Nonfiction Masterclass: Combining Narrative Structure, Lived Experience and Geopolitics in Episode 309 with Scott Carney and Jason Miklian.

Like all great stories, <a href="https://www.scottcarney.com/the-vortex">The Vortex: A True Story of History&#8217;s Deadliest Storm, an Unspeakable War, and Liberation</a> was born out of writerly curiosity and a deceptively simple question: Why would India build a wall around Bangladesh? <br/><br/>I (Jess) spoke with co-authors <a href="https://www.scottcarney.com/">Scott Carney</a> and <a href="https://jasonmiklian.com/">Jason Miklian</a> about their collaboration and the work involved in answering this question. <br/><br/>I&#8217;ve known Scott for a while, as I became a fan of his work about a decade ago when I read <a href="https://www.scottcarney.com/the-red-market">The Red Market: On the Trail of the World&#8217;s Organ Brokers, Bone Thieves, Blood Farmers, and Child Traffickers</a> and later became one of those crazy cold plunge people after reading his books, <a href="https://www.scottcarney.com/what-doesnt-kill-us">What Doesn&#8217;t Kill Us</a> and <a href="https://www.scottcarney.com/the-wedge">The Wedge</a>. I&#8217;m new to <a href="https://jasonmiklian.com/">Jason Miklian</a>, though, and thoroughly enjoyed getting to know this venerable <a href="https://jasonmiklian.com/academic">academic</a>, writer, <a href="https://jasonmiklian.com/photography">photographer</a>, researcher, breakbeat DJ, and world record holder (for the fastest drive across North America).<br/><br/>In this episode, we talk about choosing narrative structure, finding your subjects, discovering the most relevant stories, and creating a comprehensible, cinematic story out of an incredibly complex topic. <br/><br/>The highlight of this podcast for me? Being reminded, &#8220;I don&#8217;t need to be the world expert on everything, I just need to be the world expert on the people whose stories I&#8217;m telling.&#8221; <br/><br/>Ka-boom. Blammo. <br/><br/>I hope you enjoy this episode as much as I did. <br/><br/>Hey&#8212;have you been spending small amounts on short term classes, watching videos and using up every possible opportun