In this episode of Words on a Wire, host Daniel Chacón speaks with writer, editor, and cultural critic Scótt Russell Dúncan about identity, futurity, and the politics of who gets to imagine the future. Dúncan discusses Chicanx futurism as an act of reclamation—of land, history, and possibility—pushing back against dominant narratives that exclude brown and Indigenous communities from visions of tomorrow. Through examples drawn from science fiction, publishing, and popular culture, he reflects on how mainstream media reinforces colonial power while marginalizing Chicanx voices.The conversation also explores Dúncan’s work as an editor and publisher, including his commitment to community-centered storytelling through Mais Poppin Press and the Puertas del Pueblo writing workshops. He speaks candidly about gatekeeping in the publishing industry, the pressure for Chicanx writers to filter their work for white audiences, and the importance of writing to one’s community rather than explaining it to outsiders. Grounded, critical, and hopeful, the episode highlights literature and collective imagination as essential tools for cultural survival and self-determination.

In this episode of Words on a Wire, host Daniel Chacón sits down with Dr. Roberto Avant-Mier, Chair of the Communication Department at the University of Texas at El Paso and a leading scholar of Chicano film. Their wide-ranging conversation uses Wim Wenders’ film Perfect Days as a point of entry into deeper reflections on cinema, music, memory, and meaning. Avant-Mier discusses how music functions as an emotional and narrative force in film, shaping human connection and inner life in ways that often go unnoticed, while Chacón reflects on his own experience of watching the film and the demands it places on attention and interpretation.From there, the discussion expands into broader cultural terrain: punk rock, horror films, Latino representation on screen, and the fundamental role music plays in human identity and community. The episode closes on a deeply personal note as Avant-Mier recounts his roots in Smeltertown, the now-vanished industrial community along the U.S.–Mexico border in El Paso, and his ongoing work volunteering at the community cemetery. What emerges is a conversation about art, place, and history—how they persist, resonate, and refuse to disappear, even when the physical spaces themselves are gone.

In this episode of Words on a Wire, host Will Rose speaks with historian Max Perry Mueller about his groundbreaking new book, Wakara’s America: The Life and Legacy of a Native Founder of the American West. Mueller uncovers the complicated, often misunderstood history of Chief Wakara, the influential Ute leader whose life intersected with Mormon settlers, the expanding American state, and the violent transformations of the 19th-century West.Through a conversation that blends archival detective work with storytelling, Mueller explains how Wakara shaped trade networks, diplomacy, intertribal relations, and the contested borderlands of the Great Basin. The discussion explores Wakara not as a mythic figure or a villain—as he has often been depicted—but as a strategist navigating colonial pressures while protecting his people’s interests.

In this episode of Words on a Wire, host Daniel Chacón speaks with writer and journalist Michelle Morgante about her journey from a small agricultural town in California’s San Joaquin Valley to a globe-spanning career in journalism, and ultimately, to fiction writing.Morgante begins by reflecting on her childhood in Lindsay, California, a tiny, heavily agricultural town she describes as a real-life “Mayberry.” She shares vivid memories of biking across town, a deeply segregated school environment, and how being a mixed-heritage kid positioned her literally and symbolically in the “in-between”—a role that crystalized when she became the school dance DJ mediating between racial groups through music. This early experience of living between worlds seeded her lifelong fascination with liminal spaces, a theme that now shapes much of her creative work.Chacón and Morgante explore how magical realism, borderland identity, and Gloria Anzaldúa’s concept of nepantla inform their artistic perspectives. Morgante describes how Latino culture sees the magical and the mundane as intertwined, a worldview that deeply influences her fiction.From there, the conversation moves into Morgante’s wide-ranging journalism career with the Associated Press, taking her to Detroit, Denver, New York, Miami, Mexico City, Portland, San Diego, and beyond. She recalls the unexpected beauty and sorrow she saw in places like Detroit, the artistic vibrancy of Mexico City’s Condesa neighborhood in the 1990s, and how newsroom layoffs and the decline of local media brought her back to the Valley. She and Chacón also discuss the impact of AI on journalism, the growing importance of human-created writing, and why authentic storytelling will matter more than ever.

