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[00:04]
A
Welcome to the Georgia Today podcast. Here we bring you the latest reports from the GPB newsroom. On today's episode, GOP Senate candidate Mike Collins says he supported a fund for January 6 rioters. The survey finds voters want a governor focused on health care in Atlanta. The city in the trees is losing its canopy.
[00:22]
B
I think redevelopment has been the biggest source of loss.
[00:26]
A
Single family home redevelopment Today is Wednesday, August 12th. I'm Peter Biello and this is Georgia Today. Georgia U.S. representative and Republican U.S. senate candidate Mike Collins says he supports a proposed and scrapped Department of Justice initiative that could have given January 6th rioters taxpayer money. Speaking in Savannah yesterday, he called his support of the so called anti weaponization fund a quote, easy yes. His Democratic opponent, incumbent U.S. senator John Ossoff called Collins stance quote, unacceptable and disgusting.
[01:04]
B
Congressman Collins needs to immediately come out and publicly retract his support for these taxpayer funded payouts to violent insurrectionists.
[01:17]
A
A Collins campaign spokesperson attempted to walk back Collins statement today saying Collins supports citizens seeking justice but not an Automatic fund for January 6th rioters. Republican gubernatorial candidate Rick Jackson is rolling out a new economic policy focused on minority owned businesses. GPB's Sarah Kalis reports.
[01:37]
C
Jackson visited Atlanta's Sweet Auburn corridor where he announced his legacy corridors policy focused on investing in small businesses in historically black business districts. It includes expanding the historic rehabilitation tax credit and increasing investments in several cities including Atlanta, Savannah, Macon and Albany.
[01:56]
D
Every Georgian deserves a shot at the American dream and everybody deserves respect. These corridors were built by people who neither got one and built it anyway.
[02:07]
C
Democratic nominee for governor Keisha Lance Bottom's campaign told GPB she will help small and minority owned businesses by expanding access to loans and grants and increasing economic development overall for small businesses. For GPV News, I'm Sarah Kalis in Atlanta.
[02:23]
A
Voters will consider what Jackson and Bottoms have to say about health care before they vote. A new poll shows 77% of Georgia voters say the gubernatorial candidate's views on health care is an important factor they'll weigh when marking their ballot. The poll of more than 1,000 likely voters was released this month by the nonprofit Georgia Health Initiative. It also shows that voters across party lines, income levels and other divisions agree that health care costs too much and doesn't prioritize patient needs. Foreign. Is moving forward with plans to build an unusual water treatment facility. City commissioners on Monday approved $34 million for reverse osmosis equipment. It's designed to remove so called forever chemicals known as PFAs from the water supply. City water chief John Boyd says a lot of systems don't use reverse osmosis because it's expensive.
[03:14]
D
The units that I have visited is in power plants where they have to really have the water, you know, clean as clean can get. And I've seen the units. But for a water system to have RO units, it's a rare occasion. But there'll be many systems that will be turning to reverse osmosis if they're dealing with pfas.
[03:35]
A
The units are part of a larger water system upgrade that could top $200 million. The city is paying for the upgrades using money it received in a settlement with carpet makers, chemical companies and others over pfas. Contamination in the USTINALA R Atlanta is losing ground on its goal of expanding the city's tree canopy. A Georgia Tech assessment found trees covered 45% of the city in 2023. That's down from nearly 48% in 2008, the report found. Atlanta lost about 800 acres of tree canopy over five years. Georgia Tech professor Tony Giarusso presented the findings to city officials yesterday.
[04:12]
B
I think redevelopment has been the biggest source of loss. Single family home redevelopment, right? Taking a small house and making a bigger house and tearing down the trees, going to the maximum allowable lot size. I would say most of your loss is from that.
[04:26]
A
Despite the loss, Atlanta, known as the city in a forest, still has one of the nation's highest percentages of urban tree canopy. That's according to a Davey Institute report for the U.S. forest Service. The city of Norcross, northeast of Atlanta, has put a temporary ban on demolishing buildings built before 1950. The Norcross city Council approved the moratorium this week. It lasts until November 2nd. During this time, the City Council will focus on defining what qualifies for historic preservation. Properties owned by the city and the Downtown Development Authority are exempt. City officials say the moratorium comes after the community raised concerns about the pace of recent teardowns.
[05:04]
C
The fatal shooting of a teenager at a protest in Seattle has gone unsolved for six years.
[05:10]
A
This is open in your face.
[05:12]
D
How are there no answers?
[05:14]
C
Our investigation has uncovered new evidence and witnesses who say they've never talked to police.
[05:19]
E
Did police ever call you?
[05:21]
F
Not once.
[05:22]
C
Listen to We Keep Us Safe, a new True Crime series on the Embedded podcast from N.
[05:39]
A
The COVID 19 pandemic changed the way Americans view medicine and healthcare in many ways. For one Savannah writer, it was a wellspring of short stories. KW Oxnard recently released her first book, a collection of 16 short stories, all themed around medicine, mortality and the human spirit. GPB's Orlando Montoya recently spoke with Oxnard about the sharp and unflinching set of tales and whether they changed the author's views on medicine.
[06:03]
F
