In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and podcasts. That’s what Ben Franklin said, right? Well, if he lived now, he just might: It seems that everybody and their brother-in-law has a podcast. And who am I to fight against the inevitable tides of history? Actually, that’s exactly what this podcast hopes to do: Fight against some of the inevitable tides of history, the more idiotic, exploitative, and unethical ones, anyway.

Words Do Things.

That’s the title. Simple and memorable.

Do you like the logo? If you have any re-design suggestions, send ’em my way.

What will it be about? Read on to find out! And how can you help? I’ll give details at the end, but here I’ll say that I’m looking for an audio engineer and a program coordinator. Okay? Now, the juicy stuff!

The overall idea is to explore the powers and limits of language. Are words magical? Can they actually effect change? Why are people wielding them like weapons? Can we shift our use of public rhetoric to something healthier? What have great authors of the recent past believed about the relationship between writing and the divine? How can you become a more powerful and effective writer?

I plan to pursue this adventuresome course through (at least at first) the following four themes or series:

1. Bad Words

“Sticks and stones may break your bones, but words will never hurt you.” Yeah, right.

At this moment in American history, public rhetoric–whether political, religious, social, or otherwise–is bitterly divisive. Rage-baiting is all the rage. Ad hominem attacks are the norm. Trash talk prevails in podiums and pulpits.

I think this is bad.

Language should, I believe, “In the prison of his days / Teach the free man how to praise” (W.H. Auden, “In Memory of W. B. Yeats”). I’m old-fashioned enough to agree with Proverbs 15:1-2, which reminds us: “A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. The tongue of the wise commends knowledge, but the mouths of fools pour out folly.” How I would love to hear public figures using their words to heal schisms, encourage those who are downhearted, spur one another towards deeds of justice, be a voice for the voiceless, and speak light into darkness.

Here’s what I want to do with this theme: First, I’ll make the episodes of my old show, 1619 & 1776, available again. I’ll re-run them with new, contextualizing bumpers. Next, I’ll re-invite those guests back again to answer new questions I’m putting together now. In addition, I hope to pair some of them up for real-time discussions of their differences, matching those who occupy opposite positions from one another. Obviously, I’ll then invite a whole new crop of guests, as well. Finally, I want to do something wild: I want to take troubling content (speeches, articles, posts, tweets…) and rewrite them in gentler language to demonstrate that we can communicate the same content without vilifying one another–and maybe even get our point across more effectively that way.

How can you help with this theme? You can suggest guests and send me content you’d like me to revise.

2. Our Robot Underlings

The Future is Now. AI is among us (or at least LLMs that masquerade as AI), and it’s doing more and more of our writing of us. I want to understand the technology better (How does it work? How does it “write”?) and of course have all those tantalizing conversations about whether it’s really “intelligent” (and what is “intelligence,” anyway?), whether it will ever be conscious, and all that super fun science-fiction type stuff. But more importantly, I need to talk to my guests about the [un]ethics of it: The serious problems with the ways these LLMs were originally trained on vast swathes of material without getting consent or giving remuneration to the creators; the near-ubiquity of plagiarism; the dissemination of utter BS content. We’ll speculate and theorize about the future of editors and authors in the Age of AI.

How can you help with this theme? You can suggest guests, pose questions, and engage with me on social media (another questionably-ethical space) as we unpack this topic and its implications.

3. Magical Modernism

Not so long ago and not so far away—in England at the turn of the 20th century, in fact—a bunch of writers got themselves initiated into magical secret societies, where they learned that, ostensibly anyway, poetry and drama could invoke and evoke angels and demons, elemental spirits and the inner self. They practiced a “vibratory mode” of pronouncing spells and the names of God or gods. They issued warnings that the uninitiated shouldn’t listen at doors, because the very sounds of magical words, even without comprehension, could cause spiritual damage to those whose souls weren’t ready to encounter the power and the knowledge inherent in spoken phonemes. Among them were such luminaries as W.B. Yeats, Arthur Machen, Algernon Blackwood, and Evelyn Underhill. They believed words literally had magical potential, and they jolly well wanted to be the ones to wield that power.

Meanwhile, a group of Christian writers got together in Oxford to smoke, drink, talk, and write about how to use fantasy literature to convey truth. They retold ancient myths and pagan stories, sent their characters flying into space or dreaming into the past, crafted allegories and spiritual thrillers, and created some of the most memorable characters and imaginary worlds in recent literary history. The ones you probably know best were C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien. One of them, Charles Williams, was a member of the magical circle, too, as (arguably) was Owen Barfield, in his own way.

I want to study these writers to help us understand more about what writing and storytelling can do for our hearts, souls, and society. First, I’ll provide you with a ton of historical context and info about these early-20th-century authors and their magical milieu. Then I’ll have many guests on, and I’ll ask them about what each author believed about the power of words. This should be a phenomenally (ha) fun theme, since it will let us talk about some of the books we love best, endless, for as long as we want!

How can you help with this theme? You can suggest guests to invite, works of literature to discuss, questions to ask, and points to make. Be sure to follow me on social media as I share nuggets and bits related to this topic!

4. Lore from the Wyrdhoard

Finally, I want to do some good old writing advice. As you know, I run a consultancy called Wyrdhoard, through which I offer A Smörgåsbord of Editorial Services and Learning & Lore for Bookwyrms (that is, courses on literature). Through my work at Wyrdhoard, my many years of teaching in a variety of settings, and my own writing practice, I’ve learned a few things about the ways in which authors can get stuck and how to help them get unstuck. I’ve observed the most common pitfalls and strategized how to avoid them or get out of them once in.

Therefore, I’ll give lots of writing tips & tricks, and I’ll have on great guests who teach writing and/or are noted authors themselves.

How can you help with this theme? You can suggest guests to invite and you can send in your writing-related questions for me to address.

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Okay! That’s the overview. Now let’s get back to those two positions I’m hoping to fill; I say “positions,” but they’re volunteer gigs at this point. I’m looking for:

An Audio Engineer

I need somebody who is very experienced in using podcast software, setting up good recording conditions, running a recording session, and (most of all) doing awesome post-production polishing. A little video experience wouldn’t be amiss, either, since I plan to post on YouTube (but not do any fancy video editing, though). Ideally, you’d be into the content and could help me dream up future episodes and strategize the podcast overall. If this is you, please contact me!

A Program Coordinator

This superstar would help me keep files organized, invite and schedule guests, keep our calendar, upload recordings where they need to go, communicate with the Audio Engineer, assist with social media marketing, and generally make sure I don’t lose my mind or my MP4s anywhere in the process. Ideally, you’d be into the content and could help me dream up future episodes and strategize the podcast overall. If this is you, please contact me!

That’s it! I hope you’re as excited about this project as I am……………………………….