Best Writers Guild Of America West Podcasts (2024)

1
Ep. 380 - Katie Robbins 44:48

2d ago44:48

44:48

Host Kristina Woo speaks with Sunny creator-showrunner Katie Robbins (The Affair, Natalia) about her AppleTV+ sci-fi dramedy series, the creative challenges of adaption, the connection between humans and AI technology, and more.

1
Ep. 379 - Keith McNutt, Executive Director of the Entertainment Community Fund 31:29

5d ago31:29

31:29

WGAW member Andra Whipple sat down with Entertainment Community Fund Western Region Executive Director Keith McNutt to discuss what services are provided, what the Fund is currently working on, and how you can get involved.

1
Ep. 378 - Anna Fishko 45:51

15d ago45:51

45:51

Host Jasmyne Peck speaks with Orphan Black: Echoes creator and showrunner Anna Fishko about exploring identity and found families in her sci-fi thriller series, 4D-printed body parts, what narratives she’s drawn to, and more.

1
Fire Tech and Improving Access to Wildfire Information, with Watch Duty Founder John Clarke Mills 51:58

21d ago51:58

51:58

With fire season escalating across the West this week, many people are downloading Watch Duty App for the first time. But what is Watch Duty all about? Why was it created? Where does their information come from? What do agency employees think about it? We spoke to Watch Duty CEO John Mills about the Watch Duty app as well as fire technology more br…

1
Ep. 377 - Josh Margolin 51:18

26d ago51:18

51:18

Host Josephine Green Zhang talks with screenwriter-director Joshua Margolin about his feature debut Thelma, how his grandmother’s own experience inspired the film, how his improv comedy background informs his creative process, and more.

1
Ep. 376 - Union Town: Hollywood Teamsters Talk Negotiations Part 2 37:08

1M ago37:08

37:08

As the Teamsters and Hollywood Basic crafts continue their negotiations with the studios, we’re coming to you with the second half of our two-part series on the issues they hope to address. This time, WGAW member Jonterri Gadson sits down with Teamsters local 399 members and Chef’s Assistants Carlos Gonzales and Ester Garcia.…

1
Fire in the Southwest Ep. 4: The Shifting Role of the Forest Stewards Guild in an Era of Megafires, with Zander Evans 45:47

2M ago45:47

45:47

Welcome to episode four of our Fire in the Southwest Series, supported by the Southwest Fire Science Consortium as well as the Arizona Wildfire Initiative! Today's guest, Zander Evans, is the executive director of the Forest Stewards Guild, which has a mission of promoting ecologically-, economically-, and socially-responsible forestry as a means o…

1
Ep. 375 - Molly McNearney and Danny Ricker 32:53

2M ago32:53

32:53

WGAW member Jonterri Gadson talks with Jimmy Kimmel Live Head Writers Molly McNearney and Danny Ricker about the creative challenges of writing for a late-night comedy/variety talk series, their advice on what it takes to submit a great writing “packet,” balancing the personal and professional, and much more.…

1
Fire in the Southwest Series, Ep. 3: Integrating Indigenous Knowledge into Western Fire Management with Jon Martin 37:32

2M ago37:32

37:32

Welcome to our third episode of our Fire in the Southwest series! In this episode, we spoke with Jon Martin, who is the Director of Native American Forest and Rangeland Management Programming at the Ecological Restoration Institute at Northern Arizona University. Jon spent three decades working in forestry before retiring, and now uses his extensiv…

1
Ep. 374 - Dave Filoni 45:47

2M ago45:47

45:47

On this episode, Ahsoka creator and Mandalorian writer Dave Filoni talks about expanding the Stars Wars universe, his new role as Lucasfilm’s Chief Content Officer, and more.

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Fire in the Southwest Series, Ep.2: The Grassification of the Sonoran Desert with Ecologist Mary Lata 46:39

2M ago46:39

46:39

What is it like to watch vegetation type-conversion in real time? How are invasive grasses changing the ecology of the desert and broader Southwest? What's being done to protect and restore Southwest ponderosa pine forests? This episode with Tonto National Forest fire ecologist Mary Lata dives into the fire regimes of the Southwest, how they're cha…

1
Union Town - Hollywood Teamsters Talk Negotiations Part 1 36:03

2M ago36:03

36:03

In a special full-episode of Union Town, WGAW member/captain Jonterri Gadson talks with Teamsters Local 399 members Doug Weaver and Alison Taylor about the work they do and the importance of this negotiation. This is part one of a two-part series on the issues Hollywood Teamsters hope to address in their current negotiations with the studios.…

1
Fire in the Southwest Series, Ep. 1: Southwest Fire Regimes and Post-Fire Community Support with Mary Stuever 48:33

3M ago48:33

48:33

Welcome to the first part of our six-episode series all about the Southwest, sponsored by the Southwest Fire Science Consortium and the Arizona Wildfire Initiative! In this episode, which is serving as an introduction to the series, we spoke with Mary Stuever, who is the Cimarron District Forester for New Mexico Forestry Division. Mary has a breadt…

1
Ep. 373 - Lucia Aniello & Paul W. Downs & Jen Statsky 31:32

3M ago31:32

31:32

Host Andra Whipple talks with Hacks creators & showrunners Lucia Aniello & Paul W. Downs & Jen Statsky about returning for Season 3 of their Max comedy series, reflections on last year’s WGA strike, and why writing is essential at every stage of the process.

