Empathy is a recurring theme on “Story in the Public Square,” because it is central to the crafting of compelling stories—whether set in fiction or non-fiction.  Paul Tremblay uses empathy to draw readers in to the strange and often terrifying worlds that he imagines. 

Tremblay is one of the best writers of horror and psychological thrillers today.  He is the author of “The Cabin at the End of the World,” “Disappearance at Devil’s Rock,” “A Head Full of Ghosts,” the crime novels “The Little Sleep and No Sleep ‘Till Wonderland,” and the short story collection, “Growing Things and Other Stories.”  His latest book is “Survivor Song,” set in a pandemic plagued world.  He has won the Bram Stoker, British Fantasy, and Massachusetts Book awards and currently serves a member of the board of directors of the Shirley Jackson Awards.  His essays and short fiction have appeared in the Los Angeles Times, Entertainment Weekly online, and numerous years’ best anthologies.  

Empathy is a recurring theme on &ldquo;Story in the Public Square,&rdquo; because it is central to the crafting of compelling stories&mdash;whether set in fiction or non-fiction.&nbsp; Paul Tremblay uses empathy to draw readers in to the strange and often terrifying worlds that he imagines.&nbsp;
Tremblay is one of the best writers of horror and psychological thrillers today.&nbsp; He is the author of&nbsp;&ldquo;The Cabin at the End of the World,&rdquo;&nbsp;&ldquo;Disappearance at Devil&rsquo;s Rock,&rdquo; &ldquo;A Head Full of Ghosts,&rdquo;&nbsp;the crime novels&nbsp;&ldquo;The Little Sleep&nbsp;and&nbsp;No Sleep &lsquo;Till Wonderland,&rdquo; and the short story collection, &ldquo;Growing Things and Other Stories.&rdquo;&nbsp; His latest book is &ldquo;Survivor Song,&rdquo; set in a pandemic plagued world.&nbsp;&nbsp;He has won the Bram Stoker, British Fantasy, and Massachusetts Book awards and currently serves a member of the board of directors of the Shirley Jackson Awards. &nbsp;His essays and short fiction have appeared in the&nbsp;Los Angeles Times, Entertainment Weekly&nbsp;online,&nbsp;and numerous years&rsquo; best anthologies. &nbsp;

“Story in the Public Square” is a year-round initiative to study and celebrate public storytelling. It features an annual conference, lectures, awards and student contests, as well as original scholarship about public storytelling and how those stories can affect the public debate.

Story in the Public Square is a partnership between the Pell Center and The Providence Journal, and is directed by visiting fellow G. Wayne Miller with Pell Center executive director Jim Ludes.

Season 8

Story in the Public Square

Crafting Stories of Empathy with Paul Tremblay

Thomas Jefferson famously said he’d prefer newspapers without government over government without newspapers. In large parts of the United States today, government exists without independent news sources—undermining accountability and diminishing civic participation. Ellen Clegg and Dan Kennedy tell us that despite these troubling trends, there’s much to celebrate in the work of community news outlets around the country. 

Clegg spent over three decades at The Boston Globe and retired in 2018 after four years of running the opinion pages. In between stints at the Globe, she was deputy director of communications at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. She is a member of the steering committee for the Elizabeth Neuffer Fellowship at the International Women’s Media Foundation and the co-founder and co-chair of Brookline.News, a nonprofit startup news organization. Kennedy is a Northeastern University professor in the School of Journalism and a nationally known media commentator. He was a panelist on the GBH News television program “Beat the Press” and a weekly columnist for the network. He was also a columnist for The Guardian and produces Media Nation, an online publication that serves as a media watchdog. Kennedy is a recipient of the Yankee Quill Award from the New England Academy of Journalists and the James W. Carey Journalism Award from the Media Ecology Association. 

