Mallory McDuff has been living on campus at Warren Wilson College for over 20 years. She is a professor who teaches environmental education at the college, located in the Blue Ridge Mountains near Asheville, North Carolina. Living and teaching at the college, and raising two daughters, has given her some unique opportunities to connect with young a…

Bill Von Novak is helping to put electric vehicle batteries in the Matrix. No, he’s not creating an electric version of the popular Toyota hatchback, as cool as that would be. Think Neo, Trinity, and Morpheus, not, “I can’t believe how much stuff fits in this little car!” Bill earned an electrical engineering degree from MIT and has a few decades o…

Laura Kits is a singer, songwriter, painter, freelance consultant and business writer. She is a climate activist and spokesperson in a movement called Extinction Rebellion. Extinction rebellion has grown from a small group of people to a competent, powerful and fun social movement with hundreds of local groups in almost sixty countries. They are a …

At one end of the Lakewood Shopping Center in Durham, North Carolina, a nonprofit organization called The Scrap Exchange is doing its part to promote a circular economy. The Scrap Exchange’s mission is to reduce waste and promote creative reuse. When exactly is the last time that you threw something in the trash? How many things do you throw away e…

Janna Starr works as a Project Coordinator at U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) where she has also served as a Certification Program Specialist supporting the LEED Volume Program. Before joining USGBC she managed green events in New York City and was the Facilities & Events Manager and Sustainability Officer at the North Carolina Botanical Garden…

How are scientists using AI to support research and conservation work? If you want hear from someone who is well versed in that field—someone who also understands how we can utilize cutting-edge technology while respecting traditional human knowledge and skills—you’ll enjoy our conversation with Zoë Jewell. Zoë is co-founder of WildTrack, a nonprof…

Does this week’s episode artwork depict an epic comic book battle between our hero, Venus Flytrap, and the rampaging Emerald Ash Borer? Why yes, yes it does. Will Venus Flytrap thwart Ash Borer’s plans to take over the world? And what does any of this have to do with zombie crepe myrtles? These topics came up randomly in our conversation with Ben H…

Can you imagine making a 100-day, 1,000-mile journey in a 16-foot sailing kayak? Will Freund doesn't need to imagine it. Will made that journey up the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway from Miami, Florida to Norfolk, Virginia. He made the trip to talk with people in coastal communities and hear their thoughts about climate change. Will shared the stor…

In this episode we share an update about the state of the podcast, a look at what's ahead, and a special invitation for you. What does all that have to do with "diving in?" Listen and find out! (Episode artwork includes an image by Oliver Sjöström from Pixabay.) Get out of your comfort Zone. Transform your relationship with time. Visit https://scot…

What makes an ecotour company succeed? How can any business stand out in a crowded sea of competitors? James La Barrie grew up on the Caribbean island of Antigua. In this episode, James describes how a trip to South Carolina inspired his parents to found Antigua Paddles, a successful ecotour company which they operated for almost 20 years. On a ver…

When talking about science, and particularly climate change, we’re often confronted by a maze of misinformation. How can someone who isn’t a scientist even know which sources to trust? How can improved diversity and inclusion in scientific disciplines impact the communities that those disciplines are supposed to serve? The divide between science an…

Pete Allum is a seasoned skydiving competitor and coach who has made over 36,000 skydives. Pete is determined to help make skydiving more sustainable and environmentally conscious. In this episode we talk about electric and hydrogen-powered aircraft, solar-powered parachute centers, and lessons learned in skydiving that can help all of us master th…

What inspired us to create this podcast? And why do we hope it inspires you? Get out of your comfort Zone. Transform your relationship with time. Visit https://scottmillercoaching.com/Oleh Scott Miller

We welcome Minh Lê to the show! His newest book (a collaboration with Dan Santat), Lift, is a charming, escapist book about the power of imagination… and the compelling urge to press elevator buttons! Honestly, who can't relate to that? Minh also recently worked with illustrator Andie Tong on Green Lantern: Legacy for DC Comics, which tells the sto…

Composer Kevin Kiner is back to give Star Wars: The Clone Wars the continuity of sound and music that fans have come to expect from the franchise. Having composed the first six seasons of The Clone Wars, along with all of Star Wars Rebels, Kiner is no stranger to the galaxy far, far away. In fact, no one's composed more music for Star Wars than Kev…

