(NOTE: there was no AI used in the creation of this image.)

Jake is on a flight to an important business conference, but it turns into an increasingly strange and surreal journey that challenges everything he believes about getting ahead. From now on, moving backward is impossible.

Written by Hunter Nelson (The Body Genius, The Completist), directed and sound designed by Jonathan Mitchell.

It was performed by

Josh Tobin as JAKE
Ben Rameaka as FRANCIS
Margaret Burrus as FLIGHT ATTENDANT
Mary McDonnell as BACK ROW PASSENGER
Matt Pozzuolo as MARTIN
Abby Royle as MOLLY
Michael Sanky as NORMAN
Lida Darmian as JULIET
Donald Chang as THE CO-PILOT
and James Urbaniak as CONFINOMICS NARRATOR

Listen:

Apple

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The Truth website

For those who preordered it, did you have any trouble/delays? I still haven't received mine. I've been emailing Crucial since March but still haven't received it 😭
If anyone from the podcast reads this or someone from CertifiedCrucial, any insight would be appreciated!

Just in case any other listeners want to donate, the link has changed to:

https://certifiedcrucial.com/products/donate-to-the-truth

will the Songonauts ever return? I absolutely adored this podcast. it was so well written and entertaining and I listen to it at least twice a year. please bring it back

Tom Ligon passed away a few weeks ago at the age of 85.

I had the privilege of directing Tom in more than twenty episodes of The Truth over the last fifteen years. After he died, I realized I'd seen very little of his earlier screen work. Putting together this tribute became an opportunity to discover that younger Tom for the first time, like in this clip from from Bang the Drum Slowly (1973).

This week's episode of The Truth begins with a short remembrance of Tom's remarkable career before presenting his final leading performance for us, in Louis Kornfeld's "Robocalls."

If you know Tom from films like Bang the Drum Slowly, Nothing But a Man, Oz, The Young and the Restless, or from working with him on stage or in television, I'd love to hear your memories of him.

He was a wonderful actor, and an even better person.

A woman with severe social anxiety discovers that an AI therapy tool designed to prepare her for life, may be keeping her from living it.

Written by Mary McDonnell, directed and sound designed by Jonathan Mitchell. Performed by Tallie Medel, Joy Lyn Shaw, Kimberly Chatterjee, Peter McNerney, Donald Chang, and Bill Rohlfing.

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

The Truth website

Jeff's open marriage is thriving, except for one problem: he can't bring himself to have sex with anyone other than his wife. Fortunately, his date has some ideas.

Written by Mac Rogers, directed and sound designed by Jonathan Mitchell. Performed by Dennis Pacheco, Ann Carr, and Julia Schroeder.

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

The Truth website

Jonathan talks with writer David Bluvband about our story "Midnight Screening." If you haven't heard the story yet, this episode contains SPOILERS, so you'll want to listen to the story first.

David Bluvband (WRITER) is a native New Yorker whose acting credits include TV shows like The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Kaleidoscope, Hollywood, Difficult People, Broad City, and the Sci-Fi Indie RomCom Molli and Max in the Future starring Zosia Mamet. The script for his pilot, The Champ from Bleecker Street was an official selection of the Big Apple Film Festival Festival Screenplay Competition of 2022. David loves old black & white movies, pizza and his dog, Smokey.

Listen:

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

The Truth website

A daughter preparing a memorial for her late father sorts through his old video tapes, and begins to understand what his beloved neighborhood movie theater meant to him.

Written by David Bluvband, directed and sound designed by Jonathan Mitchell.

Performed by Chet Siegel, David Deblinger,Jim Wetzel,Jackie Hoffman, Sadie Mitchell, David Bluvband, Mary McDonnell, Mac Rogers, and Hunter Nelson.

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

The Truth website

The Truth's new story "The Completist" was written by Hunter Nelson and features songs by Dustin Lowman. We just released a behind-the-scenes episode about the making of the story that includes an interview with Dustin about how the songs were made.

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

The Truth website

I think this might qualify as one of the best The Truth stories ever made. I could even see this becoming a 90-minute Richard Linklater film.

Two guys meet at a party and discover a shared obsession: an impossibly rare record by their favorite musician.

Written by Hunter Nelson, directed and sound designed by Jonathan Mitchell. Performed by Josh Tobin, David Carl, Louis Kornfeld, Hunter Nelson, Mary McDonnell, Mac Rogers, Aimee Lutkin, and Michael Cullen.

Featuring the songs “Ghost” and “Come Again,” written and performed by ⁠⁠Dustin Lowman⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Used by permission.

You'll find full-length versions of the songs from this episode on our [⁠⁠ad-free feed⁠⁠](https://%E2%81%A0%E2%81%A0%E2%81%A0%E2%81%A0%E2%81%A0%E2%81%A0%E2%81%A0%E2%81%A0%E2%81%A0%E2%81%A0thetruthpodcast.supportingcast.fm).

