Oct 8, 2026 · 42 min · 13 segments
Former ABC News Senior National Correspondent Terry Moran and playwright Brian James Polak joined Myles Dannhausen Jr. for a roundtable discussion on journalism, playwriting and the arts in the age of…
Terry MoranGuestBrian James PolakGuestMyles Dannhausen Jr.HostIt's gotta be interesting for you because, especially in the news, especially at the national level, you come into the story at the conflict point.
Uh, yeah, 'cause the stories that we tell in news, although magazine type stories, um, you know, on 20/20 or Nightline or any of those longer form stories, which I love to do, uh, you can kind of follow something into, into its conflict.
Generally, you're telling a story of a true crime story or a political campaign story or whatever, uh, and that...
To discover that unfolding of conflict, I, I kinda knew where it was going when I started it.
Um, but no, I actually feel it's very, very different from journalism in, in a way that, uh, I'm not sure I can describe, except to say, I mean, I like it.
Brian, your story of reading it for the first time reminds me of how I view it whenever somebody says, "Oh, I'd like to come in and write about Door County." How do you step into that now and be helpful without stymieing somebody? Um, without stepping on it?
It, it did take me a minute to sort of figure out where I can be most useful in the process for Terry.
And, uh, part of what helped me figure it out is I, you know, I drove up here Sunday from rehearsals in, uh, Tap in Sturgeon Bay, where I am the playwright, and I'm the one listening to my words and making adjustments and, uh, with an actor in the room and a director.
And then I come up here, and we get into, on Monday morning, our first rehearsal- And I'm sitting in a similar room with actors, and I realize, oh, the playwright is across the table from me, and they're experiencing what I was just experiencing the day before.
Uh, and the beauty of that and what they, what the playwright gets is all of the minds sitting around that table feeding them ideas and asking questions to help contextualize the story.
It's gotta be interesting for you because, especially in the news, especially at the national level, you come into the story at the conflict point.
Uh, yeah, 'cause the stories that we tell in news, although magazine type stories, um, you know, on 20/20 or Nightline or any of those longer form stories, which I love to do, uh, you can kind of follow something into, into its conflict.
Generally, you're telling a story of a true crime story or a political campaign story or whatever, uh, and that...
To discover that unfolding of conflict, I, I kinda knew where it was going when I started it.
Um, but no, I actually feel it's very, very different from journalism in, in a way that, uh, I'm not sure I can describe, except to say, I mean, I like it.
Brian, your story of reading it for the first time reminds me of how I view it whenever somebody says, "Oh, I'd like to come in and write about Door County." How do you step into that now and be helpful without stymieing somebody? Um, without stepping on it?
It, it did take me a minute to sort of figure out where I can be most useful in the process for Terry.
And, uh, part of what helped me figure it out is I, you know, I drove up here Sunday from rehearsals in, uh, Tap in Sturgeon Bay, where I am the playwright, and I'm the one listening to my words and making adjustments and, uh, with an actor in the room and a director.
And then I come up here, and we get into, on Monday morning, our first rehearsal- And I'm sitting in a similar room with actors, and I realize, oh, the playwright is across the table from me, and they're experiencing what I was just experiencing the day before.
Uh, and the beauty of that and what they, what the playwright gets is all of the minds sitting around that table feeding them ideas and asking questions to help contextualize the story.
The rest of this transcript — segmented and speaker-labeled, so you land on the exact moment something was said
Search every transcript — by keyword, by phrase, or by meaning, across every show Radar indexes
Trends — what is surging across podcasts, measured against its own baseline
Alerts — when a name you follow appears in a newly indexed episode
No account is needed to search Radar.