Writing Remix Podcast

On this episode of Writing Remix, Dan talks to John Gaspard, the author of Held Over: Harold and Maude at the Westgate Theater. During a time when large movie theaters are trying to figure out how to bring in the crowds and rival streaming services, John and Dan discuss how the movie Harold and MaudeContinue reading "122. The Harold & Maude Phenomenon at The Westgate Theater w/ Author John Gaspard"

As higher education continues to navigate attacks from the Trump administration, it are also trying to figure out how to negotiate the increased use of AI in the classroom, by teachers and students. On this special episode of Writing Re:mix, Daniel Dissinger invites his USC Writing Program colleague Ryan Leack, host of the Live TheoryContinue reading "121. Navigating AI & Surveillance in the Classroom w/ Ryan Leack"

Daniel Dissinger dives deep into a conversation on finding the light with poetry in all of the darkness in the world, in ourselves, and from traumas in our pasts with Reiki Master, Librarian, and Poet Caroline Reddy. This is an episode that celebrates the power of poetry and language and how people can be broughtContinue reading "120. Finding the Light w/ Caroline Reddy"

Daniel Dissinger welcomes the Poet Laureate of Anaheim, Camille Hernandez, to talk about her new book Motherlands, what it means to be Poet Laureate in Anaheim, the impact of poetry and poets, her mission to make poetry accessible to as many people as possible, and how poetry informs, reports, and dismantles. Camille also reads theContinue reading "119. The Poet’s Role w/ Anaheim Poet Laureate Camille Hernandez"

Daniel Dissinger welcomes renowned cowboy boot maker and artisan Lisa Sorrell to talk all about the history of boot making in America, her personal journey from apprentice to having her own boot making business, and her goal to preserve the history of boot making. There’s also a really great conversation on gender, mental health, andContinue reading "118. Crafting Cowboy Boots w/ Lisa Sorrell"

On this episode of “Inspired Belonging” on Writing Re:mix, hosts Dan Dissinger and Stephanie Renée Payne talk with Dr. M. Shadee Malaklou, the Founder and Director of the bell hooks Center at Berea College. Back in the summer of 2023, Dan & Stephanie had the honor of bringing their “Inspired Belonging” workshop to the first-everContinue reading "117. Inspired Belonging w/ Dr. M. Shadee Malaklou"

In this solo episode of Writing Remix, Dan brings the audience along for a reflective stream-of-consciousness evening walk. This is a raw and unedited episode to capture the essence of the environment, his thoughts, and humanity of conversation. Dan reflects on the changing landscape of podcasting and how it’s gone from being an accessible PunkContinue reading "116. Walking with Dan: Podcasting, Creativity, & AI"

The second episode of “Inspired Belonging” on Writing Remix, hosts Dan Dissinger and Stephanie Renée Payne reflect on their personal and pedagogical relationships with the work of the late scholar, poet, speaker, & teacher bell hooks. This is a deeply vulnerable conversation on hooks’ impactful work on engaged pedagogy, love, community, and self-actualization, specifically fromContinue reading "115. Inspired Belonging: Diving into the Work of bell hooks"

In this solo episode of Writing Remix, Dan Dissinger reflects on the end of the 2025 Spring semester at USC. He shares what he changed and what worked in his classroom, the impact of creating meaningful and accessible assignments, student reactions to and experiences reading Exile & Pride by Eli Clare and All About LoveContinue reading "114. Spring 2025 Semester Reflection: Meaningful Teaching, Student Engagement, & Well-being"

Dan Dissinger celebrates National Poetry Month with the West Hollywood Poet Laureate, Jen Cheng. They talk about Jen’s multi-hyphenate creative journey, her dedication to blending East-West influences in her writing and workshops, her role as the creator of the Palabras Literary Salon, and the importance of “artist dates.” Dan asks Jen to explain why sheContinue reading "113. Creating Joy and Community Through Poetry w/ West Hollywood Poet Laureate Jen Cheng"

