With the Writers Guild of America strike underway, the plight of television writers—especially their treatment in the age of streaming and artificial intelligence—is garnering new, and overdue, attention. Matt and Sam are joined by two friends of the podcast, Will Arbery and Dorothy Fortenberry, who write for major television shows: Will is a writer for HBO's Succession, and Dorothy for Apple TV+'s Extrapolations. They discuss how they write about political topics and themes, such as rightwing political candidates or the effects of climate change, in these fraught times, when the demands of good art can seem in tension with a simplistic and moralistic culture. Also discussed: parents, children, and families, now and in the coming climate crisis; how and whether people can change; and, of course, the WGA strike and why it matters.

Sources Cited:

Michael Schulman, "Why Are TV Writers So Miserable," The New Yorker, Apr 29, 2023

Alex Press, "TV Writers Say They’re Striking to Stop the Destruction of Their Profession," Jacobin, May 3, 2023.

Sam Adler-Bell, "Succession's Repetition Compulsion," The Nation, Nov 10, 2021.

Pope Francis, Laudato si’ (“On Care for Our Common Home”), May 2015

Listen to previous Know Your Enemy episodes with these guests:

"We Can Be Heroes" (w/ Will Arbery), November 11, 2019

"Suburban Woman" (w/ Dorothy Fortenberry), October 29, 2020

"Living at the End of Our World" (w/ Daniel Sherrell & Dorothy Fortenberry), September 2, 2021

...and don't forget to subscribe to Know Your Enemy on Patreon for access to all of our bonus episodes!

Episode 369: From Models & Bottles to Water & Wells with Scott Harrison