Best Eric Koepp Podcasts (2025)

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Ep. 10: Ghost Shark AI, Police-State Tech, and the Leadership Gap 53:38

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5h ago53:38

53:38

In this episode of Understandable Insights, Sue and Eric dive into autonomous defense at sea, surveillance tech exported by U.S. firms, and the leadership needed when crises hit. After a quick scan of the geopolitical hotspots. They unpack Australia’s Ghost Shark program and what undersea autonomy means for allied procurement and deterrence, then a…

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Ep. 09 Congressional Oversight Limited, Caribbean Motives, & City Security 51:55

5h ago51:55

51:55

Congressional oversight under pressure. Stablecoins meet statecraft. Caribbean motives, city security, and the homefront of national resilience. In this episode of Understandable Insights, Sue and Eric draw a through-line on oversight: from the Trump family’s WLFI stablecoin push, to a U.S. buildup and lethal strike off Venezuela—and whether “count…

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True Grit with Josh Gondelman 1:24:39

4d ago1:24:39

1:24:39

Emmy Winning writer (Last Week Tonight with John Oliver) and very funny standup comedian (People Pleaser) Josh Gondelman returns to The Spiel to talk about a film that most people probably forgot was produced by Steven Spielberg: 2010's True Grit starring Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon, Josh Brolin, and Hailee Steinfeld in her first major role. Based on …

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Ep. 08 Cyber to Cornfields: Community and Trust in the Heartland 47:46

8d ago47:46

47:46

In this episode of Understandable Insights, Sue and Eric connect three fronts of resilience: cybersecurity on the home front, the governance of biometrics, and the future of American agriculture. They unpack the reduced capacity of coordinated cyber communication, what policy looks like for biometric data and the claims of disinformation in Greenla…

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Ep. 07 IC Integrity, Intel Equity & Ukraine’s Stolen Children 53:58

17d ago53:58

53:58

In this episode of Understandable Insights, Sue and Eric highlight the national security issues of intelligence community downsizing, state equity in critical chips, and the return of Ukraine’s abducted children. Along the way, they explore whether proposed changes to the ODNI threaten its value, the risks inherent in aligning industrial policy and…

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Twilight Zone: The Movie with Macon Blair 1:06:56

15d ago1:06:56

1:06:56

Macon Blair (The Toxic Avenger, I Don't Feel At Home In This World Anymore) joins Vespe to talk about one of the most impactful films of Steven Spielberg's career, Twilight Zone: The Movie. They dip into the tragedy, of course, but there's more to this anthology than the controversy. This film brings together some of the best filmmakers of the era …

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Ep. 06 Precision Influence, Precision Maps: Trump–Putin Theater, China’s AI Ops, & Texas Resistance 48:44

29d ago48:44

48:44

In this episode, Sue and Eric tackle three issues with profound implications for our republic and, ultimately, for our geopolitical standing: the open question of how the US sees its responsibility to Ukraine and its prior commitments; the commoditization of influence operations by an adversary and erstwhile competitor; and whether partisan power c…

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Poltergeist and the Paranormal with Aaron Sagers 1:31:43

29d ago1:31:43

1:31:43

Aaron Sagers is not only a pop culture journalist, he's also a well-known paranormal investigator. He's the founder of ParanormalPopCulture.com and you've seen him on-camera for Travel Channel's Paranormal Paparazzi and Paranormal Caught on Camera, and Netflix's 28 Days Haunted. In short, he knows a lot about movies and the spiritual world, so he w…

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Ep. 05: Splashy Action, Long Term Effect 46:55

1M ago46:55

46:55

In this episode of Understandable Insights, Sue and Eric jump into two Administration announcements—the GENUIS Act, the Nation’s first cryptocurrency policy focusing on stable coins; the second the elimination of more than $500M in mRNA research funding As always, they break down the details of the announcements and put them in more strategic conte…

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Ep. 04 Bonus: China’s Commercial Space Collision Course 15:42

1M ago15:42

15:42

In this bonus episode of Understandable Insights, Sue and Eric delve into the rapid expansion of China's commercial space industry and its implications for U.S. dominance in low Earth orbit. They discuss the need for responsible use of space, the role of market forces versus government regulations, and the potential executive order that could resha…