Dan Dissinger welcomes back his former professor Dr. Steve Mentz, chair of the Saint John’s University English Department, to discuss his latest book of poems Sailing Without Ahab and the Blue Humanities. They dive into (no pun intended) Dr. Mentz’s writing journey in and out of the poems in Sailing Without Ahab, the interconnected writing process and relationship between the creative space of poetry and academic scholarship when it came to creating Sailing Without Ahab, his personal and scholastic history with water, teaching Moby-Dick, and the challenges of writing in the voice of Ishmael. Steve also reads several poems from Sailing Without Ahab and discusses some of the more intricate details about these pieces. This is such a rich episode both for writers and scholars alike, and being on the precipice of National Poetry Month, this is a great way to start it off.

Dan Dissinger welcomes Tony Stubblebine, CEO of Medium.com, to talk about the power of authenticity in writing online and how Medium’s platform helps to create a space where authors of all levels can find and cultivate an audience. Tony dives into how he went from software engineer to the CEO of Medium.com. He shares his goals for Medium to create an online community where people create and share meaningful content and how Medium is a place where all people get to be teachers and students. The conversation touches on the transformative power of writing, the challenges posed by AI-generated content, and the importance of human connection in the digital age. This is the type of episode Writing Remix is all about, so sit back, take notes, and get inspired to put pen to paper (so to say). Share this episode with someone in your life that is an aspiring writer.

Dan & Stephanie Renée Payne start a series of podcast episodes called “Inspired Belonging” on Writing Remix. On this inaugural episode, Dan & Stephanie explore their thoughts and understandings of belonging, it’s connection to writing, and how the late great bell hooks plays such a deep role in Inspired Belonging workshops, presentations, and pedagogy. TheyContinue reading "110. Introducing Inspired Belonging"

Dan welcomed his colleagues in the USC Writing Program Dr. Leah Pate, Dr. Tamara Black, & Dr. Rory Lukins to do a deep dive into their project “Reimagining Assessments: Contract Grading’s Untapped Benefits for Learning, Teaching, and Well-Being.” This conversation covers the results of their research and the impact contract grading has on student writingContinue reading "109. Reimagining Assessments: Exploring the Untapped Benefits of Contract Grading w/ Dr. Leah Pate, Dr. Tamara Black, & Dr. Rory Lukins"

Dan welcomed back Dr. Danielle Lee to Writing Remix last year for the fifth annual Big Rhetorical Podcast Carnival, which was focused on ‘Politics and Rhetorics, Navigating Civility, Culture, and Crisis.’ Their conversation went deep into the need for a civility in the current political landscape, how the lack of civility is escalating dehumanization fromContinue reading "108. Exploring Civility, Discourse, & Hope w/ Dr. Danielle Lee"

Dan welcomes Dr. Meghan P. Nolan back to Writing Remix to discuss preparing for the Spring 2025 semester and some of the ways she’s looking to expand, shift, and reimagine approaches to writing instruction. Meghan also talks about the balance between her duties as a writing professor and the Chair of the Sam Draper HonorsContinue reading "107. Preparing for Spring 2025 w/ Dr. Meghan P. Nolan"

In this solo episode of Writing Remix, Dan discusses how to effectively convert academic conference presentations into engaging podcast episodes. He shares personal experiences and lessons learned from shifting his traditional conference approach to a more interactive and participatory format using his multiple podcasts. Dan emphasizes the importance of recording and archiving presentations, networking, andContinue reading "106. How I Leverage My Podcast at Academic Conferences"

Dan invites Dr. Bailey McAlister, sommelier, Rhetoric & Communications professor, & pop-culture critic to talk all about how she merges her love of wine and the wine community with her PhD research, the impact that 2020 had on the wine & beverage industry, how sommeliers are using personal narratives to introduce people to wine, community building in the world of wine, how she teaches process-oriented writing to her students, and so much more. So, grab a glass, your favorite beverage, and settle in for another Writing Remix!

