The Other 51

Latest Episodes:

The Best of 2017: Songwriting and St. Jude with Bob Crawford Dec 28, 2017

Show notes

Bob Crawford, bass player for The Avett Brothers, joins Brian to talk about his family’s connection to St. Jude, the work he's doing through the Press On Fund, and his quest to cure child cancer. Bob talks about the day his then 22-month-old daughter, Hallie, was diagnosed with brain cancer and how St. Jude gave him and his family hope. He also discusses how his daughter’s diagnosis changed songwriting for him, and how he wrote part of The Avett Brothers' song “Good to You.” He and Brian also discuss their favorite Founding Fathers (Bob goes way off the board for his pick) and the theology of Thomas Merton. Anyone who knows Brian knows he and his family are big fans of The Avett Brothers. They're also in the middle of a month-long Avett Nation fundraiser for St. Jude in Hallie Crawford's honor. So this is a special episode.

BEST OF 2017: Making a ruckus with Seth Godin Dec 21, 2017

Show notes

Best-selling author and noted ruckus maker Seth Godin joins Brian this week. They talk about the importance of not only writing every day but publishing every day, what school should teach students, and why work is always the answer. Seth explains to Brian why the recording of Kind of Blue can be compared to writing, why he benefits from writing every day, and why books are the perfect technology. Seth is one of Brian’s favorite people on the internet. This was a fun episode to do.

Episode 51: Meme Wars with Dr. Nick Koberstein Dec 15, 2017

Show notes

If you’ve been following Brian on Twitter the past few weeks, your timeline was flooded with his student posts to the #MoritzMemeWar.

The inspiration for that joins the podcast this week. Dr. Nick Koberstein, an assistant professor at Keuka College, created the original meme war (#kcmemewar). He joins Brian this week at Eddie O’Brien’s in Farmington, N.Y. to talk digital pedagogy in higher ed. Nick talks about the ways he tries to challenge his students in an environment that is still a bit relaxed and supportive, and how he gets students to make work that surprises him. He and Brian also talk about the importance of revisions in writing, and how to teach students to become risk takers.

It’s a UConn guy and a Syracuse guy together, and there is no fighting and it is not a 6 overtime podcast.

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Episode 50: The Golden Age with Adrian Wojnarowski Dec 07, 2017

Show notes

ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski is the best reporter in sports journalism. You already know this. Everyone knows this. He’s also been a friend and mentor of Brian’s for nearly two decades.

Woj joins Brian this week and describes why he feels this is a golden age of sports journalism. Woj describes why he thinks the mobile phone did more to revolutionize reporting than almost anything else. He describes his reporting process, why it’s important to connect with sources and talk to them when you’re not quoting them. Sometimes, it’s the 53rd time you talk to a source that yields the important piece of information. Woj also talks about how he works with his ESPN colleagues, how he stays in front of stories, and how he had to make a choice between waiting for Bill Parcels and taking out his garbage.

And, since Woj is a Bona guy, there’s the requisite 10 minutes about St. Bonaventure.

Woj on Twitter

Woj on Facebook

The Miracle of St. Anthony: A Season with Coach Bob Hurley and Basketball’s Most Improbable Dynasty

Weinstein’s complicity machine

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Episode 49: Dude, You Wrote A Book! with Amy Moritz Nov 30, 2017

Show notes

The last time Amy Moritz joined Brian on the podcast, she said that she was working on her first book. Good little brother that he is, Brian said he’d have her back when the book was out.

Hey, guess what? The book is out! And it’s outstanding!

Amy joins us to talk about the writing of “I Though You’d Be Faster.” She talks about where the idea for the book came from, what her writing process was like, and why she self-published. Amy and Brian talk about how newspaper writing is different than book writing and the challenges it presents, why doing just a little bit each day means so much, and why when something keeps calling you (whether it’s a book project or grad school), you’ve just got to be fierce and go after it. They also talk about why Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird is one of the best books you could ever read. Amy also drops a spoiler alert on Book No. 2.

And hey, did you know that Ernest Hemingway is a good writer?

