{"podcast":{"title":"West Michigan Weekend (A Public Affairs Program from iHeartradio)","slug":"west-michigan-weekend-a-public-affairs-program-from-iheartradio-1390286","podcast_index_feed_id":1390286,"rss_url":"https://www.spreaker.com/show/2572136/episodes/feed","website_url":"https://www.iheart.com/podcast/139-iheartmedia-west-mi-weeken-28352469/","image_url":"https://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/c55b2f870fe78fd27f6c054b429382ed.jpg","author":"WOOD Radio","episode_count":603,"summary":"\"The West Michigan Weekend Podcast with Phil Tower is a production of WOOD Radio and iHeartRadio in West Michigan. Stay connected with the people, places, and events shaping our community and our great state by subscribing wherever you get your podcasts. We'd love your feedback as well, so please consider leaving us a review! For more of our episodes, find us here , or find us on the iHeartRadio app . Thanks for listening!\"","last_synced_at":"2026-06-27T12:19:06.835245+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/west-michigan-weekend-a-public-affairs-program-from-iheartradio-1390286"},"episode":{"title":"Author Dave Eggers on Contrapposto: Art, Friendship, and a Lifetime of Creativity (06-07-26)","slug":"author-dave-eggers-on-contrapposto-art-friendship-and-a-lifetime-of-creativity-06-07-26","published_at":"2026-06-06T04:10:02+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/west-michigan-weekend-a-public-affairs-program-from-iheartradio-1390286/author-dave-eggers-on-contrapposto-art-friendship-and-a-lifetime-of-creativity-06-07-26","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/west-michigan-weekend-a-public-affairs-program-from-iheartradio-1390286","url":"https://www.spreaker.com/episode/author-dave-eggers-on-contrapposto-art-friendship-and-a-lifetime-of-creativity-06-07-26--72373174","audio_url":"https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/72373174/060726_ihmwmw_eggers_final_mix.mp3","summary":"On this episode, host Phil Tower welcomes artist and designer turned best-selling author, Dave Eggers, for a conversation about his new novel, Contrapposto . Known for bestselling and critically acclaimed works, including his groundbreaking debut, A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius , and What Is the What, Eggers joins the program to explore the inspiration behind Contrapposto , a sweeping story that follows the lifelong friendship of Cricket Dib and Olympia Argyros across six decades of art, ambition, creativity, and personal transformation. During our conversation, Eggers discusses the novel’s unique title—borrowed from the classical artistic technique that creates balance through asymmetry, and how his own background as a visual artist helped shape the story. As Eggers explained, \" think of a statue of Michelangelo balancing on one foot.\" He also reflects on themes of friendship, aging, creativity, and the often-absurd nature of the art world. Later, in our conversation, Eggers shares his passion for educational opportunity and literacy through organizations he helped establish and support, including ScholarMatch , which helps first-generation college students from low-income backgrounds earn bachelor’s degrees, and 826michigan , which provides free writing and literacy programs for K–12 students across Southeast Michigan. Eggers also talks about his upcoming appearance with the National Writers Series in Traverse City, and what continues to inspire him after decades as one of America's most influential literary voices. Learn more about his terrific new novel, Contrapposto , from Penguin Random House , or pick up a copy from your favorite local bookstore.","meta_description":"On this episode, host Phil Tower welcomes artist and designer turned best-selling author, Dave Eggers, for a conversation about his new novel, Contrappost…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":929,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/west-michigan-weekend-a-public-affairs-program-from-iheartradio-1390286/episodes/author-dave-eggers-on-contrapposto-art-friendship-and-a-lifetime-of-creativity-06-07-26/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/west-michigan-weekend-a-public-affairs-program-from-iheartradio-1390286/author-dave-eggers-on-contrapposto-art-friendship-and-a-lifetime-of-creativity-06-07-26.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}