Best DGA Podcasts (2026)

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Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery with Rian Johnson and Jon Watts (Ep. 594) 31:58

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3h ago31:58

31:58

Director Rian Johnson discusses his new film, Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery, with fellow Director Jon Watts in a Q&A at the DGA theater in Los Angeles. In the conversation, he discusses finding and casting Actor Josh O’Connor, the effort behind crafting and lighting the sets, and how his relationship with faith influenced the film. The fil…

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Marty Supreme with Josh Safdie and Ben Affleck (Ep. 593) 38:03

14h ago38:03

38:03

Director Josh Safdie discusses his new film, Marty Supreme, with fellow Director Ben Affleck in a Q&A at the DGA theater in Los Angeles. In the conversation, he discusses how he uses his casting process to select Actors that make every character feel like a fleshed-out person, his attention to minute details in recreating the time period and textur…

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S25 - Ep 8 - Slow Horses - Production Design 36:41

10d ago36:41

36:41

Designing for television isn’t just about building sets — it’s about knowing when to preserve them, when to break them, and how to let them evolve over time. On Slow Horses, that long view shapes every creative decision. This week on Below the Line, Skid is joined by Production Designer Choi Ho Man, with Gianni Damaia returning as co-host, to talk …

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Avatar: Fire and Ash with James Cameron and Guillermo del Toro (Ep. 592) 45:58

6d ago45:58

45:58

Director James Cameron discusses his new film, Avatar: Fire and Ash, with fellow Director Guillermo del Toro in a Q&A at the DGA theater in Los Angeles. In the conversation, he discusses his experiences of shooting in performance capture and how they compare to real-world shoots, coming up with the concept for the fire clan and the complex characte…

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Ella McCay with James L. Brooks and Albert Brooks (Ep. 591) 33:09

12d ago33:09

33:09

Director James L. Brooks discusses his new film, Ella McCay, with fellow Director Albert Brooks in a Q&A at the DGA theater in Los Angeles. In the conversation, he discusses his process of casting and how he found Actor Emma Mackey for the lead role, shares how he works with his Cinematographers and Actors, and takes time to reflect on his storied …

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Rental Family with Hikari and Nicole Holofcener (Ep. 590) 28:20

10d ago28:20

28:20

Director Hikari discusses her new film, Rental Family, with fellow Director Nicole Holofcener in a Q&A at the DGA theater in Los Angeles. In the conversation, she discusses working with Actor Brendan Frasier to capture a character out of their element, working with her Cinematographer to capture the beauty of Japan, and how she wanted to use this f…

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S25 - Ep 7 - The Chair Company - Costumes and Cinematography 52:13

14d ago52:13

52:13

The stranger The Chair Company gets, the more seriously it has to be treated. Nothing about the show tells the audience when to laugh — its world looks ordinary, its people feel real, and that restraint is exactly what lets the absurdity land. This week on Below the Line, Skid is joined by Costume Designer Nicky Smith and Cinematographer Ashley Con…

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I Was Born This Way with Daniel Junge, Sam Pollard and Jade Jenise Dixon (Ep. 589) 41:02

13d ago41:02

41:02

Directors Daniel Junge and Sam Pollard discusses their new film, I Was Born This Way, with fellow Director Jade Jenise Dixon in a Q&A at the DGA theater in Los Angeles. In the conversation, they discuss trying to paint an honest, human portrait of Carl Bean, how they manage the collaborative directorial process in their creative partnership, and wo…

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Why It's So Hard to Fix China's Overcapacity and Brutal Price Wars. Lizzi Lee, Fellow, Asia Society Policy Institute 52:52

23d ago52:52

52:52

Our guest today, Lizzi Lee, is smart, daring and unconventional. After earning a PhD in economics from MIT, Lizzi Lee took a bold right turn and dove into research and writing. A few weeks ago, Lizzi wrote a very compelling piece in Foreign Affairs about the risks facing Chinese companies - price wars and vanishing margins at home. The stubborn und…

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Wicked: For Good with Jon M. Chu and Rob Marshall (Ep. 588) 37:06

