{"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 Sara Maurer on her new book, \"A Good Animal\" and the Power of Place (03-22-26)","slug":"author-sara-maurer-on-her-new-book-a-good-animal-and-the-power-of-place-03-22-26","published_at":"2026-03-21T04:00:06+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/west-michigan-weekend-a-public-affairs-program-from-iheartradio-1390286/author-sara-maurer-on-her-new-book-a-good-animal-and-the-power-of-place-03-22-26","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/west-michigan-weekend-a-public-affairs-program-from-iheartradio-1390286","url":"https://www.spreaker.com/episode/author-sara-maurer-on-her-new-book-a-good-animal-and-the-power-of-place-03-22-26--70786265","audio_url":"https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/70786265/032226_ihmwmw_sara_maurer_a_good_animal_final_mix.mp3","summary":"On this episode of West Michigan Weekend, host Phil Tower sits down with Sara Maurer to explore her powerful debut novel, A Good Animal. Set in the rural landscape of Michigan’s Eastern Upper Peninsula, A Good Animal is a deeply emotional story of first love, identity, and the life-altering weight of a single decision. The novel follows Everett, a young man determined to stay and rebuild his family’s sheep farm, and Mary, a newcomer driven by ambition and a desire to leave—capturing the universal tension between staying rooted and chasing something more. In this conversation, author Sara Maurer reflects on her own connection to Sault Ste. Marie, the inspiration behind her characters, and the often-overlooked beauty and complexity of rural life. She also opens up about the pressure many young people feel to leave small towns—and what it means to return. Sara Maurer’s terrific debut novel, A Good Animal …is published by St. Martin’s Press … and available wherever books are sold. Sarah's book tour is underway across Michigan. See her schedule on her website. Listen now on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts. Phil Tower","meta_description":"On this episode of West Michigan Weekend, host Phil Tower sits down with Sara Maurer to explore her powerful debut novel, A Good Animal. Set in the rural…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":753,"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-sara-maurer-on-her-new-book-a-good-animal-and-the-power-of-place-03-22-26/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-sara-maurer-on-her-new-book-a-good-animal-and-the-power-of-place-03-22-26.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}