Podcasts about descendants

A listener working through Dr. Craig's book In Quest of the Historical Adam raises a pointed question about the model's implications: if Cain's wife came from outside the Adamic line, among the non-human hominins living alongside Adam and Eve, what would that mean for their children? Dr. Craig addresses the theological and biological status of such unions directly, explaining why any offspring would not bear the image of God, and why he holds that Adam and Eve remain the sole progenitors of the human race. He also flags what he considers one of the harder open questions in this area: exactly how the rational soul gets passed down from one generation to the next.

How can the Fast Drafting method help you finally finish your novel? And how do you make progress when you only have 30 minutes a day to write? Jessica Brody shares her tips for finishing first drafts after 20 years as an author. In the intro, Clive Barker's Kickstarter, The Amazon Tax [Seth Godin]; Trad publisher announces “human-originated, AI-facilitated” book, The Everything Code [PanMacmillan; AI policy; CHAPTR]; Holy relics, churches, and memento mori in Bruges and Brussels. This podcast is sponsored by Kobo Writing Life, which helps authors self-publish and reach readers in global markets through the Kobo eco-system. You can also subscribe to the Kobo Writing Life podcast for interviews with successful indie authors. This show is also supported by my Patrons. Join my Community at Patreon.com/thecreativepenn Jessica Brody is the best-selling author of over 20 novels across different genres and age groups, as well as writing for Disney Publishing. She's also the author of Save the Cat! Writes a Novel and other books and courses for writers at the Writing Mastery Academy. Her latest book is Page One to Done: Finish Your Novel in 30 Days with the Fast Drafting Method. You can pre-order with bonus extras at JessicaBrody.com/preorder You can listen above or on your favorite podcast app or read the notes and links below. Here are the highlights and the full transcript is below. Show Notes Why a small advance can set you up for long-term success Why 97% of first drafts are never finished How to finish a novel writing 30 minutes a day Why drafting and revising are two different jobs How a pre-writing ritual primes your brain for flow Writing a meta murder mystery after 20 years of teaching plot You can find Jessica at JessicaBrody.com and WritingMastery.com. Transcript of the interview with Jessica Brody Jo: Jessica Brody is the best-selling author of over 20 novels across different genres and age groups, as well as writing for Disney Publishing. She's also the author of Save the Cat! Writes a Novel and other books and courses for writers at the Writing Mastery Academy. Her latest book is Page One to Done: Finish Your Novel in 30 Days with the Fast Drafting Method. So welcome to the show, Jessica. Jessica: Hi, thank you so much for having me. I'm so honoured to be here. My writing community speaks so highly of this podcast, so I'm excited. Jo: Oh, well, thank you, and you were requested, so this is going to be a good one. First up— Tell us a bit more about you and how you got into writing and publishing. Jessica: Well, I started writing when I was seven. I like to put in air quotes, I wrote my first, quote, “novel” when I was seven. It was about three pages long. I got the bug very early. I didn't realise it was an actual career choice that you could take seriously until way later in life, after I'd already graduated college with a degree in economics and I was working as a financial analyst, and I was just writing on the side for fun. Then, as luck would have it, I got laid off from my job, and I ended up trying to take writing a little bit more seriously in that time. That's when I found the Save the Cat method, which absolutely changed everything for me. Before that, I had loads of rejection letters, and I eventually sold my first novel to St. Martin's Press, and I've been writing and publishing ever since. That was 20 years ago now. Jo: 20 years, wow. It's so interesting. So you were in economics, you were a financial analyst, and you got into writing. Did you have any pushback from either your own brain that was like, “I cannot make money this way,” or your family? Or how did you make that leap? Because we just hear that it's not a career, financially, really. Jessica: I know, and I think I went into it very blindly, using television as my resource of this is how much money I can make writing. Like Sex and the City, she was selling books for lots of money. So I was like, oh, I just have to sell one book, and then I'll be set. That was not the case. My first advance was so much lower than I expected, and what happened, though, was kind of interesting. I sold my first book, way lower advance than I was hoping for. I wasn't making any money anywhere else, so I was taking on all these odd jobs that I could do in my own time. I was doing transcription work, and I was working at a school half the time. I mean, I just had so many really weird jobs. I think what happened was, because I didn't have another financial net to help me, it just pushed me really hard. So once I sold one book, I was like, well, I need to sell another one and another one, and I ended up in this 20-year cycle, which I've slowed down thankfully, since, but of writing so obsessively, I should say. I just kept selling books and selling books. My advances got higher and higher, and eventually I was able to support myself with my writing, but it was not instant at all. Jo: Actually, that's a really good note there, because we often hear so much of these debuts that get paid a ton of money, and then they disappear, and they almost spiral down. Whereas what you've done is spiral up. Which is almost a better way to do it perhaps, with your reputation with traditional publishing. Jessica: It's funny, I tell this story a lot to writers who are looking to get published, that the big advance is not necessarily the end-all be-all. Because I have heard that story before, someone gets a very big advance, and then it doesn't earn out, and they can't sell another book because the publisher's lost money. I had the opposite experience. My advance was so low, and my publisher got worldwide rights. They bought worldwide rights. So they started selling foreign rights of my first book really early on, and I earned out before the book even came out, with just a few foreign sales. That ended up setting me up for success, because I was making money for the publisher from day one, and I was able to sell more books, and so I sort of worked my way up. I really do credit a lot of that to how long I've been able to stay in this game. Jo: No, it's a good way of thinking about it, because people forget the publisher isn't a charity. The publisher has to make money from your book. So it's nice that you make money, but they have to make money, or they're not going to bother, right? Jessica: Yes, exactly. Jo: So let's come back to Save the Cat, because you mentioned that the original method really changed how you write, and then of course you did Save the Cat! Writes a Novel. So I've got that. I imagine a lot of people listening have got that. Tell us a bit about why that methodology made such a difference to you, and why you think it's so useful. Jessica: Well, you'll sense a theme here. I went into this business, like I said, without knowing a lot, and I went into it the way I think a lot of writers do, which is, I had an idea, I sat down, and I tried to write it. I had no guidance, no map, no structure, and I just wrote. I actually finished something, which is surprising, but then I started to get all these rejection letters that basically said similar things, which was, “You're a good writer, you have a good voice, but there's no story here.” I just didn't understand that feedback, because I had finished something. I could print it out and stack it on my desk. Wasn't that a story? Apparently it was not. Then a screenwriter friend of mine that I was talking to about how I was getting all of these rejection letters with the same note said, “You should read this book that recently came out. It's called Save the Cat, and it's for screenwriters, but I think it could work for novels because it just seems to be all about structure and storytelling.” So I read the book cover to cover so quickly, because if anyone's read the original, it's just so readable, and everything started clicking in my mind. I realised, wow, I really don't know how to tell a story. I could plot out everything I had done wrong, and I went back to my book and I started rewriting it from page one with this new structure in mind. When I finished that, I ended up getting an agent for that book, and the agent sold that book. I've been using the method ever since. It just made so much sense to my brain. What I tell writers is, “Use the method that makes sense to your brain.” All storytelling structure methods are basically telling the same story, just with different words, sliced and diced a little bit differently, but structure is structure, and a story is a story. It has to have a beginning, middle, and end. It has to have conflict, it has to have a middle twist, and things like that. So this one worked for my brain, and I started to teach it to other novelists, because at the time there was still just the screenwriting guide. So I started to teach how I was using it to other novelists, and that turned into the book, Save the Cat! Writes a Novel. Then I wrote a young adult version of it as well. And I still use it to this day. It's just something that's always made sense to me. Jo: So were you hired by the estate? Blake Snyder died, right? So were you hired to write that, or is that something you arranged? Jessica: It was kind of something that was arranged. I think Blake Snyder Enterprises is the name of the company. Blake Snyder died in 2009, sadly. When I started using the method, I was blogging about it on my blog, and I would share some of my beat sheets of the novels I was writing. The people who had taken over his estate reached out to me and said, “Hey, can you blog for us? Because we don't have a lot of novel content on our blog. We just do screenplay stuff.” And I said, “Of course.” I had a fangirl moment. Oh my gosh, they've reached out to me and this is so exciting. So I started blogging for them, and then that turned into the workshops that I started doing with them. Then we partnered up on the book. I think it was one of those things that felt inevitable, like we were just working toward it. I was living in LA at the time. They're based in LA. And I remember having breakfast with them, and we all just looked at each other and said, “So we need to write a book, right? There has to be a book.” So we ended up sharing the copyright, and, as you see from the title, it says based on the books by Blake Snyder. It's very much his method. Then I brought some of my novel flair and some of my own little tips and tricks that I had picked up over the years and applied it to his method. Jo: I love that. We are going to come to your other book for writers in a minute, but just on that intellectual property sharing, writing in other markets, you also write for Disney Publishing. This is so fascinating to me. Now, there are lots of people who do write for other properties. So how did that come about writing for other properties, and how does that fit into your portfolio of the things that you do? Jessica: Yes, writing for other properties is really fun. It's probably not for everyone. You have to know what you're getting into before you pursue it, because it's very much not your IP. You're writing under someone else's brand, you're in their canon, and there are certain rules you have to follow. So you have guidelines. I found it to be really fun and kind of a break from some of my own stuff, because I didn't have to come up with everything. I didn't have to invent all the new worlds and all the new characters. A lot of them were just given to me, and I could play within the boundaries of that sandbox, and I really found that inspiring. So what happened actually is I was on a writing retreat with a bunch of other writers, and there was a writer at the retreat who already wrote for Disney Press and was supposed to write this new series for them, based on their Descendants series. She said to me, “I really can't do it, but I'd love to recommend someone else to them.” I think we had been talking about how big of a fan I was of Disney or something, and she said, “Do you want me to recommend you?” And I said, “Yes, absolutely.” Another big fangirl moment. So the editor of that series reached out to my agent. They talked to me. They got writing samples from me through my agent, and then before I knew it, I was hired to write, I think the first contract was maybe for two or three of the books, and then we renewed for a few more. It was just really fun. Then I formed a relationship with that editor. We ended up working on another series for younger kids, based on the Disney Princess LEGO series, which was much younger and new for me. It had illustrations. That was a whole new challenge, but I found it really fun. As I said, it was a nice break from writing my own things, because I could write them fairly quickly. They did have very fast turnarounds at the publisher too, but I could use my skills for structure and storytelling and apply it to a world that already existed, and it was a nice pairing. Jo: I love this. So much of what you've done seems to have come from relationships or just putting yourself out there in the world. Jessica: Yes, good observation. I hadn't thought of that. Jo: Whereas I think a lot of people think that it's all about cold pitching. It's not so much, from what you're saying. Jessica: Yes, and I did another IP project with Simon & Schuster called Boys of Summer, which was a young adult novel. That one specifically came from my agent. So a lot of times publishers will reach out to agents and say, “Here's what we're doing. Do you have authors who would fit?” And my agent will often reach out to me and say, “Here's the pitch I got from a publisher. Are you interested in submitting yourself for this?” That's what happened with Boys of Summer. They actually sent out an outline to a bunch of writers who were interested, and I had to write sample chapters to the outline, or I think it was the first couple of chapters or something. I was very gratefully selected to write it. That came about from having an agent, and a lot of times having an agent is a way into IP work. And then those connections can help too. Jo: Fascinating. Right. Well, let's get into your book Page One to Done, which as I said, one of my listeners actually requested to have you on the show to talk about this book, because she said it was absolutely fantastic and helped her finish her book. So why finishing? What is the problem? Why write a book on actually finishing? What are some of the common issues that people have? Jessica: Well, thank you to that listener. I really appreciate it, and here I am because of you. Connections once again. So Page One to Done came out of my own struggle with finishing, and not just finishing, but finishing efficiently and maintaining joy throughout the process of writing a novel. As I said, I was writing very fast and furiously, and my deadlines were piling up, and I started to feel like writing a novel stopped being fun. It started to become a very frustrating process, and I realised that was a lot about how I was approaching the first draft, which, as most writers know, the first draft is very hard. When I started to look further into it, I found this statistic online that's widely accepted in the writing community, which is that 97% of first drafts are not finished. Which is, wow, mind-blowing, but also not that hard to believe once you think about the challenges of writing a first draft. Taking an idea from a seed, developing it into a full plot with character development and arcs and subplots and side characters and themes and all the things that you think a story should have, getting that all onto the page and actually reaching the end. It's very, very difficult, and I never lie about how difficult it is. So I was struggling to finish things quickly, to enjoy the process, and I noticed that other writers were too. I felt like, well, I have this plotting guide that I love, this structure guide, Save the Cat! Shouldn't this be easier once I have an outline? And it wasn't. And that, I think, is because we forget that there's another part of the process. It's not just about developing a compelling character. It's not just about having a well-paced plot. You have to be able to get ideas out of your head and onto the page in a way that doesn't make you want to quit. I think one of the problems with the first draft is most of us write something down, it does not match what's in our head, and we start to get more and more frustrated. The process becomes overwhelming. We're holding too much of the story in our head. We're going back to page one to revise with every new idea we have, so it starts to slow down. The farther we get into the book, the longer that back to page one process takes, and things start to spiral out of control. I think that's essentially what happens to this 97% of first drafts. The writer quits because it's not good enough. It doesn't match what's in their mind, and there's too much to hold, and it starts to become overwhelming. So this is what was happening to me. Even though I was finishing things, the process was still very overwhelming, and I started to experiment with different things. Different mindset shifts that I could make, different ways I could change my writing routine to really enhance the process, to get into flow faster, to stay in flow for longer, things like that. It took me about five years, and I developed this collection of mindset shifts and strategies and routines that I could not only apply to myself, but I turned it into a system that was repeatable, and I started teaching it in my Writing Mastery Academy. I called it the Fast Drafting method, and it's all about letting go of this idea that our first draft has to be perfect or even that good, and just focusing on getting ideas down as quickly as possible, even if that creates a big mess. It's this freeing process of doing that in a way that we don't get in our own way. So I started teaching it to other writers. People were finishing things who had never finished things before. Writers who had taken two years to write a first draft were writing first drafts in weeks. The biggest comment I was getting was, “This is so freeing. This is so liberating. This is so fun.” And it gave people the motivation that they needed to actually sit down and revise the book. Before, either