Stuttering As Art

On Stuttering and Meeting Your Hero, Scatman John with Author Gina Waggott

Host Madeline Wahl speaks with Gina Waggott, who is a writer, editor, and former TV professional. She is the author of the authorized biography Scatman John: The Remarkable Story of the World’s Unlikeliest Popstar, due from Bloomsbury in February 2026
 
Together, they also talk about John Larkin, aka Scatman John, was a stuttering jazz pianist turned global pop sensation in his 50s, thanks to his breakout dance hits like Scatman (Ski‑Ba‑Bop‑Ba‑Dop‑Bop) and Scatman's World in the 1990s. He transformed his lifelong stutter into art, inspiring millions to never let stuttering hold them back. 
Links:
Gina Waggott's Website
Pre-Order Scatman John: The Remarkable Story of the World’s Unlikeliest Popstar
Scatman John's Website
Music: guitar songs provided by mobygratis.
 

Identity, Connections, and Writing Poetry with Poet Tyson Higel

Host Madeline Wahl speaks with Tyson Higel, a nurse, a poet, and most unimportant of all, a person who stutters. His difficulty with speaking is what led him to writing, however—a landscape in which words are no longer obstacles, but bridges. Confessions of a Stutterer aims to be a bridge itself, to connect the reader, the listener, to what goes unspoken for from those who struggle with speaking.
Together, they talk about poetry, stuttering, identity, and more. 
Links:
Tyson Higel's Website
Buy Confessions of a Stutterer
Amanda Gorman's poem
Music: guitar songs provided by mobygratis.

Poetry and Children's Picture Books with I Talk Like A River Author Jordan Scott

Host Madeline Wahl speaks with Jordan Scott, poet and children’s author. His debut children’s book, I Talk Like a River (illustrated by Sydney Smith), was a New York Times best Children’s Book of 2020. I Talk Like a River is translated into nineteen languages and was the recipient of the American Library Association’s, Schneider Family Book Award, which honors authors for the artistic expression of the disability experience. I Talk Like a River has won numerous international awards and was nominated for the Governor General’s Literary Prize for Young People’s Literature. Scott is also the author of four books of poetry and the recipient of the Latner Writers’ Trust Poetry Prize, given to a mid-career poet in recognition of a remarkable body of work, and in anticipation of future contributions to Canadian poetry.
Together, they talk about poetry, children's picture books, stuttering, and more. 
Links:
Jordan Scott's Website
I Talk Like A River
Jordan Scott's Poetry
Music: guitar songs provided by mobygratis.
Note: An attempt has been made to edit out technical glitches due to unstable WiFi connection in the conversation, but some may have remained. Thank you for your patience. 

Stuttering Advocacy, Survivor, and Publishing a Book with James Hayden

Host Madeline Wahl speaks with James Hayden, who lives in the New Orleans area with his fiancée and works in the medical field. He is the author of Dear World, I Stutter: A Series of Open Letters from a Person Who Stutters.
Together, they talk about facing fears, content creation, creativity, and finding your community. 
Links:
Buy Dear World: I Stutter
Reflecting on Our Reality: Seeing Stuttering on Survivor
Music: guitar songs provided by mobygratis.
Note: This episode was recorded before the National Stuttering Association's Conference in Denver.  

Finding Your Community and Facing Fears with Tv Writer/ Caregiver Influencer Jacquelyn Revere

Host Madeline Wahl speaks with Tv writer/Caregiver Influencer Jacquelyn Revere. After college, she moved to Atlanta to help care for her grandmother, then to NYC to pursue a career in theatre. Her openness about becoming her mother's dementia caregiver lead to her Op-Ed in the LA Times and feature on NPR. Revere specializes in family-centered half-hours that center on themes of disability and caregiving. She is alumna of Disruptors and Mentorship Matters and most recently Respectability TV writing Fellowships.
Together, they talk about facing fears, content creation, creativity, and finding your community. 
Links:
Mom of My Mom
NPR Feature
The New York Times
Music: guitar songs provided by mobygratis.