17d ago37:06

37:06

Director Jon M. Chu discusses his new film, Wicked: For Good, with fellow Director Rob Marshall in a Q&A at the DGA theater in New York. In the conversation, he discusses the process of assembling the sequel having filmed both installments at the same time, how he chose to favor great Actor performances over interesting setups when they clashed, an…

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Chinese Automakers Are Pouring Into Mexico. Luis Lozano, Former CEO, Toyota de Mexico. 32:21

26d ago32:21

32:21

Earlier this year, I enjoyed a delicious lunch in Mexico City with Luis Lozano, the former CEO of Toyota de Mexico. Luis immediately impressed me with his knowledge of the Mexican car market, the shock of hundreds of thousands of Chinese imports since 2020 and the possibilities that Chinese automakers will try to make Mexico a production base for e…

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S25 - Ep 6 - Books on Film: From Production to the Page 58:20

19d ago58:20

58:20

Why do people who’ve spent their careers in the trenches of production take everything they’ve learned on set and turn it into something as quiet and lasting as a book? In this episode of Below the Line, three authors with deep roots in the industry talk about translating lived experience into storytelling on the page. This week on Below the Line, …

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Nouvelle Vague with Richard Linklater and Jason Reitman (Ep. 587) 35:01

23d ago35:01

35:01

Director Richard Linklater discusses his new film, Nouvelle Vague, with fellow Director Jason Reitman in a Q&A at the DGA theater in Los Angeles. In the conversation, he discusses the challenges of making a French film without being fluent in the language, how he recreated the shooting of the original Breathless by researching the documentation lef…

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Hamnet with Chloé Zhao and Barry Jenkins (Ep. 586) 30:57

22d ago30:57

30:57

Director Chloé Zhao discusses her new film, Hamnet, with fellow Director Barry Jenkins in a Q&A at the DGA theater in Los Angeles. In the conversation, she discusses working with Writer Maggie O’Farrell and their different experiences with Shakespeare, collaborating with Cinematographer Lukasz Zal and how they captured images invoking the void, and…

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The Running Man with Edgar Wright and Daniel Scheinert (Ep. 585) 34:25

28d ago34:25

34:25

Director Edgar Wright discusses his new film, The Running Man, with fellow Director Daniel Scheinert in a Q&A at the DGA theater in Los Angeles. In the conversation, he discusses the vast number of locations where the film was shot, how he favored practical effects work and his attitudes on computer generated effects, and his vision for a dystopian…

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S25 - Ep 5 - Wicked: For Good - Film Editing and Visual Effects 1:00:25

25d ago1:00:25

1:00:25

What happens when filmmaking becomes a marathon of collaboration — spanning years, thousands of shots, and the world of Oz itself? For Wicked: For Good, that was the daily reality for Film Editor Myron Kerstein and Visual Effects Supervisor Pablo Helman. This week on Below the Line, Skid welcomes back Myron Kerstein and introduces Pablo Helman, who…

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Soul on Fire with Sean McNamara and Dean Alioto (Ep. 584) 31:54

29d ago31:54

31:54

Director Sean McNamara discusses his new film, Soul on Fire, with fellow Director Dean Alioto in a Q&A at the DGA theater in Los Angeles. In the conversation, he discusses finding a balance in humor throughout the story as a reflection of the real John’s personality, how he works with his Actors and puts emphasis his rehearsal process, and incorpor…

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Stiller & Meara: Nothing is Lost with Ben Stiller and Ethan Hawke (Ep. 583) 38:01

1M ago38:01

38:01

Director Ben Stiller discusses his new film, Stiller & Meara: Nothing is Lost, with fellow Director Ethan Hawke in a Q&A at the DGA theater in New York. In the conversation, he discusses how the project began as a reaction after his father passed, how the title originated from some of his mother’s personal philosophies, and how interviewing his fam…

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Jay Kelly with Noah Baumbach and Todd Field (Ep. 582) 35:49

1M ago35:49

35:49

Director Noah Baumbach discusses his new film, Jay Kelly, with fellow Director Todd Field in a Q&A at the DGA theater in New York. In the conversation, he discusses finding inspiration in Fellini, Bergman and other self-reflective cinema, the technical process behind filming the flashback sequences, and how he tailored the lead roles to Actors Geor…

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Hedda with Nia DaCosta and Daniel Scheinert (Ep. 581) 37:17