I have a phobia. I am afraid of all things medical. When I was little, my sisters and I, who were all very close in age, would go get vaccinations at the same time. And if they went before me, I fainted when I saw them get shots. My grandfather was a doctor. I have doctors on both sides of my family. My grandfather really wanted me to be a doctor, and his name was Scardino. And so I called him Scar Daddy. And I said, scar Daddy. I am. I am terribly afraid of blood and needles and cutting into the human body. That is not going to happen. But I've always been fascinated by it, even though it repels me as well. So I decided to do this collection. They kind of started pouring out of me before COVID but then Covid really accelerated that. I mean, we were all obsessed with the body, and any sniffle meant that we were going to die. And. And so these stories just kind of started spilling out of me, and it kind of became a collection.
[07:06]
E
Let's get right into it. So the first one made me cry. Belle of the Ball. It's a story about someone who has HIV aids, and he's a dancer, and his friend is a dancer. What's the inspiration for that story?
[07:23]
F
I lived in Washington during that time. It's set in Washington, D.C. in 1981. And that was when my family first moved to Washington. We were there sort of briefly, and I was involved with the debutante circuit. And this is set in the debutante world of that era. And something about that time, you know, that was very early days of the HIV AIDS crisis and a time when people didn't know what was happening to them and doctors couldn't tell them what was happening to them. I think it was so new, it was quite terrifying. He develops kaposi sarcoma on his skin. And he has a job. He has to hide it. And he has this intimate relationship with this woman he's never named, but she's named Clementine or Clem. And he loves her and she loves him. It's a deep, intimate love, but not a romantic love. And she asks him to tell her more about his life, his personal life, and he refuses. He does not want to go there. And I'm not going to say what happens in the story, but he does come to regret that. He does come to regret not sharing his full self.
[08:45]
E
Let's Talk a little bit about the title story, the leg in question, and the COVID has a very suggestive looking leg on does. The story itself has nothing to do with sex or suggestive things. It's about a doctor and a patient. Talk a little bit about that story.
[09:05]
F
Yeah, so I read. I don't remember where I read it, the Times, Science Times or something. I read about this phenomenon that happens occasionally in which a patient will feel as though there's something wrong with one of their limbs, an arm or a leg, a hand or a foot. And there's no biological medical reason for their pain, discomfort or feeling that they have a diseased appendage. And they do not feel complete, ironically, unless they get it amputated. It's obviously very rare, but it does happen. And so I. I took that and ran with it. And I imagined this time in the early 20th century in New York when Freud was in the air, but people weren't really doing psychoanalysis necessarily. His ideas were new. And this doctor in New York discovers this patient, encounters this patient who insists that her leg is diseased and dead to her and it must come off. And he proceeds to spend many weeks, months, basically psychoanalyzing her because it's clear
[10:25]
E
that the leg does not need to come off. This is a mental problem that she's having.
[10:30]
F
Correct.
[10:30]
E
And so the doctor turns from a medical doctor to a mental health doctor.
[10:36]
F
He does, sort of without her knowledge or without her understanding that that's what's happening.
[10:42]
E
I like about this story is that it has an element of suspense because we don't know what's going to happen. And you don't really reveal what happens until the very end. Can you talk a little bit about that aspect of the story writing? Where did you learn the craft of story writing in terms of in the first story, the revelation doesn't happen until the end. Same thing here.
[11:02]
F
So I went to graduate school in New York. I went to NYU and studied with some really amazing, wonderful writers. And then I wrote. I wrote a lot, I read a lot. I've always been drawn to the short story form. I really love writers like Roald Dahl, who write sort of dark, strange, twisty tales that have an interesting reveal.
[11:31]
E
You can mention any number of short story writers, Conrad, Aiken, O. Henry. And what I like about the form, and you do it well, is you're not spending so much time on the scene, unnecessary background. You really have to be very lean, you have to be poetic, but you also have to move the story along. So a story like Belle of the Ball and the Leg in Question. Those easily could have been novels with, you know, 10 characters. They all have a backstory, a lot of world building and, you know, scenes and whatever, but you get it done in a very efficient fashion.
[12:14]
F
Oh, well, thank you. I guess I'm a minimalist, I think you'd call me that. I mean, I like. I also write poetry, so I like the poetic flourishes. But early in my training, our teachers told us to kill our darlings.
[12:29]
E
Did you find you got relieved of your medical phobia through writing this book?
[12:36]
F
I wish that were the case. But no, I still really when I have blood taken, I can't look at it. Ideally, I should be lying down because I tend to faint and I watch medical shows and scenes with my eyes closed or my hand in front of my face. So it was helpful in I feel more confident in being able to face a fear. But it didn't make the fear go away.
[13:07]
E
The book is called the Leg in Question by KW Oxnard. Thank you very much for coming to gpb.
[13:14]
F
Thank you so much, Orlando. It's been a pleasure.
[13:16]
A
Other stories in the Leg in Question feature a grieving dog, a Savannah morgue worker, and a mountain cabin growing feral. That collection is the latest book to be featured On Narrative Edge, GPB's podcast and video series about Georgia writers and Georgia stories. Find Narrative Edge on your podcast app of Choice and on GPB's YouTube page. That's a wrap on Georgia Today. Thank you so much for tuning in. Please come on back tomorrow. Make sure you subscribe to this podcast and subscribe and in the meantime, check gpb.org news for updates to the stories you heard on the podcast today, as well as new headlines our reporters have written, and your feedback is welcome. Your suggestion today could be a story tomorrow. Send it our way by email. The address is georgiatodaypb.org I'm Peter Biello. Thanks again for listening. We will see you tomorrow.

