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In this episode of Words on a Wire, host Will Rose speaks with writer Andrew Bertaina about his book-length essay, Ethan Hawke and Me, which was inspired by Richard Linklater's acclaimed Before trilogy. Blending memoir, literary criticism, and cultural reflection, Bertaina explores how the films shaped his understanding of romance, relationships, marriage, divorce, and the often complicated journey into adulthood. Their conversation ranges from the enduring appeal of Before Sunrise, Before Sunset, and Before Midnight to the role art plays in helping us make sense of our lives. They also discuss writing, memory, creative ambition, and the ways books and films can become companions through different stages of life. Andrew Bertaina is the author of One Person Away From You, The Body Is A Temporary Gathering Place, and The Way We Find Each Other.

Artificial intelligence is transforming the way we work, raising difficult questions about expertise, creativity, and the future of professional life. In this episode of Words on a Wire, host Will Rose speaks with Chris Walker, author of The Frequency Era, about his argument that society is entering a new economic age. Walker contends that as information becomes increasingly abundant through AI, the qualities that make us uniquely human become more valuable. Drawing on history, psychology, neuroscience, and economics, he explores why creativity, judgment, discernment, emotional resilience, and human connection may emerge as the defining skills of the future.

In this episode of Words on a Wire, host Daniel Chacón sits down with actor, director, and The University of Texas at El Paso theater professor Jay Stratton for a wide-ranging conversation about creativity, performance, teaching, and life in the arts. Stratton reflects on his years as a working actor in New York City, his journey from business student to theater artist, and the realities of building a career in regional theater. Along the way, the discussion expands into larger questions about storytelling, boredom, childhood imagination, academia, parenting, and the pressures of modern productivity. Thoughtful, funny, and deeply personal, the episode explores how art shapes the way we connect with community, culture, and ourselves.

In this episode of Words on a Wire, host Daniel Chacón speaks with acclaimed author Reyna Grande about her latest book, Migrant Heart: Essays About Things I Can’t Forget. Their conversation explores the lasting emotional impact of migration, family separation, motherhood, memory, and the vulnerability of writing memoir. Grande reflects on the difference between fiction and nonfiction, the deeply personal process of revisiting trauma, and how essays allowed her to experiment with form and move freely through time and memory. Together, they discuss storytelling, identity, language, and the complicated inheritance of love, sacrifice, and survival across generations.

Host Daniel Chacón sits down with Dr. Gabriela Baeza Ventura, director and publisher of Arte Público Press—widely recognized as the nation’s leading publisher of U.S. Latinx literature. Their conversation begins on the U.S.–Mexico border, tracing Dr. Ventura’s upbringing between Ciudad Juárez and El Paso, and quickly expands into a deeper exploration of how literary worlds are built, sustained, and preserved. She shares the unexpected path that led her into publishing—from a graduate research fellowship to discovering a passion for editing through a stack of “damaged” books—and how that moment evolved into a lifelong commitment to amplifying Latino voices. Dr. Ventura reflects on the mentorship and vision of Arte Público founder Nicolás Kanellos, offering insight into the challenges and responsibilities of running a nonprofit press dedicated to cultural preservation. The discussion highlights the press’s mission to recover and elevate U.S. Hispanic literary heritage, bridging gaps between diasporic communities and their countries of origin while ensuring these works are recognized as part of the broader American canon.

In this episode of Words on a Wire, host Will Rose sits down with Jazmine Ulloa, national political and immigration reporter for The New York Times, to discuss her powerful new book, El Paso: Five Families and One Hundred Years of Blood, Migration, Race, and Memory. Ulloa traces the lives of five families across more than a century to tell a sweeping, deeply human story of migration, identity, and belonging. Through these interwoven narratives, she repositions El Paso—not as a peripheral border city, but as a central force in shaping American history and immigration policy. The conversation explores Ulloa’s own journey from a high school newsroom in El Paso to the national stage, as well as the formative reporting experiences that shaped her approach to storytelling. She reflects on covering the 2019 El Paso Walmart shooting in her hometown, a moment that became the emotional and intellectual catalyst for her book. Drawing from years of reporting and archival research, Ulloa reveals how today’s immigration debates are rooted in a long and often overlooked history—one marked by cycles of enforcement, resistance, and resilience. Throughout the episode, she brings a journalist’s rigor and a storyteller’s sensitivity to the question of how borders shape not only policy, but people’s lives. This is a conversation about history, memory, and the enduring role of migration in defining what it means to be American.