1M ago37:17

37:17

Director Nia DaCosta discusses her new film, Hedda, with fellow Director Daniel Scheinert in a Q&A at the DGA theater in Los Angeles. In the conversation, she discusses her philosophies on adaptations and how that played into making this film, the importance of party, drug and gun cultures to the making of this story, and how she visually tied the …

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Peter Hujar’s Day with Ira Sachs and Bette Gordon (Ep. 580) 41:35

1M ago41:35

41:35

Director Ira Sachs discusses his new film, Peter Hujar’s Day, with fellow DirectorBette Gordon in a Q&A at the DGA theater in New York. In the conversation, he discusses discovering the story beats from the original 35-page writing, being inventive with blocking for a feature about a sit-down interview, and shooting in a style reminiscent of films …

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Christy with David Michôd and John Lee Hancock (Ep. 579) 32:31

2M ago32:31

32:31

Director David Michôd discusses his new film, Christy, with fellow Director John Lee Hancock in a Q&A at the DGA theater in Los Angeles. In the conversation, he discusses making a sports movie with the shadowing story of an abusive relationship ever present, the process of helping Actor Sydney Sweeney get into shape for her fighting scenes, and wor…

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My Father’s Shadow with Akinola Davies and Rachel Raimist (Ep. 578) 45:56

1M ago45:56

45:56

Director Akinola Davies discusses his new film, My Father’s Shadow, with fellow Director Rachel Raimist in a Q&A at the DGA theater in Los Angeles. In the conversation, he discusses shooting on celluloid film to capture the beauty of Lagos, the exhaustive process behind casting the two young leading Actors, and finding ways to show the people of Ni…

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The Perfect Neighbor with Geeta Gandbhir and Yance Ford (Ep. 577) 28:44

2M ago28:44

28:44

Director Geeta Gandbhir discusses her new film, The Perfect Neighbor, with fellow Director Yance Ford in a Q&A at the DGA theater in New York. In the conversation, she discusses the process of discovering how she would tell the story through police body cam footage, editing the body cam footage into a cohesive narrative that develops the players an…

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S25 - Ep 4 - Navy Public Affairs in Hollywood 54:35

2M ago54:35

54:35

Before there were military consultants on movie sets, there were officers like Jon McBride — servicemen who understood how stories shape public perception. On this Veterans Day episode of Below the Line, we look at how the Navy’s storytellers helped connect the worlds of service and cinema. This week, Skid is joined by Jon McBride, a former U.S. Na…

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A House of Dynamite with Kathryn Bigelow and James Gray (Ep. 576) 34:06

2M ago34:06

34:06

Director Kathryn Bigelow discusses her new film, A House of Dynamite, with fellow Director James Gray in a Q&A at the DGA theater in Los Angeles. In the conversation, she discusses working with journalist and Screenwriter Noah Oppenheim to discover the best way to turn this hypothetical into a story, collaborating with her Cinematographer and Actor…

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Trade Truce: The Calm Before Bigger U.S-China Storms. Jorge Guajardo, former Ambassador of Mexico to China and partner at DGA Global 52:03

2M ago52:03

52:03

President Trump and President Xi, the two most powerful men in the world, met last week in Korea to try to, basically, calm things down. China had just flexed its muscles, threatening to limit the export of key inputs like rare earth magnets and other critical minerals without which auto assembly plants in America could, within weeks, come to a sta…

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Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere with Scott Cooper and David O. Russell (Ep. 575) 29:45

2M ago29:45

29:45

Director Scott Cooper discusses his new film, Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere, with fellow Director David O. Russell in a Q&A at the DGA theater in Los Angeles. In the conversation, he discusses his vision for the film to stray from the typical biopic formula, using Springsteen’s story as a wider conversation to address topics of therapy and s…

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Frankenstein with Guillermo del Toro and Bradley Cooper (Ep. 574) 28:58

2M ago28:58

28:58

Director Guillermo del Toro discusses his new film, Frankenstein, with fellow Director Bradley Cooper in a Q&A at the DGA theater in New York. In the conversation, he discusses the consideration he took in the multiple perspective structure of the story, the research and detail behind crafting intricate props and capturing authentic settings, and w…