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Ep. 04 Threats abroad AND at home 44:56

1M ago44:56

44:56

In this episode of Understandable Insights, Sue and Eric discuss the geopolitical threats that intersect America’s interests, continue to focus on the intersection of China, cyber, and AI, this time with a more human dimension, and finish up with a look at the recent efforts to at best undermine and at worst destroy America’s institutions that unde…

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Ep. 03 Bonus: China Fills the Soft Power Vacuum 12:38

2M ago12:38

12:38

In this bonus episode of Understandable Insights, Sue and Eric discuss China's increasing influence within multilateral organizations like the United Nations through strategic funding, staffing, and diplomatic coalitions. Amidst U.S. retrenchment from these bodies, the conversation explores the implications of China's investments in global institut…

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Ep. 03 Algorithms and AI Action Plans 46:24

2M ago46:24

46:24

In this episode of Understandable Insights, Sue and Eric dive into a couple headlines shaping our world, specifically two announcements that could have profound effect on US technology strategy–the outstanding question is to what strategic effect. With President Trump’’s recent AI Action Plan, they discuss the administration's AI deregulation strat…

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Ep. 02 How does change happen? 52:30

2M ago52:30

52:30

Episode Summary: In this episode of Understandable Insights, Sue and Eric unpack the ODNI’s renewed allegations of an Obama administration conspiracy during the 2016 election and what to make of the recently released documents. They explore if the CIA’s race to adopt AI will replace human agents, respond to the SECDEF memo on drones and the potenti…

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Ep. 01 It's ALL National Security 45:05

2M ago45:05

45:05

Episode Summary: In this debut episode of Understandable Insights, Eric and Sue dive into a heavy mix of headlines, from the devastation in Kerrville, TX to the energy-hungry appetite of AI, the surge in deepfake voice scams, and the whiplash of US policy in Ukraine. Through it all, they unpack what these stories really mean for national security. …

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Understandable Insights Trailer 1:48

2M ago1:48

1:48

Welcome to “Understandable Insights: Information to Intelligence with Sue Gordon” — the national security podcast that provides you an elemental understanding of the world as it is, not how you prefer it to be. Each week, Eric Koepp — a former Marine, father, and entrepreneur — sits down with the Honorable Sue Gordon, the nation’s former top career…

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Jaws @ 50 with Laurent Bouzereau 55:14

2M ago55:14

55:14

Steven Spielberg's documentarian Laurent Bouzereau returns to The Spiel to discuss Vespe's favorite movie, Jaws, and his great new deep dive documentary made in conjunction with Amblin and Nat Geo called Jaws @ 50. There's a lot to talk about in terms of the legacy of Jaws, the impact it had for good and ill on both the film industry and the fishin…

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Frank Marshall on Jurassic World Rebirth 53:44

3M ago53:44

53:44

Legendary film producer, director, and documentarian Frank Marshall is my guest on the show today to talk about his working relationship with Steven Spielberg, a creative partnership that goes back to Raiders of the Lost Ark and continues on to this day. Marshall co-founded Amblin with Spielberg and Kathleen Kennedy. We talk about what necessitated…

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A Conversation with David Koepp 46:00

3M ago46:00

46:00

Frequent Steven Spielberg collaborator David Koepp is our guest this week. Koepp is the screenwriter behind Jurassic Park, The Lost World, War of the Worlds, and Spielberg's upcoming UFO/UAP flick as well as the director of the criminally underrated Stir of Echoes. Koepp also penned the script for the upcoming Jurassic World Rebirth, which hits cin…

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Hook with Jonathan Entwistle 1:15:35

4M ago1:15:35

1:15:35

Director Jonathan Entwistle (Karate Kid: Legends, The End of the F***ing World, I Am Not Okay With This) joins Vespe to talk about the incredibly divisive Spielberg film, Hook. Spielberg's Hook is a bonafide classic for a whole generation, but if you're not part of that younger Millennial generation it has the reputation of leaving you cold. The st…

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Columbo with Rian Johnson 1:06:41