they never finished, so they never got to the revision process, or they were so overwhelmed and bogged down by the two years it took for them to write one draft, they didn't have the energy to revise and get it to the next level. So anyway, all of this is to say it was working for me, it was working for other writers. I turned it into a book called Page One to Done, and it's my three-phase process, mindset, preparation, and drafting, which I equate to running a marathon. You wouldn't run a marathon without proper training and proper nutrition and the right mindset, just like you wouldn't write a novel without the right mindset, the right preparation, and the right skills you need to get to the end. Jo: That's fantastic. You mentioned training there and some of the routine changes. So I hear new writers say, “Oh, I can't write unless I maybe have two hours or three hours to write down stuff, and I never have three hours at a time, so I never have time to write.” I hear that a lot. So what would you say to those people? What is a routine and a mindset shift that might help those people? Jessica: That's great, and I hear that all the time too. I interviewed a handful of authors for this book who had gone through the fast drafting method with me, and I would say the majority of them wrote for 30 minutes to one hour a day and were able to finish their books in a matter of weeks to maybe two months. That's because what I teach in the book is not about the amount of time you have. It's about how you use that time. When you really structure your day and your writing time with intentionality, you do whatever you can to block out distractions, get into flow, stay in flow. I'll give you one amazing tip that basically solves all of these things in a second. But when you really bring intentionality to those 30 minutes, you can write more in 30 minutes than you can in three hours without bringing these kinds of intentional choices. So that's one of the things I teach. You don't need more time. You actually just need to approach the time you have with the right mindsets and the right intentions. So one of the biggest shifts I tell people is just don't write and revise at the same time. For one, it pulls your brain in two different directions and creates the requirement of context switching, because essentially drafting and revising are two different jobs. Drafting is getting ideas out of your head and onto the page. Revising is polishing those ideas. They require very different headspaces and very different skills. So when we try to do both of them at once, we're pulled in two different directions. We're essentially trying to polish something we haven't even figured out yet, so we're polishing in the dark, if you will. It causes our brain to snap back and forth so many times. The term context switching is very big in the zeitgeist today, and that's because it's eating up our brain capacity. So if you spend 30 minutes just getting ideas down without judging them as they're coming out, without trying to revise them as they're coming out, you will get a lot of words down. A lot of that has to do with just what do you expect out of those 30 minutes? If you expect to write a chapter of absolutely brilliant polished prose, you're probably not going to do it, and you're going to feel like you wasted three hours. Then the next time you have three hours, you're like, “Well, no, I'm not going to do that. It's too frustrating, and I don't have three hours to begin with.” But if you sit down with the idea of, “I'm going to get all my ideas down. I'm going to just enjoy this process and live in my story for these 30 minutes,” you will be amazed at how much will come out onto the page. And you can absolutely finish a book that way. So intentionality is how you set up your workspace. Making sure that your phone is on do not disturb, making sure there are no pop-ups on your screen, making sure there are not even windows open behind your document. Every time your mind thinks about something else, you have to bring it back, and that eats brain power. So it's things like that. I have a whole chapter on how to set up a writing routine. One of the biggest tips I give people is to do what I call a pre-writing ritual. This is based in neuroscience, and there are all of these studies that back this up, that our brain does something where it associates an activity with another activity. So let's say right before we sit down to write, every time we do that, we do 10 jumping jacks, just as an example. But we only do 10 jumping jacks before we write. We don't do 10 jumping jacks before we sit down to do our taxes or answer emails. It's just before we write. Your brain starts to create this associative link with jumping jacks and writing. These are ways that we can prime our brain to get into the writing mode, and after doing that a handful of times, you do your jumping jacks, and your brain is literally already in your story before you sit down. It starts to soften that resistance that happens when we think, “Oh, I have to go write now,” or, “I've got to go write a certain amount of words,” or, “I have to work with my story.” It softens that, where it just becomes, “Oh, this is what I'm doing now.” Setting up these pre-writing rituals, which could include jumping jacks, could include something else, a lot of examples we can explore if you want, creates that associative link and allows us to get into the writing zone even faster. So by the time we sit down, we're already primed to go. We're not wasting a lot of that time going, “Oh, should I do it now? Should I do it later? I've got to open my document. Oh, my coffee's a little low.” All the things that we do to delay writing. They start to fall away. Jo: Yes, I mean, I always tell people, you and I turned up on time. We arranged this. We respect each other. We turn up, and we're doing this within a time slot. So I always say to people, “Look, make a calendar entry for your writing,” and do you respect your writing enough to turn up on time and do the work? We had a few minutes of saying hi or whatever, and then we got on with our work, which was this interview. So if you've arranged to start writing for that half an hour, then it is work still, right? You need to turn up and honour that. Jessica: Yes, and actually I have the same tip in the book. I say put it on your calendar, block it off. For the reasons you said, it creates in your brain the idea that this is a serious thing. It's not just a, “Oh, I'll get to it when I get to it,” like folding the laundry. It's like, no, this is what I've decided to do, I'm serious about it, I respect it. Just like any other appointment that you would respect, like lunch with a friend or an important business meeting, you show up for it. You don't go, “I think I'll show up to that business meeting in a few hours when I feel like it.” Also it keeps the routine consistent, because one of the tips I give is to always write at the same time every day if you can, because again, that associative link created in your brain, that habitual routine. So if you put it in your calendar for the days that you're going to write, you won't schedule over it by accident, which is just another logistical thing. I say something similar to what you just said, Joanna, in the book, which is basically, if you booked a massage for an hour, you would stay for the hour, right? Because you paid for this massage. Jo: Hell yes. Jessica: It's important to you. You're not going to get up in the middle and start texting your friends. You want your massage. If you treat your writing like any other thing that's important to you and show up for it consistently, it will show up for you, too. Jo: Yes, and I think the other misconception is that, okay, so that person has made it, and they're at the desk. I listen to rain and thunderstorms in my headphones. That's kind of, I guess, my routine. But that doesn't mean that I can just stream something wonderful. You talked about separating the writing and the editing, but sometimes it really is pretty basic, right? Morgan walked into the room. That will often be my thing, and then I'll be like, “Okay, well, why?” And what was the room like? Or was it even a room? So sometimes you just have to start writing something rather than wait for a perfect sentence. Jessica: Oh, yes, absolutely. Waiting for the perfect sentence, you'll be waiting for a long time. I say waiting for inspiration, you'll be waiting for a long time. My joke is, if I waited to write only when I felt inspired, I'd finish a book about every 20 years, if that. I think that's very important, and I teach a lot of tips and tricks in the book on how to get past that resistance, because of course, we don't want to just sit down and write something that we don't like. We don't want to just write down, “Oh, she stared at her computer for 10 minutes.” But sometimes we have to write that down to get to the next sentence or the next plot point or whatever barrier is in our mind. So one tip I'll tell people is put things you don't like in brackets, the square brackets. It's a really simple tip, and it's one of the tips I share in the book. Just put it in brackets and move on. What the brackets do, at least for people who use it, is it's like scaffolding. It's a reminder to your brain, this isn't permanent. This isn't going to stay. I'm going to come back to this later and fix it once I figure out what the story is and what she's actually doing in the room at this moment. For now, it's there. It's on the page. I can move past it. For me at least, the brackets are just this really nice reminder of the scaffolding. Nope, nope, nope, not perfect, not permanent, moving on. Then you can come back later and flesh it all out. I share a lot of anecdotes from my 20 years of writing novels, and one that I particularly like is I was working on a novel, and I had this scene that was just so awful, where all of my characters were sitting in a room. I had no idea what room it was or what it looked like, and they were talking about their feelings. It was just so awful and boring, but I had to get through this scene because I had to establish certain things that came later. I was complaining and complaining about this scene. I was on a writing retreat at the time, and my writer friends were like, “Let's just do a writing sprint, and we'll all write really fast, and we'll all get through our bad scenes, and we'll move on.” So I did that. I moved past the boring scene. It was still boring all the way to the end, but here's the thing, I couldn't figure out what happened in that scene until I'd figured out the whole story. So I wrote the bad version, and then in the next draft I came back and I was like, “Oh, this scene should take place on this bridge that I wrote in the finale that I didn't even know I needed, and it's this very symbolic bridge, and they can be standing on the bridge, and then they should be talking about this because that's going to pay off in the third act,” and I hadn't even thought of that yet. So all the things were coming together, but I could never have come up with that at the time. If I had just sat there and tried and tried, I probably would have gotten stuck at that scene and quit. So I had to just write the bad version, move past it, and come back later. Jo: Yes, and I think maybe because you're famous for structure, people think that maybe you wouldn't have to do that, because you already came up with that in the plotting. It sounds like you're also putting in those elements and foreshadowing and deepening things in the edit. So that's quite comforting for me as a discovery writer, because I end up doing so much more of that kind of thing in the edits. Jessica: Well, something I like to say is that we're all discovery writers, just different degrees. Because the writing process, no matter how much you plot in advance, is always going to be a discovery process. There are always going to be things you didn't think of. There's always going to be a way to tie things together that you never could have thought of before you started writing. So much of the story evolves and gets processed on the page and in your mind as it's coming out onto the page, and it's delusional to think you can think of all that before you start engaging with the characters. You can come close. I've known writers who have come very close, but almost all writers will discover something that they didn't know in the outline. I would argue that that's actually the fun part of writing. It's not the days when writing goes exactly to plan. They're nice, but they're not necessarily the fun parts. The fun parts are when you sit down to write the scene you thought was going to be the scene, and suddenly this new detail appears, and you go, “Oh my gosh, this totally unlocks everything, and I never even thought of it.” It could be in a text message. It could be on a billboard. It could be something the character just blurts out that you weren't expecting, and suddenly your whole story comes together in that moment, or maybe just the scene comes together. It's those moments, I think, that we write for. So even just expecting the book to come out exactly as you plotted is one of those mindset shifts. If you shift it and think, “This is really fun. I get to discover new things about my story that I wasn't expecting,” that, again, just makes the process a little more fun. So instead of, “Oh, this isn't what I thought it was going to be,” or, “This isn't what I outlined,” which is focusing on what's wrong with the book, it becomes, “Oh, wow, this is teaching me something I never expected about my story, and that's pretty cool.” Jo: Yes, I think that moment, Carl Jung called it, I guess, synchronicity, the moment when these things come together and it feels just incredible, that's the moment we all look for. It does seem to happen on every book. Everything clicks into place, and I look forward to that moment with every book. I did want to ask you about a novel that you have coming out soon as we record this, called How to Write a Murder. Now, this is a new genre for you, and it's quite meta because it's about writers as well. So talk about writing a brand new genre now at this point in your career. What are the challenges of trying to reach a new audience? Why do this book now? Jessica: Wow, great question. I love challenging myself to do something new. I wrote contemporary for many years and then thought, “I'm going to try a sci-fi.” Or, “I'm going to try middle grade now.” I think I go where the story wants, where I'm inspired to go when it comes to story ideas. However, with mystery, it's been one of those things that's always been on the back of my mind, like a wish list, a bucket list. I want to write a murder mystery. I just never had the right idea. Or I never had the time, or I never had the space. Then I finished my last novel contract, and I took a break, because I had been writing on deadlines for years. I took a very, very much needed break from deadlines. For the first time in I think 15 years, I did not have a book deadline. I just asked myself, “Jessica, what do you want to write?” As opposed to, what's the next book that's due? And the answer was very clear. I want to write that murder mystery. I toyed with a few ideas, and then I started to think about, okay, so I wrote this book on plot that a lot of people know and use. What if someone used that book to plot a literal murder? What would that look like? This meta explosion came to mind, which is that I wanted to write a murder mystery that's structured like a plotting guide for murder mysteries. The characters in the book are all writers who are familiar with this plotting guide, and the events of the story are unfolding like the plot of a murder mystery according to this book. You have no idea which one of them is actually using the book to plot the murder, because they all know the book. So one of the taglines is, “One dead body, seven mystery writers, and they all know how to get away with murder.” It was sort of my culmination of everything I'd done in my career. All the plotting workshops I'd taught, all the revision courses I'd taught, and of course this plotting structure method I'd been teaching for years, and I put it into this book. It's a fictional version of Save the Cat! It's called The Bestseller Formula. The premise of this book is that someone is using a murder mystery plotting guide to plot a literal murder. So the reader is learning how to write a murder as they're reading about the murder on the page. Jo: I love it. I know lots of people are going to want that. It does bring the business side of things into more difficulty, because of course you have readers, like you mentioned middle grade, you've got YA books, and obviously, I guess, the writers that you teach will be interested. How is this going to work for your book marketing and your business? Because it also sounds like this might be a standalone. Jessica: It is a standalone as of now. I have some sequel ideas, but we're not pursuing them yet. It is a different market for me, for sure, and that's become a challenge as I'm marketing, because I'm not in the thriller mystery space yet. I haven't written a novel for adults since the very, very beginning of my career. I've been mostly writing for teens and middle grade. The good news is most of my teen readers are now adults, because it's been so long since I wrote for teens. So there's that. I think the book will appeal to mystery readers just because it's a fun mystery, and there's a fun meta element to it. I think it's going to appeal to writers as well. So I'm very much leaning on that, at least for the launch. I hope my writer community will get behind this book, because it's very much an ode to storytelling. It's an ode to writers. I dedicated it to writers. As a writer, you will understand this book on a level that a reader never will. You will get so many of the little inside jokes that a reader might just skim past. So I did very much write it for writers, with the hope that readers will also enjoy it. I had the most fun writing it I've had, I think, of writing any book. Partly I think that was because I wasn't writing it under deadline. I was just writing it for me, but also just because it felt like the book I'd been destined to write for so long. Jo: Fantastic. So we're out of time. So where can people find you and your books and everything you do online? Jessica: How is that possible? I feel like we just started. JessicaBrody.com is the best place to find everything. If you're interested in my writing courses, you can check out WritingMastery.com as well. Jo: Well, thanks so much for your time, Jessica. That was brilliant. Jessica: Thank you, Joanna. I had so much fun.The post From Page One To Done: Fast Drafting Your Novel With Jessica Brody first appeared on The Creative Penn.

