In this conversation, first-time novelist Jennifer Mandula gets frank about the joys and challenges – the adventure, really – of not just writing but selling a novel. She and Tony (an aspiring novelist himself) debate everything from hosting Feedback Dinner Parties to mapping outlines to using elementary technology to type, and much more! Bottom line: writing is one thing; finding a massive audience through navigating the "book business" is another. Mandula's fantasy novel, The Geomagician, can be ordered here.

Why does the fear of public speaking feel like the fear of death? In this conversation, Dustin Hall answers that and more. Despite public speaking's many challenges, young people today actually crave the civic engagement that public speaking affords; they want to develop empathy in live situations removed from their phones and their echo chambers. Public speaking, says Dustin, is always a "dialogue," even when speaking solo. How can we get better at it? This convo explains how.

Dustin Hall is the Assistant Public Speaking Lab Coordinator at UF's Dial Center for Speech and Communication Studies, as well as adjunct faculty for the Department of Gender, Sexualities, and Women's Studies and a writing tutor at the University Writing Studio. To date, he's taught public speaking courses for six years and counting. Hall has a BA in Religious Studies (minor in Linguistics) from Youngstown State University and an MA in Hindu Traditions from UF.

In this conversation, Dr. Jamie Loizzo makes a strong pitch for all scientists to communicate to the public in a variety of mediums: podcasts, photo essays, virtual reality tours, and more. Scientists have a social responsibility to strengthen public understanding and trust. Among other topics, she and Tony discuss her background in radio/TV; the critical importance in being understandable to middle schoolers; what makes for a terrific science podcast; and the importance of not just 'scaring' people but offering 'solutions.' Loizzo is an associate professor in the University of Florida's Department of Agricultural Education and Communication; her project, Streaming Science, disseminates research to the broader public alongside her students.