Summary6 min read

Georgia Today Podcast Summary

Episode: Voters focus on health; Rome water plant; Atlanta tree canopy
Date: August 12, 2026
Host: Peter Biello (Georgia Public Broadcasting)

Overview

This episode of Georgia Today explores key developments in Georgia around political contests, public health, environmental issues, and literature. Highlights include GOP Senate candidate Mike Collins’ controversial remarks, the gubernatorial race’s focus on health care, Rome's investment in advanced water filtration, Atlanta's declining tree canopy, preservation efforts in Norcross, and an interview with Savannah author KW Oxnard about her new short story collection focusing on illness and human vulnerability.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Georgia Political Updates

a. Mike Collins and the January 6th Fund

[00:25] Georgia U.S. Representative and GOP Senate candidate Mike Collins expressed support for a Department of Justice proposal to compensate January 6th rioters, calling it an "easy yes."
- His opponent, Senator John Ossoff, criticized this position as "unacceptable and disgusting."
  - Quote:
    
    “Congressman Collins needs to immediately come out and publicly retract his support for these taxpayer funded payouts to violent insurrectionists.” – John Ossoff [01:04]
- Collins’ campaign later clarified that he supports citizens "seeking justice" but not an automatic fund for the rioters.

b. Gubernatorial Campaigns Focus on Minority-Owned Businesses

[01:37] Republican Rick Jackson announced the "legacy corridors policy" in Atlanta's Sweet Auburn, aiming to invest in small businesses in historic Black business districts.
- Policy components: expanding rehabilitation tax credits and increasing investments in targeted cities.
- Jackson:
  
  “Every Georgian deserves a shot at the American dream and everybody deserves respect. These corridors were built by people who neither got one and built it anyway.” – Rick Jackson [01:56]
[02:07] Democratic nominee Keisha Lance Bottoms pledges to help small and minority businesses through expanded access to loans, grants, and economic development.

c. Voter Concerns: Health Care as a Decisive Issue

[02:23] A Georgia Health Initiative poll of 1,000+ likely voters shows 77% consider health care stances critical in deciding their vote; bipartisan consensus exists that costs are too high and patient needs aren’t prioritized.

