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HWTBAM

Torn from the pages of Squash Magazine

Episode - 725

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February 17, 2026 HWTBAM, Scriptnotes

John and Craig gather our listeners’ favorite news articles and ask, How Would This Be a Movie? Stories include an underground network delivering menstrual supplies in Minneapolis, a millennial travel group, how the US hacked ISIS, and a fake college squash team.

But first we follow up on modern comps, email issues, teaching screenwriting, and what it means to be undeniable. We also answer listener questions on querying reps with a published book and whether writers really need to repeat the plot for a second-screen audience.

In our bonus segment for premium members, what do we do with all our old CDs and DVDs? We weigh the pros and cons of physical media.

Links:

  • How an errand for a 12-year-old immigrant in Minneapolis became an underground operation by Jasmine Garsd and Sarah Ventre for NPR
  • I Went on a Package Trip for Millennials Who Travel Alone. Help Me. by Caity Weaver for The New York Times
  • How the US hacked ISIS by Dina Temple-Raston for NPR
  • Whitman College: The Best College Squash Team in History by James Zug for Squash Magazine
  • Shipping Out by David Foster Wallace
  • Email deliverability tester
  • Disempowerment patterns in real-world AI usage by Cornell University and Anthropic
  • The world’s greatest song that simply shouldn’t exist
  • Get your copy of the Scriptnotes book!
  • Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt!
  • Check out the Inneresting Newsletter
  • Become a Scriptnotes Premium member, or gift a subscription
  • Subscribe to Scriptnotes on YouTube
  • Scriptnotes on Instagram and TikTok
  • John August on Bluesky and Instagram
  • Outro by Gloom Canyon (send us yours!)
  • Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt and edited by Matthew Chilelli.

Email us at ask@johnaugust.com

You can download the episode here.

Ambition Meets Fabrication

October 21, 2025 HWTBAM, Scriptnotes, Transcribed

John and Craig look at three tales of lies, betrayal and deceit and ask, How Would This be a Movie? Stories include a flamboyant show-business grifter, a sibling rivalry between two LA billboard queens, and American students tricked into attending a fake Oxford college.

We also follow up on audio dramas, last looks, and answer listener questions on a suspicious AI story and what do do with producers that are too keen.

In our bonus segment for premium members, how do you watch TV when you’re away from home, particularly overseas? We share the joys and frustrations of tuning in while you’re on the road.

Links:

  • Preorder a signed copy of the Scriptnotes book!
  • The Many Faces Of “Sir” Marco Robinson, The Man Who Grifted Aspiring Filmmakers With Claims About Being A “#2 Netflix” Producer by Jake Kanter for Deadline
  • Trailer for Marco Robinson’s TV show Get a House for Free
  • Meet the Sisters Battling to Become L.A.’s New Billboard Queen by Mickey Rapkin for The Hollywood Reporter
  • Dynasty (1981)
  • Rica Famosa Latina on YouTube
  • Fake Oxford by Josh Levin for Slate
  • Fawlty Towers and Father Ted
  • ‘Run It Through GPT-5’: The Phrase Changing Hollywood Overnight by Erik Barmack for The Ankler
  • Sydney, Australia
  • Ghost of Yōtei
  • Preorder the Scriptnotes Book!
  • Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt!
  • Check out the Inneresting Newsletter
  • Become a Scriptnotes Premium member, or gift a subscription (now with fewer emails!)
  • Subscribe to Scriptnotes on YouTube
  • Scriptnotes on Instagram
  • John August on Bluesky and Instagram
  • Outro by Jeff Ross (send us yours!)
  • Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt and edited by Matthew Chilelli.

Email us at ask@johnaugust.com

You can download the episode here.

UPDATE 11-5-25: The transcript for this epsiode can be found here.

We Wrote a Book!

