# 🎬 AUTHOR IN THE HEADLIGHTS GUEST: Rusty Austin Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/author-in-the-headlights-7109453/author-in-the-headlights-guest-rusty-austin Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/author-in-the-headlights-7109453/author-in-the-headlights-guest-rusty-austin.md Podcast: [Author in the Headlights](https://stenobird.com/podcast/author-in-the-headlights-7109453) Published: 2026-01-29T05:20:47+00:00 Episode link: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/strider-klusman/episodes/AUTHOR-IN-THE-HEADLIGHTS-GUEST-Rusty-Austin-e3ebeq1 Audio file: https://anchor.fm/s/f69826a4/podcast/play/114718977/https%3A%2F%2Fd3ctxlq1ktw2nl.cloudfront.net%2Fstaging%2F2026-0-29%2F417053949-44100-2-e4ddace1bc332.mp3 Processing state: not_requested JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/author-in-the-headlights-7109453/episodes/author-in-the-headlights-guest-rusty-austin Duration seconds: 498 ## Resource In this episode of Author in the Headlights , we sit down with Rusty Austin , a longtime reality TV producer turned author , to talk about storytelling across mediums—from unscripted television to children’s books and deeply personal nonfiction. Rusty is the creator of the delightful Goofy Things by Rusty series, a collection of charming, educational books designed to spark curiosity, laughter, and early learning for young readers. With simple truths and playful confidence, these books celebrate the joy of knowing exactly what things are… and why that matters. 📚 Goofy Things by Rusty An Awesome Bird: The Pelican 👉 https://books2read.com/u/3RAVYL Beware the Grizzly Bear 👉 https://books2read.com/u/mvgvBX The Carrot Is Orange 👉 https://books2read.com/u/mqdVB1 The Unicorn Has One Horn 👉 https://books2read.com/u/bOgZeN We also dive into Rusty’s heartfelt nonfiction memoir, Dave and Me , a deeply personal story that explores friendship, loss, and the moments that shape who we become. 📖 Dave and Me (Memoir) 👉 https://books2read.com/u/3Jdyee Join us as Rusty Austin shares his journey from producing reality television to writing books that connect with readers of all ages—proving that great storytelling, no matter the format, always comes from the heart. 🔔 Subscribe for more author interviews 👍 Like, comment, and share to support indie authors #AuthorInTheHeadlights #RustyAustin #ChildrensBooks #IndieAuthor #GoofyThingsByRusty #Memoir #DaveAndMe #AuthorInterview #Storytelling #KidsBooks ## Actions - request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/author-in-the-headlights-7109453/episodes/author-in-the-headlights-guest-rusty-austin/transcription-requests` — Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode. - read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/author-in-the-headlights-7109453/author-in-the-headlights-guest-rusty-austin.md` — Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource. A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed. ## Transcript Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.