On this episode of “Inspired Belonging” on Writing Re:mix, hosts Dan Dissinger and Stephanie Renée Payne talk with Dr. M. Shadee Malaklou, the Founder and Director of the bell hooks Center at Berea College. Back in the summer of 2023, Dan & Stephanie had the honor of bringing their “Inspired Belonging” workshop to the first-everContinue reading “117. Inspired Belonging w/ Dr. M. Shadee Malaklou”
Tag Archives: Writing
116. Walking with Dan: Podcasting, Creativity, & AI
In this solo episode of Writing Remix, Dan brings the audience along for a reflective stream-of-consciousness evening walk. This is a raw and unedited episode to capture the essence of the environment, his thoughts, and humanity of conversation. Dan reflects on the changing landscape of podcasting and how it’s gone from being an accessible PunkContinue reading “116. Walking with Dan: Podcasting, Creativity, & AI”
115. Inspired Belonging: Diving into the Work of bell hooks
The second episode of “Inspired Belonging” on Writing Remix, hosts Dan Dissinger and Stephanie Renée Payne reflect on their personal and pedagogical relationships with the work of the late scholar, poet, speaker, & teacher bell hooks. This is a deeply vulnerable conversation on hooks’ impactful work on engaged pedagogy, love, community, and self-actualization, specifically fromContinue reading “115. Inspired Belonging: Diving into the Work of bell hooks”
114. Spring 2025 Semester Reflection: Meaningful Teaching, Student Engagement, & Well-being
In this solo episode of Writing Remix, Dan Dissinger reflects on the end of the 2025 Spring semester at USC. He shares what he changed and what worked in his classroom, the impact of creating meaningful and accessible assignments, student reactions to and experiences reading Exile & Pride by Eli Clare and All About LoveContinue reading “114. Spring 2025 Semester Reflection: Meaningful Teaching, Student Engagement, & Well-being”
113. Creating Joy and Community Through Poetry w/ West Hollywood Poet Laureate Jen Cheng
Dan Dissinger celebrates National Poetry Month with the West Hollywood Poet Laureate, Jen Cheng. They talk about Jen’s multi-hyphenate creative journey, her dedication to blending East-West influences in her writing and workshops, her role as the creator of the Palabras Literary Salon, and the importance of “artist dates.” Dan asks Jen to explain why sheContinue reading “113. Creating Joy and Community Through Poetry w/ West Hollywood Poet Laureate Jen Cheng”
112. Sailing Without Ahab w/ Dr. Steve Mentz
Dan Dissinger welcomes back his former professor Dr. Steve Mentz, chair of the Saint John’s University English Department, to discuss his latest book of poems Sailing Without Ahab and the Blue Humanities. They dive into (no pun intended) Dr. Mentz’s writing journey in and out of the poems in Sailing Without Ahab, the interconnected writing process and relationship between the creative space of poetry and academic scholarship when it came to creating Sailing Without Ahab, his personal and scholastic history with water, teaching Moby-Dick, and the challenges of writing in the voice of Ishmael. Steve also reads several poems from Sailing Without Ahab and discusses some of the more intricate details about these pieces.
This is such a rich episode both for writers and scholars alike, and being on the precipice of National Poetry Month, this is a great way to start it off.
111. Embracing Authentic Writing w/ Medium’s CEO Tony Stubblebine
Dan Dissinger welcomes Tony Stubblebine, CEO of Medium.com, to talk about the power of authenticity in writing online and how Medium’s platform helps to create a space where authors of all levels can find and cultivate an audience. Tony dives into how he went from software engineer to the CEO of Medium.com. He shares his goals for Medium to create an online community where people create and share meaningful content and how Medium is a place where all people get to be teachers and students. The conversation touches on the transformative power of writing, the challenges posed by AI-generated content, and the importance of human connection in the digital age. This is the type of episode Writing Remix is all about, so sit back, take notes, and get inspired to put pen to paper (so to say). Share this episode with someone in your life that is an aspiring writer.
110. Introducing Inspired Belonging
Dan & Stephanie Renée Payne start a series of podcast episodes called “Inspired Belonging” on Writing Remix. On this inaugural episode, Dan & Stephanie explore their thoughts and understandings of belonging, it’s connection to writing, and how the late great bell hooks plays such a deep role in Inspired Belonging workshops, presentations, and pedagogy. TheyContinue reading “110. Introducing Inspired Belonging”
109. Reimagining Assessments: Exploring the Untapped Benefits of Contract Grading w/ Dr. Leah Pate, Dr. Tamara Black, & Dr. Rory Lukins
Dan welcomed his colleagues in the USC Writing Program Dr. Leah Pate, Dr. Tamara Black, & Dr. Rory Lukins to do a deep dive into their project “Reimagining Assessments: Contract Grading’s Untapped Benefits for Learning, Teaching, and Well-Being.” This conversation covers the results of their research and the impact contract grading has on student writingContinue reading “109. Reimagining Assessments: Exploring the Untapped Benefits of Contract Grading w/ Dr. Leah Pate, Dr. Tamara Black, & Dr. Rory Lukins”
108. Exploring Civility, Discourse, & Hope w/ Dr. Danielle Lee
Dan welcomed back Dr. Danielle Lee to Writing Remix last year for the fifth annual Big Rhetorical Podcast Carnival, which was focused on ‘Politics and Rhetorics, Navigating Civility, Culture, and Crisis.’ Their conversation went deep into the need for a civility in the current political landscape, how the lack of civility is escalating dehumanization fromContinue reading “108. Exploring Civility, Discourse, & Hope w/ Dr. Danielle Lee”
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