Write to the Point

Feb 24 2024
Write to the Point Podcast artwork

Hosted by the University of Florida’s Writing Program, “Write to the Point” features conversations with writing experts about the secrets to great communication. Guests on the show recognize that writing “to the point” means connecting with audiences and building knowledge bases in order to transform their communities. Available on Apple, Spotify, Audible, and Deezer. UF University Writing Program: https://writing.ufl.edu/ Questions? Contact host Tony Manganaro at [email protected]

RSS feed Share
Copy RSS


Subscribe on Podcast Addict


Writing History: Storytelling in the Environmental Humanities

Feb 24 2024 30 mins  
Tony interviews Pulitzer-winning historian Jack E. Davis (author of W.W. Norton’s The Gulf, The Bald Eagle, and others). They discuss the creative process behind composing academic scholarship: how using a varied vocabulary and sentence structure is essential; why researching and writing simultaneously is useful; and how, in Davis’s words, letting nature “tell me how it wants

What’s the Deal with Air Conditioning?

Dec 05 2023 33 mins  
Eric Dean Wilson – author of After Cooling (Simon & Schuster, 2021) – shares his journey in tackling climate range by focusing on a single molecule and telling a gripping 400-page story about America. In this conversation about the writing process, Eric and Tony discuss the merits of everyday journaling; why writing for “the public” is an unhelpful term; why writing a clear

Writing for the U.S. Government

Sep 18 2023 21 mins  
In this conversation, Tony interviews Jamie Lee Marks (Senior Analyst in the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation’s Office of Tribal and Indigenous Peoples) about her agency’s efforts to advise the U.S. President and Congress on national preservation policy and more. Marks describes the unique challenges while writing in this realm; why ChatGPT cannot do her job; and how i

Pitch It: How Academics Can Find Mega Audiences for Their Research

May 31 2023 38 mins  
Want to transform your article, dissertation, or book into a text that’s actually read by tens of thousands? In this conversation, Sean Trainor advises academics on how to map one’s idea into a public venue through developing a pitch and working with editors of high-profile presses. In a world that “moves at a pace that would give many academics a panic attack,” journalism

So You Want to Be a Doctor? Learn to Write

Mar 07 2023 30 mins  
Evan Maroun advises future med students about the unspoken communication rules for health professionals. He and Tony discuss challenges and tips for various forms of medical communication–from the patient interview to research papers–and explore why lucid communication is so foundational to ethical research and clinical practice. Maroun, a UF graduate, is a first-year medical

ChatGPT: Friend or Foe?

Jan 31 2023 60 mins  
Six educators share their insight into teaching writing alongside AI. With varying attitudes–from enthusiasm to skepticism–these university teachers offer perspectives that cut beyond the obvious on facilitating the use of ChatGPT in the classroom. 0:46– Dr. Zea Miller (University of Florida) explains why ChatGPT is revolutionary and why its future role in education is so

BS: How Meaning is Made and Shared

Dec 06 2022 33 mins  
Dennis McCarty explains how “bullshit” operates in public communication and why it’s integral to identify its strategies. He also gives advice on public speaking as he and Tony discuss the errors of pre-canned speeches; the underrated usefulness of audience analysis and humor; what celebrities taught us during the pandemic; and why Q&A is so difficult. McCarty is an Assistant

Grant Writing in the Arts

Oct 03 2022 31 mins  
Stevi Costa, Grants Manager of Seattle Rep – the Pacific Northwest’s largest nonprofit theatre – describes the exciting challenges of writing donors to help her nonprofit grow, offering tips for navigating the particular hurdles involved in the grant writing process.

The Art of Competitive Listening: How Debate Radically Improves Communication Skills

Aug 20 2022 36 mins  
Award-winning debater Kendall Lindsay explains the myriad skills that are developed by engaging in competitive debate tournaments. Tony and Kendall also discuss why practicing debate is an “ethically responsible” thing to do in an increasingly polarized world inundated with social media.

Tips for Writing in Environmental Science

Aug 20 2022 42 mins  
UF Associate Professor David Kaplan (Dept. of Environmental Engineering Sciences) reflects on writing to audiences ranging from colleagues to the U.S. Supreme Court. He and Tony discuss the many surprising keys to complex yet accessible communication in the sciences.