Shows
Plume: A Writer's PodcastWe Plumed a Spell on You: Spooky Poems & StoriesTeam Plume is reanimating, dusting off the last year, and sharing our first podcast in a while. In today’s episode, we bring you a ghosty story circle with writing that taps into the otherworldly… just in time for Halloween and the Samhain season!Featuring writing from (in order of appearance): Danielle Hanson – “Ghosts and Mirrors,” poetry Melanie Unruh – “Altar Me,” poetryDawn Sperber – “Ghost Sisters,” story, with music by HediaSarah Mina Osman – “The Djinn,” story excerpt, originally published in Lunaris, issue 17, 2023Elsa Valmidiano – “Marmarna,” story, originally published in Mythos, Issue #7: Something Spooky, 2022Lisa Chavéz – “The Customary Kiss,”...2023-10-3041 minPlume: A Writer's PodcastSeason 3, Episode 5: Revision as Spiritual Practice, A Conversation with Crystal (K.) OdelleIn this episode, Sam and Melanie talk with featured writer, Crystal (K.) Odelle, about flash prose, trans identity, the blurred lines between fiction and nonfiction, liminal spaces, chapbook publishing, RPG writing, and more!Crystal (K.) Odelle (they/she) is a queer trans writer, chapbooks editor at Newfound, and author of the novel Goodnight. Their flash stories have appeared in Gertrude, Passages North, Peach Mag, [PANK], Hobart, ANMLY, and elsewhere. Crystal was a Tin House Scholar and has been nominated for Best of the Net, and they write RPGs at Feverdream Games.Links2022-09-0647 minPlume: A Writer's PodcastSeason 3: Episode 4: Plume Story Time—If the River Men Take You by Dawn SperberIn today's mini episode, we offer you a brief reprieve from the hellscape of the news in the form of a magical short story by Plume's own Dawn Sperber. "If the River Men Take You" is a lovely tale from Dawn's debut flash fiction chapbook, Now, That's a Trick, out for pre-order now from Finishing Line Books. Preorder your copy today!We hope you enjoy the reading!Dawn's website:DawnSperber.com2022-06-2514 minPlume: A Writer's PodcastSeason 3, Episode 3: Mothers & DaughtersIn this episode, we’ve paired two mother-daughter writing duos to talk about how to support (and take seriously!) young writers and their creative endeavors. Sam hosts a conversation between returning-guest Jenn Ghivan and her 10-year-old daughter, Lina, and Ileisha Saunders and her 10-year-old daughter, Odyssey Miranda Mercado.About Our Guests:Jennifer & Adelina GhivanJennifer has earned fellowships from the NEA and PEN/Rosenthal Emerging Voices, and published eleven books of poetry, fiction, and craft. Her novels have received glowing and starred reviews in Publishers' Weekly, The Washington Po...2022-06-0249 minPlume: A Writer's PodcastSeason 3, Episode 2: It’s Okay to Be a Late Bloomer, A Conversation with Jessamine ChanIn this episode, Melanie and Dawn talk with featured writer, Jessamine Chan, about her New York Times bestselling novel The School For Good Mothers, publishing your first novel after 40, writing envy, motherhood, art and social change, “unlikeable” women in fiction, and more!Join our Patreon at the $5 Prickly Pear level for access to an upcoming bonus segment from this episode, in which Jessamine talks in more detail about her novel (with spoilers!).CW: forced parent child separationJessamine Chan’s short stories have appeared in Tin House and Epoch. A former reviews editor at Pub...2022-05-1631 minPlume: A Writer's PodcastSeason 3, Episode 1: A Novel in Progress, A Conversation with Melanie UnruhTo kick off Season 3, Plumesters Sam and Dawn are turning the tables on their fellow co-host, Melanie Unruh, and talking to her about writing novels, sticking with large projects, and the founding of Plume.We're so excited to share this new season with you all!CW: grief and abortionMelanie Unruh has an MFA in fiction from the University of New Mexico. Her writing has appeared in and is forthcoming in The Meadow, Two Hawks Quarterly, The Boiler, New Ohio Review, Post Road, Sixfold, Philadelphia Stories, and Cutthroat, among others. She co-founded Plume...2022-04-0135 minPlume: A Writer's PodcastSeason 2, Episode 14: A Plume Collage of VoicesWe can’t believe we’ve just completed the second season of our podcast. We have enjoyed this beautiful, encouraging, supportive ride, and are excited to offer up our season 2 finale.In this episode, we’ll break from our usual roundtable format. We thought, what better way is there to end the year than to include in this final episode as many voices from our