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

May 22, 2026
Word for Word Featuring Malinda Lo
May 22, 2026
May 22, 2026
1hr 1 min
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!

May 15, 2026
Field Notes with with Lisa Johnson Mitchell
May 15, 2026
May 15, 2026
23 min
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.

May 11, 2026
May 11, 2026
58 min
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!

May 1, 2026
May 1, 2026
1hr 10 sec
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.

Apr 24, 2026
Field Notes with Olivia Hatley
Apr 24, 2026
Apr 24, 2026
29 min
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.

Apr 17, 2026
Apr 17, 2026
56 min
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!

Apr 10, 2026
Field Notes with Zac LaPoint
Apr 10, 2026
Apr 10, 2026
21 min
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.

Apr 3, 2026
Apr 3, 2026
1hr 1 min
Join Word for Word as we honor the winners of the 11th Annual Penmen Review Fall Fiction Contest with readings of their winning stories and a Q&A with the writers!

Mar 30, 2026
Field Notes with Gabbi Hall
Mar 30, 2026
Mar 30, 2026
18 min
SNHU alum Gabbi Hall shares her journey from coordinating the university's iconic bus tour campaign to reporting on Olympic skiing and ultimately leading creative teams as an advertising director. She illuminates how curiosity and openness shaped her path, and how her liberal arts background deepened her understanding of human experience, making her a better marketer.

Mar 27, 2026
Mar 27, 2026
56 min
Word for Word proudly welcomes horror master Paul Tremblay! Paul has won the Bram Stoker, British Fantasy, Sheridan Le Fanu, and Massachusetts Book awards and is the New York Times bestselling author of "Horror Movie: A Novel," "The Beast You Are," "The Pallbearers Club," "Survivor Song," "Growing Things and Other Stories," "Disappearance at Devil's Rock," "A Head Full of Ghosts," and the crime novels "The Little Sleep" and "No Sleep Till Wonderland." His novel "The Cabin at the End of the World" was adapted into the Universal Pictures film “Knock at the Cabin.” Tune in as Paul reads from "Horror Movie" and answers questions from the audience about horror, the differences between movies and fiction, and AI.