2. Rome's Water Treatment Facility

[02:44] Rome city commissioners approved $34 million for reverse osmosis equipment to remove PFAs (“forever chemicals”) from the water supply, the first use of this technology by a community system in the state.
- City water chief John Boyd emphasized the rarity and high cost of such a system:
  
  “...for a water system to have RO units, it’s a rare occasion. But there’ll be many systems that will be turning to reverse osmosis if they're dealing with PFAS.” – John Boyd [03:14]
Project is funded by settlement money from chemical companies responsible for PFAs contamination. Full system upgrade could reach $200 million.

3. Atlanta's Tree Canopy Decline

[03:48] Georgia Tech’s assessment found a reduction in Atlanta’s tree canopy from 48% in 2008 to 45% in 2023—a loss of about 800 acres over five years.
- Professor Tony Giarusso explained the primary culprit:
  
  “I think redevelopment has been the biggest source of loss. Single family home redevelopment... most of your loss is from that.” – Tony Giarusso [04:12]
Despite the decline, Atlanta still ranks among U.S. cities with the highest urban tree coverage.

4. Historic Preservation in Norcross

[04:41] The city of Norcross enacted a temporary ban (until November 2) on demolishing buildings built before 1950 (excluding city and Downtown Development Authority properties), responding to community concern over rapid teardowns.

5. Literature Spotlight: KW Oxnard's "The Leg in Question"

a. Themes and Personal Background

[05:38] Interview with Savannah author KW Oxnard about her debut short story collection, centered on medicine, mortality, and resilience.
- Oxnard’s personal fear of medical settings informs her empathetic, human-driven narratives:
  
  “I have a phobia. I am afraid of all things medical...But I’ve always been fascinated by it, even though it repels me as well.” – KW Oxnard [06:03]

b. Discussion of Selected Stories

Belle of the Ball:
- [07:01] Set in 1981 Washington, D.C., amidst the HIV/AIDS crisis, exploring hidden suffering and friendship.
- Oxnard on the protagonist:
  
  “He develops kaposi sarcoma on his skin...he has this intimate relationship with this woman...and she asks him to tell her more about his life...and he refuses. He does not want to go there. And I’m not going to say what happens in the story, but he does come to regret that.” – KW Oxnard [07:23]
The Leg in Question:
- [08:44] Inspired by real cases where patients want healthy limbs amputated. Set in early 20th-century New York alongside emerging Freudian ideas.
- Explores the blurred lines between physical and mental health:
  
  “...proced[ing] to spend many weeks, months, basically psychoanalyzing her because it's clear that the leg does not need to come off. This is a mental problem.” – KW Oxnard [10:24]

c. On Writing Short Stories

[11:31] Oxnard discusses her preference for the “lean” short story form, influenced by minimalist writing and the advice to “kill your darlings.”
- “I also write poetry, so I like the poetic flourishes. But early in my training, our teachers told us to kill our darlings.” – KW Oxnard [12:13]

d. Impact of Writing on Personal Phobia

[12:36] Despite her deep dive into medical themes, Oxnard admits her phobia persists:

“I still really when I have blood taken, I can’t look at it...it was helpful in, I feel more confident in being able to face a fear but it didn’t make the fear go away.” – KW Oxnard [12:36]

e. Other Stories in the Collection

Feature topics including a grieving dog, a Savannah morgue worker, and a “mountain cabin growing feral.”
The book is highlighted on GPB’s “Narrative Edge” program.