Listen to part 2 of Tim Z. Hernandez's conversation with Olga Talamante. Be sure to catch part 1 right here on the Words on a Wire podcast.

In this episode of The Storykeeper from Words on a Wire, host Tim Z. Hernandez sits down with activist and community leader Olga Talamante to explore the extraordinary journey behind her life’s work. Drawing from her migrant childhood in Gilroy, her early experiences as a student leader, and her awakening as a young Chicana organizer, Olga reflects on the forces that shaped her political consciousness. She recounts her time studying in Latin America, the path that led her to Argentina in the 1970s, and the harrowing period during which she was imprisoned as a political prisoner—an experience that would galvanize her lifelong commitment to human rights and social justice.This first part of a two-part conversation offers an intimate look at the roots of Olga’s activism and the resilience that has defined her career, including decades of leadership in the Chicana/Latina community. It is a powerful story of courage, identity, and the transformative impact of bearing witness.

In this candid and forward-looking conversation, host Will Rose sits down with longtime Words on a Wire co-host Daniel Chacón to examine how profoundly the writing life has changed—and what the new realities mean for anyone trying to build a writing career in 2025.Drawing from personal experience and decades inside the MFA world, Chacón reflects on the fading era when a single book and an MFA could reliably lead to a university teaching job and a stable writing life. That model, he explains, has all but dissolved. With thousands of new MFAs minted each year and only a handful of creative-writing jobs available, the old path is no longer the norm—it is the exception.The episode explores the daunting numbers behind today’s publishing landscape: millions of new books released annually, the vast majority selling fewer than 100 copies, and the rise of self-publishing as a legitimate entry point rather than a career dead-end. Will and Daniel also discuss how writers must navigate the “attention economy” by developing skills in branding, social media, community-building, and even entrepreneurial thinking.

In this episode, host Daniel Chacón sits down with Fredrick Luis Aldama—the award-winning author, theorist, and editor known as Professor Latinx—to explore how stories shape our minds, our culture, and even our bodies. Aldama discusses his astonishingly prolific career, from editing FlowerSong Press and launching the Brown Ink imprint to teaching courses on narrative, wellness, and smartphone storytelling.Their conversation moves from literature to neuroscience to video games, revealing how imagination and “flow” unite mind and body in the creative act. Aldama explains how storytelling—whether on the page, the screen, or through play—is a fundamental human drive that keeps evolving, urging us to see, feel, and think in new ways.

In this episode of The Storykeeper on Words on a Wire, host Tim Z. Hernandez sits down with poet, performer, and educator Darren J. de Leon to explore his new collection The Hoops and Crosses of Mt. Vernon (Hinchas Press, 2025). Blending poetry and fiction, de Leon’s debut offers vivid portraits of life in San Bernardino’s working-class neighborhoods and the formative tensions of growing up between danger and possibility.De Leon reads from his stories “Kmart” and “This Street Does Not Go Through,” weaving memories of skateboarding under the glow of a department-store sign with reflections on inheritance, family, and survival. He discusses how his years teaching youth “in risk” shaped his desire to write for young adults—those on the edge of choices that can determine their futures. For de Leon, language itself becomes liberation: “There are no laws in poetry, only the word.”The conversation traces his journey from the Mission District classroom to San Francisco’s electrifying 1990s spoken-word scene, where he co-founded the avant-garde ensemble Los Delicados. With Hernandez, de Leon revisits that era’s fusion of poetry, politics, punk energy, and Afro-Cuban rhythm that redefined Latinx performance art.The episode closes with de Leon’s powerful reading of a coming-of-age poem about youth, desire, and self-discovery—an echo of the book’s central themes: voice, risk, and the freedom to define one’s own story.

