Hi everybody -

If you haven’t listened to our newest episode, make sure to – it’s a nice one for while you’re relaxing or traveling over the holidays. We were joined by an incredible group of film and TV directors talking about how they use journalism to make drama: Tom McCarthy (SPOTLIGHT); Tina Satter (REALITY); Antonio Campos (THE STAIRCASE); Tobias Lindholm (THE INVESTIGATION). 

We also shot this episode on video, so check it out on YouTube!

And for a little something extra, here’s an outtake we didn’t have time for in the episode proper. Question Everything Executive Producer Robyn Semien and I got to talking with the directors about the creative and business forces at play in documentary, drama/fiction, and longform journalism, how they compare between the industries, and how they affect what ends up getting made. 

You can find that discussion here:

You can find a transcript of this clip here.

Just to put a fine point on it: I often have people ask me how we decided S-Town was a story, when we decided to commit to it. And I always try to answer by explaining this reality at This American Life: that it was built into the culture and budget of the show to kill upwards of half the stories we started on. That’s what allows for quality control, but also gives room for experimentation. If you know it’s ok if a story doesn’t work out, you feel empowered to try things that are risky, and if they do work, are innovative and different. It’s a rarity in today’s media world unfortunately. But it’s something I learned from Ira Glass and I’ll never stop being an advocate for it. And we try to keep that ethos going as best we can with our limited resources on this show.

Have a great holiday. We’ll be back with a very special story that I can’t wait for you to hear in the new year. 

Brian