Podcast Summary:

New Books Network
Episode: David M. Perry, "The Public Scholar: A Practical Handbook" (JHU Press, 2026)
Release Date: April 7, 2026
Host: New Books Network Interviewer
Guest: David M. Perry

Main Theme / Purpose

This episode explores David M. Perry's new book, The Public Scholar: A Practical Handbook, a guide for academics who wish to write for public audiences. Perry—an academic historian, university staffer, freelance writer, and journalist—shares practical strategies, personal journeys, challenges, and ethical considerations of public scholarship. The conversation unpacks the “hidden curriculum” of public writing, pitching, getting paid, using social media, and finding purpose as a public scholar, offering actionable insights for academics seeking to reach audiences beyond the ivory tower.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. David M. Perry’s Background and Motivation

[02:23 – 03:49]

• Perry trained as a medieval historian, earning his PhD in 2006.
• Former professor at Dominican University (Illinois); left to become university staff for job flexibility and family reasons (caring for a child with Down syndrome, aging parents).
• Transitioned into public writing to have a manageable work-life balance and broader impact:

  "I do not even like I have segregated email and I try not to look at it after 4:30 and I try not to look at it on weekends. ... That's why I left that faculty job because teaching six classes a year, I just couldn't do any of this writing." (David Perry, 02:23)

• Began public writing by accident, found purpose in bringing academic expertise to wider audiences.

2. Four Lessons for Public Writing

[03:49 – 08:39]

• Perry’s method draws from workshops and his own “hidden curriculum”—the unspoken rules and tools for transitioning to public writing.

  The Four Lessons:

  1. Public Writing Moves Fast:
     • Respond quickly to news cycles to be relevant.

       "News happens, you as an expert... have a reaction. And you have to move quickly. You have to respond right away, because the news cycle moves on." (David Perry, 04:45)

  2. You Lose Control of Your Work:
     • Once published, your writing is shaped by editors and public interpretation, in ways unlike academic publishing.
     • Anecdote: Random person in an airport recognized his column—an example of losing control and unpredictability of public reach.
  3. Write Broadly:
     • Leverage all your interests and expertise, not just your academic specialty.
     • Professional experiences and life context (e.g., Medicaid policy as a parent) are valid bases for public scholarship.

       "There's a kind of liberation... Graduate school teaches us to narrow... I want people... to radically reprogram their thoughts about themselves and what it's okay to do." (08:02)

  4. Write Anything:
     • Challenge the academic impulse to narrowly define expertise; public writing values multidimensional perspectives and diverse topics.

3. Crafting the Perfect Pitch

[08:56 – 14:04]

• Many academics misunderstand pitching; simply being an expert isn’t enough—must frame an argument.
• Formula for pitching:
  1. Concisely introduce yourself and your relevant credentials.
  2. Clearly state the unique argument or story you will tell.
  3. Make it brief (6–7 sentences)—respect the editor’s time.

     "The pitch is one of these kinds of non-public documents with very specific norms in which you want to place yourself on the other person's turf... I will not waste your time." (David Perry, 09:49)

  • Avoid generic pitches:

    "If I can't fill in the blank [of 'in this essay, I will argue...'], I am not ready to try to sell an essay." (12:19)

  • Notable guideline:

    "The best pitch is one that an editor can read on their phone while they're waiting for a cup of coffee." (Interviewer, 13:05)

4. From Pitch to Essay: Differences from Academic Writing

[14:16 – 16:41]

• Public essays are iterative—not authoritative or “final word” like academic publications.
• Essays should aim to incrementally move understanding or action, not exhaustively cover topics.

  "Most academic writing... aspires toward being authoritative... Public writing... should aspire to be iterative and that it should aspire to incrementally move understanding or action..." (David Perry, 14:29)

• Writers must clarify the goal of each essay: to persuade, to inform, to activate, or to clarify.

5. The Business: Payment and Social Media

[17:53 – 26:14]

• Perry emphasizes transparency about pay—a subject often neglected in academia.
  • Many outlets are now more upfront about freelancing rates ($200–$400 per piece is standard).
  • Expect to ask for payment; it’s rarely offered until initiated.

    "In general, you should expect to be paid for your labor. And the time you get to ask that is after you're accepted, not before." (18:48)

• Social Media:
  • Build audience by authentically engaging others—share, support, and read others' work.

    "You have to read other people's work and you have to share it. And not only do you have to read other people's work, you have to actually, genuinely want to." (21:40)

  • The social contract online is not as deep as with students—it's okay to ignore toxic feedback.

    "Social media is not your classroom, which means you actually don't owe people on social media your attention." (23:27)

  • Recommendations: log off when attacked, seek help managing negative feedback, do not try to ‘win’ arguments on social media.

