# Documentary First

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/documentary-first-1033526
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/documentary-first-1033526.md
RSS feed: https://feeds.captivate.fm/documentary-first/
Official site: https://tinyurl.com/DocFirstPod
Author: Documentary First | Christian Taylor
Episodes: 290

## Resource

The craft and business of documentary filmmaking — from people who actually do it. Documentary First is a weekly podcast for working and aspiring documentary filmmakers who want honest, in-depth conversations about how documentaries get funded, made, and seen. Hosted by Christian Taylor — award-winning director of The Girl Who Wore Freedom (25+ international awards, distributed through Virgil Films, Swank, and Canal+) — the show draws on 270+ interviews with documentary filmmakers, editors, producers, distributors, and composers across HBO, Netflix, PBS, and the independent doc world. Past guests include Ken Burns, PBS American Masters creator Susan Lacy, Emmy and Peabody Award-winning editor Charles Olivier (HBO's The Jinx, The Redeem Team), and Emmy-nominated director Nick Bruckman (Netflix's Minted). Every week, Documentary First delivers two formats in one feed. The main show features long-form interviews exploring how filmmakers approach their craft, navigate distribution, and build sustainable careers. On alternating weeks, Documentary First: The Deep Dive takes a single insight from a recent guest conversation and goes further — drawing on psychology, philosophy, and real-w…

## Machine-readable

JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/documentary-first-1033526
Markdown: https://stenobird.com/podcast/documentary-first-1033526.md

