Conversations with Writers, Artists, Thinkers.
Hosted by two professors from the Department of Creative Writing at UTEP, Words on a Wire has become one of the most established and influential radio shows on writing and creativity.
Twelve years ago, it was hosted by Benjamin Alire Sáenz and Daniel Chacón. After Sáenz retired, Tim Z. Hernandez joined the team, and we have been going strong ever since. Our shows are available on Spotify, Apple Podcast, and YouTube.
Airing locally Sundays at noon, each week Tim or Daniel have a conversation with someone whose work they admire, poets, fiction writers, philosophers, scientists, musicians. Because they are writers themselves, the main focus for the hosts is books, and if there’s a new one that they love, they welcome that writer on the show.
We have had guests from first-time writers with new books to the world’s most established thinkers, such as former and current US Poet Laureates, Pulitzer Prize winners, and great thinkers who have dedicate their lives to making the world a better place.
Words on a Wire is Co-produced by Creative Writing MFA candidates Claudia Flores Ramirez and Iliana Pichardo Urrutia.
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In this episode of The Writer and the Brain, host Daniel Chacón welcomes author Richard Z. Santos to discuss his novel Trust Me and its rich exploration of Santa Fe, New Mexico. -
In this captivating episode of The Writer and the Brain, a Words on a Wire production, host Daniel Chacón sits down with poet and artist Octavio Quintanilla at the Texas Book Festival to explore his latest poetry collection, The Book of Wounded Sparrows. -
In this episode of Words on a Wire, host Will Rose sits down with Rus Bradburd—former UTEP and NMSU assistant basketball coach turned author—to discuss his debut novel, Big Time (Etruscan Press, 2024). -
Daniel Chacón sits down with his longtime Words on a Wire co-host, Tim Z. Hernandez, to discuss Tim’s latest book, They Call You Back. -
Host Daniel Chacón speaks with California Poet Laureate Lee Herrick. They discuss his latest work, “In Praise of Late Wonder: New and Selected Poems,” a collection that marks a profound exploration of his identity as a Korean adoptee. -
In this episode of Words on a Wire, longtime host Tim Z. Hernandez introduces "The Storykeeper," an exciting new segment on Words on a Wire. Drawing from his extensive experience from his years of gathering stories, Hernandez explains how The Storykeeper will bring powerful, transformative narratives to listeners. -
In this episode of Words on a Wire, host Will Rose sits down with Jonathan Blitzer, New Yorker staff writer and author of the New York Times Top 10 Book of 2024, Everyone Who Was Gone Is Here. -
In this engaging podcast episode, host Daniel Chacon sits down with poet Gabriel Dozal to discuss Dozal’s book The Border Simulator and explore themes of identity, technology, and the concept of borders. -
In this episode of Words on a Wire, host Tim Z. Hernandez speaks with poet Yaccaira Salvatierra. Yaccaira’s poems have appeared in POETRY Magazine, The Nation, Prairie Schooner, and Rattle among others. -
On this episode of Words on a Wire, host Leah O’Daniel speaks with author Joesph Lezza.