Our new theme music this week is by Ellie Moritz.

Episode 48: Introductory Lexicography with Kory Stamper Nov 16, 2017

Show notes

Kory Stamper has the best job title of any guest in the history of The Other 51.

She’s a lexicographer at Merriam-Webster.

She writes the dictionary.

No, the dictionary doesn’t just appear, handed down by the grammar gods. It’s written by people. People like Kory.

Kory talks what it’s like to wield the power to decide what part of speech a word is. She describes her job, and she and Brian talk about how people who write the dictionary are much more open about language and usage then you might assume. There’s a difference between language and writing, and Kory describes that. Kory talks about her book Word by Word and how writing the dictionary has made her more attuned to the rhythm of her language and her writing.

Kory also gives Brian the perfect gift idea for his wife.

Episode 47: Detective Work with Scott Pitoniak Nov 09, 2017

Show notes

Scott Pitoniak is one of the defining voices in sports writing in Upstate New York. He’s written about the Buffalo Bills, Syracuse University, and sports in and around Rochester for the better part of three decades. Scott joins Brian at Spot Coffee in Rochester (excuse the ambient noise and fun 80s music in the background), which is appropriate for a couple of writers. Scott talks about what it was like to cover the Buffalo Bills during the late 1980s and in their Super Bowl run in the early 1990s and why Marv Levy is his favorite coach he ever covered. Scott, who spent much of his career writing for the Democrat and Chronicle, talks about what makes Rochester such a unique sports town and what makes upstate New York special. Scott also describes what it was like to write a book with Lou Gramm of Foreigner and a book about Jim Boeheim. Scott also discloses what his dream book project is.

Episode 46: Fargo Auto Kings with Matt Vautour Nov 02, 2017

Show notes

The Atlantic 10 Media Association reunion tour continues, as long-time listener, first-time caller Matt Vautour joins Brian to talk about the life of a college sports beat writer. Matt, who covers the University of Massachusetts for the Daily Hampshire Gazette, and Brian reminiscence about their days covering the A-10 in the late 1990s and early 2000s, with the requisite John Chaney stories (for every Phil Martelli, theres a Darelle Porter ). This leads to a larger discussion about how being a beat writer has changed over the past 20 years. Matt talks about how message boards were the original Twitter, what it was like to cover John Calipari as a student journalist, and how everything is a story these days. They also talk about how blogging has changed. Matt used to say that his blog was like the deleted scenes part of a DVD, which now is two dated technological references. But he and Brian talk about how publishing news online and social media has totally changed what we considered “blogging.” Matt also discusses why he’d like to write three minutes of a stand-up comedy routine. Matt also makes the best obscure West Wing reference you’ll hear on the internet all day.

Episode 45: You Podcast? with Jen Moritz Oct 26, 2017

Show notes

Jen Moritz is the best editor Brian knows. And he’s not just saying that because he married her. Really, she’s awesome. And since Brian’s been talking to writers for more than a year, he figured it was time to get the scoop from an editor. Jen, who is the senior copy editor at Dixon Schwabl advertising, talks about what makes a good editor and how editing should be like gardening. You know your Facebook friend who posts memes about its/it’s and how they love grammar? Jen tells us that just shows they don’t know what an editor does. She also gives writers advice on how to instantly improve their writing — use ALL the contractions, folks! End your sentence in for. It’s OK! Jen also tells us what grammar tells us about the identity of The Last Jedi. She also reveals Brian’s biggest sin as a writer.

Episode 44: Generic Hot Actor Guy with Alysa Auriemma Oct 19, 2017

Show notes

In the first return guest spot on The Other 51, author and professor Alysa Auriemma is back. Brian promised Alysa the chance to talk about her love of Chris Evans, and so there is a lot of talk about Chris Evans. A lot of Chris Evans talk. Then there’s a super-deep dive into the state of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Things get super nerdy, folks. But buried in all of this is an important question for writers — what is the role of fandom in our work? Is it like sports writing, where fandom is traditionally a very separate thing? Or can fandom play a role in how we conceptualize and write stories?

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