PODCAST · arts
500 Words by Lee Schneider
by Lee Schneider
500 Words is a companion podcast to the 500 Words newsletter, written by Lee Schneider. It features blogs and newsletter read by the author. Past seasons have featured short-form interviews with creative folks from film, music, design, multi-media and more.
Episodes
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Issue 95 - My emotional support robot is not returning my calls
Welcome to 500 Words, a letter about indie publishing, artificial intelligence, and the creative process. Though I write about AI, I'm not an AI fanboy. I'm interested in interrogating IA, which means I'm going to question all of its basic assumptions. The reason for this is that I am a…
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Issue 94 - How to Stop Reading Newspapers
Welcome to 500 Words. When I worked as a news writer and producer, I acquired a habit that I am now trying to break. Back then, every day, I churned through as many print and internet sources as I could get my eyes on. Now, the more news I read, the worse I feel. In the episode, I go on to talk...
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Issue 93 - Mourning in America
Well, that didn't go well. A majority of Americans have voted for hate, choosing a criminal to lead us. It feels like a day, or a few days, or maybe a whole week to dip into despair or try to recharge. I have given some time over to despairing and mourning, and now I'm working on the recharge.…
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Issue 92 - Nuclear-Powered AI
A moment for station identification for new readers and listeners: 500 Words is a weekly-ish newsletter with two regular columns: INTERROGATING AI, which examines our use of artificial intelligence, and BLURBOMATIC, a monthly curated list of book reviews. I'll also keep you updated about books…
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Issue 91 - Follow the Money
There are many AI unknowns this week. To sort them out, let's follow the money. OpenAI is restructuring from a non-profit to a for-profit company. Its Chief Technology Officer, Mia Murati, announced that she's leaving. Murati played a pivotal role in getting OpenAI CEO Sam Altman booted from the...
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Issue 90 - Online Personhood
Hey, you human? Prove it. With more AI-generated slop that I can handle on my screens these days, I say it's time to issue online credentials that will prove that you're a human being. We have driver's licenses to prove who we are when we get behind the wheel, and we have passports to prove who…
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Issue 89 - Book Talk
Not only are people buying more books, but they are also talking about them more often, in more venues. BookTok helped sell about 20 million books in 2021, more than 2.4% of book sales for that year. The #booktok hashtag has more than 200 billion views on TikTok, which is like saying every person...
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Issue 88 - Yes, people buy books, and AI has a good side
Hello, and welcome to 500 Words. It didn't seem that long ago that the experts said that nobody would buy physical books anymore. Well, Barnes & Noble is thriving, on track to open 58 new stores this year. That's the fastest pace the company has set for openings since 2009. Physical books are...
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Issue 87 - Is that Really You?
How can you be sure I'm me and you're you? I'm asking because a person's vocal identity is hard to verify online, even if you know their voice well. Synthetic speech generation has gotten so good, it's close to impossible to tag a voice as real just by listening to it. Earlier this year, New...
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Issue 86 - Cloning an Actor's Work
Let's consider actors' voices as uncommon instruments, ready to fit vastly different roles and build big emotions with the smallest nuances of expression. Voice actors are hired on productions because their voice can be heavy as gravel or light as a butterfly. These voices may be virtually...
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Issue 85 - Here Comes the Future
An announcement about a new feature of the newsletter, Interrogating AI, your guide to collaborating with AI. Also, the new podcast is starting, and you can get your voice into it. Leave a comment at https://memo.fm/thefuturelab/ and we might play it on the air.
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Issue 84 - Praise for Librarians
Since I've been working on distributing my new book, I have been thinking about libraries. This summer, our family has been visiting our local library nearly every week. I'm researching a young audiences project with my youngest son as my consultant. He is a speedy reader--the other day we…
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Issue 83 - FAKEOUT LOL and a visit to the archives
Since I can't keep up with all the output *500 Words* requires on a weekly basis, I've brought in a collaborator, one with BIG ideas. They have written for Time, Place, Apple News, Pear News, Apricot, Fox, and Raccoon, but actually, I'm not sure, because they tend to make things up. Their résumé…
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Issue 82 - Anxiety About What's Next
Navigating anxiety, embracing climate fiction, and preparing for a paywall in this edition of 500 Words.
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Issue 81 - Let's Enter the Flow State
This is an audio version of 500 Words - Issue 81 - Let's enter the Flow State. It is read by Lee Schneider. Creative work starts with a flow state. A flow state is a state of focused attention that often leads to a sense of effortless peak performance. In a flow state, time melts away, and you…
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Issue 80 - Special Edition - Celebration
I'm writing today to celebrate the official publication of my second novel, Resist. It went live yesterday on Amazon, with more platforms to follow. It's been a journey, like running a marathon, and it's not over yet. (I'm writing a third novel now.) I'm grateful for everyone who has supported me...
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Issue 79 - Climate Positivity
This is an audio version of 500 Words - Issue 79 - Climate Positivity Have you heard that climate change is your fault? It's your fault that you drive a gas-guzzling car, overheat your home, run your air conditioner, travel by air, and make scrambled eggs on your gas-fired stove top. That's why...