This week, we’re taking a summer rewind as Tommy revisits a fan-favorite episode with Malachi Barton of Camp Rock 3, Zombies 4: Dawn of the Vampires, Stuck in the Middle, and more. This is a deep, introspective side of Malachi like you’ve never heard before. Today, he opens up about adjusting to living a very public life and the attention that comes along with that, what his relationship is like with social media, how Zombies 4 changed his life, how Zombies 4 made him realize how much he loves singing and dancing, if he ever wants to be on Dancing with the Stars, the message of Zombies 4 that he personally related to the most, the powerful advice that Milo Manheim and Meg Donnelly gave him that he’ll never forget, what that Zombies group chat is really like, what all those different Zombies alternate endings are, if he was ever supposed to play Red’s brother in the Descendants franchise (a big online rumor answered), what his future dream projects are, his biggest celebrity crush (ahem Outer Banks), how he has handled his journey with anxiety, and so much more. Subscribe, rate, and leave a written review if you enjoy this conversation! Tune in every week for new episodes of I’ve Never Said This Before. Executive Producers: iHeart Media and Elvis Duran Podcast Network Producers: Andrew Pugliese, Stephanie Lane Follow us on socials! Instagram: @neversaidthisbefore YouTube: @NeverSaidThisBeforeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Go to https://brooklynbedding.com and use promo code THEWHYFILES at checkout for 30% off sitewide. Discover how to move your IRA or 401k into physical gold and silver — with no taxes or penalties. Get your free portfolio review and free gold & silver guide from GoldenCrest Metals: visit https://GoldenCrestMetals.com/thewhyfiles or call (888) 949-9172 now. The Basque people live between Spain and France, but their blood matches no one else in Europe. One in three carries Rh-negative blood, a rare trait that turns pregnancy into a genetic gamble. Their language, Euskera, has no relatives anywhere on Earth. Linguists have searched every continent and found nothing that connects it to another tongue. The Basques say their ancestors came from a lost island called Atlaintika, destroyed thousands of years ago. Plato told almost the same story, about a civilization called Atlantis that vanished beneath the sea in a single night. A 2,000-year-old bronze hand found in Spain carries a word modern Basque speakers can still read on sight. What that word protected, and why it mattered enough to survive a dictatorship, ties an ancient legend to the blood in Basque veins today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ils ont cartonné cet été sur les plateformes ! On vous offre un petit récap des meilleures sorties avec la petite de soeur de Sherlock dans "Enola Holmes 3", et un voyage dans l'univers d'Alice aux pays des merveilles avec "Descendants 5"

