Rough Draft With Reza Aslan (2016)

Norman Lear, creator of All In the Family, The Jeffersons, and Maude—and perhaps the most iconic of television writers alive today—describes arriving in Hollywood, his social activism, and his take on the current state of the creative nation.

Reza’s featured guest is Joey Soloway, Emmy-nominated writer and Emmy-winning director of Transparent, along with musical guests The Local Natives. Several actors from Transparent and Jill’s own family also join in on the green room conversation.

Writers and producers Tim Kring and Gideon Raff, whose claims to fame include Heroes and Homeland, recount writers’ room trenches and a violent encounter with Woody Allen in Central Park. With musical guest Alison Sudol.

Damon Lindelof, whose credits include Lost and The Leftovers, talks with Reza about his first big breaks, and how it feels to have the zeitgeist question his season finale of Lost. Composer Antonio Sanchez and musician Daniel Lanois also join.

Writer/director/actor/producer Mike White, whose credits include Enlightened, School of Rock, and Freaks and Geeks, describes working with networks and studios and the complex “art & commerce” dynamic. With musical guests The Bird and the Bee.