Best Matt B Davis Podcasts (2025)

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20: From BetterBriefs to better results: Insights from Matt Davies and Pieter-Paul von Weiler, co-founders at BetterBriefs 41:37

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9d ago41:37

41:37

In today’s episode, Alan sits down with BetterBriefs co-founders Matt Davies and Pieter-Paul von Weiler to discuss why they think marketing briefs are the most important document in the agency-marketer relationship, how approaching briefs as contracts may influence results, and the effect that clarity in briefs has on creativity. Matt and Pieter-Pa…

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Gianna Englert, "Democracy Tamed: French Liberalism and the Politics of Suffrage" (Oxford UP, 2024) 1:13:05

2d ago1:13:05

1:13:05

Does good democratic government require intelligent, moral, and productive citizens? Can our political institutions educate the kind of citizens we wish or need to have? With recent arguments "against democracy" and fears about the rise of populism, there is growing scepticism about whether liberalism and democracy can continue to survive together.…

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Let’s Stop Weaponizing Therapy-Speak (and Start Communicating Better) 49:50

2d ago49:50

49:50

We’re living in a time when mental health terms are EVERYWHERE. But is our obsession with therapy-speak helping us grow, or just confusing us more? This week, JVN sits down with psychotherapist and author Joe Nucci to talk about his new book PSYCHOBABBLE and the rise of pop psychology online. Together, they unpack what a psychotherapist really does…

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PARANORMAL ACTIVITY SUPER DRAFT (with DeVaughn Taylor & Mary Beth McAndrews) 2:15:57

3d ago2:15:57

2:15:57

SCREAM Drafts VIII creeeeeps on as rookies DeVaughn Taylor (Specter Cinema Club) and Mary Beth McAndrews (Dread Central, Bystanders) join us at the Draft Table to definitively rank the 7 films of the PARANORMAL ACTIVITY franchise! Become a BOOster! Visit www.patreon.com/screendrafts today!

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Life of a Showgirl Debrief, Plenary Authority, Prosecuting Political Enemies 31:26

4d ago31:26

31:26

This week, we’re talking: a National amendment to enshrine abortion access as healthcare, JVN Holiday Box Gift sets, navigating online “therapy speak,” The Drowsy Chaperone at Carnegie Hall, the fate of Ophelia music video, Tiktoks overtaking our algorithm, the unfolding ceasefire, prosecuting political enemies, supporting NPR, Dylan Mulvaney’s one…

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Kevin M. Schultz, "Why Everyone Hates White Liberals (Including White Liberals): A History" (U Chicago Press, 2025) 1:26:39

7d ago1:26:39

1:26:39

A bracing, accessible history of white American liberals—and why it’s time to change the conversation about them. If there’s one thing most Americans can agree on, it’s that everyone hates white liberals. Conservatives hate them for being culturally tolerant and threatening to usher in communism. Libertarians hate them for believing in the power of…

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How to Stay Hopeful (and Powerful) When Rights Are Under Threat — with Planned Parenthood’s Alexis McGill Johnson 48:42

9d ago48:42

48:42

Planned Parenthood President and CEO Alexis McGill Johnson is here and we are fired up! Alexis is leading the fight to protect reproductive freedom at a time when access to healthcare is under attack across the U.S.—and she’s breaking it all down for us. JVN sat down with Alexis to talk about the real-world impact of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act,…

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Presenting Heavyweight: The Messenger 38:47

10d ago38:47

38:47

By Sony Music Entertainment / Jonathan Van Ness

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Andrew Lambert, "No More Napoleons: How Britain Managed Europe from Waterloo to World War One" (Yale UP, 2025) 53:54

10d ago53:54

53:54

By New Books Network

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Hannah Pool, "The Game: The Economy of Undocumented Migration from Afghanistan to Europe" (Oxford UP, 2025) 51:19

10d ago51:19

51:19

By New Books Network

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'00s HORROR mini-MEGA (with Kyle Anderson, Billy Ray Brewton, & Clark Collis) 5:16:15

