Writing It!

Episode 86: "Maybe I Should Write the Way I Teach" with John Kaag

October 5th, 2026  |  46 mins 26 secs

Philosophy, co-authors, memoir, post-tenure, trade press

We're speaking with philosopher and writer John Kaag, who is chair and professor of philosophy at the University of Massachusetts-Lowell. Kaag specializes in American philosophy. In addition to several books, Kaag's writing has been published in The Paris Review, The New York Times, The American Scholar, and Harper's. We talk about learning to write again after tenure; what it means to develop a voice and why that is particularly helpful in writing for trade; moving past writer's block and bringing our personal experiences into our writing.