and originally released under the title The New York Stories by CCLaP in 2015).

How It Works is read by Leland Cheuk (BIO below).

INTRO/OUTRO music is Drinking of Me and was generously provided by Monkey Wrench.

READER BIO
Leland Cheuk is an award-winning author of three books of fiction, most recently NO GOOD VERY BAD ASIAN. Cheuk’s work has appeared in publications such as NPR, Washington Post, San Francisco Chronicle, Salon, among other outlets. He’s been awarded fellowships at MacDowell, Hawthornden Castle, Djerassi, and elsewhere. He is the founder of the indie press 7.13 Books and lives in Los Angeles. You can follow him on Twitter @lcheuk and at lelandcheuk.com. 

https://www.tanzerben.com/blog/upstate-the-podcast

This episode stars Daniel Nester (Harsh Realm: My 1990s, Shader, The Incredible Sestina Anthology). It was recorded over the Zoom between the This Podcast Will Change Your Life home studio in Chicago, IL and Nester's home in New York state's greater Capital Region in December 2022.

No Nothing was published as part of the short story collection So Different Now, which was released by CCLaP in 2011. The collection represents Part Two of the linked short story collection UPSTATE re-released in 2020 by Tortoise Books (and originally released under the title The New York Stories by CCLaP in 2015).

No Nothing is read by Ryan W. Bradley (BIO below).

INTRO/OUTRO music is Drinking of Me and was generously provided by Monkey Wrench.

READER BIO
Ryan W. Bradley is a sometimes writer/artist and a full-time Marketing Manager for a 15-branch library system. He has written too many books and abandoned just the right amount. 

https://www.tanzerben.com/blog/upstate-the-podcast

Goddess was published as part of the short story collection So Different Now, which was released by CCLaP in 2011. The collection represents Part Two of the linked short story collection UPSTATE re-released in 2020 by Tortoise Books (and originally released under the title The New York Stories by CCLaP in 2015).

Goddess is read by Glen Binger (BIO below).

INTRO/OUTRO music is Drinking of Me and was generously provided by Monkey Wrench.

READER BIO
Glen Binger is an author, teacher, and coach from by-the-beach, New Jersey. He hosts the podcast Betterism and his most recent books are Head Games: The Novel and Darren's Journal. 

https://www.tanzerben.com/blog/upstate-the-podcast

Never Said was published as part of the short story collection So Different Now, which was released by CCLaP in 2011. The collection represents Part Two of the linked short story collection UPSTATE re-released in 2020 by Tortoise Books (and originally released under the title The New York Stories by CCLaP in 2015).

Never Said is read by Joseph G. Peterson (BIO below).

INTRO/OUTRO music is Drinking of Me and was generously provided by Monkey Wrench.

READER BIO
Joseph G. Peterson is the author of the novel Memorandum from the Iowa Cloud Appreciation Society.

https://www.tanzerben.com/blog/upstate-the-podcast

This episode stars Sari Botton (And You May Find Yourself..., Oldster Magazine, Memoir Monday, Adventures in Journalism). It was recorded over the Zoom between the This Podcast Will Change Your Life home studio in Chicago, IL and Botton's home somewhere outside of New York City in November 2022.

Just Like That was published as part of the short story collection So Different Now, which was released by CCLaP in 2011. The collection represents Part Two of the linked short story collection UPSTATE re-released in 2020 by Tortoise Books (and originally released under the title The New York Stories by CCLaP in 2015).

Just Like That is read by Giano Cromley (BIO below).

INTRO/OUTRO music is Drinking of Me and was generously provided by Monkey Wrench.

READER BIO
Giano Cromley's latest novel is The Prince of Infinite Space. He's twice been a finalist for the High Plains Book Award. He is the recipient of an Artists Fellowship from the Illinois Arts Council, and recently completed a BookEnds Fellowship with Stony Brook University. He's an English professor at Kennedy-King College in Chicago, where he is chair of the Communications Department, and sits on the committee for the Center of Equity for Creative Arts.

https://www.tanzerben.com/blog/upstate-the-podcast

This episode stars Mike DeCapite (Jacket Weather, Creamsicle Blue, Through the Windshield). It was recorded over the Zoom between the This Podcast Will Change Your Life home studio in Chicago, IL and DeCapite's home in... where else, the New York City in November 2022.

