Craig welcomes writer and showrunner Joshua Zetumer, creator of the limited series Say Nothing, to explore the process of dramatizing real events — particularly when the subject matter can be volatile. They discuss how to keep a sprawling historical epic from feeling like a lecture, keeping a consistent tone, humanizing complicated people, and how not to get sued by the people who were really involved.
They also answer listener questions on following up with people after the fires, charting the emotional journey of the audience, and whether writers need to cite their sources when writing about real events.
In our bonus segment for premium members, Craig and Joshua pretend to be civil engineers and ask, how can we make Los Angeles function better?
Links:
Email us at ask@johnaugust.com
You can download the episode here.