In this episode of Words on a Wire, host Will Rose speaks with award-winning author and translator Anton Hur, celebrated for bringing contemporary Korean literature to English-speaking readers through works like Bora Chung’s Cursed Bunny.What began as a practical skill evolved into a creative calling that now connects readers to voices from Korea’s vibrant literary scene. He also explains how his interest in coding and AI influenced the philosophical ideas in his novel, Toward Eternity, a story exploring consciousness and identity in a technological age.The conversation also delves into Hur’s collaboration with Bora Chung, whose Cursed Bunny became an international sensation and Booker Prize finalist. Hur reflects on their trust-based process and on the growing recognition of Korean fiction worldwide. From Han Kang’s Nobel Prize win to the work of rising authors, Hur describes this moment as both exciting and transformative for global literature.

On this episode of Words on a Wire, host Daniel Chacón speaks with Jessica Powers—publisher at Catalyst Press, author, and editor—about the hard truths and hopeful possibilities of a writing life. Jessica, who also writes under the name J.L. Powers, reflects on why so few books sell beyond a hundred copies, what creative writing students need to thrive, and how authors must learn to think like entrepreneurs as much as artists. She also discusses the evolution of publishing models, including hybrid approaches, and shares why she remains committed to championing human-driven stories at Catalyst Press. Together, Daniel and Jessica explore the shifting landscape of literature, creativity, and business in an era of AI, self-publishing, and new definitions of success for writers.

On this episode of Words on a Wire, host Daniel Chacón welcomes award-winning author Stephanie Elizondo Griest, whose adventurous spirit has carried her from the Texas/Mexico borderlands to 50 countries and 49 states. A celebrated writer of six books—including Around the Bloc, Mexican Enough, All the Agents and Saints, and her latest, Art Above Everything: One Woman’s Global Exploration of the Joys and Torments of a Creative Life—Griest brings a lifetime of stories that bridge cultures, geographies, and personal journeys.Her work, featured in the New York Times, Washington Post, VQR, The Believer, and Oxford American, explores identity, creativity, and resilience. In this conversation, she and Daniel reflect on the joys and challenges of a writer’s life, the power of storytelling across borders, and what it means to turn even life’s hardest journeys—such as her fight with cancer—into art.Tune in for an inspiring and deeply personal exchange with one of today’s most dynamic voices in creative nonfiction.

On this episode of The Storykeeper on Words on a Wire, host Tim Z. Hernandez speaks with poet and journalist Adolfo Guzman-Lopez about his collection, California Southern: Writing from the Road, 1992–2025. Together they reflect on three decades of poetry, journalism, and cultural activism—spanning the San Diego–Tijuana border, Los Angeles, and beyond. Guzmán-López shares the stories behind his work, his journey from performance-poetry with the Taco Shop Poets to award-winning reporting at NPR affiliates, and how history, migration, and community shape his art.

Antena es la primera novela de misterio extraterrestre ubicada en las entrañas de la Argentina agroexportadora de los últimos años. Francisco Marzioni retrata la interioridad y la subjetividad de los entornos rurales agropecuarios de un país que ha sabido usar la Ciencia Ficción como una poderosa metáfora de sus tensiones y contradicciones políticas ¿Quienes son los extraterrestres en un país saqueado por el oportunismo extractivista? El viaje de los visionarios cósmicos no parece haber acabado para un país que apunta al Sur como respuesta.Antena is the first extraterrestrial mystery novel set in the bowels of agro-exporting Argentina in recent years. Francisco Marzioni portrays the interiority and subjectivity of the rural agricultural environments of a country that has been able to use Science Fiction as a powerful metaphor for its political tensions and contradictions. Who are the aliens in a country plundered by extractivist opportunism? The journey of the cosmic visionaries does not seem to be over for a country that points to the South as an answer.