Dan recorded LIVE from the Southwest Popular/American Culture Association Conference in Albuquerque, NM w/ USC colleagues Jen Sopchockchai Bankard & P.T. McNiff of the Long Take Review podcast. Shoutout to SWPACA, the tech guy who helped make this happen, and everyone that came out to support! Their presentation, “Between Two Scholastic Worlds: Teaching, Blogging, andContinue reading "104. LIVE! from The Southwest Popular/American Culture Association Conference w/ The Long Take Review Podcast"

Content Warning: This episode has discussions about mental health issues, body dysmorphia, eating disorders, & suicidal ideation. Dan invites artist Dr. Ally Zlatar to talk about the imperative role artists & art play in the world to communicate empathy, create community, & as a tool for empowerment. This is such a deep episode with aContinue reading "103. Being an Artist w/ Dr. Ally Zlatar"

Dan invites Saint John’s University alum and the Founder & CEO of Your Instructional Designer Dr. Nicole Papaioannou Lugara. On this episode, Nicole reflects on her journey from PhD to CEO. She talks about creating and launching an instructional design company, what she believes the role of instructional design is in today’s world, some ofContinue reading "102. Digital Social Learning Solutions w/ Dr. Nicole Papaioannou Lugara"

Dan invites Nancy Stohlman back on Writing Remix to discuss recording the audiobook for her award-winning book Going Short: An Invitation to Flash Fiction, the growing genre of Flash Fiction, the importance of building a creative community to recover from burnout, doing promotion for her book during COVID-19 quarantine in 2022, and so much more.Continue reading "101. Growing Flash Fiction w/ Nancy Stohlman"

On this special episode of Writing Remix, Dan celebrates the 100th episode talking about some of the lessons he’s learned about himself as a writer, teacher, and podcaster. He reflects on the decision to pivot the focus of Writing Remix during the COVID-19 pandemic, how major news events impacted the podcast, how his understanding ofContinue reading "100. What I Learned After 100 Episodes w/ Daniel Dissinger"

Dan welcomes Leah Rubinsky, PhD candidate at the University of Washington and podcaster, to dive deeply into the grad student experience, confronting academic writing genres and styles, writing workshops and feedback, and the challenges of subverting the dissertation style to fit one’s research. Leah also talks about her research on “bad” mothering in Colombian andContinue reading "99. Bringing the Grad Student Perspective w/ Leah Rubinsky"

On this special episode, Dan speaks to participants at the 2023 SWPACA (Southwest Popular/American Culture Association Conference) in Albuquerque, NM. In just twenty-three and a half minutes you’ll hear about the Roswell event, making art on scratchboard, the interesting cultural history of the pink flamingo lawn ornament, decolonizing flavors, coffee, and so much more. SpecialContinue reading "98. Writing Remix at SWPACA 2023 in Albuquerque, NM"

Dan welcomes Julia Reade from Nova High School in Seattle, WA to discuss the need for collaboration and communication between college professors and K-12 instructors, her experience teaching at Nova and applying an inquiry model of education, her amazing project “What Would the Mushrooms Say?” her experience as a doctoral student in Kentucky at MurrayContinue reading "97. What the High School Teachers Teach w/ Julia Reade"

On this special episode, Dan talks with participants at the 2023 CCCC (Conference on College Composition and Communication) in Chicago, IL. Special thanks to everyone that took the time to talk, and thank you to the conference organizers. You’re going to hear about Awe Walks from Professor Jessica Shreyer, student podcast projects from Professor MichaelContinue reading "96. Writing Remix at CCCC 2023 in Chicago, IL"

Dan welcomes Dr. Lavar Pope from Arrupe College of Loyola University Chicago to discuss the communicative power of Hip Hop music, the multilayered lineage of Hip Hop music, the role of migration and diaspora, regional Hip Hop artists and their influences, and so much more. With longtime friend of the show Dr. Danielle Lee co-hosting,Continue reading "95. Digging into Hip-Hop Scholarship w/ Professor Lavar Pope"