1
Ep. 372 - Lulu Wang | Ridiculousness Writers Get First Contract 57:54

4M ago57:54

57:54

Timed to celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, WGAW Asian American Writers Committee Chair Kristina Woo speaks with Expats creator-showrunner & filmmaker Lulu Wang about her Amazon series, authentic representation, transitioning to television, and more. (1:00) Next up, WGAW member Jonterri Gadson talks with Ridiculousness wr…

1
Ep. 371 - Jen D'Angelo | Chris Keyser & David A. Goodman's Morgan Cox Acceptance Speeches 46:22

4M ago46:22

46:22

In this episode WGAW member Susie Singer Carter talks with 2024 Writers Guild Award-winning writer Jen D’Angelo (01:10) about crafting films such as Quiz Lady and Totally Killer, how her improv comedy experience informs her creative process, and more. For the Union Town segment (31:31), 2023 WGA Negotiating Committee Co-Chairs and past WGAW Preside…

1
Ep. 370 - Brit Marling | AFM Local 47 President Stephanie O’Keefe 1:00:01

4M ago1:00:01

1:00:01

In this episode’s Union Town segment (01:03), WGAW member “Jazz” Peck talks with American Federation of Musicians Local 47 President Stephanie O’Keefe about representing musicians in the industry, the power of solidarity, and the magic that both musicians and writers create with their work. Then, WGAW member Aaron Fullerton talks with A Murder at t…

1
THE BEAVER EPISODE (finally!) with Dr. Emily Fairfax and Dr. Sophie Gilbert 51:21

5M ago51:21

51:21

The long-awaited beaver episode! In this episode, we learn about how beavers are not only champions of wildfire resilience but are also sleeper endurance athletes (climbing mountains to find new watersheds), dedicated anti-capitalists (not giving a **** about the regulatory or material concerns of humans), expert engineers (casually restoring entir…

1
Ep. 369 - Francesca Sloane | Many Crafts, One Fight Recap 42:10

5M ago42:10

42:10

In this episode’s Union Town segment (1:00), Writers Guild members turn out in force to show solidarity at the recent Many Crafts, One Fight rally to kick off crew unions IATSE, Teamsters, and Hollywood Basic Crafts’ negotiations with the AMPTP. Then, host Josephine Green Zhang talks with Mr. and Mrs. Smith co-creator and showrunner Francesca Sloan…

1
Experiences of Wildfire in Montana, with Young Indigenous Storytellers and the Montana Media Lab 29:50

5M ago29:50

29:50

Today's episode is a special one. We collaborated with the Montana Media Lab—a program of the University of Montana's School of Journalism—to help support their winter "Youth Voices" workshop, which empowers young rural and Indigenous storytellers to learn more about audio storytelling while sharing stories from their communities. This episode feat…

1
Ep. 368 - Albert Kim | Matt Pearce on Organizing in the Newsroom 1:13:31

6M ago1:13:31

1:13:31

This year has seen multiple newsroom strikes, massive lay-offs, and sudden closures. In this episode’s Union Town segment (1:01), WGAW Asian American Writers Committee Chair Kristina Woo talks with Media Guild West President and former Los Angeles Times writer Matt Pearce about how reporters are organizing the newsroom to push back against corporat…

1
Ep. 367 - Gina Yashere | Second City Educators Discuss Tentative Deal 50:37

6M ago50:37

50:37

In this episode’s “Union Town” segment (1:05), host Andra Whipple speaks with Rebekah Walendzak Slepski & Bina Martin about how educators at the Second City Training Center in Chicago, members of the Association of International Comedy Educators, reached a tentative deal with the iconic comedy company after a marathon, 11-hour bargaining session, t…

1
Ep. 366 - Cord Jefferson, and USC Adjunct Professors Fight for Unionization 57:46

6M ago57:46

57:46

In this episode’s new “Union Town” segment (1:18), WGAW member Jasmyne Peck speaks with educators Peter Gamble and Dara Resnik about how USC’s Adjunct Faculty Alliance is organizing with UAW (United Auto Workers) to improve their pay and working conditions. Next up, to coincide with Black History Month, Committee of Black Writers Co-Chair Hilliard …

