Apr 18, 2026
Mile Marker Zero: William McKeen on Key West’s Wild 1970s
Creative Scene
Host Michele O’Connor introduces the Fun in Key West podcast
and welcomes William McKeen, Boston University journalism professor
and author of Mile Marker Zero, to discuss 1970s Key West and the
artists, writers, musicians, and actors drawn to its cheap, funky,
under-the-radar culture. McKeen explains his drive as a lifelong
storyteller, how Tom Corcoran (author of The Mango Opera) inspired
and enabled the book after sharing a final Hunter S. Thompson
message about documenting the “missing” Key West years, and why
Corcoran became the narrative gateway linking figures like Thomas
McGuane, Jim Harrison, Russell Chatham, Jimmy Buffett. They discuss
balancing revelry with serious creative work, editing out some
raunchier material (with extras on McKeen’s website), Key West’s
sensory pull and rising costs, and the book’s themes of friendship,
survival, and tragedy, including Corcoran’s missing wife.
00:00 Welcome
to Fun in Key West
01:26 Episode
teaser and guest
02:12 Podcast
theme and intro
03:10 Meet
author William McKean
04:40 Addicted
to storytelling
07:24 Hunter
Thompson voicemail
10:45 Writing
Mile Marker Zero
11:59 Keeping
the art focus
14:57 Why
Key West drew artists
17:49 Then
vs now costs
22:29 Structuring
the big cast
26:17 Cut
scenes and bonus tales
28:23 Wild
stories reaction
28:49 Wild
Key West Tales
29:36 Why
Editors Matter
32:04 Sex
Drugs and Context
33:24 Keeping
Key West Lit
35:34 Writing
With Senses
38:25 Friendship
and Survival
41:34 Paradise
With a Price
45:39 Can
Creativity Return
48:11 Coffee
Dinner and Favorites
50:52 Key
West State of Mind
53:27 Final
Thanks and Signoff