As host of The Creative Nonfiction Podcast, Brendan O’Meara is no stranger to talking about the art and craft of storytelling. In this craft-focused excerpt, we’re digging into Episode 340, in which he interviewed Atavist editor Jonah Ogles and freelance writer J.B. MacKinnon about his work on the latest issue of The Atavist. The seduction […]
The Atavist Magazine
Posted inFeature
Heroes of the Hurricane
When a storm surge swept dozens of wild horses and cattle from the coast of North Carolina, no one expected there to be survivors. Then hoofprints appeared in the sand.
Posted inNonfiction
‘You Can’t Sail Around the World By Yourself’
Susie Goodall wanted to circumnavigate the globe in her sailboat without stopping. She didn’t bargain for what everyone else wanted.
Posted inNonfiction
‘Stay Away From Miller’
A pioneering humanities program shaped a generation of students and brought acclaim to a public high school in Los Angeles. But beneath the excellence lurked a culture of abuse.
Posted inFeature, Nonfiction, Sports
Galloping Into the Abyss
Andres Beckett dreamed of flying over the crest, down into the long dark track of the Suicide Race.
Posted inNonfiction
How Vladimir Putin Helped ‘Nazify’ Modern Germany
Rainer Sonntag was a far-right vigilante. He was also a Communist spy.
Posted inNonfiction
A Carefully Constructed Li(f)e
Tim Brown seemed like a typical Florida retiree: He loved doting on his wife, fishing with friends, and flying his plane. But his life was built on a secret.
Posted inNonfiction
‘This Wasn’t His First Time’
A kidnapping deemed a hoax, the newbie detective who cracked the case, and the Harvard-trained lawyer whose mental unraveling set the whole story in motion.
Posted inNonfiction
‘Raphael Couldn’t Have Painted Something More Beautiful’
The couple who saved an imprisoned artist’s life — and the extraordinary gift he gave in return.
Posted inNonfiction
Perilous Passage
The true story of a Ukrainian father and son who became the first — and only — Soviet defectors to seek freedom in the West by crossing the icy Bering Strait.