Episode - 697

Go to Archive

July 29, 2025 HWTBAM, Scriptnotes, Transcribed

The Scriptnotes Book is real, and now available for preorder! John and Craig take a look through its 335 pages to explore the topics, guests and deep-dives we’ve assembled from over 1,000 hours of this podcast, creating what is sure to be your favorite bathroom book.

Then it’s another round of How Would This Be a Movie?, where we look at four stories in the news to see whether they’re ripe for adaptation. Stories include a mother taking on the revenge porn industry, a wife navigating her husband’s longtime crush, a government worker who was secretly recorded on a date, and the potential destruction of solar storms. We also answer a listener question on current filmmaking technology.

In our bonus segment for premium members, what is kindness? John and Craig talk through what sets this undervalued quality apart from niceness and other traits we mistake for kind.

Link:

  • Preorder the Scriptnotes book!
  • Send your pre-order receipt to Drew at ask@johnaugust.com
  • A Mother’s Revenge as told to Christina Cauterucci for SLATE
  • Charlotte Laws’ fight with Hunter Moore, the internet’s revenge porn king by Carole Cadwalladr for The Guardian
  • Help! My Husband’s Manic Pixie Past Has Become a Full-Blown Threat to My Sanity, Dear Prudence column for SLATE
  • SNL’s What’s That Name
  • An Offhand Remark About Gold Bars, Secretly Recorded, Upended His Life by Lisa Friedman for NYTimes
  • The Unseen Fury of Solar Storms by Henry Wismayer for Noema
  • TRMNL
  • Steve Ballmer: Developers
  • The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered
  • Birdigo
  • Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt!
  • Check out the Inneresting Newsletter
  • Become a Scriptnotes Premium member, or gift a subscription
  • Subscribe to Scriptnotes on YouTube
  • Craig Mazin on Instagram
  • John August on Bluesky and Instagram
  • Outro by Nick Moore (send us yours!)
  • Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt and edited by Matthew Chilelli.

Email us at ask@johnaugust.com

You can download the episode here.

UPDATE 8-6-25: The transcript for this episode can be found here.

Writing Jokes with Mike Birbiglia

May 27, 2025 HWTBAM, Scriptnotes, Transcribed

John and Craig welcome back writer, director, and comedian Mike Birbiglia (Don’t Think Twice, Sleepwalk with Me) to take a look at several true news stories and ask, how would this be a joke? Stories include run-club haters, a conflicted bone marrow donor, and the coyotes roaming San Francisco.

We also look at how Mike developed his new Netflix special, The Good Life, and answer listener questions on taking an idea from a podcast and knowing when you’ve broken a story.

In our bonus segment for premium members, Mike walks us through how he’s able to market his work without it feel like marketing.

Links:

  • Mike Birbiglia
  • The Good Life on Netflix
  • Mike’s previous episodes: 121, 168, 261, 427, 443, and Working it Out: Screenwriting Advice You’ll Actually Use
  • Episode 660 – Moneyball
  • Ira Glass on Mike’s podcast Working it Out
  • Elizabeth Gilbert TED Talk
  • The Run Club Haters by Melissa Dahl for Curbed
  • I Hadn’t Heard From My Dad in Over a Decade. Now He’s Returned With a Brazen Request. I’m Actually Considering It. from Slate’s Care and Feeding
  • The Coyotes of San Francisco by Heather Knight and Loren Elliot for NY Times
  • Coyote Vest
  • Everybody’s Live with John Mulaney
  • Chris Fleming
  • Blue Prince
  • Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt!
  • Check out the Inneresting Newsletter
  • Become a Scriptnotes Premium member, or gift a subscription!
  • Subscribe to Scriptnotes on YouTube
  • Craig Mazin on Instagram
  • John August on Bluesky and Instagram
  • Outro by Nick Moore (send us yours!)
  • Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt with help from Sam Shapson. It’s edited by Matthew Chilelli.

Email us at ask@johnaugust.com

You can download the episode here.

UPDATE 5-28-25: The transcript for this episode can be found here.

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