Words on a Wire

In this episode of The Storykeeper from Words on a Wire, host Tim Z. Hernandez sits down with activist and community leader Olga Talamante to explore the extraordinary journey behind her life’s work. Drawing from her migrant childhood in Gilroy, her early experiences as a student leader, and her awakening as a young Ch

In this candid and forward-looking conversation, host Will Rose sits down with longtime Words on a Wire co-host Daniel Chacón to examine how profoundly the writing life has changed—and what the new realities mean for anyone trying to build a writing career in 2025. Drawing from personal experience and decades inside th

In this episode, host Daniel Chacón sits down with Fredrick Luis Aldama—the award-winning author, theorist, and editor known as Professor Latinx—to explore how stories shape our minds, our culture, and even our bodies. Aldama discusses his astonishingly prolific career, from editing FlowerSong Press and launching the B

In this episode of The Storykeeper on Words on a Wire, host Tim Z. Hernandez sits down with poet, performer, and educator Darren J. de Leon to explore his new collection The Hoops and Crosses of Mt. Vernon (Hinchas Press, 2025). Blending poetry and fiction, de Leon’s debut offers vivid portraits of life in San Bernardi

In this episode of Words on a Wire, host Will Rose speaks with award-winning author and translator Anton Hur, celebrated for bringing contemporary Korean literature to English-speaking readers through works like Bora Chung’s Cursed Bunny. What began as a practical skill evolved into a creative calling that now connects

On this episode of Words on a Wire, host Daniel Chacón speaks with Jessica Powers—publisher at Catalyst Press, author, and editor—about the hard truths and hopeful possibilities of a writing life. Jessica, who also writes under the name J.L. Powers, reflects on why so few books sell beyond a hundred copies, what creati