May 12, 2026
John and Craig go back to the beginning to examine the mechanics of the flash-forward opening — or as it’s known on this podcast, the “Stuart Special.” They look at what makes a strong flash-forward, when to avoid them, and how to pay back the narrative debt they incur.
We also follow up on the Scriptnotes...
May 5, 2026
John and Craig welcome back Katie Dippold (Widow’s Bay, Ghostbusters) to ask, what advice would you give to your younger self? They revisit the writers they used to be, offer specific guidance to each one, and demystify everything from “Why isn’t a producer calling me back?” to “Should I join that...
Apr 28, 2026
John welcomes five-time Emmy-winning writer Ali Barthwell (Last Week Tonight) to ask, can writers learn to be funny? Drawing from her time as a teacher at The Second City, they look at what writers can learn from sketch and improv, and how to reliably find ways to make an audience laugh.
We also celebrate the WGA...
Apr 21, 2026
John welcomes writer/showrunner Haley Z. Boston for a
post-mortem on her terrifying new series, Something Very Bad is
Going to Happen. They look at how the series evolved from initial
idea through production, her experience as a first-time showrunner,
the special relationship between women and horror, and how...
Apr 14, 2026
John and Craig flip the idea of motivation on its head and ask, what are your characters running from? Using examples across film and TV, they look at the psychological underpinnings of discomfort, and how to use avoidance as a driving force of character and story.
We’ve also been away for a minute, so there’s a lot...