10d ago5:16:15

5:16:15

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AI Trump Memes, OBBBA Tax Breaks & Healthcare Cuts 31:21

11d ago31:21

31:21

We’re talking: WAYWARD’s No. 1 spot on Netflix, celeb sightings at The Corner Store, Figure Skating & Gymnastics on Peacock, bag etiquette, AI Trump posts, One Big Beautiful Bill Act tax breaks & healthcare cuts, what extreme gender ideology actually is, situationship ghosting, Libra season, Diet Coke with Lime, and ponytails in baseball hats. Tikt…

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Madison Schramm, "Why Democracies Fight Dictators" (Oxford UP, 2025) 54:36

14d ago54:36

54:36

Over the course of the last century, there has been an outsized incidence of conflict between democracies and personalist regimes—political systems where a single individual has undisputed executive power and prominence. In most cases, it has been the democratic side that has chosen to employ military force. Why Democracies Fight Dictators (Oxford …

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Sasha Davis, "Replace the State: How to Change the World When Elections and Protests Fail" (U Minnesota Press, 2025) 28:30

16d ago28:30

28:30

A practical call to action against oppression. Across the globe, millions of people have participated in protests and marches, donated to political groups, or lobbied their representatives with the aim of creating lasting social change, overturning repressive laws, or limiting environmental destruction. Yet very little seems to improve for those af…

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How to Laugh In Terrifying Times with Mae Martin 51:55

16d ago51:55

51:55

Comedian, actor, and writer Mae Martin joins the podcast for a wild ride through their journey — from discovering Ace Ventura as a kid, to cutting their teeth in comedy clubs, to creating the hit Netflix series Wayward. In this episode, Mae opens up about how identity, rejection, and resilience have shaped their comedy and storytelling, and why Way…

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Matt Myers, "The Halted March of the European Left: The Working Class in Britain, France, and Italy, 1968-1989" (Oxford UP, 2025) 1:13:03

17d ago1:13:03

1:13:03

The European left seemed to be in rude health during the 1970s. Never had so many political parties committed to representing the working class been in power simultaneously across the continent. New forms of mobilisation led by female, immigrant, and young wage-earners seemed to reflect the growing strength of the workers' movement rather than its …

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'70s COMEDY mini-MEGA Draft (with Bryan Cogman, Oriana Nudo, & Drew McWeeny, and Frank Berman) 5:58:24

17d ago5:58:24

5:58:24

Veteran Screen Drafts GMs Bryan Cogman (Game of Thrones), Oriana Nudo (Hollywood-ography), and Drew McWeeny (The Hip Pocket) join us at the Draft Table to competitively / collaboratively rank the 13 best COMEDY films released in the 1970s! Sponsored by Booster Club Official Sponsor Frank Berman! Become a Booster! Visit www.patreon.com/screendrafts …

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The Non-Rapture, JVN on FOX News, Mariah Carey’s “Here For It All” 48:37

18d ago48:37

48:37

We’re talking: JVN’s singing career crossover, the Rapture (or lack thereof), our FOX News feature, Real Housewives of Salt Lake City Season 6 Premiere, razor blade COVID, NDM-CRE bacteria, the dismantling of our Healthcare System, Government Shutdown, Jimmy Kimmel’s return (except Quincy, IL), Mariah Carey’s 16th studio album Here For It All, find…

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19: Standing out in a ‘sea of sameness’: Insights from Tati Lindenberg, chief brand officer at Dirt Is Good 36:15

23d ago36:15

36:15

In today’s episode, Alan wraps up our Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity content series with Tati Lindenberg, chief brand officer at Dirt Is Good. Together, they explore global brand strategy for balancing consistency with local relevance, the origin and evolution of the Dirt Is Good brand, and the brand’s deliberate movement through…

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Authoritarian Ideas, Old and New: From Schmitt to “JD” 1:19:14

