The Afterword

A Conversation About the Future of Words

The Afterword Podcast brings producers, creators, consumers and inventors of words to a common table. Our guests provide ramps of accessibility into each topic through authentic conversation. Whether we're talking with an author, illustrator, gamer, genealogist or comedian, we want to learn how words become catalysts for advancement and cultural progress. This podcast is for anyone who enjoys words and macrotrends and is interested in how they intersect.

Podcast Episodes

Human Rights Stories

How do we tell stories of injustice in an ethical and compelling way?

How do stories humanize justice issues facing our communities? When we hold authentic conversations and hear the stories of others, it softens hearts and changes mindsets!

While we all want a happy ending, that ending is more fairy tale than fact in many current events. Human suffering and the injustices we experience create systemic indignity and remove agency.

On this episode of the podcast, Ali Noorani of the National Immigration Forum and Stephan Bauman, former CEO of World Relief, explain that experiences and emotions elevate convictions and engage people from diverse cultures. It's critical to tell other people's stories ethically without minimizing a complex narrative.

Ethical Story Telling

The Danger of a Single Story

Amanda Ripley: Complicating a narrative

Episode 1

Episode 2

Your Hosts

Who are Amy Bowlin & Holland Webb?

Amy is a reading teacher. Holland is a writer. They both love words. So they decided to start a conversation with other nerdy, wordy people about libraries, board games, smart cities and reading education, inclusive literature, science novels, and how Curious George escaped from the Nazis. Put on your headphones and listen in.

Amy Bowlin

Amy is a veteran teacher. She works with 6-year-olds in literacy intervention and shares with college seniors the art of teaching literacy. Balancing both worlds involves commuting which allows her to listen to her favorite podcasts, “Wait Wait ... Don’t Tell Me,” “This American Life” and “Revisionist History.” When she is not traveling to Greece to work with refugees, she likes to write, hike, kayak and spend time with family and friends.

Holland Webb

Holland is a full-time freelance writer and editor. He spends his days writing about higher education, B2B technology, and nonprofit organizations. His clients have let him write for U.S. News & World Report, The Learning House, The Red Lantern, and Sweet Fish Media. Holland's favorite writers are Malcolm Gladwell, Olive Ann Burns, and Flannery O'Connor. In his spare time ... are you kidding, what spare time?