Uncorking a Story
by Michael Carlon
Latest episode
BECOMING YOUR OWN BEST FRIEND, WITH JANICE ERLBAUM
BECOMING YOUR OWN BEST FRIEND, WITH JANICE ERLBAUM
About this podcast
Listen in to Uncorking a Story, where we pop the cork on hidden narratives and delve deep into the brilliant minds of your favorite authors. Get ready to unlock the magic behind your favorite books, one unforgettable story at a time. Hit that subscribe button and never miss a sip of inspiration!
Episodes
The newest 50 of 501 episodes
- BECOMING YOUR OWN BEST FRIEND, WITH JANICE ERLBAUM · 41 min · Episode 504At 15, Janice Erlbaum gave her mother an ultimatum: take back the violent stepfather, and I'm leaving. Her mother took him back, and Janice walked out that night into New York…
- When Small Towns Censored Hollywood, with Glenn R. Miller · 42 min · Episode 503Glenn R. Miller started out as a unit manager on NBC soap operas and game shows. He went on to journalism, public television and decades of agency work, and he finally took a…
- Living Your Own Truth, with Machan Taylor · 38 min · Episode 502Machan Taylor never meant to write a book. She was born in Japan, uprooted to New Jersey as a child, and spent four decades as a professional singer, touring stadiums with Pink…
- From Newsroom to Novelist with Neal Lipschutz · 34 min · Episode 501Neal Lipschutz grew up in Brooklyn as a big reader with a strong urge to write, and as a teenager he fell in love with the New York newspapers. Practicality won out: he spent…
- What I've Learned from 500 Authors · 50 min · Episode 500For the 500th episode, Mike turns the microphone on himself. He goes back to 2011, when he was a brand-new focus group moderator who started a podcast because he couldn't show…
- Bouncing Back, with Ellen Holtzman · 34 min · Episode 499Ellen Holtzman didn't grow up writing. She was a history graduate student who taught herself to write by working through The Elements of Style page by page. When her husband…
- Our Own Worst Enemy, with Sal Amato · 45 min · Episode 498Sal Amato has spent almost five decades in entertainment — he started as a kid actor in a 1978 Betty Crocker commercial, became one of the youngest members ever at Chicago's…
- Some Stories Carry You, with Dena Shusterman · 33 min · Episode 497In this conversation, Dena and Mike talk about the oral tradition both of them grew up inside, what happens when a writer traces a coping mechanism back four generations and…
- Everyone is Creative, with Zara Marielle · 34 min · Episode 496"Everyone has that thing inside of them that they could nurture, but maybe some people have been taught that they can't or they shouldn't because it's not valuable in society…
- The Search for Self, with Margaret Eastman Smith · 44 min · Episode 495"It's not selfish to want to find a sense of self. It's not selfish to really be pushing the question of what is deeply etched in my heart that leads me to take the decisions I…
- Gerald Patnode on History, Empathy, and Untold Stories · 27 min · Episode 492"What must it have felt like to be a white attorney defending a Black man in 1890, at the height of racism in the United States? I think there are lessons to be learned by those…
- Cowboys, Pottery, and Broken Things · 31 min · Episode 493"Good writing should help readers see their own experiences and feel their own emotions through the characters and ideally understand that they are not alone and that they can…
- Carol Snow on The Girl on the Beach · 43 min · Episode 492"You really have to love the process. It can't be about, 'Oh, if I am an author, everyone will respect me so much.' You really have to love the process of it or there kind of…
- Downloads from Spirit, with Katherine Marie · 40 min · Episode 491"You're not alone. You really have guidance and support available to you. For all those people that are sitting there in silos that are frustrated with life and feel like they…
- Nikki Mamanno on Breaking Good · 35 min · Episode 488"I've been at the bottom of the mountain and I've looked up and it looked like the top was a million miles away and it felt like I couldn't do it a hundred times over. And I've…
- Jim Carlon on Keeping the Faith · 45 min · Episode 489"Imagine somebody who's been disconnected from this church and he's reignited. That fire is back, that spark is back. Imagine what that one person can do in his life. If that…
