This is a preview for the second season of SongWriter, the podcast of stories and "answer songs," This season will feature stories from Joyce Carol Oates, Soman Chainani, and Michael Ian Black, and songs written in response by Sarah Jaffe, Cave Twins,  and Tony Trischka. Twitter.com/SnogWriter Instagram.com/SongWriterPodcast Facebook.com/SongWriterPodcast   ..read more

Author of the bestselling School for Good and Evil series (which is currently becoming a Netflix show), Soman Chainani, reads a children’s story he wrote for SongWriter, about an evil bear that eats children. David Mayfield and Abby Rose, who perform as Cave Twins, share their song, “Mighty Mountain Monster,” and talk about how America’s political divisions inform their art. SongWriterPodcast.com/Chainani Twitter.com/SnogWriter Instagram.com/SongWriterPodcast Facebook.com/SongWriterPodcast ..read more

Bestselling author Joyce Carol Oates reads a haunting story, and banjo legend Tony Trischka and songwriter Jennifer Marks each play songs written in response. The show was recorded at a live performance in New York City, with Grammy-nominated musician Tracy Bonham performing with Tony Trischka, and comedy legend Steve Martin in the audience. SongWriterPodcast.com Twitter.com/SnogWriter Instagram.com/SongWriterPodcast Facebook.com/SongWriterPodcast   ..read more

Poet Amy Turn Sharp reads a piece inspired by the death of her mother. In it she describes how she began leaving her baby teeth, one by one, in places that have emotional resonance in her life. Songwriter Parker Paul, who is an old friend of Amy’s, performs his song “Baby Teeth,” at a live performance in Columbus, Ohio. SongWriterPodcast.com Twitter.com/SnogWriter Instagram.com/SongWriterPodcast Facebook.com/SongWriterPodcast ..read more

Playwrights Jessica Blank (@JessicaCBlank) and Erik Jensen (@ErikJensen123) describe the genesis of their musical, Coal Country, a collaboration with Steve Earle (@SteveEarle). Steve talks about the role of empathy in songwriting, and plays his song “It’s About Blood,” which lists the names of the 29 miners killed in the Upper Big Branch mining disaster. The show runs at the Cherry Lane Theater in NYC until April 17, 2022. The  project is a collaboration with @PublicTheaterNY and @AudibleTheater SongWriterPodcast.com/Coal-Country-Steve-Earle Twitter.com/SnogWriter Instagram.com/SongWriter ..read more

Bestselling author Sarah Hepola reads an excerpt from her memoir "Blackout," and songwriter Matt the Electrician shares his own experiences with blackouts and studio recordings of TWO songs that he wrote in response. SongWriterPodcast.com Twitter.com/SnogWriter Instagram.com/SongWriterPodcast Facebook.com/SongWriterPodcast ..read more

Author Alison Gaylin reads an excerpt from "Never Look Back," a novel based loosely on the Starkweather murders. Gaylin discusses how Caril Ann Fugate was understood at the time to be a willing accomplice (she is portrayed that way in Springsteen's "Nebraska" and "Natural Born Killers," which were also based on the notorious murder spree), but points out that Fugate was just 14 years-old when she was kidnapped and raped by Starkweather. Songwriter Colin McGrath discusses the book, and how hard it can be to tell his young daughter the sometimes-awful truth. He plays "Dear Aurora Grace," his mus ..read more

Bestselling author and storyteller Neil Gaiman (@NeilHimself) talks about his long collaborations with the FourPlay String Quartet (@FourPlaySQ), and their new album, Signs of Life. Neil describes how he first wrote a letter to a friend who was suffering a series of miscarriages, and how that became the song "The Wreckers," and discloses his own painful experience with miscarriage.  Lara and Tim from FourPlay talk about the anxieties and joys of working with Neil, and how they composed the beautifully spare and delicate music to accompany Neil's performance. All music in this episode is b ..read more

New Yorker staff writer, Russian dissident journalist, and author Masha Gessen  (@MashaGessen) tells the story of being called in for a death-defying meeting with Putin, and how it confirmed the dark conclusions in their bestselling biography of him, Man Without a Face. Ukrainian American musician and scholar Maria Sonevytsky (@MarusiaSays) talks about the war, and plays her song, “Culture War” SongWriterPodcast.com Twitter.com/SnogWriter Facebook.com/SongWriterPodcast Instagram.com/SongWriterPodcast ..read more

Author Louisa Young reads from her memoir You Left Early, about love and alcoholism, and discusses how insidious the disease is for its victims, and for the people that love them. Pianist and songwriter Miranda Joy performs “Carry You Around,” live in the clock tower of St. Pancras Station in London. SongWriterPodcast.com Twitter.com/SnogWriter Instagram.com/SongWriterPodcast Facebook.com/SongWriterPodcast ..read more