A nor’easter that wasn’t, a “thanks for the orgasm” postcard, and an art fair squatting in the abandoned CBS News offices. In this episode, Josh and Dasha hit the Spring Break Art Show to talk about finding inspiration in other art forms, the dreaded artist statement, and why true geniuses always sound like dumbasses explaining their own work. Then, Reddit dot com returns with a writer who can’t write women because he only reads men—and the case for stretching your reading taste the way you’d get a toddler to try broccoli.

A stolen Margaritaville notepad, a semester spent teaching “Writing After AI” at the oldest writers’ conference in the country, and the eternal question of whether you’re supposed to outline your novel or just vibe your way through it. Josh and Dasha dig into what a stack of AI-generated writing controversies reveals about the culture wars, then take on a listener’s plea for outlining advice (snowflake method, reverse outlining, and Freytag’s Pyramid included) with a pit stop at clown school along the way.

Sparkling wine, the New York Knicks, and a pair of heels you absolutely cannot walk in. In this episode, Josh and Dasha get deep into the undefined territory of writer’s voice—what’s the actual definition, whether you can find it or whether it’s already found you, and why trying to write like the writers you love might be the most seductive trap in the craft. Plus, a Reddit post from a self-described edgelord who writes Omegaverse fanfic and can’t stop adding flowery language—and why their “problem” might not be a problem at all.

A bottle of heretical French wine, a five-year taste arc, and a 1,000-page German novel put down out of sheer pettiness. In this episode, Josh and Dasha trace the evolution of a writing sensibility: from angular Hemingway sentences to something velvety and unnecessary, like a Californian Pinot Noir. Then: an anonymous listener asks how you know when a poem is done, and whether every word has to hit.

Banana pudding guilt, a stalker, and a trip back to Michigan that refused to cooperate. In this episode, Josh and Dasha wade into the murky gap between a research trip and a writing residency—and why confusing the two might be the cruelest thing you can do to yourself. Then, the triumphant return of Reddit dot com, where writers explain “why they stop writing (only the truth).”

Recorded live on the busiest day of AWP 26 in Baltimore, Josh and Dasha drag a microphone onto the conference floor—ambient noise, raised voices, a missing scarf, and all—for the first of two episodes from the convention.