Every so often, I like to read a book for pleasure. With no expectation of a review or author interview. With no pressure on my back. Just for the enjoyment of the book. Mallory O'Meara's The Lady from the Black Lagoon was supposed to be one of those books. Alas. I enjoyed it so much that I knew I had to have O'Meara on the show. And here we are. T…

This time, we're joined by author Mira Bartók, author of The Memory Palace and The Wonderling. And the two books couldn't be more different. Where The Memory Palace is an intensely personal and emotional memoir about mental illness, The Wonderling is a lovely children's book in the grandest tradition of all: talking animals. On this episode, we tal…

Surprise! We're back! And surprise! We're joined by another author from the stellar Rick Riordan Presents line: Kwame Mbalia, author of Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky. What's most incredible about Tristan Strong is not its powerful characters or original storyline (though those are awesome), it's that the book is Mbalia's debut novel! It'…

This week, we're joined by a middle grade superstar: Jeff Kinney, the evil genius behind the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. The fourteenth book in the series - Wrecking Ball - recently released, and it finds our hapless hero, Greg Heffley, at the center of another fine mess. On this episode, I talk to Jeff about the new book, keeping Greg the same ag…

K. Eason has written one of our favorite books of 2019. How Rory Thorne Destroyed the Multiverse is a book that cohost Shiri is on record as calling "joyfully, delightfully amazing." Because it is. And in this episode of the show, we're joined by K. Eason to talk about the book, how it upends traditional fairy tales, teaching zombies to college kid…

If you're a Star Wars fan, you know Zoraida Córdova from the new book set in Galaxy's Edge, A Crash of Fate (or perhaps from her short story "You Owe Me a Ride" in the stellar From a Certain Point of View). If you're a fantasy reader, you likely know her from the Brooklyn Brujas or The Vicious Deep series. If you're a reader of romance, you know he…

Rick Riordan is a middle grade superstar. Seriously, authors don't rank more A-list than him. When it comes to name recognition and reader obsession, you've got your J.K. Rowling, your Raina Telgemeier, and your Rick Riordan. That's the triumvirate, right there. The father of Percy Jackson (and Magnus Chase... and Carter and Sadie Kane... and - to …

This week, we welcome the legendary J. Michael Straczynski to the show. For many fans, Straczynski is the author of several seminal runs in both the DC and Marvel universes. For other fans, he's the genius behind Babylon 5. For still others, he's known for co-creating Sense8 with the Wachowskis. And for nerds like me, he was one of the original wri…

This week, we celebrate the theatrical release of Spider-Man: Far From Home with Preeti Chhibber, author of the utterly charming Peter and Ned's Ultimate Travel Journal. The book is a snarky view of the MCU in general and Far From Home in particular in the form of a European travel journal as if it were written by Peter and Ned (with the occasional…

You might know her as Mrs. Columbo. Or maybe Mary Ryan from Ryan's Hope. Batman: The Animated Series fans remember her as Red Claw. If you've watched Orange Is the New Black, you know her from her chilling portrayal of Galina "Red" Reznikov. And if you're a Star Trek fan, you know Kate Mulgrew from Star Trek: Voyager, where she boldly went and brok…

This week, Michael Moreci joins me for a fantastic conversation about all things geeky. Moreci is the author of Black Star Renegades and its sequel We Are Mayhem, which just came out last month. In a nutshell, the story dares to ask the age-old question: "What would happen if Star Wars and Guardians of the Galaxy had a love child?" And oh boy, is i…

Talk to Evangeline Lilly for more than three minutes, and one thing become remarkably clear. She's positively overflowing with stories she wants to tell, and Hollywood isn't necessarily where she wants to tell them. So when you sit down with her for nearly an hour, as we do this week, the insight is profound. Perhaps best known for her roles as Kat…

Welcome back! This week, we're chatting with author Lamar Giles about his newest book, The Last Last Day of Summer, and the brand-new Versify imprint it's helping launch. Giles has written several YA books (Fake ID, Overturned, Spin), and The Last Last Day of Summer is his first go at middle grade fiction. And he knocks it out of the park. On this …

