Write Here, Write Now: A Vocal Podcast
Sex, Relationships, Death, Global Warming, Racism: Vocal’s fiction and non-fiction Creators tackle them all. If you like to stop, think and consider things a little differently, join host Erica Wagner as she introduces a new Creator’s story each week. Listen and you’ll be inspired to share your own story on Vocal.media. And who knows, maybe you’ll be featured on the next season of Write Here, Write Now: A Vocal Podcast.
1
Twenty Miles South of Macon
The humdrum of the everyday can wear on a person. Grocery store runs, paperwork, bills. For Mabel Schwartz, a solo trip on the open road is the solution, even if it scares her. In a Super 8 Motel along the way, she discovers what she really needs.
11 min
2
Waiting Room
The non-descript anonymity of a waiting room can be a melancholy experience, even more so if you find yourself there frequently. Erin Shea’s “Waiting Room” faces the stale gray of these liminal spaces head on, following the protagonist’s internal journey during the course of one doctor’s appointment. Along the way? The Price is Right, Selena Gomez, and the psychological struggles of chronic illness.
15 min
3
Exit Wound
Family can be messy. Rachel Pollock tackles one family’s grief - for what was lost, and for what they never had, in “Exit Wound.” With as many twists and turns as the back road it’s set on, this story is one of a kind.
22 min
4
The Blonde
Voyeurism is a fact of city life, but Bebe King Nicholson takes it to a new level with “The Blonde.” One woman's loneliness and nostalgia begin to bleed into the life story of another she sees from afar. Will imagination and reality collide, or will the window for that opportunity close too soon?
16 min
5
The Ghosts in West Texas
Family histories get brought into the present in Andie Ngeleka’s “The Ghosts in West Texas.” Hot, dry air blows over the plains, bringing memories of what came before - and warnings for what’s to come.
17 min
6
Chop Chop
Grief and resentment coil around one another in this dark fantasy from AJ Nelson. “Chop Chop” luxuriates in language, transforming seemingly routine moments into a feast for the imagination. All of these familiar details add up to an ending that is anything but ordinary.
20 min
7
The Kneeler
Gambling, debt, and the sounds of Sinatra swirl with cigarette smoke in George Murray’s quiet action story “The Kneeler.” Follow one man’s journey in a casino bar from opera to loan sharks to deadly trouble.
26 min
8
Fake Meat
In a new pandemic world, brain fog seems to be affecting us all. That phrase takes on a whole new meaning in Madoka Mori’s unnerving “Fake Meat.” Perception is a slippery beast for this protagonist, causing his world to swiftly unravel in a way that is humorous and eerie all at once.
17 min
9
Apartment Complex
There’s nothing quite like a mother’s love - but there’s nothing quite like her disapproval, either. Vivian R. McInerny’s “Apartment Complex” is a story that’s as comedic as it is relatable: life sure takes a different turn when Mom moves in.
23 min
10
Pareidolia
"Pareidolia" is an intriguing tale that leans in paranoia and the paranormal. Conor Marko asks questions about the boundaries of obligation and addresses how we move forward from tragedy.
32 min
11
Lifted
The spookiness of a dim, overcrowded antique shop packed to the brim with bric-a-brac can scarcely be denied. Add some malicious magic into the equation, and you’ve arrived at the setting of Patti Larsen’s “Lifted.” This is a curiosity shop best visited during daylight hours.
21 min
12
Destination
Kallista Kusumanegara constructs a singular vision out of flashes of many, lending new ideas to what comes after life. “Destination" calls for a letting-go, allowing us to surrender to the wash of words, visuals, and stories.
10 min
13
Heat Stress
Mirages. They can come from wistful thinking, from nostalgia, from the burning sun. In “Heat Stress,” Claire Ibarra immerses us in the mind of a mother running away from her past into the Moab desert. But what is she running toward?
27 min
14
Libellule
The ballet - an art which embodies culture, beauty, and grace. But what of the people behind the performance? Elodie Hollant’s “Libellule” offers a glimpse into the personal world of one ballerina, following her as she moves from a childhood love of dance into the darker complexities of adulthood.
14 min
15
Fresh Off The Boat
“Fresh Off the Boat” provides a look at the present through the lens of a sobering vision of the future — a world darker, but not too different from our own. Kelson Hayes brings us to a dystopian Central Europe which may be just around the corner for all of us.
32 min
16
Burden of Proof
It's one of the hottest summers in recorded history and a couple are attempting to navigate their relationship to each other — and to the future of the Earth. In "Burden of Proof," Scott Hardy captures cycles of inner and outer conflict with a dark and biting wit.
29 min
17
The Envious Flood
A familiar scent is a surefire way to catapult the mind back into memory, to a particular moment in time. Decay, a sea breeze, wine. Three smells that tie this story together, and propel the protagonist down a west coast highway. Steve Hanson’s “The Envious Flood” resists the pull of nostalgia to level a clear-eyed gaze at the past.
20 min
18
Bull
There’s fear of the unknown - darkness, monsters, and the like - but sometimes the most terrifying are the things - and people - we think we know best. Jacqueline Garrahan’s “Bull” is a masterful look into the frigid, the cruel, and the disturbing, deep in the dead of a Maine night.
21 min
19
Going Fishing
Settle into the southern humidity with Lucas Díaz-Medina’s “Going Fishing.” A journey of introspection and self discovery unfolds as two boys mosey down a bayou back road. Family history and mythmaking collide when a passerby gives the boys a lift.
18 min
20
Mistress of the House of Books
Matthew Daniels puts a new spin on job interviews with “Mistress of the House of Books.” With a heavenly interviewee, the power dynamics are bound to be flipped. But there are some roles in this world that just can’t be reversed.
20 min
21
Girl Wants A Cigarette
A corporate team-building event is the unlikely setting for a compelling story; Sophia D'urso's sharp wit and close observation make "Girl Wants a Cigarette" into a memorably modern adventure.
26 min
22
SEARCHER
Science fiction often gives a glimpse of “what could be,” but less often does it leave the reader with lingering feelings of “what could have been.” In " Searcher", Daniel D'Agustino creates an intergalactic cosmos where hard choices can change the path of history.
33 min
23
The Not-Deer
A remote destination to call your own...but what if you aren't really alone? Idyllic woods can quickly become the stuff of nightmares when fear takes over. Chelsea Catherine's "The Not-Deer" ushers us into a world that may be closer than you think.
28 min
24
Path of Least Resistance
Have you ever caught yourself daydreaming? What if you had the power to make those daydreams reality- would you? Bernard Bleske explores just those questions in “Path of Least Resistance.” Through river rafts, long lost loves, and cheap beers, Bleske weaves a story that reminds us to be careful what you wish for.
28 min
25
Write Here, Write Now (Season 2 Trailer)
On Write Here, Write Now, host Erica Wagner explores the lives and imaginations of some of Vocal's creators. You'll hear real stories from real people; non fiction essays and fiction that will make you see your daily life in a new light. On Vocal, everyone is welcome. So take a listen, and who knows - maybe you’ll be inspired to create something yourself.
2 min