Plume community as possible? The result is a beautiful range of poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction from 15 of this season’s featured writers, roundtable participants, and members of our Plume community. This time of...2021-11-231h 01Plume: A Writer's PodcastSeason 2, Episode 13: Can You Work on It for Five Minutes?, A Conversation with Kendra TuthillIn this episode, Melanie and Dawn talk with November featured writer, Kendra Tuthill, about self-publishing; writing through grief; setting small, timed writing goals, and more. Plus, Kendra reads her thought-provoking letter of encouragement, which explores the effects of writers losing their attention spans in the age of social media.Join our Patreon at the $5 Prickly Pear level for access to an upcoming bonus segment from this episode, in which Kendra talks in more detail about the excerpt from her novel Stitches. You'll also receive a copy of November's Digital Plume, which includes both Kendra's letter and her...2021-11-0936 minPlume: A Writer's PodcastSeason 2, Episode 12: Witchy Writers, a Roundtable Discussion with Jenn Givhan, Britt Ashley, and Dawn SperberIn this episode, we talk with three writers who identify with Pagan traditions or as witches. We focus on how magic influences their writing, how they move through the world with this belief system and identity, how to ethically incorporate magic and spirituality into writing, and more.CW: child loss, sexual assault, and religious intoleranceJenn's websiteBritt's websiteDawn's website2021-10-2554 minPlume: A Writer's PodcastSeason 2, Episode 11: Writing in Small Bites, A Conversation with Nari KirkIn this episode, Sam and Melanie talk with October featured writer, Nari Kirk, about her writing process, poetic influences on her prose, MFA reflections, writing about grief, and more. Plus, Nari reads her engaging letter of encouragement, which explores the ways in which we often try to force writing into a work ethic.Join our Patreon at the $5 Prickly Pear level for access to an upcoming bonus segment from this episode, in which Nari talks about her trajectory as a writer. You'll also receive a copy of October's Digital Plume, which includes both Nari's letter and a...2021-10-1238 minPlume: A Writer's PodcastSeason 2, Episode 10: Literary Magazines, a Roundtable Discussion with Brenna Gomez, Rhea Ramakrishnan, Samantha Tetangco, Dawn Sperber, and Melanie UnruhIn this episode, we’ve pulled back the curtain on what happens behind the scenes of a literary magazine. It’s a great one for those of you who’ve never worked on a literary magazine before or perhaps you are just starting to submit your work for the same time as it offers some advice for what to do, some insight into what editors look for, and some sense of the labor involved in putting out a literary magazine to the public.Blue Mesa Review (open for fall submissions until 9/30/21!)Electric LiteratureBoulev...2021-09-2858 minPlume: A Writer's PodcastSeason 2, Episode 9: You Don't Have to Write Anything, A Conversation with Paula Treick DeBoardIn this episode, Sam and Melanie talk with September featured writer, Paula Treick DeBoard, about low residency MFA programs, balancing writing and teaching, publishing industry labels for writing by women, and more! Plus, Paula reads her compelling letter of encouragement. Join our Patreon for access to an upcoming bonus segment from this episode, in which Paula talks about her riveting novel excerpt, featured in this month's Digital Plume. Paula Treick DeBoard is a fiction writer in Northern California, with roots throughout the Midwest. She is the author of four novels, including Here We...2021-09-1447 minPlume: A Writer's PodcastSeason 2, Episode 8: Writing Real People, a Roundtable Discussion with Jameela F. Dallis, Cynthia Patton, and Cassie McClureWe asked and you answered! By popular vote, our Patreon community members chose this roundtable topic. In this discussion, Sam, Melanie, Dawn, and guests Jameela F. Dallis, Cynthia Patton, and Cassie McClure talk about the tricky nature of writing about real people, others’ reactions to their work, writing through grief, deciding who owns a story, and more.TW// Intimate partner violence and Coronavirus deaths, Learn more about our multi-talented panelists!Jameela’s website Cynthia’s website Cassie’s website Follow us on social media!Plume on InstagramPl...2021-08-241h 05Plume: A Writer's PodcastSeason 2, Episode 7: Art Is Us, A Conversation with