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

Moral Outrage, Social Disconnect and How Humans Coexist

What are constructive paths to passionate disagreement that allow us to share without destroying relationships?

Dillon Smith, content manager for Carey Nieuwhof Communications, and Rob Henderson, PhD student at Cambridge University, explain the trend of social shaming and cancel culture connected to moral outrage.

How can we balance our personal judgement of morality and norms while promoting cooperation with others?

Human beings are susceptible to one's environment, opinions of peers, and the social circles we run in. The challenge is to be wary of the voices we listen to and choose not to engage in rhetoric that is promoting negative extremism. Rather than fueling emotionally charged social media, it may be essential to let go of the urge to like or retweet and focus on connection rather than division.

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?