I know I say this a lot, but this one was a real thrill for me. This week, my conversation with Skeletor himself: the one and only Alan Oppenheimer! If Alan's career only included his work on He-Man and She-Ra (where he also played Man-at-Arms, Cringer/Battle Cat, and Mer-Man) and The Neverending Story (Falkor, G'Mork), his reputation as a legend w…

This week, things are gettin' creepy as we talk to author Ronald L. Smith. Smith has a knack for imbuing his middle grade fiction with a little bit of that "X-Files vibe." And that dark, mysterious sensibility is certainly on display in his newest book, The Owls Have Come to Take Us Away, which is about a young kid who's convinced he's been abducte…

This week, we welcome back one of our favorite guests: Tom Angleberger! Tom was actually one of our very first guests, WAY BACK on Episode 23. He was also the first guest to come back for a second appearance (with fellow Star Wars authors Alexandra Bracken and Adam Gidwitz on Episode 33). And now he's the first to hit another milestone: the threepe…

This week, we're geeking out with one of our very favorite artists working in comics/graphic novels today: Skottie Young! If you're familiar with Young, you're familiar with his unique, recognizable-at-once style. For 15 years, he's been at the center of the industry and has had a hand in almost every major character. That's almost literally true -…

This week, we're talking to author Hena Khan, whose book Amina's Voice was one of the launch titles for Simon & Schuster's Salaam Reads imprint. She's also written a series of middle grade books about Zayd Saleem - "Chasing the Dream" - a 4th grader with dreams of basketball stardom, a few board books that spotlight Muslim traditions, and even a bo…

This week, we're talking children's poetry through the lens of rock and roll, baby! We welcome Rhett Miller, lead singer of the Old 97s, to the show to talk about his new book of, yep, children's poetry! On this episode, we talk about Miller's path from the proverbial "sex, drugs, and rock and roll" to children's poetry, fart jokes and dark humor, …

We're gettin' nerdy this week, people! We're donning our lab coats and venturing into a scientific conversation we have no business discussing: CRISPR/Cas9. Which is why we brought in the brain trust - i.e., Kishore Hari, science guru over at Tested.com and host of the Inquiring Minds podcast. We start off with a bit of context and discuss what CRI…

This week, we're marking the release of Oliver #1 with the creative team responsible for bringing this hopeful dystopia to life. Gary Whitta first wrote the story as a screenplay nearly a decade ago, and together with artist Darick Robertson, they've finally brought the story to a 12-issue run with Image Comics. The first issue is out this week, so…

This week, we're entering the world of myth. The mythological world of the Maya gods, to be exact. J.C. Cervantes is the author of The Storm Runner, which is one of the debut titles in the Rick Riordan Presents imprint of books that explore the world's mythologies. Cervantes is also the author of Tortilla Sun and the forthcoming sequel to The Storm…

Happy New Year! Welcome back to the podcast, and welcome to 2019! We're ringing in the new year the best way we know how: with awesome conversations. And one of the most awesome I've had recently with none other than Chuck Wendig. Star Wars fans know Wendig well for his Aftermath trilogy and his graphic novel adaptation of The Force Awakens. He als…

This week, we're giving you a (slightly early) end-of-the-year present: our conversation with Jarrett Krosoczka. I think we can all agree that 2018 was mostly another dumpster fire of a year in so many respects. But in others (such as publishing), it was a great year. Among other things, it was the year that we were all gifted with Krosoczka's grap…

We're traveling to Daevabad and the realm of the djinn this week with S.A. Chakraborty, author of the phenomenally great The City of Brass (and its forthcoming sequel, The Kingdom of Copper). These books will suck you in, hold on tight, and not let go. In all the best ways possible. On this episode, we talk about how Chakraborty "fell into" being a…

We're headed back to the Great White Way (in a manner of speaking). This week, we welcome Christine Toy Johnson to the show. Christine is currently playing the role of Diane in the national touring company of Come From Away, the musical that tells the story of 7,000 airline passengers who were stranded in the small town of Gander, Newfoundland afte…

This week, we welcome back Greg Weisman to the show. LONG-TIME listeners might remember Greg from WAY BACK on Episode 5, when we had no idea what we were doing. This episode spun out of a story I did for SYFY Wire that was an oral history of Gargoyles. For that story, I talked to Greg, Jonathan Frakes (Xanatos), Keith David (Goliath), and Carl John…