La Cuarta Raya Del Tigre y Casa Barullo son la manera en que la escritura se hace comunidad, juego, amistad y consigue sobrevivir al aislamiento y la desfinanciación cultural de este nuevo milenio en Colombia y el mundo. En esta charla aprendemos sobre el arte del encuentro, el contagio y la identidad en los extremos donde la literatura y la autoría devienen colectivos ¿Cómo podemos madurar y crecer en la creación literaria, y de un nuevo mundo?La Cuarta Raya Del Tigre and Casa Barullo is the way in which writing becomes community, play, friendship and manages to survive the isolation and cultural defunding of this new millennium in Colombia and the world. In this talk we learn about the art of encounter, contagion and identity in the extremes where literature and authorship become collective. How can we mature and grow in literary creation, and of a new world?

Una joven operaria de una fábrica, ¿puede aspirar a convertirse en escritora, ganar premios, publicar y ayudar a otras escritores-operarios a publicar? En el paisaje de la frontera estas historias resultan posibles invocando y subvirtiendo a personajes fantásticos como los superhéroes que ahora hacen justicia donde históricamente ha reinado el abuso y la explotación. Elpidia García Delgado nos cuenta su maravillosa historia con una alegría y un orgullo revolucionario.Can a young factory worker aspire to become a writer, win awards, publish and help other writer-workers publish? In the frontier landscape these stories are made possible by invoking and subverting fantastical characters such as superheroes who now bring justice where historically abuse and exploitation have reigned. Elpidia García Delgado tells her wonderful story with revolutionary joy and pride.

In this episode of Words on a Wire, host Daniel Chacón speaks with Javier Sagarna, a Spanish writer and director of Escuela de Escritores in Madrid. Sagarna shares his journey from pharmaceuticals to fiction, reflecting on how literature and workshops can create community and foster imagination. He discusses the role of utopias in storytelling, arguing that writers should move beyond dystopian visions to imagine better futures. The conversation also touches on a major blackout in Madrid, where instead of chaos, neighbors gathered, talked, and supported one another—an experience Sagarna likens to the potential of creative writing communities. With insights on craft, teaching, and the transformative power of desire over talent, Sagarna emphasizes writing as both an art and a way of life. This episode explores imagination, resilience, and the courage to live—and write—your own story.

In this wide-ranging conversation, host Daniel Chacón speaks with poet Matt Sedillo— called “America’s greatest political poet”—about his poetic mission, international travels, and deep commitment to social justice. Sedillo reflects on the legacy of revolutionary poets like Roque Dalton and Pablo Neruda, and shares his experiences participating in international poetry festivals, including a recent trip to Cuba where he read a poem to Olympic gold medalist Mijaín López.The episode explores Sedillo’s literary and political inspirations, his role in building bridges between Chicano poetry and audiences across Latin America, and his passion for promoting working-class voices through El Martillo Press, which he co-founded. He also speaks candidly about the importance of mentorship, cultural reciprocity, and networking for emerging writers.

In this episode of Words on a Wire, host Daniel Chacón speaks with UTEP math professor Lawrence Lesser and digital humanities scholar Elisabet Takehana about the surprising connections between poetry, mathematics, and data. What starts as a discussion about a poem on the number π unfolds into a wide-ranging conversation about creativity, meaning, and the human role in interpreting both language and numbers. Together, they explore how algorithms, literature, and mathematics all reflect a deeply human impulse to find patterns—and beauty—in the world around us.

In this thought-provoking episode of Words on a Wire, host Daniel Chacón welcomes author and theologian Keith Giles for an engaging conversation about his book The Quantum Sayings of Jesus: Decoding the Lost Gospel of Thomas. Giles shares his spiritual journey from being a Southern Baptist pastor immersed in conservative evangelicalism to becoming what he calls “mystic-curious.”The episode dives deep into the Gospel of Thomas, a non-canonical collection of Jesus’ sayings that Giles argues holds profound spiritual insight when read through the lens of non-duality and oneness. Giles explains how his rethinking of foundational Christian doctrines led to a years-long process of spiritual deconstruction, culminating in a series of books challenging traditional views of politics, scripture, and more.