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HBO and The Ringer's Bill Simmons hosts the most downloaded sports podcast of all time, with a rotating crew of celebrities, athletes, and media staples, as well as mainstays like Cousin Sal, Joe House, and a slew of other friends and family members who always happen to be suspiciously available.
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What do fragile dreams, public grief, and indie film have in common? More than you might think. Mo & Matt Lathrom (from the last guest episode) start with an unsettling “protect the tiny creature” dreams and move through the losses of cultural icons, asking what kind of space opens when giants leave—and who has the courage to fill it. Along the way, they talk illness, resilience, and why a single look in a scene can change how you feel about a character more than any speech ever could.
Matt, a visual effects artist, writer, and producer, joins Mo to unpack what really happens behind the Sundance mystique: submissions with unfinished shots, the quiet bravery of showing work-in-progress to people who can truly see it, and the unspoken rule of respecting the room. From there they wade into today’s biggest creative fault line—AI. They challenge the myth of “AI actors,” the promise of cheap, automated storytelling, and why those projects become expensive VFX pipelines the moment you ask for continuity, pores, light, and soul. Productivity without purpose is a trap; the point isn’t more output, it’s better outcomes.
They also get practical. Where AI can help—scaffolding ideas, clarifying structure, reducing noise—it’s a tool. Where it starts replacing performance, editing intuition, or the moral labor of choosing what to show and why, it’s a cost we shouldn’t hide. Film remains our best empathy engine, letting us sit with people we’d otherwise never understand. If you’ve been waiting to start your script, short, or show, consider this your nudge. Begin messy. Share early. Keep the room respectful. And keep showing up, because the space our legends leave won’t fill itself.
If this spoke to you, follow the show, share it with a friend, and leave a quick review—what part changed how you see the creative future?
Instagram: @this.is.a.metaphor & @joyscout.mo
Email Mo: [email protected]
Cover Design by: Joyscout Studio // For commissioned art & design inquiries: Joyscout Studio
“Don’t get Deterred, get Inspired”
Chapters
1. Fragile Dreams And Symbolism (00:00:00)
2. Introducing Matt And Creative Freedom (00:00:42)
3. Cinema As Shared Language (00:02:56)
4. Lynch, Eraserhead, And Disturbance (00:03:45)
5. Loss, Legends, And Public Grief (00:06:11)
6. Pneumonia, Asthma, And Vulnerability (00:08:20)
7. Names, Identity, And Family Lore (00:13:05)
8. On Heroes, Space Left By Icons (00:15:51)
9. Film’s Power To Expand Empathy (00:19:38)
10. ICE, Outrage, And Better Discourse (00:22:46)
11. Smashing Systems Vs Building Better Ones (00:27:20)
12. California Policy And AI Likeness (00:31:04)
13. Sundance Energy And Submission Reality (00:33:14)
14. Respect For The Room And The Work (00:37:18)
15. AI Actors, Commerce, And Craft (00:41:20)
16. The VFX Reality Behind AI Fantasies (00:45:12)
17. What’s The Point Of Productivity? (00:49:24)
18. Where AI Helps And Where It Hurts (00:53:02)
19. Language Limits And Film’s Subtext (00:57:06)
20. Editing, Performance, And Ambiguity (01:00:20)
21. Democratization Or Commodification? (01:02:45)
22. An Economy That Eats Everything (01:05:20)
11 episodes
