FIELD TRIP: A Hollywood Visit to the Writers Guild Strike Line

Jump in, we’re going to the Valley to talk to cool, funny screenwriters about... Artificial intelligence-drafted scripts! Trillion-dollar companies pretending they’re broke! Emmy-nominated writers with side hustles! Teamster bosses dropping mics! What an exciting time to gossip about Hollywood… labor unions! Listen, we all love watching our Programs and laughing, learning and loving. But things are getting WEIRD behind the scenes, and the Writers Guild of America is on strike, showing up in picket lines in front of movie and TV studios. Sometimes in costume. Sometimes with live mariachi bands. And always with the wittiest signs in showbiz, baby. I heard from the writers themselves about why this strike is so important in a rise in labor awareness all over the world. I meant for this episode to be 20 minutes long, but turns out – it’s pretty juicy.

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WGA On Strike

A donation went to the Entertainment Community Fund and the new Choreographers Guild (Instagram / Twitter)


More about the strikers:

WGA Board Member Dailyn Rodriguez - IMDB / Instagram / Twitter

Teagan Wall - IMDB / website / Instagram / Twitter

WGA Negotiating Committee Member Danielle Sanchez-Witzel - IMDB / Bio / Twitter

La Lista

Stephen Langford - IMDB / Twitter

WGA Captain Judalina Neira - IMDB / website / Instagram / Twitter

Omar Ponce - IMDB / website 

Erica Harrell - IMDB

Flaco Navaja - IMDB / Instagram / Twitter

WGA Captain Jimmy Clabots - IMDB / Instagram / Twitter

Elle Lipson - IMDB / website / Twitter

Annie Mebane - IMDB / Twitter

Sam Laybourne - IMDB

And choreographer Kathryn Burns - IMDB


Links to things we discussed:

‘The Lincoln Lawyer’ Easily Tops Nielsen Weekly Chart; May Streaming Hit Another Record Share Of Total Viewing, Nielsen Says

Former Theater Kids Hold Newsies Strike at Disney

Writers Strike: What Happens if Other Union Workers Refuse to Cross Picket Lines

What are the standard script revision set colors?

WGA: Mini-Rooms Are Writers’ Rooms. Period.

How A WGA Hit Squad Is Shutting Down Hollywood One Shoot At A Time

Christmas Couples’ Retreat trailer (spoilers though!)

SAG-AFTRA: Studios Seek To “Pad Corporate Profits & Fund Lavish Executive Compensation” As Threatened Actors Strike Looms

Teamsters Local 399

What Is IATSE? An Explainer

TV Writers Voice Mixed Feelings About Reality TV Part II of a Series

The best picket signs of the Hollywood writers strike


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Editing by Mercedes Maitland of Maitland Audio Productions, Jarrett Sleeper of MindJam Media and Mark David Christenson

Transcripts by Emily White of The Wordary

Website by Kelly R. Dwyer

Theme song by Nick Thorburn

Field TripsAlie Ward