Thomas Jefferson famously said he’d prefer newspapers without government over government without newspapers. In large parts of the United States today, government exists without independent news sources—undermining accountability and diminishing civic participation. Ellen Clegg and Dan Kennedy tell us that despite these troubling trends, there’s much to celebrate in the work of community news outlets around the country. 
Clegg spent over three decades at The Boston Globe and retired in 2018 after four years of running the opinion pages. In between stints at the Globe, she was deputy director of communications at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. She is a member of the steering committee for the Elizabeth Neuffer Fellowship at the International Women’s Media Foundation and the co-founder and co-chair of Brookline.News, a nonprofit startup news organization. Kennedy is a Northeastern University professor in the School of Journalism and a nationally known media commentator. He was a panelist on the GBH News television program “Beat the Press” and a weekly columnist for the network. He was also a columnist for The Guardian and produces Media Nation, an online publication that serves as a media watchdog. Kennedy is a recipient of the Yankee Quill Award from the New England Academy of Journalists and the James W. Carey Journalism Award from the Media Ecology Association.

News Deserts to Media Startups: Ellen Clegg and Dan Kennedy on America’s News Landscape Today

We take for granted that the “immigrant experience” is part of the American story. But in an epic new history Daniel Schulman tells the story of the Jewish immigrants who built some of America’s biggest financial institutions and transformed America. 

A best-selling author, Schulman is known for his first book, “Sons of Wichita,” a biography of the Koch brothers, which was a finalist for the Financial Times and McKinsey Business Book of the Year Award. His second book, “The Money Kings,”was recently released and details several German-Jewish immigrants who influenced the rise of modern finance in the United States, including Goldman Sachs, Kuhn Loeb, Lehman Brothers and J. & W. Seligman & Co. Beyond his books, Schulman is a journalist whose work has appeared in publications including the Boston Globe Magazine, Politico, Vanity Fair, the Washington Post and Mother Jones, where he is the magazine's deputy Washington, D.C. bureau chief.  

We take for granted that the “immigrant experience” is part of the American story. But in an epic new history Daniel Schulman tells the story of the Jewish immigrants who built some of America’s biggest financial institutions and transformed America. 
A best-selling author, Schulman is known for his first book, “Sons of Wichita,” a biography of the Koch brothers, which was a finalist for the Financial Times and McKinsey Business Book of the Year Award. His second book, “The Money Kings,” was recently released and details several German-Jewish immigrants who influenced the rise of modern finance in the United States, including Goldman Sachs, Kuhn Loeb, Lehman Brothers and J. &amp; W. Seligman &amp; Co. Beyond his books, Schulman is a journalist whose work has appeared in publications including the Boston Globe Magazine, Politico, Vanity Fair, the Washington Post and Mother Jones, where he is the magazine's deputy Washington, D.C. bureau chief.

Daniel Schulman on the German-Jewish Immigrants who Built the United States’ Modern Financial Systems

Working together across party lines is anathema to much of political Washington, but Margaret Spellings says doing so is the only way to create solutions that last. 

A nationally recognized leader in public policy, Spellings serves as President and CEO of the Bipartisan Policy Center. Previously, Spellings was President and CEO of Texas 2036, president of University of North Carolina System and president of the George W. Bush Presidential Center in Dallas after she served as U.S. Secretary of Education. As secretary, she led the implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act, a bipartisan initiative to provide greater accountability for the education of 50 million U.S. public school students. She also launched the Commission on the Future of Higher Education, a plan to address challenges of access, affordability, quality and accountability in our nation’s colleges and universities. Before serving as secretary, Spellings was a White House domestic policy advisor, overseeing the agenda on education, transportation, health, justice, housing and labor.  

Working together across party lines is anathema to much of political Washington, but Margaret Spellings says doing so is the only way to create solutions that last. 
A nationally recognized leader in public policy, Spellings serves as President and CEO of the Bipartisan Policy Center. Previously, Spellings was President and CEO of Texas 2036, president of University of North Carolina System and president of the George W. Bush Presidential Center in Dallas after she served as U.S. Secretary of Education. As secretary, she led the implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act, a bipartisan initiative to provide greater accountability for the education of 50 million U.S. public school students. She also launched the Commission on the Future of Higher Education, a plan to address challenges of access, affordability, quality and accountability in our nation’s colleges and universities. Before serving as secretary, Spellings was a White House domestic policy advisor, overseeing the agenda on education, transportation, health, justice, housing and labor.

Crafting Stories of Empathy with Paul Tremblay

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