Episode 141—Evan Ratliff on Garbage-ing, Legwork in Pitching, and 'The Mastermind'

"My system is, it's okay not to have a system," says Evan Ratliff, @ev_rat on Twitter. This week I spoke to Evan Ratliff, who puts the bad in badass. Yes, that means I put the ass in badass. Neither here nor there. Evan came on the show to talk about his career as a freelance journalist and, most recently, his epic new book titled The Mastermind: Drugs. Empire. Murder. Betrayal. It’s a book that combines all the tools of the trade a master reporter needs to tell the globetrotting story That’s right, this is The Creative Nonfiction Podcast, the show were I talk to badass writers, filmmakers, and producers about the art and craft of telling true stories. I try and unpack their origins and how they go about the work so you can apply those tools of mastery to your own work. I’m your host, Brendan O’Meara. So before we get to Evan, you’ll want to find a way to subscribe to this show. I make it easy, man. Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts,  Spotify, Stitcher. I think that’s enough. If you find the show entertaining or informative, share it across your platform with your pals. You are the social network. Rage against the algorithm, rrrrage. If you’re feeling generous of course you can leave a review on iTunes, but I’m jsut as happy with you sharing it or even emailing the show creative nonfiction podcast at gmail dot com. Head over to brendanomeara.com for show notes and to sign up for my monthly newsletter. The latest one went out today. You’ll find book recommendations and maybe a link to a story written about me in the Register-Guard here in Eugene, OR. I always wanted to be a writer worth writing about. But I guess, for the time, I’m a podcaster worth writing about. It’s pretty cool. Check it out. Newsletter, once a month. No spam. Can’t beat it. Okay, so Evan Ratliff, @ev_rat on Twitter, came by the show. His latest book The Mastermind is a masterpiece of true crime writing. Evan is also the founder of The Atavist Magazine, a co-host of the Longform Podcast, and a long-time freelance writer. This was fun. He came to play ball, which not every guest does so I’m thrilled that he took the time to jam with me. Here’s my conversation with Evan Ratliff. Let’s kick it!   What else? Oh, yes, keep the conversation going on Twitter by pinging me @BrendanOMeara and @CNFPod. Wanna barf? The show has an Instagram page now: @cnfpod. And, as always, you can like the show on Facebook. You have no excuse for not seeing the show out there in the world. Thanks to Goucher College's Masters in Nonfiction for sponsoring the show!