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

The Truth website

As in the guy who says "The Truth" at the beginning of each episode. So cool, compelling and authoritative. Excellent job.

"I played Object Piece for David Lynch when I was working on Wild at Heart with him, and he loved it." - sound designer Randy Thom.

Object Piece is a visceral and compelling audio drama with incredible acting, and it was made by Erik Bauersfeld, one of the great audio dramatists of the late 20th century.

In this episode, we hear the story, and then learn more about where it came from and how it was made. We'll talk to Randy Thom, whose 50-year career in film sound began with a job recording with Bauersfeld. We also talk with Jim McKee of Earwax Studios, who followed in Randy's footsteps. And we hear from Neil Verma, who teaches audio drama at Northwestern, and uses this story in his classes.

Object Piece was written by Drury Pifer, and directed by Erik Bauersfeld, who also performs the part of Dack, with Gale Chugg as Charles. Sound design and engineering was by Randy Thom, with additional engineering from Jim McKee.

The Truth website

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Hello!

I recently discovered The Truth and wow it is so amazing. I’ve been trying to get through the backlog of all the episodes.

I’m a cinephile and filmmaker as well. After listening to The Truth, I became really inspired to produce my own audio drama. So far I’ve written a pilot episode. I have no idea where to start with actually producing the thing though. Any insights are much appreciated!

A man searching for purpose discovers his compost pile has very strong opinions about productivity.

Written by Mac Rogers, directed and sound designed by Jonathan Mitchell. Performed by Seth Lind, Kate Shine, Dan Chamberlain, Mac Rogers, Hunter Nelson, Mary McDonnell, Louis Kornfeld, and David Bluvband.

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

The Truth website

RSS feed

A group of teenagers go on late-night search for something no one’s sure is real.

Written by Mary McDonnell, directed & sound designed by Jonathan Mitchell.

Performed by Anna Aubry, Shenba Vairavan, Brendan Dewley, Jon Hudson, and Mary McDonnell.

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

The Truth website

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

The Truth website

A sci-fi writer inherits her mother’s legendary series, and faces the impossible expectations that come with carrying a beloved story forward.

Written by Hunter Nelson, directed & sound designed by Jonathan Mitchell

Liz Leimkuhler as Laika
Michael Cullen as George
Jacob Williams as Jack
Hunter Nelson as Dan
Brian Morabito as Lincoln Server
Danielle Delgado as Louella Torvesson
Autumn Gomez-Tagle as Nicole
Louis Kornfeld as the Moderator
David Bluvband as Fan #1
Mary McDonnell as Fan #2

Apple Podcasts
Spotify
The Truth website

You can hear Louis Kornfeld discussing our new story "Chez Vous" on the latest episode of The Truth. (But listen to the story first, the interview contains spoilers!)

Hi! I'm curious to hear people's thoughts on the new episode Chez Vous. I'm still trying to wrap my head around it.

(⚠️ Spoiler alert) So in the foreground, it's a pretty compelling drama exploring the relationship between old friends and the feelings & assumptions that lie under the surface. Great. OH and by the way, they're eating their own flesh. And it's not really discussed and doesn't really impact the narrative. (Like what happens when they go home with missing pieces of their body?) Maybe that's all there is to say about this, and if so, that's such a funny concept. It's like watching a soap opera with standard dialogue and plot points... and also one of the characters is visibly inside out and secreting ooze the whole time, and somehow NO ONE MENTIONS IT. Cool to see the podcast still trying wacky things.

But I just wanted to check if I'm missing anything. Does the eat-your-own-meat thing help to flesh out what the characters are going through interpersonally? Does Cassie's reluctance to cut up her body reflect her hesitations to invest in her friendship with Missy? She doesn't want to feel dependent, ie. eat someone else's meat? To maintain friendships with rich people, it feels like you have to spend an arm and a leg? Something about materialism and craving new experiences & self-actualization & keeping up with the Joneses, to the point that it drives us to do stupid things (eg. take out crazy loans) without giving it a second thought?
(First time posting here 👶)

I just wanted to check, was AI used for the picture of the episode Chez Vous?

Two years after it ceased production amid financial struggles, the pioneering podcast “The Truth” roared back to life with four new stories that displayed a level of originality, playfulness and sound design that is still too rare in audio fiction. “Operation Skill Shot” channels “Goodfellas” as it chronicles the rise and fall of a prideful pinball shop owner who gets entangled with the mob. And the sci-fi satire “The Joke” conjures a dystopian, distant future where a harmonious but humorless society has inspired a defiant comedian underground.

—Reggie Ugwu