The Personal Element
Activity Overview
Episode publication activity over the past year
Episodes
Episode 20: I'm Deaf And I Have 'Perfect' Speech. Here's Why It's Actually A Nightmare.
15 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In Rachel Zemach's essay, first published in Huffpost, we learn that for a deaf person, being able to speak is not superior to communicating in...
Episode 19: At 86, My Grandmother Regrets Two Things
15 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In this exquisitely poetic essay, first published in The Diagram and republished in Creative Nonfiction, Diana Xin takes our listeners back to her g...
Episode 18: Something Like Love
15 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Not everyone has an amazing relationship with their parents. Not every parent is a person we feel proud to be related to, to be "of". In som...
Episode 17: Urgent Care
15 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In this special edition of The Personal Element, we rebroadcast an episode of Lesley University's Why We Write podcast. Christine and Tavi talk a...
Episode 16: Lenny
15 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Alice block is a writer who has a great depth of knowledge about music, theater, and performance in general. She's published two memoirs (and a n...
Episode 15: Gun Bubbles
15 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Icelandic-American writer Margrét Ann Thors takes readers on a surprising ride from Reykjavík to Colorado through her imaginative translations. The ...
Episode 14: Motherhood Can Be Isolating. My Anxiety Made It Worse.
15 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Scientist and writer Lauren Tanabe takes us through her anxiety-ridden world of early motherhood. Concerns that her child will be injured or fall ill ...
Episode 13: I’m Not Scared of Death, But I Can’t Stop Asking This One Question
15 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Essayist Kelly Eden discusses the larger questions in life as she skillfully weaves in her experiences with a chronical illness, contemplations regard...
Episode 12: The Most Valuable Thing I Can Teach My Kid Is How to Be Lazy
15 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Rabbi Elliot Kukla writes about the importance of taking time to rest in his essay which was first published in the New York Times. With an ear to t...
Episode 11: The Dark Month
15 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In his incredibly chilling and honest essay, “The Dark Month”, Christopher Collins explores his faith and belief after witnessing a boy's s...
Episode 10: Guera, Where You Going?
16 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Based on the Beck song, "Que Onda Guero", Kelly Shire's musical essay (first published in Memoir Mixtapes) explores a young girl's...
Episode 9: Redefining Failure After a Brain Injury
15 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
First published in Hippocampus Magazine, Brooke Knisley’s essay helps put in perspective what failure means, what success means. After her fall from...
Episode 8: The Nine & Nobody's Home
15 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This episode on The Personal Element, we take a little different tack. We're talking about two essays this time by writer Ellen Birkett Morris,...
Episode 7: Barefoot Angels
15 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Mikhal Weiner writes beautifully--musically--about falling in love for the first time. Join us as we discuss her essay "Barefoot Angels", ...
Episode 6: The Wolf and the Dog
15 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
School shootings are far too common in the US. In the wake of yet another shooting, this time at Oxford High School in Michigan, students and educat...
Episode 5: If You're Not Sure If Your Marriage Will Survive the Pandemic, You're Not Alone
15 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Tavi and Christine discuss Cindy DiTiberio's essay, If You're Not Sure If Your Marriage Will Survive the Pandemic, You&apos...
Episode 4: Learning to Connect with My Male Friends
15 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Josh Kozelj writes about how hard it has been for him to open up to his male friends about his feelings. Josh brings in research from...
The Personal Element Trailer
19 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Come listen to our new podcast, The Personal Element, where writers Christine Junge and Tavi Taylor Black listen to essays they love and talk about wh...
Episode 2: A How To for Desperate Times
08 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of the podcast, Casey Mulligan reads her heartbreaking and poignant essay, A How To for Desperate Times which was first published in B...
Episode 3: Taking Control of My Body Image
08 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Personal Element co-host Christine Junge reads her essay about taking control of her body image, which was first published in Chicken...
Episode 1: Recording My Child's Voice
08 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of the Personal Element podcast, Jeanne Bonner reads her essay about recording her child's voice, which was originally published ...