Dan welcomes USC Writing Program instructor Professor Lilit Keshishyan to discuss the power of oral histories, her work with My Armenian Story at The Institute of Armenian Studies. She speaks about the impact of The Armenian Genocide & Diaspora, sheds light on what happened to Armenians during WWII, and so much more. This is such a deep episodeContinue reading "94. Preserving Oral Histories w/ Professor Lilit Keshishyan"

Dan welcomes Roseann Corey from Rosemont College to discuss how rhetoric can bring communities closer, navigating the competitive academic market, breaking the unwritten rules of academic writing with creativity, communicating across multiple generational gaps peacefully, multimodality, and so much more. Read and download the full transcript of this episode at the bottom of this post.Continue reading "93. Unpacking the Power of Rhetoric w/ Roseann Corey"

Dan welcomes Riti Sharma on the podcast to discuss the many facets of the English language. Riti unpacks the complex linguistic landscape of India (where she lives & teaches), how examining the history of English exposes its complicated past, present, & future, essay writing as a genre, and the role orality plays in passing alongContinue reading "92. Remixing & Meshing English(es) w/ Riti Sharma"

Dan reflects on his journey from photography to English Professor using Gary Snyder’s essay “Etiquette of Freedom” to understand the empowering forces of wildness, wilderness, and being wild. He talks about his relationship with photography, how flash photography is like open class discussions, academia being a constant cycle of proving yourself, what it means toContinue reading "91. Solo Remix: Becoming an English Professor w/ Dan Dissinger"

CONTENT WARNING: Please be advised that this episode does contain conversations on abortion, sexual violence, assault and rape, mental health issues, racial violence, and torture. Listener discretion is advised Dan invites Stephanie Renée Payne, Danielle Lee, Leah Rubinsky, & Julia Reade to unpack & respond to the horrifying overturn of Roe v Wade, stripping child-bearingContinue reading "90. Reacting to Roe v Wade Overturn w/ Stephanie Renée Payne, Danielle Lee, Leah Rubinsky, & Julia Reade"

Dan invites Dr. Natalie Byfield, Dr. Raj Chetty, & Dr. LaToya Sawyer to talk about the creation of The Institute for Critical Race & Ethnic Studies (CRES) at Saint John’s University in Queens, NY. To best set the tone for this episode, here’s a quote from Dr. Natalie Byfield, the Founding Director of CRES: “IContinue reading "89. Building The Institute for Critical Race & Ethnic Studies w/ Dr. Natalie Byfield, Dr. Raj Chetty, & Dr. LaToya Sawyer"

This is a celebratory episode to close out PRIDE Month 2022. Dr. Ashley King is an inspiration. Her work empowers students, invites them to thrive and cultivate not just meaningful projects, they cultivate meaningful experiences that show them what they can accomplish. I want to acknowledge all the awe-inspiring work that Dr. Ashley King isContinue reading "88. Crossing the Bridge Between Social Justice & Sci-Fi w/ Dr. Ashley King"

Content warning for discussion of guns, genocide, violence, and mass shootings. Dan is joined by guest host Stephanie Renée Payne to talk to the author of Loaded: A Disarming History of the Second Amendment Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz about the constitutional history of the Second Amendment, the rise of white nationalism in the NRA, the role ofContinue reading "87. Disarming the 2nd Amendment w/ Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz"

Dan invites Nat Garcia-Hammon (pronouns: they/them), a faculty member at Nova Southeastern University to discuss the challenges of teaching in Florida, practicing & embodying vulnerability in the classroom and beyond, the relationship between learning/knowledge creation and full-embodiment, Nat’s journey from Law School to Rhetorician, their Freirean classroom pedagogy, how Doctoral programs can better prepare students forContinue reading "86. Embodying Vulnerability w/ Nat Garcia"

