From Double Indemnity to The Godfather, the stories behind some of the greatest films ever made pale beside the story of the studio that made them. In the golden age of Hollywood, Paramount was one of the Big Five studios. Gulf + Western's 1966 takeover of the studio signaled the end of one era and heralded the arrival of a new way of doing business in Holly ... Show More
Mar 2025
Tom Lynch, "Outback and Out West: The Settler-Colonial Environmental Imaginary" (U Nebraska Press, 2022)
People make sense of the world through stories, and stories about places inevitably shape how we treat, live on, and use those places. In Outback and Out West: The Settler Colonial Environmental Imaginary (U Nebraska Press, 2022), emeritus professor of English at the University o ... Show More
1h 4m
Yesterday
Spanish Louisiana: Contest for Borderlands, 1763–1803 with Frances Kolb Turnbell (LSU Press, 2024)
Sandwiched between the long period of French colonization, and the brief return to the French empire before the Americans enter the scene, the Spanish period of Louisiana's history is often ignored by historians. Yet, according to University of North Alabama historian Frances Kol ... Show More
44m 2s
Oct 17
Multiracial Mandarin: Asian Americans and Impossible Language with David Shuang Song (U of Minnesota Press, 2026)
Who has the “right” to learn Mandarin Chinese? In Multiracial Mandarin: Asian Americans and Impossible Language (U Minnesota Press, 2026), Dr. David Shuang Song examines how matters of race and privilege shape US Mandarin language education and who has access to it. Through a two ... Show More
43m 5s
Aug 2022
The Battle for Paramount Pictures | Reinventing an Empire | 5
Can the former crown jewel of Hollywood keep up in the age of the streaming giants? To understand Paramount’s future, you’ve got to understand its past. So today, we’re throwing it back with Doug Herzog, a former executive at Paramount’s parent company Viacom. Doug greenlit some ... Show More
38m 57s
Jul 2023
Studio Conspiracies: Behind the Scenes of the Silver Screen
Today, the Golden Age of Hollywood is seen as a time of larger-than-life starlets, of unprecedented innovation and modern myth-making. However, there was a dark side to all the glitz and glamour. In today's episode, Ben, Matt and Noel dive into a cavalcade of scandal, corruption ... Show More
1h 4m
Jul 2021
Barry Diller on the rise of streaming and why Hollywood ‘does not exist anymore’
<p>Barry Diller, who made his name as a powerful studio boss, recently <a href="https://www.npr.org/2021/07/08/1014095135/barry-diller-headed-2-hollywood-studios-he-now-says-the-movie-business-is-dead">told NPR</a> that “the movie business is over.” Expanding on those views, the ... Show More
30m 2s
Aug 2025
Howard Hughes Blows Up Hollywood | Author Jeffrey Richardson explores Howard Hughes’s impact on Hollywood and the American film industry | 5
Author Jeffrey Richardson discusses Howard Hughes’s career in Hollywood, and evaluates how far he changed the American film industry.Be the first to know about Wondery’s newest podcasts, curated recommendations, and more! Sign up now at https://wondery.fm/wonderynewsletterListen ... Show More
39m 58s
Feb 2024
The Politics of Studios and Movie Stars
Matt is joined by filmmaker Ed Zwick ('Glory,' 'Blood Diamond,' 'The Last Samurai') to discuss the art of studio and movie star politics in a constantly evolving industry. Ed talks about the era of high-end dramas in Hollywood, how to manage studios, the exploitation of test scre ... Show More
32m 26s