6. Types of Public Writing

[26:40 – 34:00]

• Opinion essays are the best entry point due to existing editorial infrastructure.
• Other genres include:
  • Criticism/Reviews (movies, books, music)
  • Blogging & Newsletters (writer owns platform but must build own audience)
  • Longform Nonfiction (difficult to break into, but valuable)
  • Trade Books/Memoir (different hidden curriculum—less focus in this book)
  • Journalism/Reportage (reported features, not solely opinion-based)

    "You do not need a journalism degree to do journalism, but you do... have to think about the context you're moving into..." (David Perry, 32:28)

• Keys: Each genre has its own “hidden curriculum”, and writers must adapt to the norms and ethics of each.

7. Where Academic Training Helps and Hinders

[35:00 – 40:26]

• Hindrance:
  • Academic culture trains scholars to excessively narrow their expertise—public writing demands broader self-conception.

    "The biggest cost is the way that we narrow..." (David Perry, 35:23)

• Help:
  • Classroom teaching prepares academics to distill complex ideas within constraints (e.g., time, word limits), mirroring the challenges of public writing.

    "That kind of thought process is so analogous to the public writing, in part because it starts for real, if you're good... with genuine respect for your audience..." (36:57)

  • Effective public writing is analogous to good teaching: start with what the audience knows, respect their time, make the topic relevant.

8. Academic vs. Public Writing: Cross-Pollination

[41:18 – 44:39]

• Perry defends the value of specialized scholarly writing and urges mutual respect between public and academic genres.
• Public writing fostered his own respect for genre as a tool—helped clarify what work he wants each piece of writing to do.

  "My work in public spaces has given me such a respect for genre, such a respect for thinking about what is the work that I want a piece of writing to do..." (41:45)

• Scholarly work benefits from being more precisely audience-driven; public writing can remind scholars to clarify and focus their argument.

9. Why Public Scholarship Matters

[44:39 – 49:06]

• Amid a “polycrisis,” public scholarship is a social good—brings expert analysis to public discourse, which would otherwise be dominated by uninformed "takes."

  "When news happens, when things happen, there is commentary. And we need to have informed commentary by people who have thought deeply about things and then figured out how to communicate it." (David Perry, 46:44)

• Impact can be incremental but meaningful:
  • Sometimes affects policy or public knowledge.
  • Sometimes profoundly impacts individuals—e.g., readers responding to Perry’s writing on mental health seeking help themselves.

    "I started being suicidal at age 9... I started writing about it around then, trying to figure out... and then someone writes back and says, hey, me neither. You going into therapy? I'm going to start trying that too. So I can't think of a more important impact." (David Perry, 48:31)

10. What’s Next for David M. Perry?

[49:17 – 51:35]

• Writing locally for the Star Tribune (Minnesota); aims for iterative, community-oriented commentary.
• New book in progress: a historical account of masculinity and its contemporary “crises.”

  "I'm writing a book about men and masculinity, trying to add more, deeper history to this endless infuriating discourse around the crisis of men, the male loneliness epidemic, the crisis of masculinity." (David Perry, 50:12)

Notable Quotes & Moments

• On academic narrowness:

  "Graduate school teaches us to narrow... I want people who are thinking of taking the step into public work to radically reprogram their... thoughts about themselves." (08:02)

• On pitching:

  "If I can't fill in the blank [of 'in this essay, I will argue'], I am not ready to try to sell an essay." (12:19)

• On pay:

  "I think it is ethically important to ask to be compensated for writing, in part, just because, like, there are lots of other people out here trying to make a living doing it, and you can't. If you're providing free work, you're undercutting them." (19:45)

• On social media boundaries:

  "Social media is not your classroom... you don't have to read the comments. Anyone who tells you that you have to read the comments, ethically, that is wrong." (23:27)

• On the value of public scholarship:

  "When news happens... there is commentary. And we need to have informed commentary by people who have thought deeply about things and then... figured out how to communicate it." (46:44)

• On the impact of public writing:

  "Sometimes it's much, much smaller than that. ...you write... and helping someone rethink what they're doing and maybe seeking help or seeking new solutions. If you do that once in a lifetime, it's pretty good, I'd say." (48:52)

Important Timestamps

• David Perry’s introduction / background: [02:23]
• The four lessons for public writing: [04:06 – 08:39]
• How to pitch effectively: [09:23 – 14:04]
• Differences between public & academic writing: [14:16 – 16:41]
• Navigating pay, social media, boundaries: [17:53 – 26:14]
• The landscape of public writing genres: [26:40 – 34:00]
• Academic skills: help/hindrance to public writing: [35:19 – 40:26]
• Cross-pollination: what academic writing can learn: [41:18 – 44:39]
• The value of public scholarship in a time of crisis: [44:39 – 49:06]
• Upcoming projects for Perry: [49:17 – 51:35]

Final Takeaways

David M. Perry’s The Public Scholar aims to demystify the practical steps of public scholarship. The episode offers an encouraging, honest roadmap for academics seeking to reach broader audiences—emphasizing adaptability, clarity, practicality, and ethical self-care. Above all, Perry makes a strong case for public writing as both a professional opportunity and a social responsibility: the world needs informed, accessible voices in public debates—and academics are well-positioned to provide them.