Craft: Exploring Creativity

What kind of childhood frustration leads one to be a writer? Central Ohio nonfiction writer Nichole Reber’s path to a career in writing was sparked by her mother reading to her and Nichole’s curiosity about how her mother did this … Continue reading →

Ohio State University professor Jeffrey H. Cohen’s latest book Eating Soup without a Spoon sounds like a minimalist cookbook bent on reducing the amount of silverware used at a meal. It’s not. It’s a look at the application of anthropological methods … Continue reading →

The last time Rebecca Frazier was in Columbus with Six String Concerts, we talked about her transportation, the most dangerous tour bus in America. This time, we talked about the impact her kids have on her touring schedule and writing and … Continue reading →

Guest host Maureen Metcalf is on a mission to find parallels between the arts and business. This week, she talks to Michael Sayre,  Co-Founder, President, and CEO of NexDefense, about how his 25 years in the technology and industrial control systems industry … Continue reading →

Jason Gay is the sports columnist for The Wall Street Journal. Seriously. I didn’t know that The Wall Street Journal covered sports. I originally imagined that it only covers polo, but no, Jason Gay covers a variety of sports, after previously writing … Continue reading →

To celebrate the release of The Fourth Messenger, I’m hosting the Craft Book Giveaway Bonanza during the Saturday, November 14, broadcast of my interview with Tanya Shaffer and Vienna Teng! The broadcast is paired with a great discussion of the … Continue reading →

Ray Bradbury and the apocalypse. Edgar Allen Poe and pet abuse. Nothing sentimental or lovely: Audrey Niffenegger’s latest book, Ghostly, will haunt your reading hours. Listen in for her discussion of the writing, loss, and which story she’d have most liked to … Continue reading →

Having, like Sting, left the teaching of English to follow his passion as a singer-songwriter, Mike Vial has developed a variety of new songs, new techniques, and new artistic outlets to enhance his music. Lately, he’s turned to writing haikus … Continue reading →

Happy Halloween. It’s time to face your fears: not run from them like this guy. –> So listen to the Craft Halloween special with stories from Lucy A Snyder and Doug Dangler, and voice work from Columbus actor Christina Yoho, OSU student … Continue reading →

Gregory Maguire is the author of the bestselling novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, a reimagining of the Wizard of Oz told from the Wicked Witch’s point of view. It’s also the basis … Continue reading →

Back by unpopular demand: an hour of Craft on the mighty WCBE! Featuring Sarah Vowell, performers from the 2015 Columbus Improv Festival, and Ohio State University comics, it will broadcast at 3 pm on October 24 – unless you know … Continue reading →

Celebrated essayist and bestselling author Sloane Crosley has made the genre leap to fiction with her latest The Clasp. Listen in to learn what made her realize she is part of a group that is “cracked in the head:” authors. Explore … Continue reading →

Caroline Cotter, in town with Six String Concerts, has a secret weapon for songwriting inspiration: crafting. Listen in to hear how her love of creating things led to her writing one of her favorite songs, La Marionette.  

When author/director Eric Dean Seaton attended the Ohio State University, he had a big car and big plans. The first paid off when he rented it out for football players to take dates around town and the second paid off … Continue reading →

Karin Slaughter’s debut novel, Blindsighted, was shortlisted for the Crime Writers’ Association’s Dagger Award for “Best Thriller Debut” of 2001. Since then, she’s released over a dozen books which have sold over 30 million copies. She’ll be a guest author … Continue reading →

With poems in “The Paris Review,” “The Gettysburg Review,” and “The Florida Review,” and a 2011 creative writing fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, native Columbusite Maggie Smith has created a strong following. She was a July 15 guest of the … Continue reading →

His new album “The Mispronunciation of Sumukh Torgalkar” (iTunes) was a hit on iTunes Comedy and Sumukh Torgalkar has been touring around the country from his base in Columbus, Ohio, as well as at the Arch City Comedy Festival. Listen in … Continue reading →

You’ve heard her on “Wait, Wait Don’t Tell Me,” seen her HBO comedy special, or watched her animated character “Forgetter Paula” in Disney Pixar’s “Inside Out.” But how well do you really know Paula Poundstone? Listen to our interview so you … Continue reading →

Comedian Stewart Huff, also in town September 3-5 with the Arch City Comedy Festival, has an unusual approach to comedy. First he’s on the road for hundreds of dates per year, hitting comedy clubs across the US. Second, he describes it … Continue reading →

Saturday, July 11, tune into WCBE, 90.5FM, to hear NPR and ABC correspondent Cokie Roberts, 6-word memoirist Larry Smith, comedian Erin Foley, and writer/actor Ali Wentworth. Listen in to my talk with all of these fine people at the top of … Continue reading →

Tune into WCBE on Saturday, June 27, to hear my talk with the fine folks from Columbus Speakeasy.   Jillian Corron, Barbara Allen, Karl Boettcher, Pam Cummings, and Sarah Fulmer tell me about their stories, what being storytellers means to them, and how others can … Continue reading →

“‘That’s what presidents do these days,’ we think nowadays, ‘They cover things up.'” James Tobin, professor of Media, Journalism and Film at Miami University and speaker of the above quotation, offers The Man He Became: How FDR Defied Polio to Win … Continue reading →

All fourteen of Jeff Shaara’s novels have been New York Times bestsellers, starting with his first, Gods and Generals, in 1996. It’s an impressive track record and he’s got an impressive family history, too. His father, Michael Shaara, won a … Continue reading →

-Tyler Clementi Do you believe in ghosts? First time and Thurber House guest author Janis Heaphy Durham does. Listen to our interview with her, and you might too. Durham is the author of the story of her husband’s passing, the seemingly impossible events … Continue reading →

And here’s part three of my talk with improv performers from Columbus Unscripted.