- Square Hearts and Second Chances, with Julee Balko · 27 min · Episode 488"It was just as important for me to write a love story where the woman falls back in love with herself as much as falling in love with a man." — Julee Balko Julee Balko is a…
- From Friends to Lovers, with Jenn Bouchard · 28 min · Episode 487"It took me two and a half years to write a first draft. The second book? Six months. I think it is something that I became more comfortable doing — that confidence you get…
- 12 Years to AI Singularity, with Dr. Peter Solomon · 50 min · Episode 486"Every AI agent has to have a happy history of growing up and cooperating with humans. That has got to be the guardrail." — Dr. Peter Solomon --- ABOUT THIS EPISODE Dr. Peter…
- Through Her Eyes, with Dr. Kate Sorokas · 38 min · Episode 485PULL-OUT QUOTE "I truly dreamed it up during my first nap as a new mom." — Dr. Kate Sorokas --- ABOUT THIS EPISODE Dr. Kate Sorokas holds a PhD in health education and is a…
- In the Blood, with April Henry · 36 min · Episode 484"I wrote a book and tried to find an agent and did not succeed. I wrote a second book that got an agent and no sales. I wrote a third book — it didn't even get nice rejection…
- You're Not Broken, with Marci Hopkins · 35 min · Episode 483"I went to bed a victim and I woke up the next day and just something was different. I just surrendered. I knew that I couldn't do this anymore." — Marci Hopkins --- ABOUT THIS…
- The Gift of Starting Over, Ralph Brewer · 54 min · Episode 482"If you can raise your hand and say, I need a little help here — guess what? That expedites the process of getting better so much more." — Ralph Brewer --- ABOUT THIS EPISODE…
- When Art Imitates Life, with Liz Lazarus · 41 min · Episode 481"I write for myself, but I edit for the reader." — Liz Lazarus --- ABOUT THIS EPISODE Liz Lazarus is an engineer by education, a GE Healthcare executive by experience, and an…
- Pass the Trauma, Please, with Todd Diamond · 1 h 6 min · Episode 479"Most Holocaust memoirs start in camps. This one begins in a Chinese restaurant." — Todd Diamond --- ABOUT THIS EPISODE Todd Diamond is an advertising copywriter turned…
- The Roots of the Guava Tree, with Sonia Daccarett · 36 min · Episode 479"Even though we're so diverse, we're all the same. We're all longing for the same thing — to belong, have a purpose in life, to understand why we are here on this planet." —…
- An Unquenchable Thirst, with Anne H. Putnam · 51 min · Episode 478"I'm convinced that these experiences that we have, where we feel so alone, that there's a huge portion of the rest of the world who's feeling the exact same way at any given…
- Feed Your Dreams, Face Your Tiger, with Lillian Eve Moore · 49 min · Episode 477"Any pain that you have — when people meet those pains and collect them back into themselves, they experience incredible power and wisdom and compassion and capacity. For that…
- The Voluntary Jew, with Georgette Bennett · 50 min · Episode 476"This is a cautionary tale about how extremism and fascism can creep up on us. It always begins with hate speech and dehumanization... from verbal violence, it's a very short…
- From Red Carpets to Red Wine, with Danielle Frank · 30 min · Episode 471"Just because the path of motherhood might not happen for me, it doesn't mean the nurturing goes away. I still want a seat at the table for how kids are raised." — Danielle Frank…
- It's Sauce, Not Gravy, with J.A. Marz · 46 min · Episode 471"It's about family, it's about traditions, it's about a sense of place. Italy is more than just food and wine. It's a feeling, it's an experience." — J.A. Marz About This…
- Fourteen Months in Darkness , with Doron Keren · 41 min · Episode 473"Memory without responsibility is just nostalgia. We have to really be responsible — responsible adults — and make sure that the world doesn't forget what happened." — Doron…
- Touching Death with Sally Dukes · 29 min · Episode 472"I really wanted to know about the numinous. I went to Burma to sit with a master. I got my master's degree. I did all kinds of things looking to find out what happened. And then…
- Such a Pretty Picture: Andrea Leeb on Shattering Silence, Surviving Abuse, and Writing the Story She Swore She'd Never Tell · 37 min · Episode 471"On the outside, I too looked like a pretty picture. Inside, I was dying. I had so much pain and shame and suffering. Pretending isn't enough to make it go away." — Andrea Leeb…