Writing Memoir and Publishing Books with Author Darcey Steinke

Host Madeline Wahl speaks with Darcey Steinke, the author of the memoirs Flash Count Diary, This is the Door, Easter Everywhere and five novels: Sister Golden Hair, Milk, Jesus Saves, Suicide Blonde, and Up Through the Water. Her books have been translated into ten languages, and her nonfiction has appeared widely. Her web story “Blindspot” was a part of the 2000 Whitney Biennial. She has been both a Henry Hoyns and a Stegner Fellow, and a Writer-in-Residence at the University of Mississippi. She has taught at the Columbia University School of the Arts, New York University, Princeton, and the American University of Paris. She lives with her husband in Brooklyn.
Together, they talk about writing nonfiction, life as a person who stutters, and how Steinke continues to express herself in creative ways. 
Links:
Darcey Steinke's website
The New York Times: My Stutter Made Me a Better Writer
Pre-Order Steinke's newest book This is the Door
Music: guitar songs provided by mobygratis.

Investigative Reporting and Passing Twice with Award-Winning Journalist Barry Yeoman

Host Madeline Wahl speaks with Barry Yeoman, a person who stutters and an award-winning journalist whose stories put human faces on complex issues. He lives in North Carolina and teaches journalism at Duke University and Wake Forest University. Barry has been involved in the stuttering self-help movement for more than 30 years and co-founded Passing Twice, an informal network of LGBTQ+ people who stutter and their allies.
Together, they talk about investigative journalism, the stuttering self-help movement, and how Yeoman continues his career in journalism with teaching. 
Links:
Barry Yeoman's Website
The Baffler
Christopher Constantino's TEDxFSU Talk
Emma Alpern
Still here: Stories From a Fragile Coastline
Music: guitar songs provided by mobygratis.

Writing Award-Winning Fiction with Paperboy Author Vince Vawter

Host Madeline Wahl speaks with Vince Vawter, a retired newspaper editor and publisher. Vawter is the author of the popular Paperboy Trilogy, a series of autobiographical novels that follow the life of a boy from age 11 to 21 as he grows up in the segregated South and deals with a worrisome stutter. The first book of the series, Paperboy, was a 2014 Newbery Honor Book published by Penguin Random House. Paperboy has sold more than a quarter-million copies and has been translated into 20 languages. The Manhattan School of Music premiered a musical adapted from the book in 2023 in New York.
Together, they talk about writing fiction, stuttering and fluency, and how Vawter didn't let his stutter stop him from pursuing his dreams. 
Links:
Vince Vawter's website
Buy Paperboy
Buy Copyboy
Buy Manboy
Info about the musical
Music: guitar songs provided by mobygratis.

Creativity and Advocacy with Stutterology Creator Ezra Horak

This week, Madeline talks with Ezra Horak, a stutterer and the founder of Stutterology, an empowering digital content platform that educates about stuttering lived experience through a neurodiverse and trauma-informed lens. Ezra talks about their journey with stuttering, what stuttering feels like, how they express creativity with Stutterology--and more! 
Ezra Horak is a stutterer and the founder of Stutterology, an empowering digital content platform that educates about stuttering lived experience through a neurodiverse and trauma-informed lens. They are also Board Co-Chair for SPACE, a non-profit organization, and have volunteered with various stuttering organizations for over 10 years. Ezra has two cats and is an avid family historian.
 
Links:
Stutterology website, Instagram, Facebook, podcast, and Profession submissions for Stutterology. 
Music: guitar songs provided by mobygratis.

Stuttering As Art Trailer

Stuttering As Art, the podcast, is all about exploring the ways people who stutter create works of art alongside and involving their stutter. 
Each week, host Madeline Wahl--writer, independent academic, and person who stutters--interviews fellow writers, poets, award-winning authors, adjunct professors, investigative journalists, and more about their stuttering journey, writing, and creativity. 
An introspective, creative, and honest look at stuttering and creativity and how people express themselves in everyday life.
Tune in and follow along in the conversation! 
Madeline Wahl (she/her) recently completed her MLitt in Fantasy Literature at the University of Glasgow in Scotland. Previously, she has held editorial positions at Reader’s Digest, HuffPost, and Golf Channel. She was a speaker at the Australian Speak Easy Association’s online 2020 conference and has written about stuttering for The Stuttering Foundation. She has presented papers critically analyzing characters who stutter at Glasgow International Fantasy Conversations (GIFCon) 2023 and 2024. She is working on her YA Fantasy featuring stuttering spellcasters.
Music: guitar songs provided by mobygratis.