Drafting the Past Episode 91: Emily Lieb Writes (and Rewrites) Through It
Historian and writer Emily Lieb's professional history is a fascinating one, from crafting textbooks for kids to leaving a job as a professor to become a full-time writer. She taught history and urban studies at Seattle University for more than a decade. Now, in addition to her work as a historian, she also works for the Derfner & Sons writing agency.
Her first book came out in 2025 after many years of research, writing and revision. It's called Road to Nowhere: How a Highway Map Wrecked Baltimore, and it tells the story of a plan to build an expressway through Black, middle-class community in Baltimore, and how even though the road was never built, the plan paved the way for the destruction of a vibrant neighborhood. It's a history that echoes similar ones in cities across the United States, and Emily uses it to tell a fascinating but frustrating, deeply human story about racial inequality and the resistance of determined residents. Emily had a clear vision of how she wanted to tell this history, right down to the kind of book it should be, and you'll learn a lot in this interview from how she got there and her frank approach to writing and editing.
Sign up for the Drafting the Past newsletter for updates on the show and more.
Mentioned in this episode:
Emily Lieb, Road to Nowhere: How a Highway Map Wrecked Baltimore
Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird, the origin of the phrase "shitty first drafts"
Andrew Hartman also praised editor Tim Mennel in episode 69
Calvin Trillin, "Thoughts Brought On By Prolonged Exposure to Exposed Brick"
Note that bookshop.org links are affiliate links that generate a small commission to support the show if you purchase books using these links.