23d ago1:19:14

1:19:14

On this episode of International Horizons, RBI Acting Director, Eli Karetny talks with Richard Wolin (Distinguished Professor, CUNY Graduate Center) about the intellectual roots of today’s anti-liberal right. Tracing a line from Germany’s “conservative revolutionaries” (Carl Schmitt, Oswald Spengler, Ernst Jünger, Heidegger) to France’s nouvelle dr…

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JVN Gets a Lesson in Singing & Finding Confidence with Vocal Coach Cheryl Porter 54:19

23d ago54:19

54:19

Vocal coach, and now Broadway star in “& Juliet.”, Cheryl Porter sits down with Jonathan Van Ness for an unforgettable voice lesson that’s about more than just singing. Cheryl doesn’t just teach notes — she teaches confidence, positivity, and how to let go of shame to truly find your voice. They dive into Cheryl’s decades long career in Italy, watc…

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Selim Koru, "New Turkey and the Far Right: How Reactionary Nationalism Remade a Country" (I. B. Tauris, 2025) 47:09

24d ago47:09

47:09

Turkey is among a league of revisionist powers who are challenging the world order. Erdogan and his Islamist movement have aimed to create the “New Turkey”, preparing for a future that is less dependent on Western treaty allies and with an alliance structure of its own. In New Turkey and the Far Right: How Reactionary Nationalism Remade a Country (…

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MOCKUMENTARY (with Graham Skipper & Billy Ray Brewton) 3:12:43

24d ago3:12:43

3:12:43

Things get a little bit rowdy when Screen Drafts Legends Graham Skipper (Godzilla: The Official Guide to the King of the Monsters) and Billy Ray Brewton (Coroner to the Stars) go head-to-head for the first time in ages, ranking the 7 best MOCKUMENTARY films ever made! Become a Screen Drafts Booster! Visit www.patreon.com/screendrafts today!…

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LGB Separation, Haircuts & Mental Health, Practical Magic 2 24:19

25d ago24:19

24:19

We’re talking: Jeffree Star & the LGB separation, Larry the Cat updates, StyleFix Stick Launch at JVN Hair, rewatching Designing Women, our favorite Britney Spears clips, haircuts & mental health, and Practical Magic 2. Follow us on Instagram @gettingbetterwithjvn Jonathan on Instagram @jvn and senior producer Chris @amomentlikechris New video epis…

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18: The secret to Klarna’s AI advantage: Insights from David Sandstrom, chief marketing officer at Klarna 20:55

30d ago20:55

20:55

In today’s episode, we continue our Cannes Lions series as Alan and David Sandstrom, chief marketing officer at Klarna, discuss how embracing change, leveraging artificial intelligence (AI), and balancing data-driven efficiency with creativity are shaping the future of marketing and brand-building. Klarna is a financial technology company that is w…

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Zahi Zalloua, "Fanon, Žižek and the Violence of Resistance" (Bloomsbury, 2025) 1:08:36

30d ago1:08:36

1:08:36

n a novel pairing of anti-colonial theorist Frantz Fanon with Marxist-Lacanian philosopher Slavoj Žižek, Zahi Zalloua explores the ways both thinkers expose the violence of political structures. This inventive exploration advances an anti-racist critique, describing how ontology operates in a racial matrix to produce some human bodies that count an…

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How To Actually Make An Impact with Rep. Jasmine Crockett 52:23

1M ago52:23

52:23

What happens when a razor-sharp elected official and a relentlessly curious host sit down to discuss what it takes to make lasting change? This week, JVN is joined by the unstoppable Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett — U.S. Representative from Texas, lawyer, lay it on the line truth-teller, and rising voice in the Democratic Party. Together, they unpa…

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CRYPTIDS (with Steve Berg & Ryan Marker and Graham Skipper) 2:53:55

1M ago2:53:55

2:53:55

Actor and podcaster Steve Berg (Hi, Strangeness) is back at the Draft Table with his old friend Ryan Marker (the Co-Commish) to rank the 7 best films made about Bigfoot, yetis, mermaids, and the like! Joining the hunt as guest co-commissioner is Screen Drafts Legend Graham Skipper. Visit www.patreon.com/screendrafts to join the Screen Drafts Booste…