This episode stars Erika T. Wurth (White Horse, Crazy Horse's Girlfriend, Buckskin Cocaine). It was recorded over the Zoom between the This Podcast Will Change Your Life home studio in Chicago, IL and Wurth's home in greater Denverland in December 2022.

Panties was published as part of the short story collection So Different Now, which was released by CCLaP in 2011. The collection represents Part Two of the linked short story collection UPSTATE re-released in 2020 by Tortoise Books (and originally released under the title The New York Stories by CCLaP in 2015).

Panties is read by Debra Pritzker Tanzer (BIO below).

INTRO/OUTRO music is Drinking of Me and was generously provided by Monkey Wrench.

READER BIO
Debra Pritzker Tanzer worked in advertising for 20+ years in New York and Chicago and has been married to the author for much longer than that. She somewhat grudgingly agreed to read this story, and is bemused by the author's claims that it was inspired by a date they went on to the long demolished Airport Drive-In in Johnson City, NY way back in the 1980s.

https://www.tanzerben.com/blog/upstate-the-podcast

This most excellent 300th episode stars the most excellent Sara Lippmann (LECH, JERKS, Doll Palace). It was recorded over the Zoom between the This Podcast Will Change Your Life home studio in Chicago, IL and Lippmann's home office in the New York City borough known as Brooklyn in December 2022.

This episode stars Coco Picard (The Healing Circling, The Chronicles of Fortune, Green Lantern Press). It was recorded over the Zoom between the This Podcast Will Change Your Life home studio in Chicago, IL and Picard's former home somewhere off on the East coast of the United States in September 2022.

This episode stars Jackson Bliss (Dream Pop Origami, Counterfactual Love Stories, Amnesia of June Bugs). It was recorded over the Zoom between the This Podcast Will Change Your Life home studio in Chicago, IL and Bliss' home in the City of Angels in September 2022.

This episode stars former (and forever) guest Giano Cromley (The Prince of Infinite Space, What We Build Upon the Ruins, The Last Good Halloween). It was recorded live and on a walk along Division Street in Chicago, IL that started and concluded at Rite Liquors in September 2022.

This episode stars Ashley Marie Farmer (Dear Damage, Beside Myself, The Women). It was recorded over the Zoom between the This Podcast Will Change Your Life home studio in Chicago, IL and Farmer's home in the Salt Lake City in August 2022.

Repetition Patterns was published as part of the short story collection Repetition Patterns, which was released by CCLaP in 2008. The collection represents Part One of the linked short story collection UPSTATE re-released in 2020 by Tortoise Books (and originally released under the title The New York Stories by CCLaP in 2015).

Repetition Patterns is read by Judy Tanzer (BIO below).

INTRO/OUTRO music is Drinking of Me and was generously provided by Monkey Wrench.

READER BIO
Being the mother of the author of UPSTATE, Judy Tanzer was around for most of the time period Ben was writing about. However, it has been illuminating to her how people of different ages, that is Ben and herself, and different perspectives remember so differently, or at least somewhat differently, events that occurred. Judy had a psychotherapy practice when Ben was growing up, so the influence of wanting to understand why and how things happen, runs in the family.

https://www.tanzerben.com/blog/upstate-the-podcast

This episode stars Jerry Stahl, yes that Jerry Stahl (Permanent Midnight, I, Fatty, Nein, Nein, Nein!). It was recorded over the Zoom between the This Podcast Will Change Your Life home studio in Chicago, IL and Stahl's home in the City of Angels in September 2022.

This episode stars Jonathan Papernick (There is No Other, The Book of Stone, I Am My Beloveds). It was recorded over the Zoom between the This Podcast Will Change Your Life home studio in Chicago, IL and Papernick's now former Massachusetts home in June 2022.

This episode stars Kacy Tellessen (Freaks of a Feather). It was recorded over the Zoom between the This Podcast Will Change Your Life home studio in Chicago, IL and Tellessen's office somewhere off in the great Northwest in July 2022.

This episode stars Keith Lesmeister (We Could've Been Happy Here, EastOver Press). It was recorded over the Zoom between the This Podcast Will Change Your Life home studio in Chicago, IL and Lesmeister's home, which just may be proximal to the Driftless Area (which is pretty cool if you don't know and which you'll learn more about on this episode of the podcast) in April 2022.