1
The Changing Fire Environment and Shifting Baseline Syndrome with "Fire Weather" Author John Vaillant 55:03

7M ago55:03

55:03

In this episode, we had a chance to sit down with author John Vaillant, who recently published a new book about the 2016 Fort McMurray fires in Northern Alberta. The book, Fire Weather: A True Story from a Hotter World, is an in-depth exploration of the fires, which released in June 2023. We not only spoke about his reporting process in the afterma…

1
Fire Technology, Emergency Management and Building Resilience at Scale With Dr. Jessica McCarty 46:12

7M ago46:12

46:12

In this episode, we spoke with Dr. Jessica McCarty—the branch chief for the Biospheric Sciences branch at NASA's Ames Research Center—about her career, her work on fire in boreal and arctic ecosystems (within the context of the Canadian wildfires last summer), her perspectives on fire technology (spoiler: she's a big fan of predictive modeling) and…

1
Rapid Fire Episode with Mystery Ranch Backbone Scholarship Winner Riston Bullock 21:09

8M ago21:09

21:09

In our second Backbone Scholarship episode—sponsored by Mystery Ranch and the American Wildfire Experience—we chatted with Nez Perce wildland firefighter Riston Bullock, who spoke about his experiences working in fire over the last decade, about the challenges that have come up as he has gotten older and become a father, as well as the challenges o…

1
Rapid Fire Episode with Mystery Ranch Backbone Scholarship Winner Junior Lazaro 17:31

9M ago17:31

17:31

Life with Fire Podcast, Mystery Ranch Backpacks and the American Wildfire Experience (AWE) have joined forces to bring you this episode with Junior Lazaro—a wildland firefighter who received a Backbone Scholarship from AWE to share his experiences of fire through the Mystery Ranch Backbone Series and Life with Fire Podcast. Junior is a young wildla…

1
Fire For the People With the Nature Conservancy's Marek Smith 32:39

9M ago32:39

32:39

Well we finally got a chance to speak with Marek Smith, who is the North American Fire Director for the Nature Conservancy and the co-director of the Fire Networks, which houses the Fire Adapted Learning Network, the Prescribed Fire Training Exchange (TREX), The Indigenous Peoples Burning Network and the Fire Learning Networks. Before I get too far…

1
The Wildfire Commission Report with Kelly Martin 25:00

10M ago25:00

25:00

The Wildfire Mitigation and Management Commission, established in 2022 at the behest of Congress following the 2021 Infrastructure Act, recently released a substantial report highlighting recommendations that will shape the future of wildfire policy and action in the US. Fifty commission members were charged with creating the recommendations, one o…

1
Humble Fire and Traditional Ecological Practices with Cultural Fire Scholar, Dr. Melinda Adams 45:16

1y ago45:16

45:16

You've probably heard of Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) but how about Traditional Ecological *Practices*? In this episode, we spoke with Dr. Melinda Adams of the N’dee San Carlos Apache Tribe about translating Indigenous knowledge into Indigenous-led action—which means giving Indigenous practitioners the "space, opportunity and action" to s…

1
Community-Informed Wildfire Communications, With Isabeau Ottolini 35:19

1y ago35:19

35:19

Isabeau Ottolini is one of the foremost experts on imbuing risk communications with values that are informed by communities themselves. As a PhD candidate on community-based communications at the Open University of Catalonia in Spain, Isabeau spends a significant amount of time thinking about how we can best reach those most at risk of wildfire's i…

1
Expanding Prescribed Fire Capacity in Washington State, with Lucas King 28:46

1y ago28:46

28:46

We're big fans of the Mt. Adams Resource Stewards here at Life with Fire. You may recall our episode with the organization's Executive Director back in 2022 (episode 28), but we're back today with an episode with MARS' Stewardship Crew Lead, Lucas King, who shared his thoughts on expanding capacity for more burning and fuels reduction from the grou…

1
Life after Wildland Firefighting with Luke Mayfield 37:50

1+ y ago37:50

37:50

What can life after wildland firefighting look like? With the issues facing wildland firefighters these days (including but not limited to: abysmal pay, nonexistent benefits and perpetually being let down by elected officials who suggest they might actually do something about it etc) many in this essential but overworked workforce are likely consid…

1
Forest Resilience Policy at the State Level with Hilary Franz 57:44

1+ y ago57:44

57:44

We'll be honest—we've been hoping to talk to Washington State Commissioner of Public Lands Hilary Franz since this podcast's inception. Franz is responsible for the management of over six millions acres of public lands and the state's wildland firefighting workforce, so we were pretty excited to finally have the opportunity to have a conversation w…

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