Tweed Roosevelt, a great-grandson of Theodore Roosevelt, and Massee McKinley, a 2nd great-nephew of William McKinley and 2nd great-grandson of Grover Cleveland, will speak at the Buffalo History Museum Thursday night. Spencer Morgan from the Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural Site tells us more about the event.

GOD IS SO GOOD THAT I CAN TRUST HIS EVERY DECISION!

Fashion and costume designer and creative director Kara Saun joins Will and Sabrina to take about her incredible career in the fashion industry. She also was the creative director for “Descendants” and goes way back with our girl Sabrina! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

"Hidden Heroes: A Descendants Story" Coming Soon To Disney+ https://whatsondisneyplus.com/hidden-heroes-a-descendants-story-coming-soon-to-disney/    #DisneyPlus  VISIT ONLINE -  http://www.WhatsOnDisneyPlus.com If you enjoy my content, please consider supporting me by becoming a YouTube Channel Member for as little as $5 a month and get access to exclusive content and much more.   https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC99lFugkkvslALTl_RLVn_Q/join FOLLOW ON TWITTER -   http://Twitter.com/DisneyPlusNews   FOLLOW ON INSTAGRAM -   http://instagram.com/WhatsOnDisneyPlus LIKE ON FACEBOOK -  http://facebook.com/WhatsOnDisneyPlus

"Hidden Heroes: A Descendants Story" Coming Soon To Disney+ https://whatsondisneyplus.com/hidden-heroes-a-descendants-story-coming-soon-to-disney/    #DisneyPlus  VISIT ONLINE -  http://www.WhatsOnDisneyPlus.com If you enjoy my content, please consider supporting me by becoming a YouTube Channel Member for as little as $5 a month and get access to exclusive content and much more.   https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC99lFugkkvslALTl_RLVn_Q/join FOLLOW ON TWITTER -   http://Twitter.com/DisneyPlusNews   FOLLOW ON INSTAGRAM -   http://instagram.com/WhatsOnDisneyPlus LIKE ON FACEBOOK -  http://facebook.com/WhatsOnDisneyPlus

"Hidden Heroes: A Descendants Story" Coming Soon To Disney+ https://whatsondisneyplus.com/hidden-heroes-a-descendants-story-coming-soon-to-disney/    #DisneyPlus  VISIT ONLINE -  http://www.WhatsOnDisneyPlus.com If you enjoy my content, please consider supporting me by becoming a YouTube Channel Member for as little as $5 a month and get access to exclusive content and much more.   https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC99lFugkkvslALTl_RLVn_Q/join FOLLOW ON TWITTER -   http://Twitter.com/DisneyPlusNews   FOLLOW ON INSTAGRAM -   http://instagram.com/WhatsOnDisneyPlus LIKE ON FACEBOOK -  http://facebook.com/WhatsOnDisneyPlus

Hey Streetwalkers. This is a throwback episode with guest Jeremy Swift. Jeremy first appeared on the show on 9.25.23.It was such a compelling & fun episode, l decided it needed to be re-visited!Enjoy this throwback episode, tell a friend, and thanks for listening!Jeremy SwiftTake a walk with me down Fascination Street as I get to know Jeremy Swift. You may know Jeremy from Downton Abbey, Apple TV's Ted Lasso, or the Wachowski Siblings' epic Jupiter Ascending. But you may not know that Jeremy is arguably a more talented musician, than he is an actor.Just kidding. He is superb in both endeavors!In this episode, we chat about how he came to be an actor, and some of his first roles. I mean he toured with a cabaret troupe that played shows in various prisons! Holy Moly! Of course, we discuss some of his experiences on the previously listed projects, and a couple of others. I ask him what it is like to work with his wife on set, and he spills the beans on Ted Lasso season 4!Jeremy also shares the story of why he chose to get his Sag / Aftra card, and his upcoming film: "Descendants 4: The Rise of Red". Next we get into music. Jeremy started playing music at a very early age, and we definitely dive into that aspect of his creativity. Jeremy shares stories of his punk phase, seeing The Sex Pistols live, and his thoughts on the "Oi!" movement of the late 70's. Jeremy has a new album out called "Songs of Escape and Endless Night", which is catchy as hell. We discuss a couple of the tracks from that album, and he lets me play my favorite song from it. Jeremy shares his love for David Bowie, building synthesizers with his dad, and Christo Fernandez working on Jeremy's new album.Follow Jeremy Swift everywhere.See Jeremy Swift in everything.Listen to Jeremy Swift on Spotify.