Notable Quotes

“Congressman Collins needs to immediately come out and publicly retract his support for these taxpayer funded payouts to violent insurrectionists.” – John Ossoff [01:04]
“Every Georgian deserves a shot at the American dream and everybody deserves respect. These corridors were built by people who neither got one and built it anyway.” – Rick Jackson [01:56]
“For a water system to have RO units, it’s a rare occasion. But there’ll be many systems that will be turning to reverse osmosis if they're dealing with PFAS.” – John Boyd [03:14]
“Redevelopment has been the biggest source of loss. Single family home redevelopment...most of your loss is from that.” – Tony Giarusso [04:12]

Timestamps for Important Segments

[00:25] Mike Collins’ January 6th fund support & Ossoff’s response
[01:37] Rick Jackson’s economic policy for minority-owned businesses
[02:23] Poll: Voters prioritize health care
[02:44] Rome water plant upgrade to tackle PFAs
[03:48] Atlanta’s canopy loss explained
[04:41] Norcross bans demolitions of pre-1950 buildings
[05:38] Interview with KW Oxnard on "The Leg in Question"

Memorable Moments

KW Oxnard’s description of her childhood medical fears and her doctor grandfather, “Scar Daddy,” blends personal narrative with literary creativity. [06:03]
The discussion of “Belle of the Ball” evokes the fear, secrecy, and heartbreak of the early AIDS era [07:01].
Insights on minimalist writing and the balance between poetry and storytelling offer value to aspiring writers [12:13].
The book’s continued focus on the body and vulnerability, shaped and accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, resonates as an exploration of recent collective traumas.

Conclusion

This episode weaves together politics, public health, urban ecology, and the power of personal storytelling. With updates on hot-button issues and an intimate author interview, Georgia Today continues to highlight the stories and debates shaping lives across the state.

