Season 3 Ep 5 | Ed Simon | The Great American Novel Remains a Work-in-Progress
Release Date: 06/03/2025
Season 5 Ep 6 | Sara Stibitz | A Ladder to the Stars
Some Things Considered
In this episode of Some Things Considered, I had the pleasure of speaking with Sara Stibitz—NYT-bestselling collaborative writer, author of Writing on Purpose, and creator of the Substack A Ladder to the Stars—about creativity, narrative, and how story shapes everything we do. We went deep and wide, and some of the highlights include: Sara’s relationship to story:Why storytelling is central to human meaning, healing, and creative practice. A Ladder to the Stars:Helping writers navigate craft, publishing, emotional resilience, and building a sustainable creative life. Creativity as...
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Season 5 Ep 5 | Chris Colin | Modern Life is Designed to Exhaust You
Some Things Considered
In this episode, I talk with journalist and author Chris Colin, whose work in The New York Times, The Atlantic, and the WSJ explores the strange, frustrating, and revealing corners of modern life. We cover some of his recent journalism–and the experiences that inspired them, as well as the contemporary state of all-things literary. Some key takeaways include: His New York Times story “You’re Going to Lose Your Mind’: My Three-Day Retreat in Total Darkness.” How Chris ended up in a three-day total-darkness retreat; what happens to the mind without stimulus; fear, boredom, insight,...
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Season 5 Ep 4 | Jenna Blum | Changing Genres, Creative Identity, & the Business of Writing
Some Things Considered
This episode of Some Things Considered features the always-brilliant Jenna Blum, New York Times and #1 international bestselling author of Those Who Save Us, The Stormchasers, The Lost Family, Woodrow on the Bench, and her forthcoming psychological thriller Murder Your Darlings (out January 2026). It’s a wide-ranging, candid conversation about writing across genres, the realities of literary success, and what it really means to build a sustainable creative life. Murder Your Darlings & Genre Shifts Jenna’s first psychological thriller Why she chose to tackle the genre now Writing...
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Season 5 Ep 3 | Tim Wendel | Baseball, History, and Craft
Some Things Considered
In this episode, I speak with award-winning author and Johns Hopkins writing professor Tim Wendel, whose books include Summer of ’68, Castro’s Curveball, Cancer Crossings, and his newest novel Rebel Falls. Tim is productive, well-read, and well-traveled, so our conversation inexorably covered a great deal of ground, and some topics include: Baseball & storytelling: How the game shaped Tim’s life as a writer; the mythology of Bull Durham; the legend of Steve Dalkowski. Substack & citizen historians: Why Tim believes everyday people must help preserve historical truth,...
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From Prison to Advocacy: Stephanie Shepard on Justice and Reform
Some Things Considered
In this episode, I speak with Stephanie Shepard, Executive Director of Last Prisoner Project. She was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for a first-time, nonviolent cannabis offense and now leads the Last Prisoner Project (LPP). Her story—and her advocacy—reveals the human cost of the War on Drugs and the urgent need for restorative justice. Some key takeaways from our conversation include: Stephanie’s story: From her 2010 conviction and nine-year sentence to becoming Executive Director of LPP. What LPP does: Freeing cannabis prisoners, record clearance, reentry support, and...
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Season 5 Ep 1 | Matt Davis | What does Mount Rushmore tell us about America?
Some Things Considered
Some Things Considered returns with our fifth season, and we could not be more excited. Episode One features Matthew Davis, with whom I speak about his new book Biography of a Mountain, an in-depth examination of Mt. Rushmore as both a monument and a metaphor for America. Drawing on years of research and personal engagement with the Black Hills, Davis unpacks the layered histories, mythologies, and political tensions embedded in this iconic site. We cover a ton of ground, and highlights include: Why Mt. Rushmore: How Davis realized this was the book he needed to write — and why the...
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Season 4 Ep 11 | Karen E. Bender | Literary Fiction, Storytelling, and the Times We Live In
Some Things Considered
What is the role of literary fiction in 2025? Is it simply escapism, or is it something deeper — a mirror to the world we inhabit, a lens on its inequities, contradictions, and quiet truths? In my latest episode of Some Things Considered, I spoke with Karen E. Bender, National Book Award finalist and author of The Words of Dr. L, to explore these questions. Karen’s new collection is a meditation on our times. Her stories navigate the uneasy space between overt political urgency and narrative subtlety, achieving what only the most mature and authoritative fiction can: illuminating society...