On the Overthinking It Podcast, we tackle Disney’s tween-industrial complex: the “Descendants” franchise and the “Zombies” franchise. Episode 943: Get Me Ortega! originally appeared on Overthinking It, the site subjecting the popular culture to a level of scrutiny it probably doesn't deserve. [Latest Posts | Podcast (iTunes Link)]

Nondisclosure agreements, or NDAs, have become a common tool in Louisiana under Gov. Jeff Landry's administration.Earlier this year, the Gulf States Newsroom reported that at least 50 elected officials signed NDAs with the state agency Louisiana Economic Development as well as individual development companies. These NDAs are related to industrial projects throughout the state, including data centers and the Hyundai steel mill in Ascension Parish. Today, we dive into a new investigation from the Gulf States Newsroom's Drew Hawkins, who found the practice of signing NDAs also extends into the governor's own office. Large-scale sediment diversions used to be considered priorities in Louisiana's coastal restoration initiatives. But after years of debate, political opposition, and the cancellation of the Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion, the state's restoration priorities are changing.A new documentary from Louisiana Public Broadcasting titled “Building Barriers” explores those changes. Host of the new film and Louisiana Spotlight producer, Oscar Tickle, as we;; as LPB executive producer Linda Midgett, tell us more.On Tuesday, The Old Governor's Mansion in Baton Rouge will host the  special presentation “Louisiana Orphan Trains: America's Forgotten Journey of Hope and Hardship.” It tells the story of a mass relocation movement of orphaned children from eastern American cities to more rural communities in the mid 1800s.With more on this presentation and this chapter in Louisiana history, we spoke with two descendents of orphan train riders: President of the Louisiana Orphan Train Society, Martha Aubert, and board member James Douget.—Today's episode of Louisiana Considered was hosted by Karen Henderson. Our managing producer is Alana Schreiber. We receive production and technical support from Garrett Pittman, Adam Vos and our assistant producer, Aubry Procell. You can listen to Louisiana Considered Monday through Friday at noon and 7 p.m. It's available on Spotify, the NPR App and wherever you get your podcasts. Louisiana Considered wants to hear from you! Please fill out our pitch line to let us know what kinds of story ideas you have for our show. And while you're at it, fill out our listener survey! We want to keep bringing you the kinds of conversations you'd like to listen to.Louisiana Considered is made possible with support from our listeners. Thank you!

GOD'S PROMISES HAVE NEVER FAILED, THEY HAVE ONLY BEEN MISUNDERSTOOD OR MISINTERPRETED!

The conversation focused on the origins and career trajectory of Insanity Alert, their experiences in the thrash and crossover music scenes, and the shared culture of punk and metal communities. Stories from the formative years of thrash, personal anecdotes from the 1980s LA metal scene, and the evolution of crossover genres were explored with enthusiasm and humor.Main Topics CoveredThe band's appearance at WackenEarly thrash and crossover punk/metal scene historyPersonal stories from 1980s Los Angeles metal cultureHow Insanity Alert launched their career and inspirationsGenre boundaries and the crossover movementThe importance of community in punk and metal scenesTips for connecting with Insanity Alert and supporting their musicKey Discussions & StoriesWacken and Band BeginningsThe discussion explored how performing at Wacken is considered a pinnacle achievement for European metal bands, likened to playing the "Coliseum" of metal festivals 01:11.One concept discussed was the band's notable entrance onto the scene by opening for Suicidal Tendencies, which was a pivotal and accidental break for them 01:51.Old School Metal and Punk MemoriesThe episode featured vivid recollections of the first crossover shows in LA with both punks and metalheads, at unconventional venues like Elks Lodges, featuring bands such as Possessed, Dark Angel, Savage Grace, C.O.C., The Descendants, and Suicidal Tendencies 02:25."Institutionalized" by Suicidal Tendencies was highlighted as a song deeply rooted in the experience of LA youth, reflecting the cultural and familial challenges of the era 03:27.Discovering ThrashSeveral points were raised, including how the early exposure to taped Slayer albums and other bands like Gorefest shaped musical tastes and propelled new musicians into thrash 04:07.The Crossover EraA key theme that emerged was the blending of punk and metal genres, with references to Slayer's early punk influences and the lack of defined genres like “thrash” at the time—it was simply seen as speed or heavy metal 06:44.The hosts reminisced about how bands such as D.R.I. were instrumental in breaking down barriers between punks and metalheads by embracing longer hair and a more inclusive attitude 11:32.Launching Insanity AlertThe discussion explored how Insanity Alert's big break came from a low-budget local show opening for Suicidal Tendencies, followed by the viral spread of a VHS recording of their performance which attracted international attention through MySpace and YouTube 07:56.The band's commitment to fast, short songs and blending various extreme music subgenres (punk, hardcore, power violence, jazz) as a secret to authentic crossover appeal was highlighted 08:36.Community, DIY Ethos, and Band GrowthEmphasis was placed on the tight-knit nature of early thrash scenes, the mutual support between genres, and the importance of unity over division within underground music 10:29.Reflections on legendary musicians' backgrounds (e.g., Slayer members' punk/metal mix, Metallica starting out as “power metal”) underscored the fluidity of genre labels and the importance of musical curiosity 06:52.Notable Quotes"It's the pinnacle, right? It's the Coliseum." 01:13"That song Institutionalized was about all of my friends in high school... It was trendy then for parents to throw their kids that they couldn't control into the mental hospital." 03:27"There was no term thrash. So yeah, it was just like speed metal or heavy metal." 06:44"We are all big music lovers, from punk to hardcore to power violence to jazz, and I think that makes a good crossover band." 09:48“Band together, idiots! Finally, finally it's normal.” 10:25“No doubt. And that was the whole concept of Slayer because Lombardo was a punk, Hanneman was a punk, Kerry King was a metalhead, and Tom didn't even know metal.” 10:41Resources & Links MentionedBand Website/Socials: "You just Google Insanity Alert and you will get the Instagram, the Bandcamp, probably all the Spotify and iTunes and whatevernot. So Insanity Alert Austria." 12:34Encouragement to support the band by purchasing merch and streaming music: “...they can't fucking listen to my show unless they buy your merch.” 12:23Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-adventures-of-pipeman--941822/support.Click Here to Subscribe for PERKS, BONUS Content & FREE GIVEWAYS!Follow @pipemanradio on all socials & Pipeman Radio Requests & Info at www.linktr.ee/pipemanradioStream The Adventures of Pipeman daily & live Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays at 1PM ET on W4CY Radio & Talk 4 TV. Download, Rate & Review the Podcast at The Adventures of Pipeman, Pipeman Radio, Talk 4 Media, iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, YouTube & All Podcast Apps.

Welcome back to another amazing paranormal interview, I'm glad you all decided to stop by and join me. I'm being joined by an amazing guest for this episode as Alice Markham-Cantor, Author and Descendant of a Salem Witch, stops by for a chat about the Salem Witch Trials. As a lover of history in general but especially Paranormal history, it was an honor to have Alice sit down for a great conversation. We talked about the Salem Witch Trials, witches in general, spectral evidence, social issues, and so much more. So grab your broom and your familiar as we have a witchy time. Alice's Website: https://www.alicemarkhamcantor.com/ Uncensored, Untamed & Unapologetic U^3 Podcast Collective: https://www.facebook.com/groups/545827736965770/?ref=share YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8xJ2KnRBKlYvyo8CMR7jMg

Follow John and Jay down the rabbit hole to talk about Descendants: Wicked Wonderland!

