100. What I Learned After 100 Episodes w/ Daniel Dissinger

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On this special episode of Writing Remix, Dan celebrates the 100th episode talking about some of the lessons he’s learned about himself as a writer, teacher, and podcaster. He reflects on the decision to pivot the focus of Writing Remix during the COVID-19 pandemic, how major news events impacted the podcast, how his understanding of scholarship has changed, and so much more.

Thank you to everyone who has listened, supported, been a guest, and anyone who has guest hosted. Getting to 100 episodes isn’t easy and I couldn’t have done it without each and every one of you. A special thank you goes out to the person who I started this podcast with, Katie McNey. The podcast was a team effort and your contribution won’t ever be forgotten.

Daniel Dissinger is an Associate Professor in the Writing Program at the University of Southern California. He earned his PhD and MA from Saint John’s University as well as an MFA from The Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics at Naropa University.  Dan’s dissertation examined the early, pre-On the Road novels of Jack Kerouac and the reflective writing properties of the “Duluoz Legend.” Dan’s poetry has been published in a variety of journals, and his first chapbook, tracing the shape…, was published by Shadow Mountain Press in 2012. He is the co-creator & co-host of The Nostalgia Test Podcast as well as the co-founder of The Humanities Podcast Network.

People and Texts Mentioned in the Episode

“The main thing I learned is that I know nothing, and it is a huge lesson and it is the thing that I feel like keeps me coming back to the microphone. The curiosity to learn, the, the love of learning, and also the love of Understanding how little I know”
-Daniel Dissinger

“The podcast isn’t just a place for us to kind of talk about ideas. It definitely is a place for human beings to exchange and interact, and while we couldn’t be around each other and couldn’t touch each other and couldn’t hug each other [during quarantine], we could somehow create some sort of emotional discourse [on the podcast].”
-Daniel Dissinger

“Pivoting the podcast was a definite need [during quarantine], and […] I learned so much about being adaptive in that, that just because a podcast has a theme, just because a podcast has a trajectory does not mean that I can’t change it.”
-Daniel Dissinger

“I learned that […] scholarship is so much more than just writing.”
-Daniel Dissinger

“[A] lesson for me has been that writing has a role in podcasting [which] goes beyond just writing the episode descriptions.”
-Daniel Dissinger

“I don’t want to be someone else. I want to be me. And really learning to accept myself as the podcaster I am, as the person I am has been a very difficult challenge. And I’m hoping that as I continue this, that I continue to grow more and more comfortable in my own voice.”
-Daniel Dissinger

Episode 100 Transcript
100thepDownload

This episode was recorded on September 6th, 2023. The theme song is “4 am” by Makaih Beats. You can follow the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Stitcher, join the newsletter for a bunch of extras (a Note From Dan, episode-specific writing prompts, and book recommendations, & follow us on Twitter @WritingRemixPod & Instagram @WritingRemixPod.

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