## Episodes
- [The Two Kinds of “Alone” Every Filmmaker Knows I Deep Dive on Ep. 278](https://stenobird.com/podcast/documentary-first-1033526/the-two-kinds-of-alone-every-filmmaker-knows-i-deep-dive-on-ep-278) — 2026-05-28T10:00:00+00:00
- [Ep. 278 I Adapt or Die: A Working Filmmaker with AI in 2026](https://stenobird.com/podcast/documentary-first-1033526/ep-278-i-adapt-or-die-a-working-filmmaker-with-ai-in-2026) — 2026-05-21T10:00:00+00:00
- [Anthropic's $1.5B Mistake. Yours Could Cost More. I Deep Dive on Ep. 277](https://stenobird.com/podcast/documentary-first-1033526/anthropic-s-1-5b-mistake-yours-could-cost-more-i-deep-dive-on-ep-277) — 2026-05-14T20:00:00+00:00
- [Ep. 277 I Why Does One Documentary Clip Cost $70,000? Music Licensing and Fair Use](https://stenobird.com/podcast/documentary-first-1033526/ep-277-i-why-does-one-documentary-clip-cost-70-000-music-licensing-and-fair-use) — 2026-05-07T14:00:00+00:00
- [The First Generation to Live Shorter Lives Than Their Parents | Deep Dive on Ep. 276](https://stenobird.com/podcast/documentary-first-1033526/the-first-generation-to-live-shorter-lives-than-their-parents-deep-dive-on-ep-276) — 2026-04-30T10:00:00+00:00
- [Ep. 276 I Robin Canfield on Teaching iPhone Documentary in 20 Countries](https://stenobird.com/podcast/documentary-first-1033526/ep-276-i-robin-canfield-on-teaching-iphone-documentary-in-20-countries) — 2026-04-23T19:15:00+00:00
- [They Wanted My Voice to Train AI - What Thoreau Knew About Living Deliberately in a Revolution: Deep Dive on Ep. 275](https://stenobird.com/podcast/documentary-first-1033526/they-wanted-my-voice-to-train-ai-what-thoreau-knew-about-living-deliberately-in-a-revolution-deep-dive-on-ep-275) — 2026-04-16T12:45:00+00:00
- [Ep. 275 I Erik & Chris Ewers on PBS Funding, AI & Directing Goldblum, Clooney & Streep](https://stenobird.com/podcast/documentary-first-1033526/ep-275-i-erik-chris-ewers-on-pbs-funding-ai-directing-goldblum-clooney-streep) — 2026-04-09T10:00:00+00:00
- [Erik & Chris Ewers: Quiet Desperation—Competence vs Self-Knowledge: Deep Dive on Episode 274](https://stenobird.com/podcast/documentary-first-1033526/erik-chris-ewers-quiet-desperation-competence-vs-self-knowledge-deep-dive-on-episode-274) — 2026-04-02T10:00:00+00:00
- [Ep. 274 I I Didn't Know Myself - Erik & Chris Ewers on Ken Burns, PBS & Thoreau](https://stenobird.com/podcast/documentary-first-1033526/ep-274-i-i-didn-t-know-myself-erik-chris-ewers-on-ken-burns-pbs-thoreau) — 2026-03-26T10:00:00+00:00
- [What Francesca Bridgerton and a D-Day Veteran Both Discovered About Grief I Deep Dive on Ep. 273](https://stenobird.com/podcast/documentary-first-1033526/what-francesca-bridgerton-and-a-d-day-veteran-both-discovered-about-grief-i-deep-dive-on-ep-273) — 2026-03-19T10:00:00+00:00
- [Ep. 273 | D-Day Leadership Academy: Jake Schroeder on WWII Veterans, Normandy & Redefining Success](https://stenobird.com/podcast/documentary-first-1033526/ep-273-d-day-leadership-academy-jake-schroeder-on-wwii-veterans-normandy-redefining-success) — 2026-03-12T05:00:00+00:00
- [What If You're Not Actually Failing? Deep Dive on Ep. 272 with Director Quinnolyn Benson-Yates](https://stenobird.com/podcast/documentary-first-1033526/what-if-you-re-not-actually-failing-deep-dive-on-ep-272-with-director-quinnolyn-benson-yates) — 2026-03-05T10:00:00+00:00
- [Episode 272 | Quinnolyn Benson-Yates on Epic Bill: Failure, Reinvention & the Filmmaker’s Endurance](https://stenobird.com/podcast/documentary-first-1033526/episode-272-quinnolyn-benson-yates-on-epic-bill-failure-reinvention-the-filmmaker-s-endurance) — 2026-02-25T05:00:00+00:00
- [Finding The Good Guys | Deep Dive on Ep.271 With Joe Amodei](https://stenobird.com/podcast/documentary-first-1033526/finding-the-good-guys-deep-dive-on-ep-271-with-joe-amodei) — 2026-02-19T10:00:00+00:00
- [Episode 271 | Joe Amodei on Documentary Distribution: Budgets, Genres & Building Your Audience](https://stenobird.com/podcast/documentary-first-1033526/episode-271-joe-amodei-on-documentary-distribution-budgets-genres-building-your-audience) — 2026-02-13T07:45:00+00:00
- [The Imposter Gap | Deep Dive on Ep. 269 with Jeffrey Roth](https://stenobird.com/podcast/documentary-first-1033526/the-imposter-gap-deep-dive-on-ep-269-with-jeffrey-roth) — 2026-02-05T10:00:00+00:00
- [Why Viewers Forget 90% of Your Film | Deep Dive on Ep. 270](https://stenobird.com/podcast/documentary-first-1033526/why-viewers-forget-90-of-your-film-deep-dive-on-ep-270) — 2026-02-05T10:00:00+00:00
- [Episode 270 | Charles Olivier on Editing "Surviving Ohio State" for HBO](https://stenobird.com/podcast/documentary-first-1033526/episode-270-charles-olivier-on-editing-surviving-ohio-state-for-hbo) — 2026-01-29T10:00:00+00:00
- [Episode 269 | Egyptian “Indiana Jones”, Zahi Hawass of “The Man With The Hat”, Interview with Jeffery Roth](https://stenobird.com/podcast/documentary-first-1033526/episode-269-egyptian-indiana-jones-zahi-hawass-of-the-man-with-the-hat-interview-with-jeffery-roth) — 2026-01-15T08:33:00+00:00
- [Episode 268 | Peter Kelly’s Archaeological Adventure in the Turks and Caicos](https://stenobird.com/podcast/documentary-first-1033526/episode-268-peter-kelly-s-archaeological-adventure-in-the-turks-and-caicos) — 2026-01-01T06:32:00+00:00
- [Episode 267 | Alan Govenar’s New Film, “Quiet Voices in a Noisy World”](https://stenobird.com/podcast/documentary-first-1033526/episode-267-alan-govenar-s-new-film-quiet-voices-in-a-noisy-world) — 2025-12-18T07:45:00+00:00
- [Episode 266 | Emmy-Award Winning Producer, Susan Lacy, “Billy Joel: And So It Goes” Interview](https://stenobird.com/podcast/documentary-first-1033526/episode-266-emmy-award-winning-producer-susan-lacy-billy-joel-and-so-it-goes-interview) — 2025-12-04T08:19:00+00:00
- [Episode 265 | Harvesting the Power of Connections: “The Price of Milk” Docuseries Filmmaker Interview](https://stenobird.com/podcast/documentary-first-1033526/episode-265-harvesting-the-power-of-connections-the-price-of-milk-docuseries-filmmaker-interview) — 2025-11-22T06:55:00+00:00
- [Episode 264 | Billy Joel: Telling the Story Behind the Musician (with Jessica Levin)](https://stenobird.com/podcast/documentary-first-1033526/episode-264-billy-joel-telling-the-story-behind-the-musician-with-jessica-levin) — 2025-11-06T21:40:00+00:00
- [Episode 263 | Crowdfunding for Filmmakers — Lessons from the UnScarred Campaign](https://stenobird.com/podcast/documentary-first-1033526/episode-263-crowdfunding-for-filmmakers-lessons-from-the-unscarred-campaign) — 2025-10-23T06:01:00+00:00
- [Episode 262 | Why Josh Roush Made “Long Lonesome Highway: The Michael Parks Story”](https://stenobird.com/podcast/documentary-first-1033526/episode-262-why-josh-roush-made-long-lonesome-highway-the-michael-parks-story) — 2025-10-09T01:37:00+00:00

## Actions

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