ON THIS EPISODE: (TIME STAMPS BELOW) A review of Spider-man: Brand New Day! Then, in the wake of our series on Assurance Of Salvation, we revisit a portion of Paeter's James Bible Study series, taking a look at one of the most misunderstood passages in the Bible that has led many Christians to fear their faith is not "real" enough to have obtained eternal life. Paeter also has opinionated thoughts to share on why it's GOOD that Disney did NOT announce any X-Men projects at SDCC! AND MUCH MORE! 00:00:30 Intro 00:04:45 Spider-Man Brand New Day Review 00:20:23 CGC & Christian Geek News(Realm Makers Defamation Lawsuit) 00:31:49 Assurance of “Salvation” Bonus James Revisit (Geek Bible Study) GEEK WEEK 00:47:10 VIDEO GAMES: No Man's Sky 00:53:57 MOVIES/TV: Minority Report, Keeper, Descendant, X-Men, X2: X-Men United, X-Men: Last Stand, 01:20:34 No X-Men At Comic-Con & That's GOOD! 01:30:59 On The Next Episode 01:34:59 Essential Issues Weekly (Catching up on four weeks of DC Comics, there's a TON to cover, and we've ESPECIALLY got to talk about the jaw-dropping Fury Of Firestorm 3 and the CRAZY (kinda irritating) things happening with YOUNG JON KENT! The Deadman 1, Batman 10, JSA 20, The Fury Of Firestorm 3, Supergirl 14, Emperor Aquaman 18, Green Lantern Corps 17, Nightwing 139, New Titans 36 (JON KENT DRAMA), Superman Unlimited 14 (JON KENT DRAMA), Superman 39, Wonder Woman 34, Detective Comics 1110, Green Lantern 36, The Flash 34 ‍ ‍ FREE STUFF BELOW! Play Spirit Blade Productions' unofficial questline in No Man's Sky! “A Father's Journey” features a story with personal stakes, in-engine cutscenes, rewarding exploration and a mystery to solve! To get started, visit https://www.spiritblade.com/a-fathers-journey Visit Our In-Game “No Man's Sky” Base With TONS Of Free Resources! At any Euclid Galaxy Glyph Portal, enter the glyphs corresponding to this sequence: 4,2,15,6,16,8,7,9,4,5,6,13 (Top row of glyphs is 1-8, bottom row is 9-16) Support this podcast and enjoy exclusive rewards at https://www.patreon.com/spiritbladeproductions Join Our Free Public Discord Channels! Invite HERE: https://discord.gg/5CRfFy2GG5 SUBSCRIBE TO PAETER'S SUBSTACK, @PAETERFRANDSEN: https://paeterfrandsen.substack.com/ ‍ ‍ Subscribe in a reader ‍ ‍ Open In i-tunes- itms://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-christian-geek-central-podcast/id258963175?mt=2 i-tunes Page Link- https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-christian-geek-central-podcast/id258963175?mt=2 Get fun, exclusive rewards for your support! Visit: https://www.patreon.com/spiritbladeproductions Or Become a Patron! ‍ ‍ All episodes are archived and available for download at www.spiritblade.com , Resources used to prepare CGC Bible study/devotional content include: "Expositor's Bible Commentary", Frank E. Gaebelein General Editor (Zondervan Publishing House) "The IVP Bible Background Commentary: Old Testament", by Dr. John H. Walton, Dr. Victor H. Matthews & Dr. Mark W. Chavalas (InterVarsity Press), "The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament", by Dr. Craig S. Keener (InterVarsity Press), The Grace New Testament Commentary Revised Edition, Robert N. Wilkin (Grace Evangelical Society) Thayer's Greek Lexicon Strong's Exhaustive Concordance A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 3rd Edition(BDAG) Blueletterbible.org Lexicon To The Old And New Testaments, By Spiros Zodhiates, TH.D. ‍ ‍ The Christian Geek Central Statement Of Faith can be found at: http://christiangeekcentral.blogspot.com/p/about.html The Christian Geek Central Podcast is written, recorded and produced by Paeter Frandsen. Additional segments produced by their credited authors. Logo created by Matthew Silber. Copyright 2007-2026, Spirit Blade Productions. Music by Wesley Devine, Bjorn A. Lynne, Pierre Langer, Jon Adamich, audionautix.com and Sound Ideas. Spazzmatica Polka by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Freesound.org effects provided by: FreqMan

They want a perfect princess! Will and Sabrina Are watching “Descendants: Wicked Wonderland” starring Kylie Cantrall, Malia Baker Liamani Segura and Brendon Tremblay. This film premiered in 2026 as a Disney Channel Original Movie.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

They want a perfect princess! Will and Sabrina Are watching “Descendants: Wicked Wonderland” starring Kylie Cantrall, Malia Baker Liamani Segura and Brendon Tremblay. This film premiered in 2026 as a Disney Channel Original Movie.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The ancestors left behind so many things for us to learn from and telling their complete and unfiltered story is only one of the duties that we have. Preserving the land where they were enslaved is an important part of that homage, as well as protecting communities that we live in today from industrial polution. Meet twin sisters Jo and Joy Banner from the Descendant's Project, who are doing just that.

Jeff and Phil welcome their old friend Leonardo Nam, who stars in Disney's Descendants: Wicked Wonderland. He talks about his journey as an artist from Argentina to Australia to Hollywood, where he first broke through in films like The Perfect Score, Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, and The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift; his unexpected and delightful villainous turn as Maddox Hatter in Disney's wildly popular Descendants franchise -- including his very own full-fledged musical number; and the joy of getting to share this family-friendly project with his kids. Also: The Good, The Bad, and The WTF of making Descendants: Wicked Wonderland.

The new Descendants movie is out now and I wanna chat all about it with you. Brew up some tea and come chat with me!

Red and Chloe's peace is shattered when an unexpected new villain, Maddox Hatter, emerges and captures the Queen of Hearts, forcing them to join forces with a crew of allies to save Wonderland. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Disney has plenty of film franchises, but the biggest in recent years has to be the direct-to-streaming "Descendants" series. Launched in 2015, followed by "Descendants 2" in 2017 and "Descendants 3" in 2019, the series shifted in 2024 with a new cast for "Descendants: The Rise of Red." Many of those new characters return for "Descendants: Wicked Wonderland." In this episode, co-host Bruce Miller first has an interivew with Kiara Romero (Hazel Hook, daughter of Captain Hook), Alexandro Byrd (Luis Madrigal, son of Luisa Madrigal) and Liamani Segura (Pink, daughter of the Queen of Hearts and younger sister of Red), followed by a second interivew with co-stars Malia Baker (Chloe Charming, daughter of Cinderalla and King Charming) and Kylie Cantrall (Red, daughter of the Queen of Hearts). Bruce and co-host Terry Lipshetz also chat about the impact of the series on a younger generation of Disney fans. About the show Streamed & Screened is a podcast about movies and TV hosted by Bruce Miller, a longtime entertainment reporter who is the retired editor of the Sioux City Journal in Iowa and Terry Lipshetz, managing editor of the National Newsroom for Lee Enterprises based in Madison, Wisconsin. The show was named Best Podcast in the 2025 Iowa Better Newspaper Contest. Theme music Thunder City by Lunareh, used under license from Soundstripe. YouTube clearance: FV694ULMCJQDG0IY

Sabrina sat down with the two leading ladies Kylie Cantrall and Malia Baker from Disney's latest DCOM "Descendants: Wicked Wonderland". See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sabrina sat down with the three new stars added to the Descendants franchise, Liamani Segura, Alexandro Byrd and Kiara T. Romero. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Video Version: https://open.spotify.com/episode/4nFJph01qhy1aHuZQrPRLN?si=SXLG__V9R2qXgvOD_G5QpwLinktree: ⁠⁠https://linktr.ee/Analytic⁠⁠Join The Normandy For Ad-Free NME, Additional Bonus Audio And Visual Content For All Things Nme+! Join Here:⁠⁠ ⁠⁠https://ow.ly/msoH50WCu0K⁠⁠Join Analytic Dreamz in this powerful segment of Notorious Mass Effect as he sits down with the creator of YASUKE: A Lost Descendant at DreamCon 2026. In this exclusive interview, Analytic Dreamz dives deep into the vision behind the game, exploring its cultural significance, development journey, and bold reimagining of the legendary African samurai's legacy. Dash. Slash. Glide. Discover your legacy as the heir to a legendary African samurai in this high-velocity 3D action game, featuring futuristic swordplay, kinetic parkour, and anime-inspired action. From gameplay mechanics to representation in gaming, this conversation uncovers how YASUKE: A Lost Descendant blends history, heritage, and next-level combat into an unforgettable experience.Tune in for authentic insights, creator perspectives, and the story behind one of the most anticipated action titles. Analytic Dreamz delivers unfiltered conversations on culture, gaming, and creativity. Subscribe now and never miss a segment. Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Jeff and Phil welcome Annie Lee, Managing Director of Policy for Chinese for Affirmative Action, and Sandra Wong, great-granddaughter of Wong Kim Ark, whose landmark 1898 Supreme Court victory established birthright citizenship in the United States. They discuss the history of United States v. Wong Kim Ark and its profound impact on American citizenship and civil rights; the contemporary political challenges to birthright citizenship and the erosion of constitutional rights; and the importance of educating the next generation about Wong Kim Ark's legacy.