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Issue 78 - Thank you for the Blurbs
Blurbs. You see them on the back of books. You see them in movie ads. Now, here they are in my newsletter. They're everywhere! Not really, but a few kind folks have blurbed my next book, Resist.
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Now Here's Something - Food in a Tube
500 Words is an ongoing conversation with creative people. We've profiled composers, photographers, and labyrinth makers. As we prepare our next short run of fiction for the web, we're featuring short-form conversations between father and son. Subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts. Subscribe...
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Now Here's Something - Episode 2
In this episode of Now Here’s Something, Bodhi and I go deep for three minutes about the dilemma we all face now: screen or paper. If you’re just joining me on the 500 Words journey, I’m posting a podcast as I work up the next numbered series of very short short story posts written exclusively…
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Introducing ... Now Here's Something
Hello! During the last few months in this space, I’ve been posting a series of short-form stories from the future. I need to give the time machine a little rest (those things can overheat if used every day) and I need a little time to write up the ideas for the next short-form series. So, during...
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SCHOOL AND WORK ON YOUR SCREEN What’s the way forward?
Sure, I write short-form essays for the web right here on 500 Words. I’m working on one today to share with you. I’m also the co-founder of a futurist network called FutureX. This week, we’re hosting an event about the future of school and work online. Spending so much more time on screens might…
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How the Climate Crisis Affects the Food Chain
Editor’s note: This is a guest podcast by Bodhi Schneider. He is eight. He’s also my son. He wrote the script and composed the music. How the climate crisis affects the food chain Hello, I am Bodhi Schneider and I’m gonna teach you how the climate crisis affects the food chain. First, do you know...
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Ep 10 - On a Call With Vikram Chandra, Novelist
This week's call is with Vikram Chandra, novelist, software developer, and deep thinker about the creative process. I first discovered his work when I read his bestseller Geek Sublime: The Beauty of Code, the Code of Beauty, a book about the creative drives and lives shared by writers and coders....
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Creative Keynotes With Ady Floyd of Trendhunter
In this special on-location edition of the podcast, Ady Floyd, a senior research manager at Trendhunter, shares her ideas and tips about creating a keynote speech. With 20,000,000 monthly views, TrendHunter.com is the world's largest, most popular trend community. The Toronto-based group…
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Ep 09 - On a Call With Adrian Fisher
This week's' conversation is with Adrian Fisher. This is a man who believes in the power of the rough pencil sketch. He believes in having control, but not. My art form is parallel rows of things. -- Adrian Fisher He is a maze designer. I can't seem to get enough of interviews with people who...
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Ep 08 - On a Call With David Tolzmann, Labyrinth Maker
This week's phone call is with David Tolzmann. David is the founder of The Labyrinth Company, which designs and builds walkable labyrinths in all media. He’s designed and crafted labyrinths in churches, medical centers, hospices, friaries, retreat centers, and schools, and for spiritual…
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Ep 07 - On a Call With Christina Dunbar
This week’s interview is with Christina Dunbar, who has said, “Our culture is starving for story, for vulnerability, for truth telling, for personal story. Story creates meaning and we have a lack of meaning right now in the world.” Christina Dunbar is a storyteller, director, and producer of...
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Ep 06 - On a Call with Jeremy J. Lee
Sound Designer Jeremy J. Lee This week's call is with Jeremy J. Lee, a sound designer. He's worked in theater productions and we talk about his adventures in podcasting. He's really proud of the sound design work he did for a podcast called Video Palace that was written and produced by the folks...
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Ep 05 On a Call With Photographer Bobbi Lane
This week's interview is with Bobbi Lane, who has said memorably, "If you don’t have a concept then you don’t have a picture." What she means is that all the photographic technique in the world isn’t going to do you any good if you don’t have an idea for your image. Bobbi is an award-winning...
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Ep 04 On a Call With Filmmaker Daniel J. Coplan
This week's call is with Daniel J. Coplan. He wears many hats as producer, director, writer, editor, and actor in his films. He's pretty much built his own genre which might be described as enlightenment noir. He works in the thriller mode and adds Buddhist character revelations and plot points....
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Ep 03 - On a Call With Matthew Malach
This is Episode 03 of On a Call With, a mini-podcast about creativity. Subscribers will have access to the complete archive online. If you’re curious about subscribing to this email, here’s how. On a Call With Animation Writer Matthew Malach I’ve known Matthew Malach since we worked together in…
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Ep 02 - On a Call with Karen Kinney
This is Episode 02 of On a Call With, a mini-podcast about creativity available exclusively for subscribers to this email. But wait — because I’m feeling good today I’m making this episode available to everyone which, by the power vested in me, I can do from time to time. Subscribers will have...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
500 Words is a companion podcast to the 500 Words newsletter, written by Lee Schneider. It features blogs and newsletter read by the author. Past seasons have featured short-form interviews with creative folks from film, music, design, multi-media and more.
HOSTED BY
Lee Schneider
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