Here From There: Conversations with Burroughs Alums

John Pierson

In conversations with long time faculty member John Pierson, alumni of the John Burroughs School in St. Louis share memories of the school and talk about their lives, their professions, and the paths that brought them from the students they were to the people they are today.

  1. 06/01/2025

    Ep. 12 Stories From Season One

    Happy New Year! Season One comes to a close with a sampler of stories from some of this season's guests. Some of these stories are about good times, and some are about some rough times. But they are all about Burroughs moments that these alums will never forget. Exactly where and when John will travel to talk with more Burroughs alumni is yet to be determined, but there's one thing for sure: Here From There will be back! Be sure to follow the podcast so that you don't miss it when that second season drops. More conversations, more stories, more moments will be coming your way... In the meantime, here are stories from Joe Leonard (episode 11), Leslie Stevens (episode 4), Bryan Hill (episode 2), Laura Hess (episode 8), Elizabeth Little (episodes 6 & 9), and Johnny O'Neal (episode 5).   Theme music for the podcast is by The Bottlesnakes and Aves, and is used courtesy of Artlist (license # 9U88am). Artwork is by Ethan Orchard, John Burroughs School Class of 2017. See his work online at ethanorchard.art or follow him on Instagram: @ethan.orchard

    29 min

  2. 02/12/2024

    Ep. 11 Joe Leonard '98

    John's final conversation of "The LA Season" is with his friend and former JBS advisee Joe Leonard from the Burroughs class of 1998. Joe works primarily as a television editor with credits  including Glee, American Horror Story, Star, Gaslit, and The Man in the High Castle. His latest project is the show Dark Matter, starring Joel Edgerton and Jennifer Connelly and currently streaming on Apple TV+. From his time at Burroughs, Joe talks about how learning "how to see" from Charlie Derleth and Howard Jones, discovering how much he loved "being in a space that holds an energy" during his work in JBS theater, and convincing Dan Barton to start a class in video editing. All of which set him up for success at NYU where he lived through 9/11 on the first day of his senior year, an experience that led to writing and directing his feature film How I Got Lost.  You can learn a bit more about Joe's work here: Joe's IMDB page. And take a look at the trailer for his feature film here: How I Got Lost.     Theme music for the podcast is by The Bottlesnakes and Aves, and is used courtesy of Artlist (license # 9U88am). Artwork is by Ethan Orchard, John Burroughs School Class of 2017. See his work online at ethanorchard.art or follow him on Instagram: @ethan.orchard

    44 min

  3. 04/11/2024

    Ep. 10 Stephanie Sanditz '95

    Stephanie Sanditz graduated from Burroughs in 1995 and then attended NYU's Tisch School of the Arts to study acting. After making a hilarious television debut alongside Amy Sedaris and Stephen Colbert in the now cult classic show Strangers With Candy, Stephanie made her way up the well established ladder rungs of a NYC working actor: soap opera work, episodes of Law and Order, and plenty of experimental theater. Now living in Los Angeles, Stephanie has become a successful screenwriter. She talks with John about her writing process, Burroughs in the 90s, and her creative journey so far. To see more about Stephanie's work, check out her IMDB page. Or follow her on https://www.inInstagram. She speaks a bit about one of her latest writing projects, Perfect Addiction. Check it out on Amazon Prime here. And for some old school laughs (and to see Stephen Colbert before he was Stephen Colbert) check out Stephanie's episode from the first season of Strangers With Candy. It's not for everyone's taste, but if you're a listener, you probably know what makes John laugh. Do the same things make you laugh? Well, then take a 30 minute break and treat yourself: Strangers With Candy S1 E10. Theme music for the podcast is by The Bottlesnakes and Aves, and is used courtesy of Artlist (license # 9U88am). Artwork is by Ethan Orchard, John Burroughs School Class of 2017. See his work online at ethanorchard.art or follow him on Instagram: @ethan.orchard

    44 min

  4. 02/09/2024

    Ep. 9 Summer Reading Episode: Elizabeth Little's PRETTY AS A PICTURE

    Happy Labor Day. It's the day that reminds us that summer has come to a close, and even though Summer Reading was due for current Burroughs students a week and a half ago, today is the due date for Here From There listeners. At the end of John's conversation with novelist Elizabeth Little in Episode 6, (go check it out, if you haven't already!) John assigned her latest novel, Pretty as a Picture, for summer reading. If you don't have it yet, it's not too late! Head to your local bookstore or library, or go to EB's website: https://www.elizabeth-little.com and pick up a copy. It's a quick and fun read. If you haven't read it, you can still enjoy this episode, but, you know...why not just read it? And then enjoy a little bit of John and EB's conversation about the book, the craft of writing, and crock pots. Yes, that's right: crock pots. Theme music for the podcast is by The Bottlesnakes and Aves, and is used courtesy of Artlist (license # 9U88am). Artwork is by Ethan Orchard, John Burroughs School Class of 2017. See his work online at ethanorchard.art or follow him on Instagram: @ethan.orchard

    32 min

  5. 01/08/2024

    Ep. 8 Laura Hess '95

    Laura Hess graduated from Burroughs in 1995 and set a course to become an actor in New York, but when it did't work out, she began a journey that eventually found her working as an experience design strategist in Los Angeles. The story Laura has to tell about that journey gets right to the heart of what Here From There is all about: there is never one set path that leads to the future, and learning to embrace failure and grow from it is perhaps the most important lesson of them all. To learn more about the world of experiential art, entertaiment, and commerce in which Laura works, check out her website and her substack. During the episode, John and Laura talk about a particular image of the playwright Samuel Beckett. You can see that image here. They also discuss a particular piece of writing in which Laura references the late Charlie Derleth, a Burroughs teacher who was a huge influence. You can read that piece here.   Coming up next month: the first ever Here From There Summer Reading Episode. At the end of John's conversation with novelist Elizabeth Little in Episode 6, (go check it out, if you haven't already!) John assigned her latest novel, Pretty as a Picture, for summer reading. The summer is coming to a close, so it's time to finish an assignment you're really going to enjoy. Get a copy here or at your favorite bookstore or library and give it a read. Then check out next month's episode when John and EB talk about that book and her writing process.

