Welcome to the Story Impact author interview podccast.

With host, Lisa Towles, this episode examines the intersection of journalism and fiction through Neal Lipschutz's decades at the highest levels of American media and his Scott Morgan mystery series. Together they discuss verification, ethics, moral ambiguity, and why the instincts that drive great journalism also drive a great mystery novel. Essential listening for readers, writers, journalism buffs, and anyone fascinated by what people conceal and why.

Lipschutz spent decades at the highest levels of American media, serving as Deputy Editor-in-Chief of The Wall Street Journal, the paper's standards editor, and top editor of Dow Jones Newswires. In his fiction debut series, he brings that same instinct for evidence and accuracy to bear on Scott Morgan, a self-made New York management consultant whose carefully built life keeps colliding with the past he's tried to leave behind.

In this in-depth conversation, Lisa Towles and Neal Lipschutz discuss:

• Neal's decades-long journalism career and what it's really like inside the room where high-stakes editorial decisions get made.
• How the instincts of fact-checking and verification shape the construction of a mystery plot.
• The origin story behind Scott Morgan and No Write Way to Die.
• Why readers are drawn to morally ambiguous characters — and what "superpower" carries Scott Morgan through crisis.
• New York City as a character in its own right: the psychic distance between Brooklyn roots and Scarsdale success.
• A first look at the upcoming Long Arm of the Past.

This episode is ideal for mystery readers, journalists, writers, and anyone who enjoys thoughtful conversations about truth, ethics, ambition, and the secrets we carry.

Watch the full YouTube video interview: https://youtu.be/WUhh97g3TMc?si=U4Sgr5n40Uoa4yYs

Learn more about Neal Lipschutz: https://neallipschutz.com/

Story Impact is hosted by Lisa Towles—award-winning crime novelist and founder of Story Impact Consulting. This literary podcast features visionary authors exploring books, creativity, storytelling, and the deeper purpose behind the stories that shape our lives.

Learn more about the Story Impact platform: https://storyimpactconsulting.com

Follow Story Impact on Podbean, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts to stay connected to conversations exploring books, meaning, purpose, and the ideas that shape our lives. Subscribe on YouTube for full-length video interviews with today's most compelling authors.

Stories hold the world together.