This week on The Easy Chair, it’s Family Mad Libs. From our vacation spot in The Hamptons, we play a spirited game of Mad Libs, World’s Greatest Word Game ™. The story we fill in the blanks on is “Let’s Dance”. Joining me is my entire fam- husb

Episode 229: Gift of the Magi

Dec 24th, 2019 13m 8s

This week on The Easy Chair, it’s a reprise of “The Gift of the Magi,” the classic short story by O. Henry. This small sweet gem of a tale is generally considered a Christmas story, as well as the iconic illustrative example of irony. I would c

Episode 228: Mightier Than the Sword, Holiday Survival Edition!

Dec 17th, 2019 20m 58s

This week, it’s Mightier Than the Sword, Holiday Survival Edition, with co-host Stephanie Spaulding! Today we tackle the holidays. It’s a time of gift-giving, holiday parties, and mandatory good cheer. We explore ways to healthily navigate the

Episode 227: Midnight Morning Update (with Rachael Hurwitz)

Dec 10th, 2019 17m 44s

Today on The Easy Chair, my guest is my daughter Rachael, and we talk about her indie folk band, Honey Magpie, and their second album, which they recently finished recording. Their single, “Undecided”, comes out on January 24th, 2020—and trust

Episode 226: The Point (by Laura Hurwitz)

Dec 3rd, 2019 20m 8s

Today on The Easy Chair, it's chapter one of my novel that’s been in progress (or arrested development) for quite a spell. I’ve been feeling very connected to Nantucket, the island I love, and prone to the tug of family, past and present. The P

Episode 225: In The Cemetery Where Al Jolson Is Buried (by Amy Hempel)

Nov 26th, 2019 18m 44s

This week on The Easy Chair, it’s the iconic short story writer Amy Hempel’s “The Cemetery When Al Jolson Is Buried.” This poignant story is about bearing witness to the final days of a best friend’s life. Full disclosure: I had to record the e

Episode 224: “How to Become a Writer” (by Lorrie Moore)

Nov 19th, 2019 16m 26s

This week on The Easy Chair, I am happy to share the subversively funny, life vs. art, absolutely all-too-true short story “How to Become a Writer” by Lorrie Moore. Moore’s tone, that of a classic how-to piece providing aspiring writers with a

Episode 223: Mightier Than the Sword

Nov 12th, 2019 17m 11s

This week, it’s the return of Mightier Than the Sword, with my wonderful co-host Stephanie Spaulding! Between one thing and another, it’s been a while since Steph and I have been able to record together, so this feels like an awesome reunion. W

Episode 222: The Patron Saint of Words

Nov 5th, 2019 23m 47s

Today’s Easy Chair episode: “The Patron Saint of Words” with guest poet, artist, radio host, and journalist Karen (K.P.) Ponzio. K.P. reads a very cool article she wrote about the Patron Saints of New Haven project, conceived and rendered by lo

Episode 221: Popsy (by Stephen King)

Oct 29th, 2019 27m

Just in time for Halloween, in this episode of The Easy Chair I read “Popsy”, Stephen King’s dark tale of a child abduction in which the tables get terrifyingly turned. Sheridan, a gambling addict, has taking to kidnapping children for a sinist

Episode 220: Rape Fantasies (by Margaret Atwood)

Oct 21st, 2019 21m 4s

This week on The Easy Chair, I read Margaret Atwood’s c. 1975 feminist short story, “Rape Fantasies”. Chatty narrator Estelle describes talking with her co-workers about their rape fantasies and hers. Their fantasies are the stuff of Hollywood

Episode 219: The Great Automatic Grammatizator (by Roald Dahl)

Oct 14th, 2019 20m 59s

This week on The Easy Chair, I read a funny and thought-provoking short story by the late Roald Dahl, "The Great Automatic Grammatizator." For anyone who has ever wondered if there is a can’t fail writing formula, or if maybe, just maybe, the