This episode stars Adam Robinson (Publishing Genius, Studio Friend, Good Book Developers). It was recorded over the Zoom between the This Podcast Will Change Your Life home studio in Chicago, IL and Robinson's office in greater Atlantaland in April 2022.

This episode stars Deborah S. Greenhut (The Hoarder's Wife). It was recorded over the Zoom between the This Podcast Will Change Your Life home studio in Chicago, IL and Greenhut's home in The Garden State in March 2022.

This episode stars Andrew DeYoung (The Temps, The Exo Project). It was recorded over the Zoom between the This Podcast Will Change Your Life home studio in Chicago, IL and DeYoung's home office in the great state of Minnesota in February 2022.

This episode stars Amy Long (Taylor Swift as Books, Codependence: Essays). It was recorded over the Zoom between the This Podcast Will Change Your Life home studio in Chicago, IL and what I believe must have been Florida in February 2022.

This episode stars Luke Jerod Kummer (The Blue Period, Takers Mad). It was recorded over the Zoom between the This Podcast Will Change Your Life home studio in Chicago, IL and an underground location outside New York City in January 2022.

This episode stars Beth Gilstrap (Deadheading & Other Stories, I Am Barbarella: Stories). It was recorded over the Zoom between the This Podcast Will Change Your Life home studio in Chicago, IL and Gilstrap's home in Kentucky, not North Carolina, in December 2021.

This episode stars Matthew Specktor (Always Crashing in the Same Car, That Summertime Sound, Los Angeles Review of Books). It was recorded over the Zoom between the This Podcast Will Change Your Life home studio in Chicago, IL and Specktor's home in the City of Angels in December 2021. 

This episode stars Lee Matthew Goldberg (Stalker Stalked, Grenade Bouquets, Runaway Train and so many more). It was recorded over the Zoom between the This Podcast Will Change Your Life home studio in Chicago, IL and Goldberg's home on the island known as Manhattan in October 2021. 

This episode stars Diane Grimard Wilson (Brain Dance: My Journey with Invisible Illness, Second Chances, and the Wonders of Applied Neuroscience). It was recorded over the Zoom between the This Podcast Will Change Your Life home studio in Chicago, IL and Wilson's home in the greater Chicagoland suburbs in August 2021. 

This episode stars Frank Zafiro (Wrong Place, Write Crime podcast and so many gritty, crime novels). It was recorded over the Zoom between the This Podcast Will Change Your Life home studio in Chicago, IL and Zafiro's home in the Pacific Northwest in August 2021. 

This episode stars James Tate Hill (Blind Man's Bluff). It was recorded over the Zoom between the This Podcast Will Change Your Life home studio in Chicago, IL and Hill's home in North Carolina (which just may be our very first discussion originated from there) in October 2021. 

This episode stars Joanna C. Valente (A Love Story, Yes, Poetry, Luna Luna Magazine). It was recorded over the Zoom between the This Podcast Will Change Your Life home studio in Chicago, IL and Valente's home in New York (not Yonkers sadly) in September 2021. 

This episode stars Avner Landes (Meiselman: The Lean Years). It was recorded over the Zoom between the This Podcast Will Change Your Life home studio in Chicago, IL (and Landes' former hometown, sort of), and Landes' current home in Tel Aviv (yes, that Tel Aviv) in August 2021. 

This episode stars Robert Tomaino (New Madrid). It was recorded over the Zoom between the This Podcast Will Change Your Life home studio in Chicago, IL and Tomaino's home, which is not out west, but east (east of the This Podcast Will Change Your Life home studio anyway) in Connecticut in October 2021. 

This episode stars Maria Price (Love You Still). It was recorded over the Zoom between the This Podcast Will Change Your Life home studio in Chicago, IL and Price's home in the Hawkeye State otherwise known as Iowa in October 2021. 

This episode stars Christina Beauchemin (Let My Legacy Be Love: A Shortcut to Self-Loving). It was recorded over the Zoom between the This Podcast Will Change Your Life home studio in Chicago, IL and Beauchemin's home in the glory that is upstate New York in September 2021. 

This episode stars Trish McDonald (Paper Bags). It was recorded over the Zoom between the This Podcast Will Change Your Life home studio in Chicago, IL and McDonald's home in South Florida (which is not so terribly far really from where Hemingway wrote) in September 2021. 

