Welcome to Sad Me of the Past, a podcast by the Writing University, the Magid Center for Writing and the Iowa Young Writers' Studio. In this podcast we invite an established writer to revisit a piece they wrote in their tender years that fills them with affection, regret, nostalgia, embarrassment, relief, delight, all of the above, or something else entirely. Just as an infant must take those early, brave, awkward steps when learning to walk, we writers must make our own early, brave, awkward efforts as we set out on the journey of mastering our craft. We travel back to that ancient time when we were bursting with hubris or scared to death; enraptured by language or paralyzed by it; determined to become a writer or terrified that we didn't have the stuff.
Latest Episodes
Sad Me of the Past // Episode 17: Donika Kelly
Friday, August 1, 2025
Today we have poet Donika Kelly in the studio! We discuss drawing curtains and dressing chickens, growing up in Compton, the English teachers of Arkansas, and more.
Sad Me of the Past // Episode 16: Srikanth Reddy
Monday, June 16, 2025
Today we have Srikanth Reddy, poet and editor at the Paris Review, in the studio to discuss his early writing, his formative 3rd grade acrostic poem ABRAHAM LINCOLN, skipping school to review movies for the Chicago Tribune, deliberately losing a Spelling Bee, + more.
Sad Me of the Past // Special Episode 15: Ghosts on the Radio
Wednesday, May 28, 2025
This is a SPECIAL EPISODE of Sad Me of the Past, where we invite young writers from the Iowa Youth Writing Project (IYWP) to talk about a ghost story they created for the Ghosts on the Radio haunted audio anthology.
Sad Me of the Past // Episode 14: Madeline McDonnell
Monday, April 21, 2025
On this episode, author Madeline McDonnell shares all sorts of secrets with us from being admonished in Middle English, reading in trees, dramatic countdowns to playing an evil Jack-o-lantern in a 3rd grade play with Mindy Kaling, starting three books at the same time, and the importance of friends.
Sad Me of the Past // Episode 13: Curtis Sittenfeld
Monday, March 24, 2025
On this episode, we have bestselling author Curtis Sittenfeld in the studio! Curtis talks with us about the perils of boarding school, getting good juju from a used car, how her family really feels about her writing, and her new short story collection Show Don’t Tell.
Sad Me of the Past // Episode 12: Josh Parkinson
Friday, February 14, 2025
Josh Parkinson reads a short story he wrote in high school. This absolute banger involves a fly, a car crash, and a response from the local authorities that you won’t see coming. Is it worth an hour of your time? We think so. It did win 3rd place in 1991.
Sad Me of the Past // Episode 11: Gina Welch
Wednesday, January 15, 2025
On this episode, we are joined by Gina Welch, award winning Castle Rock screenwriter. We explore Gina's decision to ditch the mullet and reinvent herself in 8th grade, her obsession over Twin Peaks and impressing her English teacher Mr. Gould and the joy of entertaining people with story.
Sad Me of the Past // Episode 10: Ada Zhang
Wednesday, December 4, 2024
On this episode we have Ada Zhang in the studio with us to share an early piece of work and discuss her journey to become a writer. We also talk about being a theater kid at Texas football schools, her flight from business major to writer and blogging at its peak.
Sad Me of the Past // Episode 9: Lila Byock
Friday, November 8, 2024
Lila Byock stops by the studio to talk about her time writing for the acclaimed series Watchmen and her current projects. We discuss growing up in Missoula, Montana, fact-checking at The New Yorker, the magical powers of Cheerios, her transition to TV writing and the collaborative nature of a writers' room.
Sad Me of the Past // Episode 8: Bret Anthony Johnston
Monday, October 7, 2024
Bret Anthony Johnston joins us to talk about his new book We Burn Daylight, his time as a graduate student at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, and what he’s working on now. For his piece from the past, Bret shares one of the many stories he published in Chicken Soup for the Soul years ago (they paid!).
Sad Me of the Past // Episode 7: Melissa Mogollon
Tuesday, August 27, 2024
Melissa Mogollon stops by the studio to talk about her debut novel Oyé, her time as a graduate student at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, and what she’s working on now. For her piece from the past, Mel shares a list she wrote during her time as a graduate student at the Workshop!
Sad Me of the Past // Episode 6: Joe Fassler
Tuesday, August 6, 2024
"I mean this book took me more than 10 years -- I started it while I was at Iowa!" We discuss his journey from apathetic high school student to a highly recognized journalist and author, as well his tips, tricks and inspiration for aspiring writers everywhere.
Sad Me of the Past // Episode 5: Nam Le
Tuesday, July 16, 2024
"There was a term that I heard somewhere used, just the other day, and she said "I'm in my gathering phase." Have you guys heard that? Is that a term of art over here?" Nam takes us on his writer's journey -- from a law firm in Australia to the Iowa Writers' Workshop in Iowa City.
Sad Me of the Past // Episode 4: Dan Beachy-Quick
Wednesday, May 15, 2024
In today's podcast, poet and translator Dan Beachy-Quick talks with us about his early writing days, and his current Greek translations.
Sad Me of the Past // Episode 3: Carmen Maria Machado
Tuesday, April 2, 2024
"My godmother gave me stationery -- it was jungle themed stationery that had my name, it was customized -- and I would write stories and send them to publishers."
Sad Me of the Past // Episode 2: Rachel Yoder
Wednesday, February 7, 2024
In today's podcast, novelist Rachel Yoder discusses her wild experience adapting Nightbitch to a soon-to-be-released feature film starring Amy Adams.
Sad Me of the Past // Episode 1, Part 2: Vinnie Wilhelm + Dave Kajganich
Thursday, November 16, 2023
In part two of today's podcast, novelist and screenwriter Vinnie Wilhelm shares a section from a novel he wrote in high school, entitled "SPAM."
Sad Me of the Past // Episode 1, Part 1: Dave Kajganich + Vinnie Wilhelm
Monday, October 23, 2023
On today's podcast, screenwriter and producer Dave Kajganich shares a short story that he wrote in high school entitled "Martin Cowell Boom Boom Dead."