Sabrina got to attend the "Descendants: Wicked Wonderland" premiere this week and she's telling Will all about it! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After the Queen of Hearts incites a coup on Auradon, her rebellious daughter Red and Cinderella's perfectionist daughter Chloe join forces and travel back in time to try to undo the traumatic event that set Red's mother down her villainous path. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

DESCENDANTS 5 MOVIE REACTION TODAY! Greg Alba & Tara Erickson experience Descendants: Wicked Wonderland (2026) for the first time, reacting to the latest Disney musical adventure! From the Kingdom Cup Games and magical Wonderland chaos to shocking twists, heartfelt friendships, new villains, and an exciting finale, this Descendants 5 reaction is packed with Disney magic and plenty of fun. Descendants: Wicked Wonderland Reaction (Full Length Watch Along):   / thereelrejects   Limited Time Offer – Make healthy eating simple. Get Huel today with my exclusive offer of 15% OFF online with my code REJECTS at huel.com/REJECTS. New Customers Only. Thank you to Huel for partnering and supporting our show! Greg & Tara react to every song from the Descendants: Wicked Wonderland soundtrack, including “Perfect Princess,” “Mad,” “Did You Hear About Them,” “Dancing with the Enemy,” “For Once in My Life,” “The Girl I Used to Be,” “Heartless,” “Who I Am,” “Go Live It,” “True to Your Heart,” “Mad – Wicked Wonderland,” and the “Descendants: Wicked Wonderland Score Suite.” They also discuss the complete cast of characters, including Kylie Cantrall as Red, Malia Baker as Chloe Charming, Liamani Segura as Pink, Brendon Tremblay as Max Hatter, Leonardo Nam as Maddox Hatter, Alexandro Byrd as Luis Madrigal, Kiara Romero as Hazel Hook, Joel Oulette as Robbie Hood, Zavien Garrett as Felix Facilier, Ryan McEwen as Squirmy Smee, Dayton Paradis as Squeaky Smee, Rita Ora as the Queen of Hearts, Brandy as Cinderella, Paolo Montalban as King Charming, Melanie Paxson as Fairy Godmother, and Awkwafina as Chessy. In this Descendants: Wicked Wonderland reaction, Descendants 5 full movie reaction, and review, Greg & Tara break down the consequences of Red and Chloe changing the timeline, the evolving friendships between the VKs & HKs, Maddox Hatter's plan, Pink's arrival, the biggest musical performances, and the emotional ending. They also discuss where Wicked Wonderland ranks within the Descendants franchise & what its finale could mean for the future of Auradon. Follow Greg Alba:  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thegregalba/ Twitter:  https://x.com/thegregalba Follow Tara Erickson: Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@TaraErickson Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/taraerickson/ Twitter:  https://twitter.com/thetaraerickson Intense Suspense by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/... Support The Channel By Getting Some REEL REJECTS Apparel! https://www.rejectnationshop.com/ Follow Us On Socials:  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reelrejects/  Tik-Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@reelrejects?lang=en Twitter: https://x.com/reelrejects Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheReelRejects/ Music Used In Ad:  Hat the Jazz by Twin Musicom is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Happy Alley by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/... POWERED BY @GFUEL Visit https://gfuel.ly/3wD5Ygo and use code REJECTNATION for 20% off select tubs!! Head Editor: https://www.instagram.com/praperhq/?hl=en Co-Editor: Greg Alba Co-Editor: John Humphrey Music In Video: Airport Lounge - Disco Ultralounge by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Ask Us A QUESTION On CAMEO: https://www.cameo.com/thereelrejects Follow TheReelRejects On FACEBOOK, TWITTER, & INSTAGRAM:  FB:  https://www.facebook.com/TheReelRejects/ INSTAGRAM:  https://www.instagram.com/reelrejects/ TWITTER:  https://twitter.com/thereelrejects Follow GREG ON INSTAGRAM & TWITTER: INSTAGRAM:  https://www.instagram.com/thegregalba/ TWITTER:  https://twitter.com/thegregalba Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The White House, Smithsonian, NY Times Washington Post, PBS Have featured the Quander Families nearly 340 Year Roots BEFORE the forming of the United States of America to Now.This Week I Look at Highlighs of Life & Time of America's Archived Oldest Black Families: the AmQuando Families Journey & Present Day Walk in AmericaMy Guest is Rohulamin Quander, a native Washingtonian, is a retired Senior Administrative Law Judge for the District of Columbia. He is also a member of the Quander Family whose distinguished history in the Washington, D.C. area is traced to the 1670s, which legacy includes Mount Vernon Plantation ancestors Sukey Bay, Nancy Carter Quander, and West Ford, among others, all of whom were in involuntary service to George Washington. Judge Quander periodically serves as an advisor to Mount Vernon, most recently in the exhibit, Lives Bound Together, Slavery at George Washington's Mount Vernon, and still maintains close ties. He often serves as a guest lecturer on African American History.A double graduate from Howard University, from which he received his J.D. degree, Judge Quander founded the Quander Historical and Educational Society, Inc., a 501 (c)(3) foundation in 1985. The Society was established to document, preserve, protect, and share the history of the Quander Family, a product widely recognized as an educational tool.His continued years of service include addressing human and civil rights inequities among the Dalit (Untouchable) population of India, one of his ancestral homelands. To date, the author of four books, Judge Quander's newest book is titled, The Quanders – Since 1684, An Enduring African American Legacy. Judge Quander is also a licensed and certified District of Columbia tour guide. His tours feature traditional Monuments and Memorials, African American History and Culture, and can also be tailored to your personal needs and wishes.Married to Carmen Torruella Quander, internationally acclaimed artist, they have three adult children and one grandchild. They reside in Washington, D.C.© 2026 All Rights Reserved© 2026 Building Abundant Success!!Join Me on ~ iHeart Radio @ https://tinyurl.com/iHeartBASSpot Me on Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/yxuy23baAmazon Music ~ https://tinyurl.com/AmzBASAudacy:  https://tinyurl.com/BASAud

He's the man behind Descendants, High School Musical, Hocus Pocus, and Newsies, but Kenny Ortega's journey to becoming a Disney Legend started long before Mickey Mouse called. This is the story of the creative force Disney keeps turning to when they need to remind audiences why they fell in love with Disney magic. From starting out as a dancer in touring productions of Hair to choreographing music videos for Madonna and Elton John, stadium tours for Michael Jackson, and the iconic "Twist and Shout" sequence in Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Kenny Ortega was shaping pop culture for a decade before Disney ever picked up the phone. When they finally did in 1988, it kicked off a 30-year partnership that would define childhoods for millions. What makes Ortega different is that he was never just a company man. He brought rock tours, Olympic ceremonies, and fountain choreography from the Vegas strip into everything he made for Disney. Subscribe on YouTube for more Disney connections: https://www.youtube.com/@SynergyLovesCompany?sub_confirmation=1 Podcast: Listen to Synergy Loves Company → https://synergylovescompany.com Support the Show: Shop official Synergy Loves Company merch → https://shop.synergylovescompany.com Affiliate Disclosure: Some links above may be affiliate links. If you click and purchase, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting the channel! Connect with Me: Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/synergylovescompany Bluesky → https://bsky.app/profile/erichsynergy.bsky.social Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/synergylovescompany This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

Tear it down, then paint the town red! Will and Sabrina are watching “Descendants: The Rise of Red” starring Kylie Cantrall, Malia Baker and Dara Reneé. This film premiered in 2024 as a Disney Channel Original Movie.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Will and Sabrina continue their conversation on “Descendants: The Rise of Red”! This film premiered in 2024 as a Disney Channel Original Movie.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Will and Sabrina continue their conversation on “Descendants: The Rise of Red”! This film premiered in 2024 as a Disney Channel Original Movie.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tear it down, then paint the town red! Will and Sabrina are watching “Descendants: The Rise of Red” starring Kylie Cantrall, Malia Baker and Dara Reneé. This film premiered in 2024 as a Disney Channel Original Movie.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode 585 - Joe David, Descendants Brewing Episode 585 - Joe David, Descendants Brewing Steal This Beer Download Happy Monday, Thieves! We're taking to Joe David of Descendants Brewing today. Joe converted the old Ship Inn in Milford, NJ, into a brewery several years ago and we talk about his journey there. We have a little fun in the black glasses this week, too. Tune in and let us know what you think!***As always, you can email your questions, complaints, whimpers, or whines to us at stealthisbeerpodcast@gmail.com. We read everything we get and we'll try to respond as quickly as we can. If not online, then on air. And THANKS! You can subscribe to STB on iTunes and PLEASE LEAVE US A REVIEW!!! Co-hosts: Augie Carton & John Holl Producer: Justin Kennedy Engineer: Brian Casse Music: "Abstract Concepts - What Up in the Streets" by Black Ant.