- Map of a Heart, with Jacque Gorelick · 32 min · Episode 470"I think there was some empathy for my younger self that I probably didn't have before... I think writing the book, I could look at myself as a seven-year-old girl or a…
- Revealing Purpose, with Nick Kemp · 52 min · Episode 463“You don’t need to find your ikigai—you already have it. You just need to notice it.” — Nick Kemp What if purpose isn’t something you chase—but something you already have? In…
- Writing Through the Fire, with Priya Hutner · 36 min · Episode 468“We suffer as humans—and writing gives us a place to put that pain, to understand it, and maybe even transform it.”— Priya Hutner What happens when the life you’ve built—your…
- Writing Without Limits, with Christian Toms-Arbel · 43 min · Episode 467“If you want to be a writer for money, you’re in the wrong place. The authors who last are the ones who truly love the craft.” — Christian Toms-Arbel Christian Toms-Arbel has…
- Healing, Class, and Coming Home with Leigh Shalloway · 30 min · Episode 463“The story came out of me when it was supposed to come out of me—after living a whole life.” – Leigh Shalloway In this episode of Uncorking a Story, Mike Carlon sits down with…
- The Infinity Within: Kris Land on Souls, Cheat Codes, and the Game of Life · 1 h 7 min · Episode 465“Maybe what Jesus really wanted was to show us what we’re all capable of—and that we’ve simply forgotten our own power.” — Kris Land In this mind‑expanding conversation, Mike…
- Healing, History, and the Power of Story with Jane Loeb Rubin · 41 min · Episode 464"Writing made me feel like I mattered — like I was taking up space in the universe that could be shared..” In this episode, Mike uncorks the story of historical fiction author…
- Surviving Hijacking: Mimi Nichter on Trauma, Silence, and “Hostage” · 42 min · Episode 463“The more you unpack something—or uncork it—the less power it holds over you.” In this powerful episode of Uncorking a Story, host Mike Carlon sits down with cultural and…
- Has Medicine Lost Its Mind? Dr. Robert Smith on the Crisis in Mental Health Care & How to Fix It · 49 min · Episode 462Let help uncork your memoir through a 12 week memoir mentorship program: https://mikecarlon.com/memoir-cohorts/ "Medicine knows a patient’s disease, but it does not know the…
- It’s Never Too Late, Joëlle Lydon on Healing, Creativity, and Redefining Love · 44 min · Episode 461Let help uncork your memoir through a 12 week memoir mentorship program: https://mikecarlon.com/memoir-cohorts/ “It’s never too late — never too late to heal, to learn, to…
- Collaboration Is the New Competition: Priscilla McKinney on Creativity, Resilience, & Reinventing Work · 40 min · Episode 460Let help uncork your memoir through a 12 week memoir mentorship program: https://mikecarlon.com/memoir-cohorts/ “There’s always another way of looking at things. Collaborators…
- Turning Pain Into Peace: Carol Kennedy on Faith, Loss, and Her Calling to Write Thank God for God · 25 min · Episode 457Let help uncork your memoir through a 12 week memoir mentorship program: https://mikecarlon.com/memoir-cohorts/ In this moving and deeply personal episode of Uncorking a Story…
- Creativity, Vulnerability, and Flow: A Conversation with Rabbi Alon Ferency · 53 min · Episode 456Let help uncork your memoir through a 12 week memoir mentorship program: https://mikecarlon.com/memoir-cohorts/ “I love having written more than I love writing. The process is…
- Turning Inspiration into a Trilogy, with Laura Buchwald · 30 min · Episode 455Let help uncork your memoir through a 12 week memoir mentorship program: https://mikecarlon.com/memoir-cohorts/ "The Book of Reservations is about a woman navigating a dubious…
- Helping Writers Find Their Voice: Jen Braaksma on Memoir and Meaning · 38 min · Episode 454Let help uncork your memoir through a 12 week memoir mentorship program: https://mikecarlon.com/memoir-cohorts/ "Writing is work. It’s challenging, it’s hard—but it’s a skill…
- Atomic Secrets and Fictional Spies: Leslie Schover on Turning Family History into a Novel · 31 min · Episode 453Let help uncork your memoir through a 12 week memoir mentorship program: https://mikecarlon.com/memoir-cohorts/ "I took my parents’ stories from the Manhattan Project and wove…