Episode 218: The Fat Girl (by Andre Dubus) Part Two

Oct 7th, 2019 15m 56s

This week, on The Easy Chair, I read the conclusion of “The Fat Girl” by Andre Dubus. Louise has graduated college and now weighs less than her goal weight. She has morphed from fat to thin in less than a year, and suddenly, the world opens up

Episode 217: The Fat Girl (by Andre Dubus) Part One

Sep 30th, 2019 23m 35s

Today on The Easy Chair, I read Part One of “The Fat Girl”- a stunning short story by Andre Dubus. Louise has been fat since childhood, furtively secreting away stashes of chocolate candy, which she eats at night, in bed. Then, her college room

Episode 216: Mightier Than the Sword

Sep 23rd, 2019 22m 31s

This week on The Easy Chair, it’s Mightier Than the Sword, with my wonderful co-host Steph Spaulding. We’re both back at work in the classroom, and…drum roll, please…so far, we are DOING A-OKAY. Steph’s got a new approach that she shares with u

Episode 215: Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been Part Two (by Joyce Carol Oates)

Sep 16th, 2019 15m 51s

This week on The Easy Chair, it’s the conclusion of Joyce Carol Oates’s stunner of a short story, “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been”. Arnold Friend has shown up at fifteen-year-old Connie’s screen door, behind which she’s home alone. Su

Episode 214: Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been (by Joyce Carol Oates)

Sep 9th, 2019 23m 51s

This week on The Easy Chair, I read the first half of Joyce Carol Oates's brilliant, twisted short story, “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been.” Connie is a fifteen-year-old girl from a small town, newly aware of her beauty, newly boy-craz

Episode 213: Excerpts, Bird by Bird (by Anne Lamott)

Sep 2nd, 2019 19m 49s

This week on The Easy Chair, I read two funny and fabulous essays by author Anne Lamott from her seminal book on writing and life in general, Bird By Bird. Lamott is smart, self-deprecating, witty, and wise, and what she has to say about the pr

Episode 212: Mary (with Saul Fussiner)

Aug 26th, 2019 19m 33s

This week on The Easy Chair: “Mary”, second of a two-part series by master storyteller Saul Fussiner. Like last week’s “Shane”, “Mary” is set largely in Ireland. A decade has passed, and Saul and his new wife have stopped in Fahan while on th

Episode 211: Shane (with Saul Fussiner)

Aug 19th, 2019 19m 56s

This week, I’m joined by writer/storyteller Saul Fussiner. It’s been a minute since Saul has been on the podcast, and the story “Shane” is from Saul’s series of stories connected by times spent in Ireland, “I’ve Heard Those Drums All My Life.”

Episode 210: Mightier Than the Sword

Aug 12th, 2019 17m 31s

This week, it’s a breezy tribute to the joys of summer reading on Mightier Than the Sword! Co-host and fellow educator (yes, that’s right … I’m headed back to the classroom in September, and you’ll hear about that on the podcast) Steph Spauldin

Episode 209: The Knowers (by Helen Phillips)

Aug 5th, 2019 22m 40s

This week on The Easy Chair, I read to you the short story “The Knowers” by Helen Phillips. Imagine a world in which every person can decide to find out the date of their death- but they can’t know the circumstance surrounding it. Would you eve

Episdoe 208: Mightier Than the Sword

Jul 29th, 2019 17m 59s

This week, it’s another Mightier Than the Sword, with co-host Steph Spaulding. In this episode, we discuss perfectionism, procrastination, and how both behaviors are the downfall of many a good writing practice. Steph describes herself as a rec

Episode 207: The Last Rung on the Ladder (by Stephen King)

Jul 22nd, 2019 26m 18s

This week on The Easy Chair, I read a devastating short story by Stephen King: “The Last Rung on the Ladder.” This is absolutely not your typical Stephen King horror story, and it's a tale that you should definitely listen to along with a tall

Episode 206: The Open Window (by Saki, c. 1914)

Jul 15th, 2019 10m 2s

This week on The Easy Chair, I read a classic short story, which is a tribute to storytelling. “The Open Window” (by Saki, c. 1914) is about Framton Nuttel, a gentleman seeking a place to stay so he can regain his health, which has been comprom