Episode 250 with Ben Tanzer, Author of The Missing, a Fresh Take on Old Tropes, and Podcaster, Coach, Strategist, and More-All Creative Pursuits for The Renaissance Man

Notes and Links to Ben Tanzer’s Work

 

   For Episode 250, Pete welcomes Ben Tanzer, and the two discuss, among other topics, his childhood love of books, formative and transformative writers and writing, bothy past and present, muses, Jim Carroll and his powerful and pivotal work, Ben’s podcast and motivations for living the creative life, and salient themes and issues in his novel like sacrifice, family bonds, parenthood, small towns, the unknown, and awe.

 

   Ben Tanzer is an Emmy-award winning coach, creative strategist, podcaster, writer, teacher and social worker who has been helping nonprofits, publishers, authors, small business and career changers tell their stories for 20 plus years. He serves as a Lecturer (and part-time faculty) at Lake Forest College, where he teaches LOOP 202: 21st Century Development and Liberal Arts and The Workplace.

He produces and hosts This Podcast Will Change Your Life (300+ episodes and counting), which was launched in February 2010, focuses on authors and changemakers from around the country and the world, and was named by Elephant Journal as one of "The 10 Best Podcasts to Help you Change your Life.

His written work includes the short story collection UPSTATE, the science fiction novel Orphans and the essay collections Lost in Space and Be Cool. I'm a storySouth and Pushcart nominee, a finalist for the Annual National Indie Excellence and Eric Hoffer Book Awards, a winner of the Devil's Kitchen Literary Festival Nonfiction Prose Award and a Midwest Book Award.

 

Buy The Missing

 

A Conversation with Ben in The Chicago Review

 

Ben Tanzer’s Website

 

At about 2:15, Ben gives background on the “creative life” and his day-to-day and “hustle”

At about 5:30, Ben describes the importance of an “awesomely discouraging” tax person when one lives the creative life

At about 6:45, Ben shouts out Columbia College in Chicago

At about 7:45, Ben discusses his early relationship with reading and the written word

At about 10:00, Ben talks about meaningful feedback in a writing class and how he started his writing career 

At about 11:10, Ben cites Jim Carroll’s Basketball Diaries, DeGrazia’s American Skin, and other formative texts, like Catcher in the Rye, Will Allison and Joe Mino, 

At about 14:10, Ben reflects on the importance of cross country and wrestling in his life

At about 15:10, Ben shouts out Wendy C. Ortiz’s Excavation, Gina Frangello, Donald Quist, Joe Meno, Sara Lippman, Alice Kaltman, Gionna Cromley, Lee Matthew Goldberg, and Lisa Cross Smith as writers and writing that thrills and inspires and “crush[es]” him

At about 17:30, Pete cites the thrill of meeting standout writers, and Ben expands upon ideas of the brain being “profoundly affected” by meeting literary heroes

At about 20:10, Ben talks about his podcast and its roots and philosophy 

At about 22:30, Ben responds to Pete’s question about Ben’s viewpoint on the “muse,” in both his writing and his podcasting-shout out to SpiderMeka!

At about 27:15, Pete and Ben lay out the book’s exposition and Ben discusses the book’s seeds

At about 29:45, Ben gives background on a stimulating idea provided by his agent

At about 31:45, The two discuss the aging and maturing or not of the central characters of the book

At about 36:00, The two discuss how Ben writes about “what could have been” in using “speculative flashbacks” and ideas of the sexualization of young girls, especially in missing children cases; Ben shouts out Emily Schultz’s Little Threats

At about 40:35, Ben reflects on playing with the idea of having a kid who would dare date someone with a bad haircut, etc.

At about 42:25, The two discuss unprocessed traumas and Hannah and Gabriel’s mindsets and an awe-inspiring scene involving trains

At about 47:00-Bobby Baccala and the trains-NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

At about 47:45, Ben responds to Pete’s comments about Gabriel being referenced in the book as a “good father and a bad husband”

At about 51:45, Pete wonders about Krista’s reasons for leaving, and Ben talks about the unknown and his rationale in using a lot of unknown, as well as how many real-life parallels he’s seen to the book’s events

At about 55:35, A key question about living one’s best life is explored

At about 56:15, Casting choices abound! and Ben expands on his interest in Officer John

At about 57:35, Ed, father of Hannah, is explored as a victim and a great listener, and Gabriel’s mother as an “enabler” is expanded upon

At about 1:01:05, Ben gives contact info and social media information

At about 1:03:10, Pete and Ben discuss the buying domain business

   You can now subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and leave me a five-star review. You can also ask for the podcast by name using Alexa, and find the pod on Stitcher, Spotify, and on Amazon Music. Follow me on IG, where I’m @chillsatwillpodcast, or on Twitter, where I’m @chillsatwillpo1. You can watch this and other episodes on YouTube-watch and subscribe to The Chills at Will Podcast Channel. Please subscribe to both my YouTube Channel and my podcast while you’re checking out this episode.

   I am very excited about having one or two podcast episodes per month featured on the website of Chicago Review of Books. The audio will be posted, along with a written interview culled from the audio. A big thanks to Rachel León and Michael Welch at Chicago Review.

   Sign up now for The Chills at Will Podcast Patreon: it can be found at patreon.com/chillsatwillpodcastpeterriehl

    Check out the page that describes the benefits of a Patreon membership, including cool swag and bonus episodes. Thanks in advance for supporting my one-man show, my DIY podcast and my extensive reading, research, editing, and promoting to keep this independent podcast pumping out high-quality content!

   This month’s Patreon bonus episode features segments from conversations with Deesha Philyaw, Luis Alberto Urrea, Chris Stuck, and more, as they reflect on chill-inducing writing and writers that have inspired their own work.

      This is a passion project of mine, a DIY operation, and I’d love for your help in promoting what I’m convinced is a unique and spirited look at an often-ignored art form.

   The intro song for The Chills at Will Podcast is “Wind Down” (Instrumental Version), and the other song played on this episode was “Hoops” (Instrumental)” by Matt Weidauer, and both songs are used through ArchesAudio.com.

    Please tune in for Episode 251 with Alexandra Alessandri. She is the author of several books for children, including Isabel and Her Colores Go to School (2021), and Grow Up, Luchy Zapata (2024), a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection; her books have received numerous distinctions, including the International Latino Book Award

   The episode will go live on September 3. 

   Lastly, please go to https://ceasefiretoday.com/, which features 10+ actions to help bring about Ceasefire in Gaza.