Lisa D. ChavézIn this episode, Sam and Melanie talk with August featured writer, Lisa D. Chavéz , about poetry, creative nonfiction, writing through trauma, MFA programs, and more!CW: sexual assault, trauma, and PTSDLisa D. Chavéz has published two books of poetry, Destruction Bay and In An Angry Season, and had poems anthologized in Floricanto Si!: U.S. Latina Poets, Camino del Sol: Fifteen Years of Latina and Latino Writing, and elsewhere. Her essays have appeared in Arts and Letters, The Fourth Genre and other magazines, and in anthologies including The Other Latin@: Writ...2021-08-1039 minPlume: A Writer's PodcastSeason 2 Episode 6: Feminist Writers: A Roundtable Discussion with Casandra López, Erin Adair-Hodges, & Suzanne RichardsonIn this roundtable discussion, Sam, Melanie, and guests Casandra López, Erin Adair-Hodges, and Suzanne Richardson talk about the role of feminism in writing today, living and writing intersectional feminist lives, writing the body, writing as an act of reclamation, and more.TW// Physical assault, sexual assault, violence against women, disordered eating, gun violence, genocide, & colonialismCasandra's websiteErin's websiteSuzanne's websiteRecommended Books & Writers Living a Feminist Life by...2021-07-2754 minPlume: A Writer's PodcastSeason 2 Ep. 5: Writing Has Saved My Life, A Conversation with Cynthia SylvesterIn this episode, Sam and Melanie talk with July featured writer, Cynthia Sylvester, about writing dialogue, finding and defending your voice, the confluence of music and storytelling, writing about the southwest from a Diné perspective, compiling her new cross-genre collection, and more.Cynthia Sylvester recently completed a collection of short stories and poems, The Half-White Album. Work from this debut book has appeared in ABQ in Print, Leon Literary Review, Lunch Ticket, As Us Journal, and Bosque – the Magazine. In 2012 she received the Native Writer Award at the Taos Writers Conference. She liv...2021-07-1339 minPlume: A Writer's PodcastSeason 2 Ep. 4: LGBTQ+ Writers: A Roundtable Discussion with Marlena Chertock, Belinda Kremer, and Summer WoodIn this roundtable discussion, Sam and guests Marlena Chertock, Belinda Kremer, and Summer Wood talk about what it means to be a queer writer, navigating the publishing industry and workshops designed by and for straight white men, using their voices to uplift communities and shed light on oppression, the genealogy of queerness, and so much more.CW// forced sterilization Summer's websiteMarlena's websiteOutWriteBelinda's summer poetry classConfrontation Magazine2021-06-211h 12Plume: A Writer's PodcastSeason 2 Ep. 3: Naming the Aswang, a Conversation with Elsa ValmidianoIn this episode, Melanie and Sam chat with June featured writer Elsa Valmidiano about writing Filipino heritage. They talk about her story "Down the Rabbit Hole", the inadequacy of labels, and the role of forgotten shamans. Elsa reads her letter of encouragement and shares some dazzling writers we should be reading now.Elsa's websiteWe Are No Longer BabaylanElsa on InstagramWriters to ReadAdrienne OliverTrinidad EscobarJanice Lobo SapigaoAnna Vangala Jones CW: Miscarriage2021-06-0852 minPlume: A Writer's PodcastSeason 2 Ep. 2: Writing Moms: A Roundtable Discussion with Julia Halprin Jackson, Christina Socorro Yovovich, and Jennifer Jordán SchallerIn Plume's first roundtable discussion, Melanie chats with writers and moms, Julia Halprin Jackson, Christina Socorro Yovovich, and Jennifer Jordán Schaller. They discuss dual identities, juggling writing and parenting in the midst of the pandemic, writing about and for their children, current projects, and more.Julia's websitePlay on Words Christina's recent essays: "Taking Time" and "Mom Talk: Choosing Third Grade"Jennifer's websiteGregory Martin's Treadmill Journal2021-05-2553 minPlume: A Writer's PodcastSeason 2 Ep. 1: Soon It Will Be Blueberry Season, A Conversation with Tia ClarkWelcome to season two, Plumesters! In this episode, Melanie and Sam chat with May featured writer Tia Clark about narrative structure, intersectionality, short story collections, writing fellowships, and the passage of time as it relates to our writing. Tia reads their letter of encouragement, shares excellent writing advice, and gives us a heads up on writers we should be reading now. Tia on TwitterTia's websiteDantiel W. MonizAnnell López Instagram & TwitterKristin SandersJami AttenbergThe Wisconsin Institute for Creative Writing Fellowships2021-05-1031 