Passion and Practicality: A Liberal Arts Podcast
Passion and Practicality is a podcast series produced by Southern New Hampshire University‘s online Liberal Arts department, which includes academic programs and courses in Communication, Composition, Creative Writing, English, Fine Arts, Graphic Design, History, Literature, and Philosophy. In this podcast series, faculty, staff, and guests discuss the career paths open to graduates of those programs, the research and creative work of practitioners in the field, and other interesting stuff.
Passion and Practicality is a podcast series produced by Southern New Hampshire University‘s online Liberal Arts department, which includes academic programs and courses in Communication, Composition, Creative Writing, English, Fine Arts, Graphic Design, History, Literature, and Philosophy. In this podcast series, faculty, staff, and guests discuss the career paths open to graduates of those programs, the research and creative work of practitioners in the field, and other interesting stuff.
Episodes

4 days ago
Field Notes with Adriane Clark
4 days ago
4 days ago
Arts administrator and SNHU alum Adriane Clark shares how a communication degree, a creative writing program she discovered later in life, and a willingness to stay curious opened doors to career opportunities she never knew existed. She makes the case that, especially now, being a generalist who can connect across fields and adapt what you know to what a role needs is one of the most powerful things you can be.

Friday Jun 05, 2026
Wireside Chat, Featuring Special Guest Melissa Marr
Friday Jun 05, 2026
Friday Jun 05, 2026
Wireside Chat is thrilled to welcome back Online MFA instructor and bestselling author Melissa Marr! Melissa's most recent novel, Greta Gets the Girl, was published in January from Bramble, the romance imprint of TOR. Her novel A Treason of Magic, publishing in June, is a Regency-era fantasy and the first in a duology. Join us for a wide-ranging discussion about crossing genres, writing comic books, and what MFA students need to know about today's volatile publishing landscape.

Friday May 29, 2026
History Speaker Series with Elisabeth Davis
Friday May 29, 2026
Friday May 29, 2026
In this History Speaker Series event, Dr. Elisabeth Davis discusses her book, Catholic Sisters, Narratives of Authority, and the Native American Boarding Schools, 1847-1918, and her upcoming book on Laura Ingalls Wilder, the community around Wilder and her family, and what that story says about the development of the American West.

Friday May 22, 2026
Word for Word Featuring Malinda Lo
Friday May 22, 2026
Friday May 22, 2026
Word for Word is proud to welcome New York Times bestselling author Malinda Lo. Malinda's novel Last Night at the Telegraph Club won the National Book Award, the Stonewall Book Award, the Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature, a Printz Honor, and was an LA Times Book Prize finalist. Join us as she reads from Telegraph Club and answers questions about her writing journey!

Friday May 15, 2026
Field Notes with with Lisa Johnson Mitchell
Friday May 15, 2026
Friday May 15, 2026
Senior copywriter at Southwest Airlines, author, filmmaker, and self-described liberal arts poster child Lisa Johnson Mitchell shares how staying open, curious, and true to her own voice carried her from writing punny headlines in a college newspaper to a decades-long career on Madison Avenue and beyond. She makes a compelling case that liberal arts graduates are exactly what successful creative teams are looking for, due to their unique and timeless ability to think across disciplines, tell a story, and connect with an audience.

Monday May 11, 2026
Wireside Chat, Featuring Special Guest Jessica L. Cozzi
Monday May 11, 2026
Monday May 11, 2026
Wireside Chat proudly welcomes Online MFA alum Jessica L. Cozzi, whose YA Romance thesis novel, We've Hit Turbulence, was picked up by an agent after a SNHU Pitch Weekend and was published by Delacorte in January! Not content to rest on her laurels, Jess has already sold two more novels to Delacorte! Join us as she reads from her work and traces her path to literary success both as an author and as a publicist for William Morrow!

Friday May 01, 2026
History Speaker Series with Ryan Walker and The Silent Service's First Hero
Friday May 01, 2026
Friday May 01, 2026
In this History Speaker Series event, Ryan Walker, an alumnus of Southern New Hampshire University undergraduate history program and a doctoral student at the University of Portsmouth, discusses the concept of microhistory and his recent book on Henry Breault, The Silent Service’s First Hero: The First Submariner to Receive the Medal of Honor.

Friday Apr 24, 2026
Field Notes with Olivia Hatley
Friday Apr 24, 2026
Friday Apr 24, 2026
SNHU Communication alum Olivia Hatley is an executive assistant at an international insurance organization whose role has grown to sit at the center of organizational communication and philanthropy efforts. She reflects on the importance of choosing a path that's true to who you are, and why aligning your gifts and values with the right program is the foundation for a career that can weather any challenge.

Friday Apr 17, 2026
Wireside Chat, featuring Special Guest Kendra Vaughan
Friday Apr 17, 2026
Friday Apr 17, 2026
Wireside Chat is proud to welcome Online MFA alum Kendra Vaughan, whose thesis novel, The Plymbury Witch, has become a local bestseller around New England thanks to Kendra's powerful prose and promotional skills! Tune in to hear her read from the novel and share her secrets for self-publishing success!

Friday Apr 10, 2026
Field Notes with Zac LaPoint
Friday Apr 10, 2026
Friday Apr 10, 2026
SNHU double alum Zac LaPoint shares how creative writing became the unexpected foundation for a career fighting poverty in his community. He makes the case that liberal arts is the underpinning connecting a range of fields, including human services, making it a legitimate 'related field' when applying for roles that might not immediately seem like a fit. He also weighs in on AI's growing presence in human services, and why it can never replace art, human caring, or the critical thinking that liberal arts graduates bring to the table.