Loading summary

Transcript39 lines

[00:04]
A
Welcome to the Georgia Today podcast. Here we bring you the latest reports from the GPB newsroom. On today's episode, GOP Senate candidate Mike Collins says he supported a fund for January 6 rioters. The survey finds voters want a governor focused on health care in Atlanta. The city in the trees is losing its canopy.
[00:22]
B
I think redevelopment has been the biggest source of loss.
[00:26]
A
Single family home redevelopment Today is Wednesday, August 12th. I'm Peter Biello and this is Georgia Today. Georgia U.S. representative and Republican U.S. senate candidate Mike Collins says he supports a proposed and scrapped Department of Justice initiative that could have given January 6th rioters taxpayer money. Speaking in Savannah yesterday, he called his support of the so called anti weaponization fund a quote, easy yes. His Democratic opponent, incumbent U.S. senator John Ossoff called Collins stance quote, unacceptable and disgusting.
[01:04]
B
Congressman Collins needs to immediately come out and publicly retract his support for these taxpayer funded payouts to violent insurrectionists.
[01:17]
A
A Collins campaign spokesperson attempted to walk back Collins statement today saying Collins supports citizens seeking justice but not an Automatic fund for January 6th rioters. Republican gubernatorial candidate Rick Jackson is rolling out a new economic policy focused on minority owned businesses. GPB's Sarah Kalis reports.
[01:37]
C
Jackson visited Atlanta's Sweet Auburn corridor where he announced his legacy corridors policy focused on investing in small businesses in historically black business districts. It includes expanding the historic rehabilitation tax credit and increasing investments in several cities including Atlanta, Savannah, Macon and Albany.
[01:56]
D
Every Georgian deserves a shot at the American dream and everybody deserves respect. These corridors were built by people who neither got one and built it anyway.
[02:07]
C
Democratic nominee for governor Keisha Lance Bottom's campaign told GPB she will help small and minority owned businesses by expanding access to loans and grants and increasing economic development overall for small businesses. For GPV News, I'm Sarah Kalis in Atlanta.
[02:23]
A
Voters will consider what Jackson and Bottoms have to say about health care before they vote. A new poll shows 77% of Georgia voters say the gubernatorial candidate's views on health care is an important factor they'll weigh when marking their ballot. The poll of more than 1,000 likely voters was released this month by the nonprofit Georgia Health Initiative. It also shows that voters across party lines, income levels and other divisions agree that health care costs too much and doesn't prioritize patient needs. Foreign. Is moving forward with plans to build an unusual water treatment facility. City commissioners on Monday approved $34 million for reverse osmosis equipment. It's designed to remove so called forever chemicals known as PFAs from the water supply. City water chief John Boyd says a lot of systems don't use reverse osmosis because it's expensive.
[03:14]
D
The units that I have visited is in power plants where they have to really have the water, you know, clean as clean can get. And I've seen the units. But for a water system to have RO units, it's a rare occasion. But there'll be many systems that will be turning to reverse osmosis if they're dealing with pfas.
[03:35]
A
The units are part of a larger water system upgrade that could top $200 million. The city is paying for the upgrades using money it received in a settlement with carpet makers, chemical companies and others over pfas. Contamination in the USTINALA R Atlanta is losing ground on its goal of expanding the city's tree canopy. A Georgia Tech assessment found trees covered 45% of the city in 2023. That's down from nearly 48% in 2008, the report found. Atlanta lost about 800 acres of tree canopy over five years. Georgia Tech professor Tony Giarusso presented the findings to city officials yesterday.
[04:12]
B
I think redevelopment has been the biggest source of loss. Single family home redevelopment, right? Taking a small house and making a bigger house and tearing down the trees, going to the maximum allowable lot size. I would say most of your loss is from that.
[04:26]
A
Despite the loss, Atlanta, known as the city in a forest, still has one of the nation's highest percentages of urban tree canopy. That's according to a Davey Institute report for the U.S. forest Service. The city of Norcross, northeast of Atlanta, has put a temporary ban on demolishing buildings built before 1950. The Norcross city Council approved the moratorium this week. It lasts until November 2nd. During this time, the City Council will focus on defining what qualifies for historic preservation. Properties owned by the city and the Downtown Development Authority are exempt. City officials say the moratorium comes after the community raised concerns about the pace of recent teardowns.
[05:04]
C
The fatal shooting of a teenager at a protest in Seattle has gone unsolved for six years.
[05:10]
A
This is open in your face.
[05:12]
D
How are there no answers?
[05:14]
C
Our investigation has uncovered new evidence and witnesses who say they've never talked to police.
[05:19]
E
Did police ever call you?
[05:21]
F
Not once.
[05:22]
C
Listen to We Keep Us Safe, a new True Crime series on the Embedded podcast from N.
[05:39]
A
The COVID 19 pandemic changed the way Americans view medicine and healthcare in many ways. For one Savannah writer, it was a wellspring of short stories. KW Oxnard recently released her first book, a collection of 16 short stories, all themed around medicine, mortality and the human spirit. GPB's Orlando Montoya recently spoke with Oxnard about the sharp and unflinching set of tales and whether they changed the author's views on medicine.
[06:03]
F