minPlume: A Writer's PodcastSeason 1 Ep. 11: Melanie & Melanie, Featuring Melanie S. HatterIn this episode, which marks the last from Plume's first season, Melanie interviews the delightful writer Melanie S. Hatter. They talk about work/life/writing balance, writing retreats, and Melanie's award-winning novel, Malawi's Sisters. At the end of the episode, Melanie (Unruh) gives important updates on Plume's new structure and relaunch, including some exciting new Patreon changes.Melanie S. Hatter's websiteMelanie on TwitterThis Is What America Looks Like (the new anthology Melanie is in)Mastin Kipp (the speaker who organized the writing retreat in Bali)2021-04-2827 minPlume: A Writer's PodcastA Tribute to Jennifer SimpsonAs many of you know, Plume’s co-founder, Jennifer Simpson, passed away suddenly in December. In this special recording, Jenn's friends and family read her essays, blogs, and poems to honor her beautiful work, as well as her generous spirit. Karin Zirk: “42 Years of Title IX: Where Are We Now?” 5:59Debby Simpson: “First Dance” 8:17 Cindy Sylvester: “After, We Were Birds” 9:27 Nora Hickey: “Dead Deer” 12:17 Jennifer Lynn Krohn: “Jennifer Simpson Is Writing This Book Because” 15:10 Samantha Tetangco and Merimee Moffett: “Playing with Words” 16:33 Caroline Tompkins: “Letter to My Mother on the Anniversary of Her Death” 22:04 Cynthia Patton: “Jennifer Simpson Doesn’t Writ...2021-02-1755 minPlume: A Writer's PodcastSeason 1 Ep. 10: Let's Generalize About Men, featuring Tierna Unruh-EnosMelanie gives some Plume updates at the top of the show and the rest of the episode is an interview with Tierna Unruh-Enos, the associate publisher and managing editor of The Paper, a weekly alternative newspaper in Albuquerque, and the producer and creator of the podcast The Mesa. They talk about politics, representation in media, creativity in journalistic writing, and yes, men's fragile egos, among other things.LinksTierna on TwitterThe Mesa on TwitterThe Mesa podcastThe Paper2020-11-2447 minPlume: A Writer's PodcastSeason 1 Ep. 9: Featuring Felecia Caton-GarciaMelanie and Jennifer unpack the idea of writer's block, discuss dream-boarding your story ideas, chat about books and writing and setting descriptions, and share a writing prompt. They interview Felecia Caton-Garcia, who shares a heartbreakingly beautiful excerpt from her novel in progress.LinksPlume Zoom Writers' Support Group (free!) Registration Is It Real? 25 Famous Writers on Writer's BlockSharp Teeth by Toby BarlowDrought by Felecia Caton-GarciaGirl, Woman, Other by Bernadine EvaristoLong Bright River by Liz MooreThe Searcher by Tana...2020-11-0354 minPlume: A Writer's PodcastSeason 1 Ep. 8: Featuring Jennifer Lynn KrohnIn this episode, Melanie and Jennifer talk about writing conferences after Melanie shares her experience of recently attending her first fully online one, which included speed dates with editors and agents. They chat with poet Jennifer Lynn Krohn about horror movies, giving advice to her younger self, and if the word "zeitgeist" is actually meaningful. LinksJennifer Lynn Krohn's websiteFollow Jennifer on TwitterFollow Jennifer on InstagramPhiladelphia StoriesPush to Publish ConferenceTaos Summer Writers’ Conference SCBWIAWP...2020-10-201h 00Plume: A Writer's PodcastSeason 1 Ep. 7: Featuring Danielle HansonMelanie and Jennifer discuss the loss of Ruth Bader Ginsburg and how writers are necessarily political. Melanie interviews Danielle Hanson, a rad, Atlanta-based poet, whose poetry is oddly synchronous with a story-in-progress excerpt Jennifer shares about people's ashes that attend parties (Yes, you read that correctly). This one is a wild ride of puppetry, feminism, diversifying your reading list, activism, shipping fictional princes and first sons, and more!CW: Brief references to sexual assaultLinksDanielle’s websiteDanielle on Instagram and Twitter1619 podcast by The New Yo...2020-09-281h 01Plume: A Writer's PodcastSeason 1 Ep. 6: Featuring Samantha TetangcoOn this episode of Plume: A Writer's Podcast, Melanie and Jennifer discuss Jesmyn Ward's heartbreaking essay that came out recently in Vanity Fair, which delves deeply into COVID-19 loss and grief, as well as how it connects to racism in the U.S. They also talk about everything from food memoirs to the new trailer for the Rebecca adaptation. Writer Samantha Tetangco sits down with them (on Zoom, anyway) to talk about identity, sexuality, race, and all the ways these subjects intersect