4M ago1:06:41

1:06:41

It might come as a surprise to some folks that Steven Spielberg directed the pilot for Columbo, titled Murder By The Book, but that he did and it turned out to be one of the most important projects of his early career as his success with this episode is what got him the gig directing Duel. If you're going to talk about Columbo and Spielberg then yo…

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Farewell to Josh Robert Thompson 1:33:48

4M ago1:33:48

1:33:48

The Spiel co-host, Josh Robert Thompson, is stepping away from the show, but before he leaves to pursue his own creative endeavors he and Vespe take a look back at his time on the show, discuss our favorite episodes, guests, and experiences while he was behind the mic. You'll hear plenty of behind the scenes stories, more Spielberg, Lucas, and Morg…

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A Career-Spanning Interview with Veronica Cartwright 45:40

5M ago45:40

45:40

Veronica Cartwright joins The Spiel hosts to talk about her incredible career, from The Twilight Zone to The Birds to Alien and Witches of Eastwick, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, and, yes, even Scary Movie 2. Cartwright also shares her thoughts on Steven Spielberg's career, including an incredible anecdote of watching Jaws for the first time with…

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Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull with Charles Soule 1:39:59

5M ago1:39:59

1:39:59

Charles Soule (author of the Star Wars: The High Republic series as well as some of the best Star Wars comic books) joins the show to talk all about one of the most controversial and heavily debated Steven Spielberg films: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. We all know co-host Josh Robert Thompson goes to bat for this one, but does…

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Bear McCreary Picks His Top 5 John Williams/Steven Spielberg Scores 1:17:45

5M ago1:17:45

1:17:45

Incredible composer Bear McCreary (God of War, Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, Battlestar Galactica, Happy Death Day) knows a thing or two about composing badass scores. Vespe challenged him to come up with top 5 favorite John Williams/Steven Spielberg collaborations and the resulting episode sees McCreary putting his Top 5 against Vespe' To…

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Innerspace with Anthony Breznican 1:16:54

6M ago1:16:54

1:16:54

The Spiel welcomes Anthony Breznican, Vespe's Kingcast co-host and entertainment reporter extraordinaire at Vanity Fair, to talk about Amblin's Innerspace. This weird-ass movie was directed by Joe Dante and produced by Spielberg and is all about a shrunk down Dennis Quaid getting injected into Martin Short's butt and that's just the start of this c…

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Spielberg's Endings with Clarke Wolfe 1:18:16

6M ago1:18:16

1:18:16

I think we can all agree that Steven Spielberg knows how to end a movie. He's got some all-timer endings in his filmography, but he also has some divisive endings. We're talking about War of the Worlds, A.I., Munich, and more. Noted filmmaker, podcaster, entertainment host, and professional geek Clarke Wolfe (Malum, Torn Hearts, Sending in the Wolf…

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The Goonies with Flula Borg 1:13:36

6M ago1:13:36

1:13:36

The Goonies is an important movie for folks of a certain generation, including the absolute madman who is this week's guest. You know him from Pitch Perfect 2, The Suicide Squad, Curb Your Enthusiasm, and Silicon Valley and now he's here to talk about The Goonies, Richard Donner's coming-of-age adventure story produced by Steven Spielberg. We bounc…

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Casper with Mallory O'Meara 1:12:44

7M ago1:12:44

1:12:44

Leave it to Vespe and JRT to turn a conversation about the 1995 Amblin family adventure story CASPER into a lewd, R-rated talk about ghost titties. In our defense, bad influence (and James Beard award-winning author) Mallory O'Meara is our guest and despite all of our best efforts when we three get together things get chaotic and talk quickly turns…

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Twister and Twisters with Stephen Graham Jones 1:19:02

7M ago1:19:02

1:19:02

Celebrated genre author Stephen Graham Jones (The Indian Lake Trilogy, Mongrels, I Was A Teenage Slasher) is a huge fan of both Twister and Twisters, produced by Steven Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment, and shows up this week ready to talk about what made him laugh, cry, and jump for joy in both the 1996 original film and its 2024 sequel. Topics in…

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West Side Story with Alex Winter 1:06:47

