Episodes

  • [Jo-Ann Finkelstein: What’s coming up]: The joy of trying a new genre Ep 1295

    [Jo-Ann Finkelstein: What’s coming up]: The joy of trying a new genre Ep 1295
    Nov 6 2026
    In this final installment of my interview with clinical psychologist Dr. Jo-Ann Finkelstein, author of “Sexism and Sensibility: Raising Empowered Resilient Girls in the Modern World” we get a peek at where her throughline is leading her next and get her answers to my final fast five questions.We covered:- How writing middle grade fiction is so much more fun than writing non-fiction- The feminist podcast she’s currently hooked on- Why she’s drawn to writing middle grade fiction- So many great book recommendations!- Pondering life with an empty nest- Acting on those middle-of-the-night ideas- How she discovered she has a cult following- The song she always, always has to sing along t0Connect with Jo-Ann on Instagram @Joannfinkelstein.PhDThank you for listening! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    14 mins
  • [Jo-Ann Finkelstein, inner stuff]: Dealing with a “very bitchy inner critic” Ep 1294

    [Jo-Ann Finkelstein, inner stuff]: Dealing with a “very bitchy inner critic” Ep 1294
    Nov 4 2026
    This is part two of my interview with Dr. Jo-Ann Finkelstein, clinical psychologist, author of “Sexism and Sensibility, Raising Empowered, Resilient Girls in the Modern World,” and creator of the Raising Her Voice Substack newsletter, which is a smart cocktail of feminism, psychology, and research backed insight for raising strong girls and navigating womanhood.We covered:- How promoting her work on social media gives her the heebie jeebies- How she’s still reckoning with being the youngest–and only girl–in a family of four siblings- Escaping a very traditional, conservative upbringing- Resisting the urge to compare your progress and trajectory to others’- Embracing your own timeline- How our subconscious ideas about gender can influence our paths- The modality she’s recently tried that makes her feel like she’s gotten a resetConnect with Jo-Ann on Instagram @Joannfinkelstein.PhDFor full show notes with links to everything we discuss, plus bonus photos!, visit katehanley.substack.com.Thank you for listening! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    22 mins
  • [Jo-Ann Finkelstein, practical matters]: When your writing tests you Ep 1293

    [Jo-Ann Finkelstein, practical matters]: When your writing tests you Ep 1293
    Nov 2 2026
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    23 mins
  • [Deesha Philyaw: What’s coming up]: Giving yourself the support you need to take bigger swings with your work Ep 1292

    [Deesha Philyaw: What’s coming up]: Giving yourself the support you need to take bigger swings with your work Ep 1292
    Oct 16 2026
    In part three of my interview with Deesha Philyaw–author of the brand-new novel “Confessions of First Lady Freeman,” and the National Book Award-finally story collection “The Secret Lives of Church Ladies”--we talk about what’s getting her creative juices flowing, the shifts she’s making as she starts writing her most ambitious work yet, and the shows, writers, and songs that are keeping her inspired.We covered:- The upcoming debut novels by other authors that are blowing her mind and inspiring her to take more risks in her writing- The Black women directors and show runners she admires- Why the novel she’s currently writing is “the most ambitious book I’ve ever written”- The changes she’s making in order to be able to keep writing her next novel while she’s out on tour for her “First Lady Freeman”- Why she’s looking to move abroad in the next few years- The series she just finished watching that she calls “22 episodes of WTF??”- Her love-hate relationship with matchaFor full show notes with links to everything we discuss visit katehanley.substack.com.Thank you for listening! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    19 mins
  • [Deesha Philyaw, inner stuff]: The formula for caring less about other people’s reactions to your work Ep 1291

    [Deesha Philyaw, inner stuff]: The formula for caring less about other people’s reactions to your work Ep 1291
    Oct 14 2026
    In the second part of our conversation, Deesha Philyaw, whose hot off-the-presses novel “The True Confessions of First Lady Freeman” is a funny, juicy, sexy, and delicious peak behind the pulpit of a black megachurch, shares her insights on the beliefs, fears, and concerns she’s had to re-write, including:- Why she stopped focusing on getting published- The editing trick she swears by–although she absolutely hates doing it- How she reminds herself that not everybody needs to like what she writes- What she learned from seeing her stories about Southern, Black church ladies be warmly received by people outside that demographic- Getting past the evangelical teaching that says everything you write has to be for the glory of God- Caring less and less about other people’s reactions to her writing- Getting bolder with age- The self-help book she calls “so healing and so freeing” and the spiritual readings that have helped her feel more supportedFor full show notes with links to everything we discuss visit katehanley.substack.com.Thank you for listening! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    24 mins
  • [Deesha Philyaw, practical matters]: Making the leap from writing as a hobby, to a way to pay the bills, to a major career Ep 1290