In this episode of Words on a Wire, host Will Rose sits down with graphic designer Josh Korwin to explore the often unseen craft behind book and literary magazine design. With a career rooted in typography and a passion for shaping how readers encounter text, Korwin has worked on the identities and interiors of journals like Zyzzyva and Huizache, bringing a careful balance of aesthetics, readability, and respect for the writer’s intent. Their conversation pulls back the curtain on the design process—from the technical challenges of typesetting poetry to the collaborative relationship between designer, editor, and author. Korwin reflects on how even the smallest visual decisions can influence meaning, especially when translating work from a manuscript into the fixed space of a printed page. He also shares insights for writers navigating the design side of publishing, particularly those working with small presses or independently. This episode offers a thoughtful look at the intersection of visual art and literature, and how design quietly shapes the way stories are read, felt, and remembered.About Josh KorwinJosh Korwin founded the design studio Three Steps Ahead, which he has operated since the late 1990s. Josh is a veteran graphic designer, font designer, and typographer, specializing in the visual identity of brands, websites, books, and literary journals (including past work for ZYZZYVA and Huizache). Throughout his creative career, he has brought a unique perspective to the evolving intersection of analog craft and modern technology. Beyond the digital screen, Josh dabbles in printing, hand lettering, woodworking, and runs a laser-powered custom sign shop. He lives in Oregon.

In this episode of The Writer’s Pick, hosts Luis Marquez and Charissa Wong welcome poet, educator, and journalist María Esquinca for a conversation on writing, identity, and the power of storytelling.  Esquinca discusses her award-winning collection Where Heaven Sinks, a deeply personal reflection on her upbringing between Ciudad Juárez and El Paso. She explores how her work is shaped by themes of immigration, family, and the U.S.–Mexico border, blending journalistic research with emotional, lived experience.  The conversation highlights her unique approach to “documentary poetry,” where news, history, and personal narrative intersect. Writing during a time of heightened immigration tensions, Esquinca felt an urgency to respond to real-world events while also processing her own relationships and memories.  She also reflects on the responsibilities of writers, acknowledging the limits of poetry alone and emphasizing the importance of community engagement and action. Throughout the episode, she offers thoughtful advice to students on navigating imposter syndrome, developing a writing practice, and trusting their voice.

In this episode of Words on a Wire, host Will Rose sits down with author Lauren D. Woods to discuss her debut short story collection, The Great Grown-Up Game of Make-Believe—a book that moves fluidly between realism and the surreal, blending sharp emotional insight with inventive, often unexpected forms. Woods talks about the long and winding path to publishing her first collection, including stories that span decades of her life as a writer—from early work written in college to more recent pieces shaped through years of revision. She reflects on learning to trust her instincts, the discipline of writing in small windows of time, and how balancing a demanding career outside of writing has influenced both her process and her voice. The conversation also explores the unique possibilities of short fiction—why it can be such a powerful form for capturing intense, fleeting moments—and how Woods approaches everything from flash pieces to longer, more layered stories. Along the way, she discusses the role of imagination in her work, her blend of the familiar and the strange, and the writers who have shaped her along the way.

Join hosts Jack Bishop, a father and veteran from the Appalachian Mountains, and Luis Marquez, a Mexican American writer based in the borderlands, as they navigate the vibrant and challenging landscape of creative writing. This first episode of the Writer's Pick is a deep dive into the minds of emerging writers.Jack and Luis explore the creative writing community at the University of Texas at El Paso, emphasizing the importance of fostering a supportive network for undergraduates in discovering their artistic identities. Their conversation touches on the essence of being a writer, how inspiration strikes, and the significance of discipline in honing one's craft. Delve into intriguing discussions about how politics, culture, and even mundane daily occurrences fuel the creative process.

This special episode of Words on a Wire brings together host Daniel Chacón and historian David Dorado Romo to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Romo’s groundbreaking book Ringside Seat to a Revolution. Before an audience of students, faculty, and community members, the conversation revisits a work that reshaped how El Paso—and the U.S.-Mexico border more broadly—is understood, blending rigorous archival research with a deeply human, story-driven approach to history. Romo reflects on his use of “microhistory,” a method that uncovers meaning through overlooked details, marginal spaces, and everyday lives. Rather than focusing on dominant figures or official narratives, he traces the hidden poetry of the borderlands—stories of healers, laborers, and resistors whose experiences reveal the deeper textures of revolution, migration, and power. The episode highlights powerful historical figures such as Teresita Urrea, a young Indigenous healer whose spiritual practice became a form of resistance, and Carmelita Torres, a teenage domestic worker who sparked a border uprising by refusing humiliating disinfection procedures. These stories open into larger conversations about public health, racism, immigration policy, and the unsettling historical connections between early 20th-century border practices and later global atrocities.

