The Make Meaning Podcast

Minda Zetlin has written columns for Inc. Magazine for more than a decade, and out of that research, reporting and curiosity grew the material and focus for her latest book, CAREER SELF-CARE . The latest author to share her story on the Make Meaning Podcast , Minda Zetlin talks with host Lynne Golodner about how crucial membership in the American Society of Journalists and Authors has been for her...

Desiree Cooper was once a Detroit Free Press columnist, a Pulitzer Prize nominee, a Kresge Artist Fellow , an attorney and now she's a children's book author – which explains why she considers herself "genre agnostic." The latest author to share her story on the Make Meaning Podcast , Desiree started writing professionally before social media was a thing, and readers regularly sent her letters and...

When your mother is an English teacher and your favorite TV show is Masterpiece Theater on PBS , it's almost inevitable that you'll take to writing creative, compelling, fantastical stories that captivate readers. "Writing was something I knew I could do," says Sara Bennett Wealer , the latest author to share her story on the Make Meaning Podcast .   In this episode, host Lynne Golodner interviews...

The key to great writing, says Christopher P. Locke , is to be vulnerable. Don't worry about what people will think. Don't censor yourself. Just share your realness and that will help others feel less alone.   In the latest episode of the Make Meaning Podcast , host Lynne Golodner interviews Christopher P. Locke about his writing journey, their shared memories in the MFA program at Goddard College...

Tammy Pasterick didn't intend to become a historical fiction novelist. But when a deep dive into her family's immigrant history unearthed fascinating storylines about Eastern European emigres who settled in Pennsylvania, she knew she had a great story on her hands.   In the latest episode of the Make Meaning Podcast , host Lynne Golodner interviews Tammy Pasterick about her journey of writing Bene...

As a first-generation college student, Camille Pagan thought she'd study medicine. She ended up writing about health and then penned her first novel after the birth of her daughter, selling it at auction in a six-figure deal. But all was not easy after that. While Camille has enjoyed a hearty career as the bestselling author of eight novels, she endured ups, downs and redirects along the way and n...

What began as penance for speeding has become a beloved radio show-turned-podcast called Simply Scottish that allows writer Andrew McDiarmid to stay connected to his heritage and his homeland. "Being an immigrant has enriched my life," says Andrew, who emigrated to the United States from Scotland at the age of 11 and straddles cultures and countries in his identity and his affiliations.   In the l...

In her latest poetry collection, Sara Henning tries to make meaning of grief, after losing her mother to metastatic colon cancer. "I lost my center," Sara says, and Terra Incognita is her way to regain a firm stance on this earth. In this episode, Sara does a live reading of her poem "Queening" around the 25-minute mark.   In the latest episode of the Make Meaning Podcast , host Lynne Golodner int...

Episode 132 – Merryn Glover – Literary Fiction about Place   Merryn Glover writes literary fiction from the Scottish Highlands , deep into the Cairngorm Mountains. Her lyrical prose invokes place and relationship in gorgeous ways, her words rising from the page to attach to the reader's heart. Born in Kathmandu and raised in Nepal, Pakistan and India, Merryn is the daughter of Australian missionar...

Weina Randel emigrated to the United States from China at the age of 24, switching from her native Chinese to English, as she began to write fiction. She wrote a duology about China's first and only female emperor, Wu Zetian , and then penned a truly stunning historical novel called The Last Rose of Shanghai , about a love story between a Chinese woman and a Jewish refugee in Shanghai during World...

Merle Saferstein has been journaling since 1974, so when she decided to comb through her nearly 400 journals to create a book, she knew it would not be an easy endeavor. It has taken the better part of the last two decades to create LIVING AND LEAVING MY LEGACY, volume 1 , which debuted in June 2022 to much acclaim. Volume 2 will be published in June 2023. In the latest episode of the Make Meaning...

Rosina Lippi writes under her own name and under the pseudonym Sara Donati, and her Wilderness series of six historical novels is some of the most gorgeous fiction you'll ever read. A former linguistics professor, Rosina has been writing for decades and built quite a following, even as the publishing industry has changed. In the latest episode of the Make Meaning Podcast , host Lynne Golodner inte...

