The Austin Meyer Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Discovering What Your Story Is About with Steve Fiffer | Ep. 006 Nov 21, 2018

Show notes

Today on the podcast I am chatting with Steve Fiffer. Steve Fiffer is a prolific author who has written 16 books, several screenplays, and dozens of articles on a range of topics. Steve writes non-fiction, and has written numerous memoirs, not only about his own life, but as co-author for others working on theirs. His as-told-to memoirs include books by Miami Dolphins football star Mercury Morris, former Secretary of State James Baker, and the co-founder of the Southern Poverty Law Center, Morris Dees. In this conversation, Steve and I discuss his amazing personal story, how to write a compelling memoir, and then we also dig into very practical strategies and exercises you can do to get started writing whatever it is that you’ve always wanted to write... Steve's books that were discussed in this episode include: Three Quarters, Two Dimes and a Nickel: A Memoir of Becoming Whole... Jimmie Lee and James: Two Lives, Two Deaths and the Movement That Changed America... Tyrannosaurus Sue: The Extraordinary Saga of the Largest, Most Fought Over T. Rex Ever Found

Designing Stories for Impact with Lisa Solomon | Ep. 005 Nov 15, 2018

Show notes

This week on the podcast I am chatting with Lisa Kay Solomon. Lisa does it all. She is a speaker, an author, and an educator focused on helping leaders learn how to be more creative, flexible and resilient in the face of increasing complexity and change. She is a currently a Designer in Residence at Stanford University’s Institute for Design and founding Chair of Transformational Practices and Leadership at Singularity University. Lisa co-authored the Wall Street Journal bestseller, Moments of Impact: How to Design Strategic Conversations that Accelerate Change, and, more recently, Design a Better Business: New Tools, Skills and Mindset for Strategy and Innovation. In the first half of this conversation we take a close look at Lisa's best selling book, Moments of Impact. Specifically, we talk about the idea of Designing Conversations. What does that mean? How does it relate to telling stories? And what are strategies we can use to design for impact? In the second half, we talk about the class Lisa is currently teaching at Stanford called Creativity Rules: Inventing the Future, and discuss the value of telling stories about the future. Hope you enjoy!

The Keys to Telling Stories Through Music with Max Cowan | Ep. 004 Nov 08, 2018

Show notes

I'm so excited to welcome our first musician to the show: Max Cowan. Max is a keyboard player based out of Berkeley, California. In his music, Max uses elements of funk and jazz and blends them into grooves that will surely get you up and moving. Max co-leads the East Bay meets New Orleans funk group, Atta Kid, and has played alongside some of the most accomplished musicians out there today. In this conversation, Max and I talk about how he tells stories through chords, melodies, and by playing with the musical conventions that we all know so well. We talk about everything from creative process, to finding your authentic voice, to musical history, to what makes someone a composition wizard, and if you stick around until the end, you’ll even get to hear Max compose a song on the spot. I had so much fun with this one. Hope you enjoy!

Bringing Community Together Through Local News with Chris Smith | Ep. 003 Nov 02, 2018

Show notes

This week I am joined on the podcast by Chris Smith. Chris Smith is a columnist at my hometown newspaper, The Press Democrat -- a paper which recently won the Pulitzer Prize for breaking news coverage. Chris has been working at the Press Democrat for 41 years, and his role is unique. Chris writes human-interest stories. He is a master of the vignette... of bringing these human-interest stories to life with vivid scenes, stakes, and emotions, all while fitting into the space constraints of a print newspaper. In this conversation Chris and I dive into the state of local newspapers, how he reports and crafts the stories he writes, and what their value is to the community. Hope you enjoy!
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Producing Academy Award Winning Movies with Steve Starkey | Ep. 002 Oct 25, 2018

Show notes

On this week’s episode I am joined by academy award winning movie producer, Steve Starkey. Starkey, who always teams up with director Robert Zemeckis, has produced films such as: Allied, The Walk, Flight, The Polar Express, Cast Away, and Contact. In 1995 he won an Academy Award for Best Picture with Forrest Gump. Early in his career, Starkey was an associate producer and assistant editor on Back To The Future, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, and a couple of indie films called Star Wars Return of the Jedi and Empire Strikes Back. In this conversation, Starkey and I talk about his path into filmmaking and what storytelling strategies he uses to produce some of the greatest movies of our time.

Lisa Rowland and the Power of Improvisation | Ep. 001 Sep 21, 2018

Show notes

"When we're playing really well together but we're also creating characters and moments that make the audience gasp, that's like... the best." Lisa Rowland is a professional theatrical improviser. She is a member of BATS Improv, Northern California's most acclaimed and longest running improvisational theatre company, and in 2012, Lisa was voted Best Actor by the SF Bay Guardian's Reader Poll. Off the stage, Lisa is a lecturer at Stanford University in the Theatre Department, teaching the same beginning improv class that put her on the path of improvisation. In this conversation Lisa and I discuss how she became a professional improviser, what it takes to captivate an audience when a story is being made up on the spot, and what other storytellers can learn from the spontaneity of theatrical improv.

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