    [Deesha Philyaw, practical matters]: Making the leap from writing as a hobby, to a way to pay the bills, to a major career Ep 1290
    Oct 12 2026
    This week my guest is Deesha Philyaw, who has been called “a bonafide literary treasure” by the Minneapolis Star Tribune.Deesha's short story collection, “The Secret Lives of Church Ladies,” was a 2020 National Book Award finalist, a Penn Faulkner Award for Fiction winner, and an LA Times Book Prize winner.Now, her highly anticipated novel, “The True Confessions of First Lady Freeman,” has just come out. It follows Sharice Freeman, wife of the pastor of one of the largest black megachurches in America, as her hopes of winning the First Lady USA pageant are threatened when secrets from her previous life are revealed.In this lively conversation where we dug into her creative path and process, we covered:- Growing up in the evangelical church- Doing all the “right” things and still being unhappy- Starting writing as a hobby, then getting serious about making money as a writer post-divorce- How she first started writing her brand-new novel over twenty years ago- Her forthright–and funny–motivation for continuing to write- Meeting her agent via a neighborhood potluck- Why writers need to leave the house- The $200 she and her writer friends kept loaning to each other when they were all trying to make ends meet- How she went from a $5000 advance for her first book to a seven-figure two-book deal- The financial realities of a seven-figure deal- Her hard-won time-management strategies- The gadget that prevents her from losing precious hours to social mediaFor full show notes with links to everything we discuss, plus bonus photos!, visit katehanley.substack.com.Thank you for listening! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    23 mins
  • Six writers share how they get their writing done Ep 1289

    Six writers share how they get their writing done Ep 1289
    Sep 21 2026
    Welcome to our third and final compilation episode where I share answers from six different writers to just one of my questions from the Finding the Throughline questionnaire. This week that question is: How do you get your writing done?Let's find out how the sausage gets made!Allegra Goodman, Octavia Randolph, Eric J. Dolan, Sheree L. Greer, Susan Scarf Merrell, and Daisy Florin give us a peel at both the practical side of whether they write every day, what tools they use, where they are, what time it is, as well as the mindset side of how they think about themselves and their work that helps them be both creative and productive.I hope hearing these answers will make you want to crack open that notebook or create a brand new document and get going. Or that they help you appreciate a little more the labor that goes into the books, articles, and essays you love to read.The writers you’ll hear from today are a mix of novelists, essayists, historians, and writing mentors. One thing that jumped out at me listening to what they had to say is that everyone’s approach is so individual… which says to me that there’s no one way to get your writing done, and if you have the desire to write, there’s a way for you to be able to do it, no matter your working style, preferences, or tendencies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    25 mins
  • Six writers share how they stay inspired Ep 1288

    Six writers share how they stay inspired Ep 1288
    Aug 31 2026
    This week I've got another compilation episode for you to enjoy while I take the rest of the summer off from producing new episodes.In today’s episode, I’m sharing answers from six different writers to the question: What is your favorite part of the writing process? What really lights you up and keeps you going?The writers you’ll hear from today are a mix of journalists, novelists, essayists, memoirists, and historians–and sometimes they tick multiple of these boxes. They include Christine Chitnis, Christopher Castellani, Elizabeth Gonzalez-James, Minda Honey, Kenneth C. Davis, and Lisa See, and I selected this group not just because I loved our conversations and know you will too, and not only because they’re a diverse mix of genres, ages, genders, and races, but also because they were really eloquent about the parts of being a writer that really light them up.As important as I believe it is to talk about the hard things–like dealing with doubt, and finding a way to make money–it’s equally important to focus on the parts you love so much it makes the hard parts easier to handle.Hope you're enjoying the last bits of summer--it lasts until September 21st, despite what the school calendar may say! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    18 mins