with writing. They also reveal some exciting news about team Plume! CW: racism and COVID-19...2020-09-151h 05Plume: A Writer's PodcastSeason 1 Ep. 5: Featuring Donna MiscoltaOn this episode of Plume: A Writer's Companion podcast, Melanie & Jennifer talk about writing censorship and tourism, as well as family pushback on hard truths; discuss books they're reading; and talk about writing projects and conferences. They have a lovely chat with the writer Donna Miscolta, who reads from her forthcoming book Living Color: Angie Rubio Stories. This episode's writing prompt was inspired by an Angie Rubio story.LinksDonna's website Donna on Twitter and Instagram Angie’s report card storyWhen the de La Cruz Family Danc...2020-09-0155 minPlume: A Writer's PodcastSeason 1 Ep. 4, Featuring Karin ZirkOn this episode of Plume: A Writer's Companion podcast, Melanie & Jennifer talk about rejection letters; discuss Lovecraft Country and Misha Green’s new adaptation of the book for HBO; and share their current writing and not writing projects. Melanie’s cat stops in to say hello and Jenn offers some great writing prompts about the moon. They chat about everything from myths to phone banking with Karin E. Zirk, an impressive mythologist and the author of Falling From the Moon, which was released earlier this year. LinksKarin's websiteKarin on Twitter2020-08-1853 minPlume: A Writer's PodcastSeason 1 Ep. 3, Featuring Sue William SilvermanOn this episode of Plume: A Writer's Companion podcast, Melanie & Jennifer talk about a 4-year-old with a forthcoming poetry collection; share a book review of Watchmen; and discuss their attempts to write and edit during this strange time we're all living through. They chat about everything from metaphors to politics with Sue William Silverman, an engaging memoirist, who also reads an excerpt from her new memoir, How to Survive Death and Other Inconveniences. LINKSSue William SilvermanHer websiteSue on Instagram2020-08-0448 minPlume: A Writer's PodcastSeason 1 Ep. 2, Featuring Suzanne RichardsonOn this episode of Plume: A Writer's Companion podcast, Melanie & Jennifer dig into the infamous Harper's Letter; share a book review of Men We Reaped, Jesmyn Ward's memoir; chat about Stacey Abrams' new book; and discuss their current writing projects. They also chat with Suzanne Richardson, a talented writer who is working on a memoir about addiction, as well as putting together an anthology about Dungeons & Dragons. They discuss everything from writing and teaching writing during a pandemic to real life repercussions of writing memoir.LINKSHarper's LetterMen We Reaped...2020-07-2148 min
Plume: A Writer's PodcastSeason 1 Ep. 1, Featuring Christina Socorro YovovichIn the very first episode of Plume: A Writer's Companion Podcast, Melanie and Jennifer talk about Plume and writing communities in the time of pandemic, as well as books, writing projects, and a writing prompt. They also chat with Plume's July featured writer, Christina Socorro Yovovich, about writing, parenting, and mental illness.2020-07-0642 min
Google Cloud Platform PodcastDecision Intelligence with Cassie KozyrkovChief Decision Scientist, Cassie Kozyrkov joins Mark and Melanie this week to explain data science, analytics, machine learning and statistical inference, in relation to decision intelligence. Cassie Kozyrkov As Chief Decision Scientist at Google Cloud, Cassie advises leadership teams on decision process, AI strategy, and building data-driven organizations. She works to democratize statistical thinking and machine learning so that everyone - Google, its customers, the world! - can harness the beauty and power of data. She is the innovator behind the practice of Decision Intelligence Engineering at Google and she has personally trained over 15,000 Googlers in machine...2018-05-2339 minGoogle Cloud Platform PodcastCloud AutoML Vision with Amy Unruh and Sara RobinsonAmy Unruh and Sara Robinson join the podcast this week to talk with Mark and Melanie about the alpha launch of Cloud AutoML Vision. Cloud AutoML is a suite of products enabling developers with limited ML expertise to build high quality models using transfer learning and Neural Architecture Search techniques. AutoML Vision is the first product out the gate with a focus on making it easy to train customized vision models. About Amy Unruh Amy is a developer relations engineer for the Google Cloud Platform, where she focuses on machine learning and data analytics as...2018-01-1726 min