7M ago1:06:47

1:06:47

Spielberg has been working towards making a musical for his entire career, so it shouldn't be a surprise that when he finally got to make an all-out musical he brought not only his A-game, but also his deep love and understanding of Old Hollywood musicals with him. This resulted in 2021's West Side Story, an incredibly smart and charming reinterpre…

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Josh Ruben on Amazing Stories 1:15:38

8M ago1:15:38

1:15:38

This week's topic: 1985's Amazing Stories, an NBC anthology series overseen by Steven Spielberg himself. Not only did he produce the whole thing, but he also directed two episodes. Those two episodes are the focus of the show as we welcome director Josh Ruben (this weekend's rom-com slasher HEART EYES). We talk a bit about marrying those two radica…

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Schindler's List with Jordan Hoffman 1:41:30

8M ago1:41:30

1:41:30

It's a heavy topic, but we somehow found the perfect guest to balance a serious topic with a little humor in noted critic, pop culture journalist, and author Jordan Hoffman (Vanity Fair, New York Daily News, The Times of Israel). Steven Spielberg's Schindler's List tells the story of Oskar Schindler, a German Industrialist who worked from within th…

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Ariana Richards Talks Jurassic Park 1:23:26

8M ago1:23:26

1:23:26

The one and only Ariana Richards, Lex Murphy from Jurassic Park, joins Vespe and JRT to talk dinosaurs, Graboids, Martians, and even her ludicrous haircut in 1989's Prancer. This is Ariana's very first podcast appearance and she comes loaded for bear, y'all. She has stories about working on all her big movies including Jurassic Park. Hear about how…

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An Interview with Kiran Shah 53:06

9M ago53:06

53:06

Today's guest is the self-described World's Smallest Stuntman who has doubled everybody from Frodo Baggins in The Lord of the Rings to Christopher Reeve's Superman and James Cameron's Aliens. Kiran Shah is also a poet and an actor who played a not so small part in Steven Spielberg's Raiders of the Lost Ark before going on to double Short Round in I…

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Vanessa Chester on The Lost World: Jurassic Park 1:37:46

9M ago1:37:46

1:37:46

Today we have a conversation with Ian Malcolm's Daughter, Kelly, herself, Ms. Vanessa Chester. Despite being plagued by tech issues, this deep-dive interview about Vanessa's experience working with Spielberg, Goldblum, Vaughn, and Moore while making The Lost World: Jurassic Park is funny, illuminating, and is guaranteed to brighten your day. Cheste…

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Steve Agee on Gremlins 1:13:50

9M ago1:13:50

1:13:50

Steve Agee (Peacemaker, The Sarah Silverman Program, Superstore) joins the Spiel boys to talk about the very festive, very zany, and incredibly dark family film Gremlins, produced by Steven Spielberg, directed by Joe Dante, and starring Zach Galligan and Phoebe Cates. The trio discuss the film's reception upon release, why it still holds up today, …

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John Mariano on Animaniacs 1:22:31

9M ago1:22:31

1:22:31

The very talented actor, comedian, and voice performer John Mariano has played a part in a lot of your favorites, from Married with Children and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia to Fallout 4 and Baldur's Gate. But one of his most recognizable performances is as Bobby the pigeon in Steven Spielberg's oddly raunchy '90s cartoon series Animaniacs. Bo…

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DC Pierson on Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen 1:33:09

10M ago1:33:09

1:33:09

We're forcing author, comedian, and actor DC Pierson to cover all the Transformers films with us here at The Spiel and he finally returns for the second film in the franchise: Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, a film that is inexplicably nearly 3 hours long, is even more incoherent than the first, and filled with giant robot testicles. Still, th…

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Drew McWeeny on Back to the Future Pt 2 1:27:48

10M ago1:27:48

1:27:48

Is the Back to the Future Trilogy the culmination of what we think of as the Amblin Experience? Did you know that the original thought was to have Doc and Marty travel back to the groovy '60s? And what exactly happened with all that Crispin Glover stuff? All those questions and more are discussed as Vespe is joined by his Ain't It Cool compatriot a…

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An Interview with Corey Feldman and Eugenio Mira 1:12:32