Dan invites fellow Saint John’s University alum, Dr. Cristina Migliaccio, from CUNY Medgar Evers College in Brooklyn, NY to discuss culturally & linguistically inclusive digital pedagogy, the professional depth & dedication of the Medgar Evers College Adjunct Faculty, loving the craft of teaching, their graduate school experiences, the coded messaging of the phrase, “Oh, you’reContinue reading "85. Being Drawn to Teaching w/ Cristina Migliaccio"

Dan invites fellow Saint John’s University alum Dr. Regina Duthely from the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, WA to talk about the possibilities of digital teaching & digital rhetorics away from current Zoom-emergency pedagogy, the digital space being a place to fully embody the self, the burden of extra labor/service that scholars of color,Continue reading "84. Embodying Your Digital Self w/ Dr. Regina Duthely"

To celebrate National Poetry Month, Dan invites Elz on to discuss the release of their debut book did I tell You What Happened? a fragmented memoir, living & writing in Oxford, MS, the role writing plays to communicate and navigate Bipolar Disorder and Major Depressive Disorder, why we still have the need for genres, andContinue reading "83. Writing From the Velvet Ditch w/ Up and Coming Writer Elz"

In the final special episode celebrating American author Jack Kerouac’s centennial birthday, Dan invites Advanced PhD scholar of American Literature Saloni Srivastava & Poet David O’Connor to talk about the all-consuming meditative power of driving on the road, living at The Kerouac house in Orlando, FL, the spiritual depth of Kerouac’s writing, seeking one’s lineage,Continue reading "82. Scratching Beyond Kerouac’s Surface w/ Saloni Srivastava & David O’Connor"

In the second of three special episodes celebrating Kerouac’s 100th birthday, Dan invited S.A. Griffin & Richard Modiano to talk about Kerouac’s contribution to American poetry, his haiku mastery, spiritual questing, the challenge of adapting Kerouac’s novels on film, and so much more. Listen to the first Kerouac episode: 80. Celebrating Jack Kerouac’s 100th BirthdayContinue reading "81. Honoring Jack Kerouac’s Impact on American Poetry w/ S.A. Griffin & Richard Modiano"

In honor of Jack Kerouac’s 100th birthday, Dan invited writers and fellow Naropa alumni Tim Hernandez & Nate Jordan to talk about how Kerouac influenced their writing & personal journeys. They discuss Tim’s 2013 novel about Bea Franco (Terry/”The Mexican Girl” from On the Road) Mañana Means Heaven, understanding the influence of the published JoanContinue reading "80. Celebrating Jack Kerouac’s 100th Birthday w/ Tim Hernandez & Nate Jordan"

In Episode 79, Dan Dissinger is joined by guest host Danielle Lee to talk to Saint John's University alum Tara Bradway about life after the PhD, the complex issues facing contingent faculty, the challenges of being the artistic director of the Adirondack Shakespeare Company during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the role of isolation and mental health.

In Episode 78, we talk to Brandon Martin about writing movie trailers, creating a comic strip, and finding inspiration in life experiences and other artistic pursuits.

In Episode 77, we talk with writer & Tulane professor Merissa Nathan Gerson about her book Forget Prayers, Bring Cake: A Single Woman’s Guide to Grieving, the many ways people experience grief in their daily lives, and the interconnected impact grief has on the mind, body, & spirit. Also, Dan & Merissa do some reminiscingContinue reading "77. Processing Grief w/ Merissa Nathan Gerson"

In Episode 76, we talk to Dr. Cara Marta Messina about the academic job market, open-access research and critical fan studies, the parallels between fanfiction and fantasy football, and teaching writing for podcasting.

In Episode 75, Dan & Katie answer questions from the audience about the Metaverse, the cost of higher education, teacher training and experiences, identity, and much more. If you have questions for us to talk about and answer on another Office Hours episode, you can email them to [email protected]. People and Texts Mentioned in theContinue reading "75. Office Hours w/ Dan & Katie"