In this episode of Words on a Wire, host Will Rose speaks with Caleb Lara, whose work on social media and through community projects has brought renewed attention to the rich and often overlooked history of the borderland. Lara shares how a childhood fascination with downtown architecture grew into a lifelong passion for documenting the stories hidden in El Paso’s buildings, neighborhoods, and landscapes. Known for his engaging historical videos, he discusses how he researches local history—combining archival materials, oral histories, and conversations with descendants of key figures to uncover the personal stories behind the city’s past. The conversation ranges from surprising details about historic buildings and rumored underground tunnels to the ways El Paso has quietly influenced national and even global events. Lara also talks about his nonprofit initiative Builders of the Desert, which aims to preserve regional history, restore historic sites such as gravestones at Concordia Cemetery, and help residents reconnect with the cultural legacy of the borderland. At its heart, the discussion is about civic pride and historical awareness—how understanding the stories beneath our feet can help communities see their home in a new light.

In this episode of Words on a Wire, host Daniel Chacón sits down with poet, educator, and community organizer Richie Marrufo for a wide-ranging conversation about art, identity, and what it means to stay human in a digital world. They explore how AI is changing the way students write—and what may be lost when language becomes too polished. Marrufo reflects on teaching bilingual writers, balancing six classes a semester, and building one of El Paso’s most vibrant literary spaces through the Barbed Wire Open Mic Series. For him, poetry isn’t just something you publish—it’s something you perform, share, and build community around. The conversation turns deeply personal when Marrufo reads a new poem written after the passing of his father. He speaks about grief as “love that doesn’t know where to go,” and about the moon as witness to every version of ourselves. This episode is about authenticity in an age of algorithms, the power of live performance, creative burnout, aging, and the quiet work of sustaining a literary community. At its heart, it’s a conversation about connection—between teachers and students, poets and audiences, and the living and the lost.

In this episode, host Will Rose sits down with journalist and author Jessica Goudeau to discuss her ambitious and deeply personal new book, We Were Illegal. After writing about refugee families rebuilding their lives in Texas, Goudeau began asking a question she had never considered about herself: how did her own family get here? What followed was a years-long investigation into her ancestry — and into the foundations of Texas history itself. Through archival research, family records, and hard conversations, Goudeau uncovered stories of land speculation, slavery, vigilante violence, erased Indigenous communities, and long-buried family secrets. Her book challenges the triumphalist myths many Texans learn in school and offers a fuller, more complicated picture of how the state was built. In this conversation, Goudeau discusses the writing process behind such an ambitious work of narrative nonfiction, the emotional weight of discovering uncomfortable truths about your own ancestors, the politics of history and textbook narratives, and why telling the whole story — even when it implicates your own family — is an act of responsibility rather than shame. This is a powerful conversation about memory, myth, erasure, and the courage it takes to confront the past.

On this episode of Words on a Wire, host Sylvia Aguilar Zéleny guides us through an inspiring conversation with acclaimed poet, journalist, and educator Maria Esquinca. Maria, the 2024 Andres Montoya Poetry Prize winner for her collection "Where Heaven Sings," reveals how her multifaceted identities influence her artistry and world view. Maria Esquinca opens up about her journey from journalism to poetry, detailing how the rigid structures of news reporting sparked her desire to embrace the freedom of verse. In her poetry, she blends personal narratives with collective experiences, confronting socio-political issues like immigration and border life with a sense of urgency and emotional depth. She emphasizes the freedom poetry offers—a stark contrast to her journalistic past—allowing her to creatively explore language and form. This episode is a must-listen for anyone interested in the intersection of art and identity. Engage with Esquinca’s insight into the creative process, her commitment to highlighting marginalized voices, and her unique approach to braiding the personal with the political. Hermetic yet expansive, her poetry captures both the intimate and the universal, making this episode a compelling exploration of contemporary writing. Join Sylvia and Maria for a conversation that will resonate with aspiring writers, educators, and anyone intrigued by the transformative power of words. Tune in for an episode that promises to stretch your understanding of what poetry can achieve.