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Season 4 Ep 10 | Caroline Bock & Jona Colson | Talking "America's Future" with Washington Writer's Publishing House
Some Things Considered
In this episode of Some Things Considered, I’m joined by Caroline Bock and Jona Colson, co-presidents of . They are two of my favorite DC-area writers and advocates, but today we gather to discuss–and celebrate–the publication of a brand new anthology “America’s Future: poetry & prose in response to tomorrow.” Caroline is the author of the story collection “Carry Her Home” and Jona’s poetry collection “Said Through Glass” (both published in 2018). Washington Writers’ Publishing House is the longest, continuously operating nonprofit, cooperative, literary...
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Season 4 Ep 9 | Karen Eber | The Art & Science of Storytelling
Some Things Considered
In this episode of Some Things Considered, I sit down with Karen Eber — TED speaker, award-winning author of The Perfect Story, and former Fortune 500 executive whose talks have reached millions worldwide. Karen specializes in the science and skill of storytelling, helping leaders and creatives alike use stories to inform, influence, and inspire. The conversation explores: The science of storytelling: what happens in the brain when a story works, and why humans are wired to connect through narrative. What makes a story succeed—or fail: common pitfalls and how to avoid them. Trust and...
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Season 4 Ep 8 | Lisa Cooper Ellison | Writing, Resilience, and the Creative Life
Some Things Considered
In this episode, I’m joined by Lisa Cooper Ellison—author, speaker, trauma-informed writing coach, and host of Writing Your Resilience. Lisa works at the intersection of storytelling and healing, using her personal experiences and clinical training to help writers transform difficult life events into meaningful art. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, HuffPost, Risk!, and more. She recently completed her memoir Please Stage Dive Carefully: How I Survived My Brother’s Suicide and Forgave Myself. Our conversation explores: The multiple hats every modern writer must wear:...
info_outlineToday’s guest is Ed Simon, who is the Public Humanities Special Faculty in the English Department of Carnegie Mellon University and the Editor-in-Chief for Belt Magazine and the forthcoming Pittsburgh Review of Books. His essays have appeared in The Atlantic, The Washington Post, The New York Times and many others. He dropped by to discuss his recent piece from Lit Hub, “American Literature’s White Whale: Why the “great American Novel” is Still Worth Pursuing.” Our conversation tackled this question (spoiler alert: a resounding YES), and explores how the best American novels have had one consistent quality across the centuries: they all, in their way, interrogate and grapple with what America is, and the ways it falls short of its utopian designs. As such, we mention Hawthorne, Melville, Faulkner, Fitzgerald, Morrison, and many other notable names, all of whom can make claims to writing the American novel. Inevitably, we talk about narrative, the importance of story not only for creative endeavors (duh), but the ways exceptional storytelling is utilized by politicians, tech oligarchs, and lowly lit nerds. If you are interested in a lively discussion about what makes a good book endure across generations (and cultures and languages), you’ll love this episode, and if you could use a reminder that Moby Dick rules, we’ve got you covered.
ABOUT THE GUESTS
Read more from Ed Simon:
https://lithub.com/american-literatures-white-whale-why-the-great-american-novel-is-still-worth-pursuing
ABOUT SOME THINGS CONSIDERED
Award-winning author Sean Murphy in conversation with creative thinkers, spanning the literary, music, art, politics, and tech industries. As a cultural critic, professor, founder of a literary non-profit, Sean is always looking to explore and celebrate the ways Story is integral to how we define ourselves, as artists and human beings. This Substack newsletter and weekly podcast peels back the layers of how creativity works, why it matters, how our most brilliant minds achieve mastery. Join us to explore how our most successful and inspired storytellers engage by discussing craft, routines, brand, and mostly through authentic and honest expression.
ABOUT HOST SEAN MURPHY
Website: seanmurphy.net
Substack: seanmurphy.live
Twitter: @bullmurph
Instagram: @bullmurph
Facebook: facebook.com/AuthorSeanMurphy
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/sean-murphy-4986b41