Make Meaning Podcast Episodes

Rosina Lippi – author of the Wilderness series

Episode 129 – Rosina Lippi – Author of the Wilderness Series

Rosina Lippi writes under her own name and under the pseudonym Sara Donati, and her Wilderness series of six historical novels is some of the most gorgeous fiction you’ll ever read. A former linguistics professor, Rosina has been writing for decades and built quite a following, even as the publishing industry has changed. In the latest episode of the Make Meaning Podcast, host Lynne Golodner interviews Rosina Lippi about how to make fiction your career, frustrations with book marketing, and how to create believable characters in authentic landscapes. In the episode, Rosina quotes George Orwell on writing: “Writing a book […]

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Becky Robinson

Episode 128 – Becky Robinson – Building Reach for Books

Imagine starting a company to give yourself an income source that is compatible with your role as a mom of small children. And then, as that company grows, realizing your role is really about creating opportunities for others – providing meaningful, flexible work, access to great content and guidance to reach goals and grow influence. And then, 10 years in, you write a book about everything you learned and have an early reader community of more than 400 people who are chomping at the bit to read your book. That’s Becky Robinson’s story.

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Ly Tran

Episode 127 – Ly Tran – Writing Unapologetically

Ly Tran says she writes to overcome self-doubt and to celebrate her voice. More than that, she says her words connect her to others, and the best part of putting a book in the world is the feedback she gets from readers who say that her story touched them in a deep and meaningful way.

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Leaving a Legacy

Episode 125 – Gramps Jeffrey – Leaving a Legacy

Sometimes inspiration comes from sources very close to home. While spending more time with his family during the Covid-19 pandemic, Jeffrey was inspired to pass on his experience and values to younger generations by writing a children’s book starring his own grandchildren, I Don’t Want to Turn 3.   In the latest episode of the Make Meaning Podcast, host Lynne Golodner interviews Gramps Jeffrey about his business background, his transition from entrepreneur to author of children’s books, and why he believes influencing younger generations is our true purpose.  In this episode, Lynne and Jeffrey discuss:  His first book, The Secrets of […]

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Dorit Sasson

Episode 124 – Dorit Sasson – On the Many Meanings of Home 

As a young woman, Dorit Sasson moved to Israel and served in the Israel Defense Forces as a lone soldier. After 18 years, Dorit returned to the United States, and those decisions, along with the details of her life in both places, inspired two memoirs about straddling cultures, languages, and definitions of home. In the latest episode of the Make Meaning Podcast, Dorit speaks with host Lynne Golodner about her books, Accidental Solider and Sand and Steel, which were driven by her determination for self-exploration, observation and a desire to connect. As someone who identifies as Israeli by culture and […]

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Episode 123 – Karen Gordon – On Surviving the Surviving

It took 10 years for Karen Baum Gordon to write and publish her memoir, The Last Letter: A father’s struggle, a daughter’s quest, and the long shadow of the Holocaust, under the guidance of a friend who was an editor at McGraw-Hill. The book expands on a synagogue speech and explores generations of her family through letters, while grappling with the ancestral trauma and psychological legacy of terror, genocide and persecution.

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On the Food & Culture of Indigenous Gardens

Episode 122 – Valoree Gagnon & Karena Schmidt – On the Food & Culture of Indigenous Gardens

In the latest episode of the Make Meaning Podcast, host Lynne Golodner interviews two important DIGs contributors: Valoree Gagnon, Assistant Professor in the College of Forest Resources and Environmental Science at Michigan Tech and Director for University-Indigenous Community Partnerships at the Great Lakes Research Center; and Karena Schmidt, an ecologist with the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community Natural Resources Department.

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Episode 121 – Stephanie Steinberg - On Personal Passions & Creating Communities

Episode #121 – Stephanie Steinberg – On Personal Passions & Creating Communities

In the latest episode of the Make Meaning Podcast, Stephanie speaks with host Lynne Golodner about their passion for their alma mater (University of Michigan), Stephanie’s two books, her experience as editor-in-chief of the Michigan Daily at the University of Michigan (where Lynne was a staff writer, many years before Stephanie!), the founding of the Detroit Writing Room and why she believes your best work comes from following your passions.

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Jacqueline Suskin

Episode #120 – Jacqueline Suskin – A Poem Every Day

In this episode, Lynne and Jacqueline discuss:  Her latest book, Every Day Is a Poem How she works with people in one-on-one sessions What it feels like to write poems spontaneously & for commission Why she never keeps a copy of a commissioned poem How poetry is the conduit we need to ponder the depths in this crazy time How all people experience the same celebrating, grieving, longing and loving, and how everyone wants to connect to these experiences through language Links and Resources; Jacqueline Suskin Poem Store Lynne Golodner Lynne’s Finding Your Voice at Midlife Writers Workshop The Hollywood […]

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Roots - Israeli-Palestinian - Toward True Peace in the Middle East

Episode #119 Roots – Israeli-Palestinian – Toward True Peace in the Middle East

In this first episode of 2022, the Make Meaning Podcast looks at one of the world’s greatest global concerns and begins to make sense of it by speaking to two inspiring leaders in the quest for reconciliation. Noor A’wad is a Palestinian whose family moved to Palestine after the Oslo Accords were signed in the hope that it would be a new opportunity for their family. Growing up in that shattered dream, Noor became a voice for co-existence and understanding.

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Elizabeth Gowing — 118 — How to know a place by living its stories

Episode #118 – Elizabeth Gowing – How to Know a Place by Living its Stories

Elizabeth Gowing’s life changed when she moved from London to Kosovo in 2006 for her partner’s job on what was supposed to be a six-month contract. Fifteen years later, Elizabeth speaks Albanian, teaches English and leads The Ideas Partnership, an NGO that offers support to people through education, health and social welfare as well as offering literacy classes, and arts and dance sessions. Driven by a background in primary education and education policy, Elizabeth launched the nonprofit organization in 2009 to help children and families in the region. In the latest episode of the Make Meaning Podcast, Elizabeth speaks with […]

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