Leonardo Nam is an Argentinean-Australian Korean actor who has built a career defined by versatility and emotional depth. Audiences know him from HBO's Emmy-award winning Westworld, where he starred opposite Thandiwe Newton as Felix Lutz, as well as standout roles in films such as The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants franchise, The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift and The Perfect Score.  Other credits include: The Flash, Disjointed, Hawaii Five-O, Royal Pains, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Bones, Maggie, MacGyver, Room 104, Sneaky Pete and DC Universe's Swap Thing to name a few.  Off-screen, Leonardo is also entering a major new chapter creatively with the launch of Good On Ya Productions, his independent film and television banner focused on globally-minded, character-driven storytelling.   Leonardo is returning to the spotlight as the fan-favorite character Maddox Hatter, alongside Kylie Cantrall, Malia Baker, Brandy, and Rita Ora in Descendants: Wicked Wonderland. As the fifth instalment in the hit franchise, Descendants: Wicked Wonderland follows Red and Chloe as they confront the fallout of their time travel through Wonderland and face the now-villainous Maddox Hatter. Descendants: Wicked Wonderland will premiere globally July 16, 2026, on Disney Channel and stream the following day on Disney+. Also check out his new film, Love Is The Monster, out now! We chat about studying clown work and the propound impact it had, Descendants, leaving architecture, his production company (Good On Ya Productions), moving to America and sleeping on a park bench, the well, wellness & meditation, artist dates, mentors + much more! Check Leonardo out on: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leonardo_nam/ Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@leonardonam ------------------------------------------- Follow @Funny in Failure on Instagram and Facebook https://www.instagram.com/funnyinfailure/ https://www.facebook.com/funnyinfailure/  

Dana Ledoux Miller ​is a shape shifting scribe. ​ S​he was PA'ing on Lost and The Descendants when she first said out loud that she wanted to be a writer. A decade later, she's co-written and co-directed Moana 2 and written Disney's live-action Moana, in theaters July 10 — becoming one of the ​f​ew Pacific Islander writers steering a major Disney IP. In this episode, we trace ​h​er full arc: from set life in Hawaii, to landing in Aaron Sorkin's writers' room on The Newsroom, to the surreal call that brought her onto Moana. We talk about what it actually feels like to carry the weight of representation on a project this big — the pressure of getting it right, the imposter syndrome that hasn't fully gone away even after a billion-dollar movie, and how she handles public reaction to work she's poured herself into. We also get into PEAK, the nonprofit she co-founded so she's not the only name on the list of Pacific Islander storytellers working in Hollywood. Plus: desert island essentials, her favorite Hawaiian island, and what The Rock is actually cooking.   AOP SUBSTACK

John Kavanaugh is a composer, lyricist, and musical director who received 9 Emmy nominations and was awarded the 2014 Daytime Emmy Award for "Sofia the First" Main Title theme song. John is also one of the songwriters on "Sofia the First: Royal Magic," that was just released on Disney Jr. and Disney+. John wrote songs for Disney's first Latina princess, Elena of Avalor, and penned the songs and served as music director on the series "Alice's Wonderland Bakery." His songs can also be heard in the Disney Channel series Vampirina: Teenage Vampire and in several hit movies, including the Winnie The Pooh film "Springtime with Roo," Nickelodeon's "Globehunters," and "Descendants 3." For "Descendants 3" he wrote the song "My Once Upon A Time" for Dove Cameron and that soundtrack album rose to #1 within the first hour of release. It was also nominated for a Billboard Music Award. John also served as musical director on the first season of The New Mickey Mouse Club for the Disney Channel. John is as kind as he is talented and successful and we know you're going to love this interview!Email: TheMouseAndMePodcast@gmail.comSupport: www.patreon.com/themouseandmeFB and Instagram: “The Mouse and Me”Music by Kevin MacLeod from https://incompetech.filmmusic.io

Ahead of America's 250th birthday, CNN tracked down multiple descendants of the original signers of the Declaration of Independence to ask: do you feel like we are living up to their vision? Their answers were as complicated as the country itself. For more: Descendants in a divided America  ---  Guest: Catherine Shoichet, CNN Senior Writer  Host: David Rind  Producer: Paola Ortiz  Showrunner: Felicia Patinkin  Photo: Tristen Rouse/CNN Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week on Mel & Floyd: A visit from Ruby; BIg giant slabs of content and wiener dog videos; Rampart reading disability on the Supreme Court?; Has Mitch McConnell stopped trading stocks?; A collapsing stage in DC; 90 mph on a unicycle??; Jefferson focused on the indictments; Missing giraffe found; And other random topics; Notice something missing?  For the complete Mel and Floyd Experience, buy the CD “The Very Best of James Brown” and play it on your Hi-Fi while listening to this podcast!  Or listen live at 89.9 FM or wortfm.org/listen-live/ every Friday from 1 to 2 PM Central Time. Photo courtesy Alex Guillaume on Unsplash Did you enjoy this story? Your funding makes great, local journalism like this possible. Donate hereThe post Descendants of Convict Ducks appeared first on WORT-FM 89.9.

As America prepares to celebrate the Fourth of July, a Colorado man with ties to one of the Founding Fathers, reckons with the country's complicated history and a family divided. Then, as wildfires continue to burn in parts of Colorado, we hear the stories of people forced to leave their homes at one of the largest, the Gold Mountain Fire near Ouray. Plus, a new documentary streaming on HBO Max shares the history of the legendary band, Earth Wind & Fire, featuring Philip Bailey from Denver. And as America marks 250 years, we re-share a musical milestone for Colorado jazz saxophonist Tony Exum Jr. who performed the National Anthem at an NFL game.

Remembering is important to our God…perhaps, because His people so easily forget His faithfulness. While God never forgets us, we tend to quickly put Him aside. Dr. James Boice studies Psalm 105, and reminds us that “everything begins with God”…and it's to Him we owe our thanks. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/81/29?v=20251111

It’s good to be bad! Will and Sabrina are watching “Descendants 3” starring Dove Cameron, Sofia Carson, Cameron Boyce and Booboo Stewart. This film premiered in 2019 as a Disney Channel Original Movie.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Citizens of Lakota, Cheyenne, Arapaho, and other tribes are making their way to Montana to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Battle of the Greasy Grass, also known as the Battle of the Little Bighorn. They are going there to mark a milestone for one of the most significant battles on U.S. soil. Many of them can directly trace their lineage to the warriors who were there. Among them is Jodi Rave Spotted Bear, whose great-great grandfather, Bear With Horns, died in the fight. His story was preserved by his younger sister Lucy Poor Buffalo, who was seven years old and witnessed the battle. Spotted Bear and others from the online news site, Buffalo's Fire, are collecting the stories in a Memorial Wall to pay tribute to the Native warriors. We'll hear from Spotted Bear and other descendants whose stories have been handed down over the generations. GUESTS Ernie LaPointe (Lakota), great-grandson of Sitting Bull and veteran Jodi Rave Spotted Bear (Mandan, Hidatsa and Mniconjou Lakota), executive director of the Indigenous Media Freedom Alliance and editor-in-chief of Buffalo’s Fire Donovin Sprague (Miniconjou Lakota), historian, archivist, and professor at Sheridan College Break 1 Music: Remembering The Warrior (song) Porcupine Singers (artist) Alowanpi – Songs Of Honoring – Lakota Classics: Past & Present, Vol. 1 (album) Break 2 Music: Feels Like [feat. Sheena Shandea] (song) Nataanii Means (artist)

oday, we are heading to Los Angeles, California, to chat with S.A Sizemore. S.A is a writer, playwright, themed entertainment professional, and storyteller with a fascinating connection to one of America's most intriguing historical events—the Salem Witch Trials. A proud member of the LGBTQ community, Shelley draws inspiration from history, genealogy, and family stories. Her debut novel, Whispers of the Pale Witch, launches the Beckett Coven series, blending Salem history, family secrets, magic, and mystery into a compelling supernatural tale. Find out more at: beckettcoven.com, @beckettcoven (TikTok, Instagram, Threads, Bluesky, X, Substack), Beckett Coven Readers on Facebook, and Goodreads