Brave Writer

What if the way we think about sickness has been shaping our lives for thousands of years?
Historian and author Susan Wise Bauer joins us to discuss her new book, The Great Shadow, and the surprising ways illness has influenced everything from religion and medicine to consumer culture and politics.
We explore why ancient beliefs about sickness persist, how historical pandemics mirror our experience with COVID-19, and why we so often associate good health with personal virtue.
Susan also shares how understanding history can help us question our assumptions, navigate medical decisions, and approach illness with greater compassion.
Join us for a fascinating look at the history we carry into the present!

Resources:
Connect with Susan at ​​susanwisebauer.com, welltrainedmind.com, and on Instagram @@susanwisebauer
Check out her podcast and Substack
Here’s the article Susan mentioned: “What I Got Wrong as as New Pediatrician Talking to Parents” (gift link)
Find Susan’s new book, The Great Shadow, in the Brave Writer Book Shop
Registration is open now for Movie Discussion Club: Aquatic Adventures and many other Brave Writer classes!
Start a free trial of CTCmath.com to try the math program that’s sure to grab and keep your child’s attention
Visit Julie’s Substack to find her special podcast for kids (and a lot more!)
Purchase Julie’s new book, Help! My Kid Hates Writing
Melissa’s books make great readalouds—and there are Darts for The Prairie Thief and The Nerviest Girl in the World.
Find community at the Brave Learner Home
Learn more about the Brave Writer Literature & Mechanics programs
Subscribe to Julie’s Substack newsletters, Brave Learning with Julie Bogart and Julie Off Topic, and Melissa’s Catalog of Enthusiasms
Sign up for our Text Message Pod Ring to get podcast updates and more!
Send us podcast topic ideas by texting us: +1 (833) 947-3684
Interested in advertising with us? Reach out to media@bravewriter.com

Connect with Julie:
Instagram: @juliebravewriter
Threads: @juliebravewriter
Bluesky: @bravewriter.com
Facebook: facebook.com/bravewriter

Connect with Melissa:
Website: melissawiley.com
Substack: melissawiley.substack.com
Instagram: @melissawileybooks
Bluesky: @melissawiley.bsky.social

Produced by NOVA

What if the best thing we can give our kids isn’t a perfectly planned education, but a childhood that leaves room for wonder?
We’re joined by Wild + Free founder Ainsley Arment to talk about her new picture book, Grow Wild, My Child, and the philosophy behind a childhood rooted in nature, curiosity, story, and play. We explore Ainsley’s unexpected path to homeschooling, the origins of Wild + Free, and why wonder and rigor don’t have to compete.
We also dig into screens, AI, child-led learning, family culture, and the joy of following “contagious obsessions” wherever they lead.
Join us for a refreshing reminder that learning doesn’t need a worksheet to count.

Resources:
Connect with Ainsley on Instagram@wildandfree.co and at Wild + Free
Find her new picture book, Grow Wild My Child, in the Brave Writer Book Shop
Registration is open now for Building Brave Writers: Experience and many other Brave Writer classes!
Start a free trial of CTCmath.com to try the math program that’s sure to grab and keep your child’s attention
Visit Julie’s Substack to find her special podcast for kids (and a lot more!)
Purchase Julie’s new book, Help! My Kid Hates Writing
Melissa’s books make great readalouds—and there are Darts for The Prairie Thief and The Nerviest Girl in the World.
Find community at the Brave Learner Home
Learn more about the Brave Writer Literature & Mechanics programs
Subscribe to Julie’s Substack newsletters, Brave Learning with Julie Bogart and Julie Off Topic, and Melissa’s Catalog of Enthusiasms
Sign up for our Text Message Pod Ring to get podcast updates and more!
Send us podcast topic ideas by texting us: +1 (833) 947-3684
Interested in advertising with us? Reach out to media@bravewriter.com

Connect with Julie:
Instagram: @juliebravewriter
Threads: @juliebravewriter
Bluesky: @bravewriter.com
Facebook: facebook.com/bravewriter

Connect with Melissa:
Website: melissawiley.com
Substack: melissawiley.substack.com
Instagram: @melissawileybooks
Bluesky: @melissawiley.bsky.social

Produced by NOVA

What if the thing standing between us and a satisfying homeschool rhythm isn’t the curriculum, but our resistance to sitting down and making a plan?
We’re looking at how attention, boredom, confusion, and even our phones shape the way we approach learning. Then we get practical, building a flexible monthly rhythm around read-alouds, Poetry Teatime, copywork, dictation, freewriting, nature study, and meaningful writing projects.
The goal isn’t a rigid schedule or endless workbook pages. It’s enough preparation to help learning feel alive, responsive, and sustainable.
Join us and discover how a little scaffolding can create more freedom in your homeschool.