Imagine starting a company to give yourself an income source that is compatible with your role as a mom of small children. And then, as that company grows, realizing your role is really about creating opportunities for others – providing meaningful, flexible work, access to great content and guidance to reach goals and grow influence.  And then, 10 years in, you write a book about everything you l...

So many writers say they write to figure out what they believe or make sense of a situation. Ly Tran says she writes to overcome self-doubt and to celebrate her voice. More than that, she says her words connect her to others, and the best part of putting a book in the world is the feedback she gets from readers who say that her story touched them in a deep and meaningful way. In the latest episode...

Do you do fun things often? Do you take risks? Are you connected to a community that makes you feel good about who you are? These are essential elements of a healthy life, according to Dr. Indigo Willing , who started skateboarding in her 40s, after finishing her PhD and becoming a "mum." It was something she always wanted to do but never thought it was open to her – and now she's not only great o...

Sometimes inspiration comes from sources very close to home. While spending more time with his family during the Covid-19 pandemic, Jeffrey was inspired to pass on his experience and values to younger generations by writing a children's book starring his own grandchildren, I Don't Want to Turn 3 .   In the latest episode of the Make Meaning Podcast , host Lynne Golodner interviews Gramps Jeffrey a...

As a young woman, Dorit Sasson moved to Israel and served in the Israel Defense Forces as a lone soldier. After 18 years, Dorit returned to the United States, and those decisions, along with the details of her life in both places, inspired two memoirs about straddling cultures, languages, and definitions of home. In the latest episode of the Make Meaning Podcast , Dorit speaks with host Lynne Golo...

It took 10 years for Karen Baum Gordon to write and publish her memoir, The Last Letter: A father's struggle, a daughter's quest, and the long shadow of the Holocaust , under the guidance of a friend who was an editor at McGraw-Hill . The book explores generations of her family through letters, while grappling with the ancestral trauma and psychological legacy of terror, genocide and persecution....

The colonizing of America separated Indigenous people from their nourishing " first foods ," plant and animal species that native communities relied upon for subsistence, ceremony and medicine. More than a decade ago, the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community (KBIC) , Michigan Technological University (MTU) , and the Western UP Planning and Development Region came together to create a space that celebrate...

Stephanie Steinberg always knew she wanted to be a writer. From a young age, she chased her creative nature, which led her to become a published author, a successful journalist, and an inspiring entrepreneur.  In the latest episode of the Make Meaning Podcast , Stephanie speaks with host Lynne Golodner about their passion for their alma mater (University of Michigan), Stephanie's two books , her e...

Jacqueline Suskin has been a poet all her life. It's something she was born with, she says, and this passion for poetry has led her to build a career where people pay her to write poems about their experiences, their longings, their celebrations, and their desires. In the latest episode of the Make Meaning Podcast , Jacqueline speaks with host Lynne Golodner about Poem Store , the entrepreneurial...

Noor A'wad and Rabbi Hanan Schlesinger may have come to the question of how Palestinians and Israelis can co-exist on land that they both claim as sacred from different perspectives, but through their work with Roots , the Palestinian Israeli Grassroots Initiative for Understanding, Nonviolence and Transformation, they are figuring out a way to share the land while respecting both communities' cla...

Elizabeth Gowing's life changed when she moved from London to Kosovo in 2006 for her partner's job on what was supposed to be a six-month contract. Fifteen years later, Elizabeth speaks Albanian, teaches English and leads The Ideas Partnership , an NGO that offers support to people through education, health and social welfare as well as offering literacy classes, and arts and dance sessions. Drive...

Steven Wingate writes to learn foundational truths such as: Who are we? And, why do we behave the way we do? A resident of South Dakota, Steven sets his novels in the center of America, known as the heartland, flyover country or a big open expanse of unbridled wilderness. He writes about this place that he calls home to showcase its beauty and its people. Two of his books, The Leave Takers and Of...

In a way, every person is a storyteller, according to Jake Neher , senior producer for Detroit Today on 101.9 FM WDET in Detroit. As co-host of the weekly series and podcast MichMash,  not only does Jake have storytelling gifts, but he brings a huge passion for gardening to guide his curiosity when choosing guests and asking questions. As his radio career took him to Barrow, Alaska, New York City...