WAREHOUSE
In The Warehouse, we store everything that’s been unloaded from the Content Barges. You can see it all in a glance…and each piece is arranged by delivery date!
Talking Politics: Five Rules for Staying Civil
Election season has a way of turning ordinary conversations into standoffs. In this Protocol Conversation, Monica Earley offers five practical tips for talking politics without burning bridges — at work, at school, and around the dinner table. She and Andy Andrews get into where these conversations belong, when it’s time to step away, and why doing your own research matters more now than it ever has. It’s less about who’s right and more about whether we still know how to disagree and stay in the room together.
The Miracle Water That Glowed
In the early 1900s, radium is the miracle of the age. It glows. It gives off heat. And people are drinking it by the cupful, rubbing it on their faces, and sleeping in pajamas laced with radioactive dye. In this Betcha Didn’t Know, Armon J. Newton follows the rise of Radithor — a one-dollar tonic promising the power of the atom — and the millionaire golfer who drank fourteen hundred bottles of it. What it did to his body is hard to hear. What it was still doing decades after his burial is harder.
Smoked Pork Chops & Greens on El Gordo
Bob Woodall is back in the stunt kitchen with the Wok Man, Wiley McNeil—and this time, the disc pan earns its keep. Wiley calls this one El Gordo, an upcycled John Deere plow disc he dug out of a fence row, big enough to sear a mess of smoked pork chops from Selwiga Meat Company up in Headland, Alabama. Add fresh mustard and turnip greens, strawberry sweet onions, and a skillet of jalapeño-cheddar cornbread, and you’ve got a plate two country boys would call home.
Why Failure is a Writer’s Best Friend
Every writer has a stash of “failures” hidden away—half-finished drafts, ideas that went nowhere, and maybe a rejection letter…or twenty. We all have them. It’s tempting to look at these and think, “What a waste!” But those pieces might just be the most valuable part of your creative process. Failure isn’t just one step on the journey; it’s a constant companion for anyone putting words on a page.
The Worst Rejections I Ever Received
People often ask what it was like to receive 51 rejection letters when I was trying to get my first novel, The Traveler’s Gift, published. Well, actually writing the book was the hardest part, but the rejection stage wasn’t all that pleasant, either!
The Truth, the Myth, and the Hairy Legend
Betcha didn’t know America has more mythical creatures than it has Waffle Houses. Bigfoot stomping through the Pacific Northwest. The Skunk Ape sweating it out in a Florida swamp. A goat-draining Chupacabra in Texas. A winged, howling devil in the Jersey Pine Barrens. In this Betcha Didn’t Know, Dr. Mark Foley takes us on a tour of the monsters lurking in our backwoods and our campfire stories — and gets to the real question underneath them all. Stick around for the one sighting that got police departments involved.
A Year in Review
Once a year, Monica Earley goes back through every episode and pulls a single takeaway from each month — harder than it sounds. What she landed on this time is worth the sitting: the detail interviewers quietly notice that almost no candidate thinks about, and the one-word change that makes an old idea land with people who’d otherwise wave it off. Andy adds a rule about character he’s watched cost qualified people jobs they’d already earned. Not a list of rules. A conversation.
Quail & Quinoa with the Wok Man
When Bob Woodall fires up The Galley with his buddy Wiley McNeil—better known around town as the “Wok Man”—you know something good is headed for the plate. Wiley’s cooking apparatus began its life as a John Deere disc pan, and the clever rig steadying it over the flame came off a vehicle. Together the two home cooks turn a batch of fresh Henry County quail and a handful of simple garden vegetables into something Bob can only call beautiful. This is humble food, done right, by two guys who plainly love the work. Come see how it comes together.
You Can’t Write What You Haven’t Lived
Walt Merrell opens with a story his grandfather told him on a sidewalk — less than 60 seconds long, words he didn’t understand at the time, that hit him like a ton of bricks at 18. From there, he and Andy Andrews make a compelling case that great material can’t be manufactured. You have to earn it by showing up for your own life. It’s also, somehow, one of the funniest conversations on the Writers Dock yet.
Your Story Is Your Legacy
Writing your story is a beautiful beginning. But stories aren't meant to stay tucked away in a drawer or hidden inside a notebook. They're meant to be shared, remembered, and passed along to the people who come behind us. And the wonderful thing is, creating a legacy...
Writing the Hard Chapters
Every one of us has chapters we wouldn’t have chosen. Seasons that hurt, moments that changed everything, days we wish we could rewrite. When people begin writing their stories, these are often the parts they’re tempted to skip. And that’s completely understandable.
For Your 4th of July…a Priority
History serves as a guide, reminding us of both the virtues and mistakes of the past. History is a teacher that offers valuable lessons for the present and the future. As we celebrate this Independence Day, let us take a moment to appreciate the importance of our nation’s history, seek out the unique perspective of our elders, and preserve their wisdom for the betterment of our society.