I have a phobia. I am afraid of all things medical. When I was little, my sisters and I, who were all very close in age, would go get vaccinations at the same time. And if they went before me, I fainted when I saw them get shots. My grandfather was a doctor. I have doctors on both sides of my family. My grandfather really wanted me to be a doctor, and his name was Scardino. And so I called him Scar Daddy. And I said, scar Daddy. I am. I am terribly afraid of blood and needles and cutting into the human body. That is not going to happen. But I've always been fascinated by it, even though it repels me as well. So I decided to do this collection. They kind of started pouring out of me before COVID but then Covid really accelerated that. I mean, we were all obsessed with the body, and any sniffle meant that we were going to die. And. And so these stories just kind of started spilling out of me, and it kind of became a collection.
[07:06]
E
Let's get right into it. So the first one made me cry. Belle of the Ball. It's a story about someone who has HIV aids, and he's a dancer, and his friend is a dancer. What's the inspiration for that story?
[07:23]
F
I lived in Washington during that time. It's set in Washington, D.C. in 1981. And that was when my family first moved to Washington. We were there sort of briefly, and I was involved with the debutante circuit. And this is set in the debutante world of that era. And something about that time, you know, that was very early days of the HIV AIDS crisis and a time when people didn't know what was happening to them and doctors couldn't tell them what was happening to them. I think it was so new, it was quite terrifying. He develops kaposi sarcoma on his skin. And he has a job. He has to hide it. And he has this intimate relationship with this woman he's never named, but she's named Clementine or Clem. And he loves her and she loves him. It's a deep, intimate love, but not a romantic love. And she asks him to tell her more about his life, his personal life, and he refuses. He does not want to go there. And I'm not going to say what happens in the story, but he does come to regret that. He does come to regret not sharing his full self.
[08:45]
E
Let's Talk a little bit about the title story, the leg in question, and the COVID has a very suggestive looking leg on does. The story itself has nothing to do with sex or suggestive things. It's about a doctor and a patient. Talk a little bit about that story.
[09:05]
F
Yeah, so I read. I don't remember where I read it, the Times, Science Times or something. I read about this phenomenon that happens occasionally in which a patient will feel as though there's something wrong with one of their limbs, an arm or a leg, a hand or a foot. And there's no biological medical reason for their pain, discomfort or feeling that they have a diseased appendage. And they do not feel complete, ironically, unless they get it amputated. It's obviously very rare, but it does happen. And so I. I took that and ran with it. And I imagined this time in the early 20th century in New York when Freud was in the air, but people weren't really doing psychoanalysis necessarily. His ideas were new. And this doctor in New York discovers this patient, encounters this patient who insists that her leg is diseased and dead to her and it must come off. And he proceeds to spend many weeks, months, basically psychoanalyzing her because it's clear
[10:25]
E
that the leg does not need to come off. This is a mental problem that she's having.
[10:30]
F
Correct.
[10:30]
E
And so the doctor turns from a medical doctor to a mental health doctor.
[10:36]
F
He does, sort of without her knowledge or without her understanding that that's what's happening.
[10:42]
E
I like about this story is that it has an element of suspense because we don't know what's going to happen. And you don't really reveal what happens until the very end. Can you talk a little bit about that aspect of the story writing? Where did you learn the craft of story writing in terms of in the first story, the revelation doesn't happen until the end. Same thing here.
[11:02]
F
So I went to graduate school in New York. I went to NYU and studied with some really amazing, wonderful writers. And then I wrote. I wrote a lot, I read a lot. I've always been drawn to the short story form. I really love writers like Roald Dahl, who write sort of dark, strange, twisty tales that have an interesting reveal.
[11:31]
E
You can mention any number of short story writers, Conrad, Aiken, O. Henry. And what I like about the form, and you do it well, is you're not spending so much time on the scene, unnecessary background. You really have to be very lean, you have to be poetic, but you also have to move the story along. So a story like Belle of the Ball and the Leg in Question. Those easily could have been novels with, you know, 10 characters. They all have a backstory, a lot of world building and, you know, scenes and whatever, but you get it done in a very efficient fashion.
[12:14]
F
Oh, well, thank you. I guess I'm a minimalist, I think you'd call me that. I mean, I like. I also write poetry, so I like the poetic flourishes. But early in my training, our teachers told us to kill our darlings.
[12:29]
E
Did you find you got relieved of your medical phobia through writing this book?
[12:36]
F
I wish that were the case. But no, I still really when I have blood taken, I can't look at it. Ideally, I should be lying down because I tend to faint and I watch medical shows and scenes with my eyes closed or my hand in front of my face. So it was helpful in I feel more confident in being able to face a fear. But it didn't make the fear go away.
[13:07]
E
The book is called the Leg in Question by KW Oxnard. Thank you very much for coming to gpb.
[13:14]
F
Thank you so much, Orlando. It's been a pleasure.
[13:16]
A
Other stories in the Leg in Question feature a grieving dog, a Savannah morgue worker, and a mountain cabin growing feral. That collection is the latest book to be featured On Narrative Edge, GPB's podcast and video series about Georgia writers and Georgia stories. Find Narrative Edge on your podcast app of Choice and on GPB's YouTube page. That's a wrap on Georgia Today. Thank you so much for tuning in. Please come on back tomorrow. Make sure you subscribe to this podcast and subscribe and in the meantime, check gpb.org news for updates to the stories you heard on the podcast today, as well as new headlines our reporters have written, and your feedback is welcome. Your suggestion today could be a story tomorrow. Send it our way by email. The address is georgiatodaypb.org I'm Peter Biello. Thanks again for listening. We will see you tomorrow.