Resources:
Click here to download a sample monthly plan!
Registration is open now for Brave Writer 101: Guided Writing Process and many other Brave Writer classes!
Start a free trial of CTCmath.com to try the math program that’s sure to grab and keep your child’s attention
Find our favorite readalouds and nonfiction in the Brave Writer Book Shop
Visit Julie’s Substack to find her special podcast for kids (and a lot more!)
Purchase Julie’s new book, Help! My Kid Hates Writing
Melissa’s books make great readalouds—and there are Darts for The Prairie Thief and The Nerviest Girl in the World.
Find community at the Brave Learner Home
Learn more about the Brave Writer Literature & Mechanics programs
Subscribe to Julie’s Substack newsletters, Brave Learning with Julie Bogart and Julie Off Topic, and Melissa’s Catalog of Enthusiasms
Sign up for our Text Message Pod Ring to get podcast updates and more!
Send us podcast topic ideas by texting us: +1 (833) 947-3684
Interested in advertising with us? Reach out to media@bravewriter.com

Connect with Julie:
Instagram: @juliebravewriter
Threads: @juliebravewriter
Bluesky: @bravewriter.com
Facebook: facebook.com/bravewriter

Connect with Melissa:
Website: melissawiley.com
Substack: melissawiley.substack.com
Instagram: @melissawileybooks
Bluesky: @melissawiley.bsky.social

Produced by NOVA

What rights do we forget we have when homeschooling becomes an all-consuming family project?
Staying home to educate our kids can be meaningful, joyful work, but it is still work. We deserve a voice in family finances, time to maintain employable skills, space for lesson preparation, personal interests, exercise, rest, and a say in the educational decisions we spend our days carrying out.
We also get to change our minds. Homeschooling does not require signing away the rest of our adulthood.
We’re talking about financial agency, shared household labor, professional development, supportive partnerships, and why caring for our own future belongs inside the homeschool plan too.
Listen in, then ask yourself: what would change if you treated homeschooling like the real career it is?

Resources:
Here’s our episode on homeschooling as a working parent
Registration is open now for Building Brave Writers: Description and many other Brave Writer classes!
Start a free trial of CTCmath.com to try the math program that’s sure to grab and keep your child’s attention
Find our favorite readalouds and nonfiction in the Brave Writer Book Shop
Visit Julie’s Substack to find her special podcast for kids (and a lot more!)
Purchase Julie’s new book, Help! My Kid Hates Writing
Melissa’s books make great readalouds—and there are Darts for The Prairie Thief and The Nerviest Girl in the World.
Find community at the Brave Learner Home
Learn more about the Brave Writer Literature & Mechanics programs
Subscribe to Julie’s Substack newsletters, Brave Learning with Julie Bogart and Julie Off Topic, and Melissa’s Catalog of Enthusiasms
Sign up for our Text Message Pod Ring to get podcast updates and more!
Send us podcast topic ideas by texting us: +1 (833) 947-3684
Interested in advertising with us? Reach out to media@bravewriter.com

Connect with Julie:
Instagram: @juliebravewriter
Threads: @juliebravewriter
Bluesky: @bravewriter.com
Facebook: facebook.com/bravewriter

Connect with Melissa:
Website: melissawiley.com
Substack: melissawiley.substack.com
Instagram: @melissawileybooks
Bluesky: @melissawiley.bsky.social

Produced by NOVA

What if movie day isn’t a break from learning, but one of the ways we build a rich education?
Movies give our kids stories, language, history, cultural references, and characters they can return to again and again. We talk about why rewatching counts, how film can make Shakespeare and Jane Austen more accessible, and what happens when favorite lines become family lore. We also explore modern adaptations, film clubs, fandom, and the joy of recognizing an old story in a new form.
So dim the lights, grab the popcorn, and give yourself permission to count the movie. Then tell us what your family is watching!

Resources:
Here’s the Andrew Scott performance of the “To be or not to be” soliloquy that Melissa was raving about!
Registration is open now for Essay Prep: Reading the Essay and many other Brave Writer classes!
Start a free trial of CTCmath.com to try the math program that’s sure to grab and keep your child’s attention
Find Shakespeare Stories by Leon Garfield (not Garfield the Cat) and our favorite readalouds and nonfiction in the Brave Writer Book Shop
Visit Julie’s Substack to find her special podcast for kids (and a lot more!)
Purchase Julie’s new book, Help! My Kid Hates Writing
Melissa’s books make great readalouds—and there are Darts for The Prairie Thief and The Nerviest Girl in the World.
Find community at the Brave Learner Home
Learn more about the Brave Writer Literature & Mechanics programs
Subscribe to Julie’s Substack newsletters, Brave Learning with Julie Bogart and Julie Off Topic, and Melissa’s Catalog of Enthusiasms
Sign up for our Text Message Pod Ring to get podcast updates and more!
Send us podcast topic ideas by texting us: +1 (833) 947-3684
Interested in advertising with us? Reach out to media@bravewriter.com

Connect with Julie:
Instagram: @juliebravewriter
Threads: @juliebravewriter
Bluesky: @bravewriter.com
Facebook: facebook.com/bravewriter

Connect with Melissa:
Website: melissawiley.com
Substack: melissawiley.substack.com
Instagram: @melissawileybooks
Bluesky: @melissawiley.bsky.social

Produced by NOVA