{"podcast":{"title":"Documentary First","slug":"documentary-first-1033526","podcast_index_feed_id":1033526,"rss_url":"https://feeds.captivate.fm/documentary-first/","website_url":"https://tinyurl.com/DocFirstPod","image_url":"https://artwork.captivate.fm/f3d2ce0b-222e-47a7-9438-74dd3423112f/DF-logo-circle-whitebg.jpg","author":"Documentary First | Christian Taylor","episode_count":290,"summary":"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…","last_synced_at":null,"page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/documentary-first-1033526"},"episode":{"title":"Ep. 273 | D-Day Leadership Academy: Jake Schroeder on WWII Veterans, Normandy & Redefining Success","slug":"ep-273-d-day-leadership-academy-jake-schroeder-on-wwii-veterans-normandy-redefining-success","published_at":"2026-03-12T05:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/documentary-first-1033526/ep-273-d-day-leadership-academy-jake-schroeder-on-wwii-veterans-normandy-redefining-success","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/documentary-first-1033526","url":"https://player.captivate.fm/episode/7dc6faa5-cc1d-47d1-98c3-162b98e6e357","audio_url":"https://episodes.captivate.fm/episode/7dc6faa5-cc1d-47d1-98c3-162b98e6e357.mp3","summary":"He sang the national anthem for the Colorado Avalanche a thousand times, coached 4,000 inner-city kids, lost it all, and rebuilt on the beaches of Normandy — where a WWII veteran watched children playing on Utah Beach and said through tears: \"That's why we came.\" Jake Schroeder—former frontman of OP Gone Bad, national anthem singer for the Colorado Avalanche, and executive director of the Denver Police Activities League—now runs the D-Day Leadership Academy, bringing inner-city youth to Normandy, France to learn leadership through the stories of World War II. After concussions, insurance costs, and political shifts dismantled his youth sports programs serving 4,000 kids a year, Jake pivoted. Inspired by the WWII veterans he’d been bringing back to Omaha Beach and Utah Beach since 2011, he transformed his nonprofit into a Normandy-based leadership program built on five pillars drawn from D-Day: leading from the front, total commitment to mission, chaos, preparation, and empathy. In this conversation, he and host Christian Taylor—director of the award-winning documentary The Girl Who Wore Freedom—explore what success really means when the money isn’t there but the mission keeps growing. What You’ll Learn: What does the D-Day Leadership Academy teach kids in Normandy? How do you pivot a nonprofit when your core programs collapse? What did WWII veterans say about people recreating on Normandy’s beaches? How do you define success when your documentary or nonprofit isn’t financially profitable? What are John Elway’s three rules for running a successful charity event? How does Stoic philosophy help when you’re facing failure in filmmaking or leadership? What documentary films should you watch? Elway to Marino, Miracle: The Boys of ’80, Cold War on Ice Timestamps: 00:00 Introd…","meta_description":"He sang the national anthem for the Colorado Avalanche a thousand times, coached 4,000 inner-city kids, lost it all, and rebuilt on the beaches of Normand…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":3516,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/documentary-first-1033526/episodes/ep-273-d-day-leadership-academy-jake-schroeder-on-wwii-veterans-normandy-redefining-success/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/documentary-first-1033526/ep-273-d-day-leadership-academy-jake-schroeder-on-wwii-veterans-normandy-redefining-success.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}