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Christopher Millington, "Murder in Marseille: Right-Wing Terrorism in 1930s Europe" (Manchester UP, 2025) 37:41

1M ago37:41

37:41

On 9 October 1934, terrorists murdered King Alexander I of Yugoslavia in a Marseille street. The Croatian ultranationalist Ustashe was behind the attack. The Ustashe hoped that the king’s death would cause the collapse of Yugoslavia and the liberation of the Croat people. Murder in Marseille: Right-Wing Terrorism in 1930s Europe (Manchester UP, 202…

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JVN talks NYFW, Updates on the Epstein Birthday Book, Mariah Carey in the Amazon 22:48

1M ago22:48

22:48

We’re talking: gun violence, New York Fashion Week Hair, Sylvia Browne resurgence, fist fights on the FYP, Epstein’s Birthday Book, pink dolphins, and Mariah Carey in the Amazon. Follow us on Instagram @gettingbetterwithjvn Jonathan on Instagram @jvn and senior producer Chris @amomentlikechris New video episodes Getting Better on YouTube every Wedn…

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Huseyn Aliyev, "Who Fights for Governments? Paramilitary Mobilization in Ukraine and Beyond" (Bloomsbury Academic, 2025) 1:47:50

1M ago1:47:50

1:47:50

Exploring why, when and under which circumstances individuals decide to take up arms mobilizing for pro-government militias, Huseyn Aliyev's Who Fights for Governments? Paramilitary Mobilization in Ukraine and Beyond (Bloomsbury Academic, 2025) draws on insights from long-standing ethnographic fieldwork among former and active members of Ukraine's …

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Peter Sparding, "No Better Friend? The United States and Germany Since 1945" (Hurst, 2024) 53:13

1M ago53:13

53:13

The German-American relationship is the decisive transatlantic dynamic of our time. Long seen as one of the most stable connections between Europe and America thanks to its well-defined Cold War structure and hierarchy, relations between Washington and Berlin have become much more volatile in the twenty-first century-- and are playing an increasing…

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Brandon Bloch, "Reinventing Protestant Germany: Religious Nationalists and the Contest for Post-Nazi Democracy" (Harvard UP, 2025) 55:53

1M ago55:53

55:53

Germany’s Protestant churches, longtime strongholds of nationalism and militarism, largely backed the Nazi dictatorship that took power in 1933. For many Protestant leaders, pastors, and activists, national and religious revival were one and the same. Even those who opposed the regime tended toward antidemocratic attitudes. By the 1950s, however, C…

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17: Google it: Smarter marketing with AI: Insights from Sean Downey, president of Americas & Global Partners at Google 33:59

1M ago33:59

33:59

Sean Downey is the president of Americas & Global Partners at Google, overseeing the company’s expansive advertising business, including Google Search and YouTube. With a background rooted in the earliest days of digital marketing startups and leadership roles at DoubleClick and Google, Sean draws on leadership lessons learned from his father, part…

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Make Oversharing Your Superpower with Tefi Pessoa 53:02

1M ago53:02

53:02

What happens when two professional oversharers get together? Pure magic... and a little chaos. JVN is joined by the incomparable Tefi Pessoa — culture commentator, internet big sister, and now host of her brand-new podcast Tefi Talks. Come for the tea, stay for the wisdom, and leave with a little extra permission to embrace your inner oversharer. T…

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Ariel Colonomos, "Pricing Lives: The Political Art of Measurement" (Oxford UP, 2023) 44:34

1M ago44:34

44:34

Pricing Lives: The Political Art of Measurement (Oxford UP, 2023) discusses how human lives are equated with the material, and argues that pricing lives lies at the core of the political; in fact, as in Plato or Hobbes, and in the Weberian ethics of responsibility, measurement is considered to be one of its central features. Ariel Colonomos argues …

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COLLEGE GIRLS (with Katie Walsh & Milla Bell-Hart) 2:51:45

1M ago2:51:45

2:51:45

It's a double All-Star inauguration as film critic Katie Walsh and screenwriter Milla Bell-Hart (Bad Monkey) join the Draft Table to rank the 7 best films about GIRLS in COLLEGE! Become a Screen Drafts Booster! Visit www.patreon.com/screendrafts to join the club.