10M ago1:12:32

1:12:32

Live from Corey Feldman's recording studio comes this in-person sit down interview with Corey and director Eugenio Mira, whose long lost collaboration, The Birthday, is finally getting a second life thanks to Drafthouse Films in theaters and on streaming. Corey welcomed Josh and Vespe into his home for this interview where some pretty strict limits…

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David Dastmalchian on Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom 1:01:02

10M ago1:01:02

1:01:02

David Dastmalchian is one of our best character actors (LATE NIGHT WITH THE DEVIL, THE DARK KNIGHT, DUNE, OPPENHEIMER, THE SUICIDE SQUAD) and now he's joining Vespe and JRT to talk about the controversial INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF DOOM. Our time with Dave was limited, so we run through this movie at a breakneck pace, much like the back half o…

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Scott Beck and Bryan Woods on A.I. - Artificial Intelligence 1:29:17

11M ago1:29:17

1:29:17

The writer/producer/director team behind A Quiet Place, 65, and The Boogeyman have a new movie out this week called Heretic, starring Hugh Grant, Sophie Thatcher, and Chloe East, so they decided to stop by and chat about one of their favorite Spielberg films: A.I. That's right, Scott Beck and Bryan Woods are our guests and we dive into the nitty gr…

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Mallory O'Meara on Joe Vs. The Volcano 1:44:48

11M ago1:44:48

1:44:48

Chaos ensues as the wonderful, and James Beard award-winning, author Mallory O'Meara (Girly Drinks, The Lady from the Black Lagoon) comes on the show to discuss the extremely odd Amblin flick Joe Vs. The Volcano, starring Tom Hanks, Meg Ryan (three Meg Ryans, believe it or not), and directed by the famous writer John Patrick Shanley (Moonstruck). T…

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Germain Lussier on Hook 1:10:34

11M ago1:10:34

1:10:34

Germain Lussier (head movie nerd writer at Gizmodo and I09) joins Vespe and JRT for a wide-ranging discussion on Steven Spielberg's Hook starring Robin Williams, Dustin Hoffman, and a very pissed off Julia Roberts. How much does nostalgia come into play when discussing this film? Did everybody who was a child when they saw it love it and all the ad…

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Jurassic Park with Jeremy Slater 1:39:38

12M ago1:39:38

1:39:38

Jurassic Park is not only one of the best popcorn films ever made, it's also the catalyst for the largest shift in Hollywood production and storytelling in recent cinematic history. It changed movies forever. To dive into that and just how awesome and fun Jurassic Park is, we are joined by one of the most in-demand screenwriters in the business, Je…

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Introducing The Spiel's New Co-Host 1:15:18

12M ago1:15:18

1:15:18

The Spiel co-creator Scott Wampler passed away before the show debuted and the hunt was on to find someone that could step in to the immense void he left behind. After months of searching, Vespe made his choice. Now you get to meet the new co-host. What are their dreams? Aspirations? Deepest, darkest wishes? And how good is their Morgan Freeman imp…

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Live At Fantastic Fest: Nacho Vigalondo on Close Encounters of the Third Kind 1:04:08

12M ago1:04:08

1:04:08

The Spiel rings in its very first live show at Fantastic Fest in Austin, TX. Vespe is joined by guest co-host Nick Preuher (co-founder of the Found Footage Fest) and special guest Nacho Vigalondo (director of Timecrimes, Colossal, and Daniela Forever) to talk about Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Does Close Encounters act as a spiritual sequel …

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Wynter Mitchell on Catch Me If You Can 2:10:46

1y ago2:10:46

2:10:46

We celebrate the final episode of The Spiel with Scott Wampler as co-host with this rowdy chat with our dear friend, podcaster, and advisor to the stars Wynter Mitchell about a top tier Spielberg entry: Catch Me If You Can. This is a special episode in that it is the very first thing we recorded for the show. This was our test run to see if a podca…

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Brian Duffield on War of the Worlds 1:59:39

1y ago1:59:39

1:59:39

The very talented writer/director Brian Duffield (Spontaneous, No One Will Save You) joins Wampler and Vespe to discuss Spielberg's War of the Worlds. We go through all the set pieces, talk about the 9/11 parallels, how awesome it is that Tom Cruise plays a glorious screwup, and so much more. War of the Worlds is one of Wampler's favorites, so it's…