Explore every episode of the podcast Writing Forward

Our inaugural Writing Forward guest is Barrett Swanson: Harper's Magazine contributor, author of the essay collection "Lost in Summerland," and assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. His new book, "Equipment for Living: Notes on Selfhood after the End of the World," is forthcoming from Atria/Simon & Schuster.

Barrett is also a co-founder of either/or, a magazine of fiction, nonfiction and poetry published annually out of UW-Whitewater.

Writing Forward is a conversation show, digging into what keeps Wisconsin writers moving forward, one word at a time.

Hosted by Jeff Oloizia. Podcast production by Anya van Wagtendonk. If you like what you hear, follow us on Instagram and Substack.

Writing Forward is a weekly podcast featuring candid conversations with writers connected to Wisconsin, a state with a rich and often underrecognized literary tradition.

Hosted by writer and former New York Times editor Jeff Oloizia and named for the state’s motto, “Forward,” the show explores the idea of momentum — what keeps writers going and how a creative life takes shape beyond the traditional centers of the literary world.

Spanning fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and journalism, each episode offers an honest look at what it takes to keep going, one word at a time. At its heart, Writing Forward asks: What if the most vital stories are being written in the places we’re taught to overlook?

New episodes every Wednesday. Subscribe now, and don't miss Season 1, featuring Chloe Benjamin, Barrett Swanson, Christina Clancy, and more.