    44 min

  6. 01/07/2024

    Ep. 7 Chris Bremner '02

    June in Hollywood kicked off with the hugely successful theatrical release of Bad Boys: Ride or Die and now July at Here From There gets started with John's conversation with one of its writers, Chris Bremner from the JBS class of 2002. Current students take note: this is a must-listen for anyone interested in writing for film, and Chris makes the offer to be a resource for anyone who might want to talk with him. To connect with him, reach out to John at herefromthere@jburroughs.org. Because Bad Boys: Ride or Die had not yet been released when John and Chris sat down in LA, they talk about the previous installment in the Bad Boys series, 2020's Bad Boys for Life, just how complicated it is to create a big budget popcorn movie. It might be worth treating yourself to an "in-house field trip." Bad Boys for Life is streaming on Hulu and available to rent on number of platforms, and it's a great summer movie. Pop yourself some corn and put this chat with Chris into a great context. Among many subjects, this conversation touches on how quickly Chris's plan to become an actor fell apart, the significance of walking the streets of New York City, how he really learned how to write in Michael Dee's ninth grade English class, the genius of Pirates of the Carribean, and just how completely unimportant his transcripts turned out to be.   Theme music for the podcast is by The Bottlesnakes and Aves, and is used courtesy of Artlist (license # 9U88am). Artwork is by Ethan Orchard, John Burroughs School Class of 2017. See his work online at ethanorchard.art or follow him on Instagram: @ethan.orchard

    44 min

  7. 03/06/2024

    Ep. 6 Elizabeth Little '99

    Elizabeth Little '99 is a novelist and non-fiction author living in Los Angeles. John and EB (as she was known at Burroughs) cover all sorts of topics, like: writing, reading, gardening, the CIA, and just how frightening and disorienting groups of middle school girls can be...even for adults. Burroughs wasn't always the easiest place for EB, but this conversation gets right to the heart of what Here From There is all about: when you have made it to here, you have all kinds of new perspective on what it was like to be there. Becoming an author was never EB's plan. In fact, the idea of writing for a living never even occurred to her. And yet now she is the Los Angeles Times–bestselling author of Dear Daughter, Pretty as a Picture, and two works of nonfiction, Biting the Wax Tadpole: Confessions of a Language Fanatic and Trip of the Tongue: Cross-Country Travels in Search of America's Languages. She also wrote one of John's favorite graduation speeches of all time! John is so convinced that you will enjoy Pretty as a Picture, EB's latest novel, that he is going to give the podcast's second homework assignment! (If you haven't done the first one, go back to Episodes 1 and 3 and finish the homework assignment on Bhi Bhiman's podcast and album, Peace of Mind). This second one is in keeping with a Burroughs English Department tradition: summer reading! Step 1: Head to your local bookstore, or go to EB's website: https://www.elizabeth-little.com Treat yourself to a copy of Pretty as a Picture. If you are a fan of movies, well-paced mysteries, or strong and witty female protagonists, you will love this novel. Step 2: Sit by the pool, find a place in the shade of a tree, or curl up in a chair and read it! Step 3: Check out the bonus episode to be dropped at the end of the summer in which John and EB talk about the book and her writing process. The bonus episode "Summer Reading: Elizabeth Little's Pretty as a Picture" will be coming soon! Theme music for the podcast is by The Bottlesnakes and Aves, and is used courtesy of Artlist (license # 9U88am). Artwork is by Ethan Orchard, John Burroughs School Class of 2017. See his work online at ethanorchard.art or follow him on Instagram: @ethan.orchard

    41 min

  8. 06/05/2024

    Ep. 5 Johnny O'Neal '98

    Board game designer and entrepeneur Johnny O'Neal '98 talks with John about how film school was not the start of his career in the film industry, but instead marked the beginning of a journey that took him through the toy industry, business school, the joys of community theater, and the profound importance of family. All of which has led to becoming a board game designer and the president and co-founder of Brotherwise Games. And Johnny has a story to tell that John ranks as one of his top ten Burroughs stories ever! Johnny is going to deliver a great teaser for that story, and the fully told tale (it's such a great one...) will be a part of a collection of several Burroughs stories John heard during this first season. That will be dropping as a bonus episode later this summer. Thinking that you want a new way for you to have some fun with friends and family? Thinking that just maybe you could use a little less screen time? Well, then try a new game and support a JBS alum in the process! Follow this link to check out Johhny's business at Brotherwise Games.   Theme music for the podcast is by The Bottlesnakes and Aves, and is used courtesy of Artlist (license # 9U88am). Artwork is by Ethan Orchard, John Burroughs School Class of 2017. See his work online at ethanorchard.art or follow him on Instagram: @ethan.orchard

    37 min
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In conversations with long time faculty member John Pierson, alumni of the John Burroughs School in St. Louis share memories of the school and talk about their lives, their professions, and the paths that brought them from the students they were to the people they are today.

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