David Wilcox: Songwriting as Therapy

Posted on October 14, 2025 by Doug Dangler

Ohio musician David Wilcox has released over 20 albums, including his latest The Way I Tell the Story. Wilcox discusses his songwriting process as a form of emotional and traumatic event processing. He emphasizes the joy of exploring feelings through music, how songs evolve to offer new meanings, and the balance between playing new and old songs for his audience. He also shares insights on connecting with listeners and the transformative power of songwriting.

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Columbus Authors Diane Callahan and David Dixon Navigate The Ship and The Storm

Posted on October 5, 2025 by Doug Dangler

Columbus authors Diane Callahan and David Dixon discuss their new poetry collection, The Ship and the Storm. They employed a unique system of organization by putting their poems with similar themes and forms into conversation with each other on opposing pages. This impacted their collaborative process, altering how they experienced each other’s writing. In our interview, they share excerpts of their poems with listeners and talk about their creative exchanges, differing poetic styles, and the layers of meaning and references in their work. The discussion also highlights their mutual challenge to refine each other’s writing, ultimately aiming for a more polished and cohesive collection.

Bonus! You can also watch our interview below.

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Brandy Gleason: Living the Best of Ohio

Posted on September 28, 2025 by Doug Dangler

“ The most important part about life is living it” – Ernest Hemingway

Brandy Gleason, chief writer at Gleason Family Adventure and the creator of the Ohio Road Trips Facebook group, follows this Hemingway quote in life and in her writing. Her recent book 100 Things to Do in Ohio Before You Die, explores the Buckeye State, recommending spots for families and couples. From Ohio zoos in Toledo, Cincinnati, Akron, and Columbus to retro pinball halls to Lakeside Chautauqua to the haunted history of Ohio cities like Marietta, Gleason has suggestions throughout the state.

So get out and live life to the fullest in the state of Ohio!

Photo by Michael Bowman on Unsplash

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Meg Cabot: From The Princess Diaries to Westerville

Posted on September 15, 2025 by Doug Dangler

Novelist Meg Cabot is more than just The Princess Diaries, although that’s an impressive accomplishment. She’s had an her extensive career, writing over 50 novels for young adults and adults. Next up, she will appear at a Meet the Author Talk at the Westerville Library on September 17th. Fans can attend to hear about the first book in the new Princess Diaries graphic novel (releasing in April 2026) and they’ll get exciting news about the upcoming Princess Diaries 3 movie, which will start filming around the same time. She might even talk about attending DC University, where she learned about writing graphic novels (but, disappointingly, not about becoming a superhero). Cabot teases her future works, including a sequel to her adult novel Enchanted to Meet You, and she describes the need of YA authors to be flexible about what they sign, like a dictionary

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Abby Posner: How many instruments can one person play?

Posted on September 15, 2025 by Doug Dangler

Singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Abby Posner has released four albums and won the 28th annual USA Songwriting Competition in 2023. She’ll be in town with the Six String Concert series on September 19. We discuss her multi-instrumental talents and her journey in learning music from a young age. Abby also answers my eternal question of what musicians mean when they say they want to push their boundaries. It’s not buying the neighboring apartment, like I thought.

Join her at Six String!

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The Cat-like Comedy Reflexes of Bridget Mendy

Posted on August 27, 2025 by Doug Dangler

Journalist and improv comic Bridjet Mendy will perform at the Columbus Comedy Festival, September 4th – 7th. Bridget discusses her comedy style, heavily influenced by her experiences as a 30-something first-generation American with family roots in the Soviet Union. Initially a journalist, Mendy transitioned to comedy after moving to Chicago and taking improv classes to overcome her fear of public speaking. Now based in Columbus, she performs at clubs and bars around town and has enjoyed the growth in Columbus’s comedy scene. Get to know Bridjet on Instagram @BJMendy and then see her at the Columbus Comedy Fest!

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Nef Johnson’s Journey from  Shrunken Head to  Columbus Comedy Festival

Posted on August 7, 2025 by Doug Dangler

Columbus comedian Nef Johnson got his start at open mic nights at Columbus bars like the Shrunken Head, and he’s progressed to being a comic at the Columbus Comedy Festival. He calls his style conversational, and we discuss how he adapts his performances to suit the audience’s tastes. Johnson describes the emotional high of successful sets (a great set equals a sleepless night), along with the struggles of being a working comic. Catch him at the festival and tell him Dustin Hoffman says “Hello.”

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Victoria Christopher Murray: Finding the Past

Posted on July 14, 2025 by Doug Dangler

New York Times bestselling author Victoria Christopher Murray has written or cowritten more than 30 novels, including Stand Your Ground and The Personal Librarian. In our discussion, Murray discusses her latest book, Harlem Rhapsody, a historical fiction novel about Jesse Redmond Fauset, a key figure in the Harlem Renaissance. Murray shares her extensive research process, which involved moving to Harlem and reading numerous editions of Crisis Magazine, as well as her discovery of a romantic affair between Fauset and W.E.B. Du Bois. We discuss how she navigates blending historical facts with fiction and she recounts her first story (in elementary school!). She will be at the Columbus Book Festival on July 12 and 13.

Image credit: Three African American women in Harlem during the Harlem Renaissance, ca. 1925. From http://www.blackpast.org/perspectives/passing-passing-peculiarly-american-racial-tradition-approaches-irrelevance

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Steve Hofstetter: Getting to Know Comedians

Posted on July 8, 2025 by Doug Dangler

No insects were injured in comedian Steve Hofstetter’s new comedy special, “Kill the Butterflies.”

Instead, Hofstetter combines stand-up comedy with documentary interviews exploring comedians’ experiences with anxiety and mental health. He discusses his own mental health journey, along with more than a dozen comics.

His career has offered plenty of material for comedy and mental health issues, from hecklers to an audience member collapsing during his set. We discuss how he keeps his comedy fresh, what kind of dog is best for travel (think small), and what happens when a comedian unaccustomed to edibles tries one on stage.

Catch Steve Hofstetter on July 15 at the Columbus Funny Bone.

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Gregg Hurwitz: The Upside of Getting Choked Out

Posted on July 8, 2025 by Doug Dangler

How do you ensure authenticity as a writer? Some authors do a lot of library research. Others write what they already know about life.

Gregg Hurwitz “introduces [his] face to the training mat repeatedly and …gets choked out.”

It’s all in the service of ensuring that he knows intimately what his characters endure. Hurwitz is the bestselling author of 36 novels, including his latest, Nemesis, part of the Orphan X series. In this installment, his protagonist, the assassin Evan Smoke, tries to reclaim his humanity while dealing with betrayal.

We also discuss Hurwitz’s efforts to combat political and cultural polarization through thoughtful discourse, so listen in and then see Hurwitz when he appears at the Columbus Book Festival, July 12-13!

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