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Stanley Bill and Ben Stanley, "Good Change: The Rise and Fall of Poland's Illiberal Revolution" (Stanford UP, 2025) 39:53

1M ago39:53

39:53

In Poland between 2015 and 2023, Jarosław Kaczyński and his Law and Justice Party (PiS) attempted a novel experiment. Could a governing party sustain a coalition committed religiously inspired social conservatism, old-school left-wing welfarism, and antipathy to Moscow and Brussels while also unravelling democratic institutions? It was, write Stanl…

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Clearing Up the GOP's Smoke Screen Defense of Women’s Rights + Epstein Victims Speak Out 35:46

1M ago35:46

35:46

We’re talking: See You Next Tuesday’s, Creative Arts Emmy Awards 2025, aging out of concerts, the Epstein victims at the capitol building, US Open underdog stories, and answering your listener questions. Follow us on Instagram @gettingbetterwithjvn Jonathan on Instagram @jvn and senior producer Chris @amomentlikechris New video episodes Getting Bet…

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16: Driving audience engagement with the magic of Disney: Insights from Andrew Messina, senior vice president at Disney Advertising 20:11

1M ago20:11

20:11

Andrew Messina is a Senior Vice President at Disney Advertising. He began his career on the agency side before moving into daytime sales at ABC, then advancing to a primetime senior account executive role, and ultimately rising to his current position. For the past 17 years, Andrew has led all brand advertising initiatives at Disney Advertising, in…

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Aly & AJ: Gun Reform in America, 20 Years of Music, and a DCOM Sequel? 51:40

1M ago51:40

51:40

It took too long, it took too long, it took too long - for Aly & AJ to come on the pod! What keeps a band together for 20 years? How do sisters turn harmonies into a creative language all their own? And what does it look like to balance joy, artistry, and activism while living life on the road? This week, JVN sits down with Aly & AJ to celebrate tw…

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SUMMER 2025 (with Dave Schilling & Clay Keller) 2:15:01

2M ago2:15:01

2:15:01

AMC A-Listers Dave Schilling (Horror's New Wave: 15 Years of Blumhouse) and Clay Keller (Screen Drafts) sit down at the Draft Table to competitively / collaboratively rank the 7 best films from the SUMMER movie season that just was, 2025! Become a Screen Drafts Booster! Visit www.patreon.com/screendrafts to find out how!…

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Cardi B In Court, Benson Boone Sings Adele, Nancy Mace’s Anti-Trans Attacks Explained 35:23

2M ago35:23

35:23

This week, we're talking: medical misinformation, Anna Wintour sightings, the US Open, Benson Boone Kelly Clarkson-ing Adele, Nancy Mace’s anti-trans rhetoric, Princess Diana’s time capsule, answering late night texts, “Man’s Best Friend,” and the joy of autumn. Follow us on Instagram @gettingbetterwithjvn Jonathan on Instagram @jvn and senior prod…

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Chris Millington, "A History of Fascism in France: From the First World War to the National Front" (Bloomsbury, 2019) 1:03:09

2M ago1:03:09

1:03:09

FASCISM...FRANCE. Two words/ideas that scholars have spent much time and energy debating in relationship to one another. Chris Millington's A History of Fascism in France: From the First World War to the National Front (Bloomsbury, 2019) is a work of synthesis that also draws on the author's own research for key examples and evidence to support its…

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15: Live from Cannes Lions 2025: Candid conversations on the future of marketing 20:20

2M ago20:20

20:20

Each year, top creative minds gather at the Cannes Lions Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity for a week of innovations, awards, and candid conversations about the future of marketing. Over the next month, you will get exclusive insight into the latest trends and stories shaping the industry through interviews with leaders from some of…