“Crime, Absurdity & Chaos Corrected” with Tod Goldberg (GWTW884)

Have you ever wondered what a crime novelist can teach you about your own creativity? It turns out, a lot—and not just about weird crimes and sketchy people. Today’s guest is Tod Goldberg, the bestselling author of sixteen books, including the Gangsterland quartet and his latest, Only Way Out. Tod is also a professor of creative writing and the founder and director of the Low Residency MFA in Creative Writing & Writing for the Performing Arts at the University of California, Riverside. We start our conversation with Tod stating why intellectual curiosity is essential for writers to connect with people. We then talk about what it was like to grow up in a family of writers, the movies we watched as kids that we probably shouldn’t have seen, a snapshot into his writing and professional life, the importance of doing your job and letting your brain breathe, why true crime is popular in chaotic times, why he created a writing graduate program and how it’s different than other MFAs, and his love for the democratization of art.

Show Links

Tod Goldberg

The Story Behind The Stories – Tod Goldberg

The Gangsterland Series • by Tod Goldberg

Only Way Out • by Tod Goldberg

Dune • by Frank Herbert

Lee Goldberg

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy • by Douglas Adams

The Godfather (1972)

Red Dawn (1984)

The Outsiders (1983)

C. Thomas Howell

Big Trouble in Little China (1986)

The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension (1984)

Escape from New York (1981)

Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (1977)

Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

Todd Marinovich

Linda Woods Artworks

Visual Chronicles: The No-Fear Guide to Creating Art Journals, Creative Manifestos and Altered Books • by Linda Woods and Karen Dinino

The Jesus and Mary Chain

Tod Goldberg, author of ONLY WAY OUT

Marty Supreme (2025)

Home – Harris Ranch Beef Company

Ben Folds Five – Brick – YouTube

Joe Loya

Dead Man Walking (1995)

Premier Low-Residency MFA | UC Riverside Palm Desert Creative Writing | Palm Desert Low-Residency MFA

John Cheever

John Updike

Martin Scorsese

Jane Campion

Taxi Driver (1976)

Lee Strasberg

Office Chairs | La-Z-Boy

Alta Journal: Stories of California and the West

At the Knee • by Tod Goldberg

Sacrament • by Susan Straight

Jason Isbell – Official Website

• Episode photo from Envato Elements: The sun sets on the horizon as cattle graze in the field