Matt Belloni, Hollywood observer and writer, discusses the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, the Netflix business model, and the state of streaming today. He also shares his path from entertainment law to journalism and offers predictions for the end of the strikes. The podcast explores the impact of streaming services on the film industry and the challenges faced by filmmakers in a digital world. It delves into the effect of strikes on the entertainment industry, the frustrations within the industry, and the demands of actors and writers in Hollywood. The chapter also examines the contrasting goals of mainstream entertainment journalism outlets and provides insights into the complexities of Hollywood negotiations.

Jazz singer Laufey discusses her songwriting process, Icelandic upbringing, and rapid rise as an artist. She reflects on creating music in 2020, romanticizing daily life, and her hopes for the future.

Sam Sanders is the host of Into It, a twice-weekly podcast surveying all things pop culture. Today: he joins us for a review of summer 2023! At the top, we discuss Barbenheimer (7:20), the dual Hollywood strikes (14:12), Trump’s mug shot (19:00), the RNC debate (21:50), and the Montgomery Riverfront brawl (26:05). On the back-half, Sanders reflects on growing up in Texas (36:30), his childhood of churchgoing (42:48), and how he found his voice on the microphone (46:45). To close, we talk about the power of safe spaces (49:40), representation in media (55:15), and his hope for the future of journalism (59:46).See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today, we return to our conversation with musician and actor Alana Haim! We first sat with Alana around her on-screen debut in the film Licorice Pizza, directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. Making her acting debut, Alana shares the serendipitous backstory that led to the project (6:00), the “7th grade forever theory” that helped her get inside the character of Alana Kane (13:17), a high school house party where she baked cake and fell in love (17:30), and the fortuitous afternoon she met future co-star Cooper Hoffman (23:23).  In the back half, we talk about the early days of HAIM (30:33) and how art helps transcend our own limitations (36:50), culminating in the night Alana drove a six-wheeler truck up (and down) the pitch black hills of the San Fernando Valley (35:55), as co-star Bradley Cooper rode shotgun. We also discuss the One More HAIM tour (39:08), the song she was most excited to perform from Women in Music Pt. III, and what she hopes for in the decade to come (41:30).See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Este Haim reflects on HAIM's summer tour with Taylor Swift and her pivot into scoring feature films. She talks about growing up in a family band and the musicians that inspired her. She discusses the early years of HAIM, collaboration with Ludwig Göransson, and the misogyny in the music industry. Este closes with a love letter to LA and a tribute to Talking Heads' Tina Weymouth.

Today, our conversation with actor and writer Abbi Jacobson! We sat with Abbi last summer around the release of her latest series, A League of Their Own (5:35), to discuss the legacy of the 1992 film (10:35), her earliest comedic influences (15:05), moving to New York City post-college (21:04), falling in love with improv at UCB (25:08), the night she met Ilana Glazer (32:40), and a handful of memories creating Broad City (37:20). On the back-half, Abbi tells the story behind her book I Might Regret This (43:33), how heartbreak brought her to Los Angeles (46:22), what she hopes her sixty-year-old self looks like (50:42), and why she wants to continue making ‘inviting work’ (54:12). To close, she tells us a love story (1:03:16). You can watch the first season of A League of Their Own on Amazon Prime.  To learn more about Abbi and her work visit our site.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For over a decade, composer and record producer Ludwig Göransson has created some of the defining music of our time. This week, he sits with Sam to discuss his latest work in Oppenheimer. At the top, Göransson describes the collaborative process with director Christopher Nolan (6:48), the instrument at the heart of the film (9:30) and its hauntingly beautiful theme (11:06). Then, we walk through Ludwig’s instinctive approach to making music (13:07), his coming of age in Sweden (15:20), and the influence of Metallica and Danny Elfman (18:51). On the back-half, Ludwig reflects on his early years in Los Angeles (24:56), finding kinship with director Ryan Coogler (27:55) and polymath Donald Glover (34:53), and how he slowly began to understand his voice (38:21). To close, he shares how his process has evolved from Black Panther to Oppenheimer (42:30), the potential impact of AI on the music industry (44:58), and what he hopes for in the years ahead (49:15).See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As a fourth generation border resident in El Paso, politician Beto O’Rourke has long been making the case for immigration reform. He’s continued to do so this summer, as the humanitarian crisis at the Texas-Mexico border has accelerated under Gov. Greg Abbott. After a check-in with Dad Fragoso (4:08) we sit with O’Rourke to unpack the severe anti-migrant tactics carried out under Operation Lone Star (15:50), the dangerous rhetoric that delivered this crisis (28:00), and the checkered history of immigration reform in Texas (31:10). We also walk through the focus of Beto’s new book, We’ve Got to Try: How the Fight for Voting Rights Makes Everything Else Possible (35:47), the four-year aftermath of the El Paso shooting (38:38), and why he continues fighting for change in the state (42:45). On the back-half, O’Rourke reflects on his recent Gubernatorial campaign (46:36), how the Texas electorate has shifted since his 2018 Senate run (49:53), his unwavering belief in people (55:55), how he hopes President Biden mitigates the cruelty at the border (1:00:00), and to close, a story about fatherhood (1:05:10). Join the fight down in Texas alongside Powered by People. To watch Sam's film, Sebastian, visit our show-notes.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For over three decades, legendary costume designer Ruth E. Carter has created the looks of our most era-defining films. Today, we're celebrating those pieces chronicled in her new book, The Art of Ruth E. Carter: Costuming Black History and the Afrofuture. At the top, we discuss the current labor movement in Hollywood (5:03), Carter’s upbringing in Massachusetts (8:50), and a formative Langston Hughes poem (12:56). Then, she reflects on her early years in Los Angeles (19:45), the night she met a lifelong collaborator in director Spike Lee (21:52), and the process of making School Daze (25:49), Do the Right Thing (29:06), and Malcolm X (37:42). On the back-half, Carter describes her innovative work on the Black Panther films (50:40), which earned her two Academy Awards (54:33), the enduring influence of her mother, Mabel Carter (1:03:10), and how she continues to tell the story of the Black experience through costume design (1:04:35).See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In a moment of historic upheaval in Hollywood, screenwriter and labor activist Alex O’Keefe (The Bear) believes he can turn the tide. The Writers Guild of America has been on strike since May 2nd. Actors represented by SAG-AFTRA joined the fight earlier this month. We begin by discussing the WGA’s key demands (7:30), O’Keefe’s experience inside writers’ rooms (13:12), the pushback from the studios thus far (17:01), how the divisive ‘interim agreements’ recently issued by SAG-AFTRA (27:40) stem from a checkered history of union organizing in Hollywood (29:13), and why O’Keefe believes this cross-union solidarity is unprecedented (33:29). On the back-half, we walk through his origin story in Florida (35:40), his background in politics and speechwriting (44:57), the inspired words of screenwriter Charlie Kaufman (50:50) and how they’ve shaped O’Keefe’s vision for the future of his industry (1:02:44).See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.