This episode stars D.W. Hogan (Unbroken Bonds). It was recorded, wait for it...live on the streets of Chicago in June 2021 and marks both the first live episode since before the pandemic began, but the first walk and talk posting since the way back.*

*Please enjoy the return of street noise and random ambient scuzz.

 

This episode stars Elizabeth B. Splaine (Swan Song Devil's Grace, Blind Order). It was recorded over the Zoom between the This Podcast Will Change Your Life home studio in Chicago, IL and Splaine's home in the state of mind also known as Rhode Island in September 2021. 

This episode stars Alisha Bashaw (Four Eyes: A Memoir of a Millenial Caregiver). It was recorded over the Zoom between the This Podcast Will Change Your Life home studio in Chicago, IL and Bashaw's home in the glorious state (and state of being) that is Colorado in August 2021.

This episode stars Mike Keren (Four Funerals, No Marriage). It was recorded over the Zoom between the This Podcast Will Change Your Life home studio in Chicago, IL and Keren's home in the great state of New Jersey in August 2021.

This episode stars Anne Poirier (The Body Joyful - My Journey from Self-Loathing to Self-Acceptance, Shaping Perspectives). It was recorded over the Zoom between the This Podcast Will Change Your Life home studio in Chicago, IL and Poirier's home (and the center of The Body Joyful movement) in Maine in August 2021.

This episode stars Emory Easton (Mother, Can You Hear Me Now?). It was recorded over the Zoom between the This Podcast Will Change Your Life home studio in Chicago, IL and Easton's home in Central Illinois in July 2021.

This episode stars Grace Agnew (Sanctuary). It was recorded over the Zoom between the This Podcast Will Change Your Life home studio in Chicago, IL and Agnew's office in New Jersey in July 2021.

This episode stars Gregory L. Norris (Ex Marks the Spot and so much more). It was recorded over the Zoom between the This Podcast Will Change Your Life home studio in Chicago, IL and Xanadu (for real) in August 2021.

This episode stars Spencer Fleury (How I'm Spending My Afterlife). It was recorded over the Zoom between the This Podcast Will Change Your Life home studio in Chicago, IL and Fleury's home just minutes away from The Gold Cane in August 2021.

This episode stars Matt Fitzpatrick (Demon Tide, Matriarch Game, Crosshairs). It was recorded over the Zoom between the This Podcast Will Change Your Life home studio in Chicago, IL and Fitzpatrick's home on Cape Cod in July 2021.

This episode stars Barbara Newman (The Dreamcatcher Codes). It was recorded over the Zoom between the This Podcast Will Change Your Life home studio in Chicago, IL and Newman's home in Western Massachusetts in April 2021.

This episode stars Jason Fisk (Sub Urbane, Hank and Jules, Salt Creek Anthology, Sadly Beautiful). It was recorded over the Zoom between the This Podcast Will Change Your Life home studio in Chicago, IL and Fisk's home in the Chicago suburbs in April 2021.

This episode stars Mallory Smart (Maudlin House, Textual Healing, The Only Living Girl in Chicago). It was recorded over the Zoom between the This Podcast Will Change Your Life home studio in Chicago, IL and Smart's home in the Chicago suburbs in April 2021.

This episode stars Wayne Goodman (Queer Words Podcast, numerous books). It was recorded over the Zoom between the This Podcast Will Change Your Life home studio in Chicago, IL and Goodman's home in Northern California in April 2021.

This episode stars B.B. Russell (Kindreds). It was recorded over the Zoom between the This Podcast Will Change Your Life home studio in Chicago, IL and Russell's upstate New York home in April 2021. 

This very special 250th episode stars Chicago artist and author Dmitry Samarov (Old Style, All Hack, Soviet Stamps, Music to My Eyes). It was recorded over the Zoom between the This Podcast Will Change Your Life home studio in Chicago, IL and Samarov's Chicago home in March 2021. 

This episode stars Nancie Laird Young (Tea with Dad - Finding Myself in My Father's Life). It was recorded over the Zoom between the This Podcast Will Change Your Life home studio in Chicago, IL and Young's father's Maryland home in April 2021. 

This episode stars Amanda Headlee (Till We Become Monsters). It was recorded over the Zoom between the This Podcast Will Change Your Life home studio in Chicago, IL and Headlee's home somewhere off in the snowy woods of Pennsylvania in April 2021.