A Good Story Well Told

A Good Story Well Told

Jonathan Auxier and Matt Bird

Episodes 22
Avg. Duration 1h 8m
Activity Active
Apple Rating 4.9 (42)
Since Apr 2025
Latest Episode May 2026

Publishing Details

Schedule
Every 2 Weeks
Format
Episodic
Consistency
100%
Hosting
anchor.fm

About This Podcast

A podcast about the craft of storytelling. Join authors Jonathan Auxier and Matt Bird as they dig up good stories to discover how their authors told them well … and how those same tricks and tools can help us all in our own writing

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Recent Episodes

Guilty Treasures: Hardball, with Austen Rachlis

May 21, 2026 1h 6m

It's the final episode of our Guilty Treasures season! Award-winning podcaster Austen Rachlis stops by to profess her affection for Hardball, in which Keanu Reeves coaches an inner-city little league…

Guilty Treasures: Big Trouble in Little China, with Kate Milford

May 07, 2026 1h 14m

Acclaimed children's author Kate Milford joins us to talk about one of her favorite movies, John Carpenter's cult classic Big Trouble in Little China. Will she be able to win us over to its charms?

Guilty Treasures: Tremors, with Benjamin Zelkowicz

Apr 23, 2026 1h 7m

Author and animator Benjamin Zelkowicz joins us to share his love of the 1990 Kevin Bacon creature-feature Tremors, and the three of us have a good old time mining it for story insights.

Guilty Treasures: The Intern, with Peter C. Hayward

Apr 09, 2026 1h 18m

Master board game creator Peter C. Hayward joins us to sing the praises of the 2015 Nancy Meyers movie The Intern, but we have very different reactions. Who will join in the praise and who will say…

Guilty Treasures: Ace in the Hole, with Keir Graff

Mar 26, 2026 1h 6m

Acclaimed Novelist and Podcaster Keir Graff visits to make the case that Billy Wilder's first big flop, 1951's Ace in the Hole, might actually be his masterpiece. As it turns out, Jonathan and Matt…

Guilty Treasures: The Brave Little Toaster, with Betsy Bird

Mar 12, 2026 59m

Jonathan and Matt welcome Matt's legendary wife Betsy to discuss one of the weirdest movies ever made, Disney's direct-to-video epic The Brave Little Toaster. Is it oddly great, or just greatly odd?

Guilty Treasures: Beau is Afraid, with James Kennedy

Feb 26, 2026 1h 13m

It's Old Home Week! Special Guest James Kennedy makes an impassioned case for Ari Aster's epic nightmare-fuel Beau is Afraid. Will Matt and Jonathan be won over?

Guilty Treasures: Girls Just Want to Have Fun, with Grace Lin

Feb 12, 2026 1h 3m

Can a quickie movie adaptation of a song, which didn't even have the rights to use Cyndi Lauper's version, actually be a good movie?? Superstar author Grace Lin makes the case, and Jonathan and Matt…

Guilty Treasures: Hook, with Lindsay Eagar

Jan 29, 2026 1h 16m

We welcome our first ever guest, Lindsay Eager, to make the case for Hook, Steven Spielberg's 1991 movie about a grown-up Peter Pan! Will she be able to convince us that it's unfairly maligned?

Guilty Treasures: Real Steel

Jan 15, 2026 1h 14m

We continue our Guilty Treasures series, where we (or guests) make the case for critically maligned works! This episode, can Jonathan convince Matt of the value of the Hugh Jackman robot-boxing movie…

Guilty Treasures: The Scorpion King

Jan 01, 2026 59m

The second season begins! This season, Matt, Jonathan, and guests will be extolling the virtues of commercially unsuccessful or critically derided works, so Matt gets things going by making the case…

Bonus Episode: KPop Demon Hunters

Aug 28, 2025 1h 5m

We wrap up our first season with a bonus episode discussing KPop Demon Hunters and various things we've meant to discuss over the course of the season! Season 2 coming soon!

Shame Shelf: Anne of Green Gables

Aug 14, 2025 1h 3m

Matt got Jonathan to read a candidate for Great American Novel, so now Jonathan makes Matt read what might be the Great Canadian Novel, Lucy Maud Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables. Will Matt embrace…

Shame Shelf: Beloved

Jul 24, 2025 58m

Matt finally gets Jonathan to read the most acclaimed American novel of the last 50 years, Toni Morrison's Beloved, a deadly serious book about slavery but also a thrilling ghost story and a tender…

Shame Shelf: Kill Bill

Jul 10, 2025 1h 21m

Jonathan gets Matt to finally (and reluctantly) watch Kill Bill, Volumes 1 and 2. Will Matt fall in love, or will he feel entirely different emotions?

Shame Shelf: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

Jun 26, 2025 1h 6m

Matt shames Jonathan into finally watching The Good, The Bad and The Ugly! Note for clarity, since we use actor and character names interchangeably: Clint Eastwood plays Blondie (The Good), Lee Van…

Shame Shelf: Never Let Me Go

Jun 12, 2025 1h 8m

Jonathan shames Matt into finally reading Kazuo Ishiguro's 2005 novel Never Let Me Go, and they discuss many things, including the value of basing stories of conspiracy theories.

S1E5 Shame Shelf: Slaughterhouse-Five

May 29, 2025 1h 14m

Matt forces Jonathan to finally read "Slaughterhouse-Five" by Kurt Vonnegut, and much discussion is had about whether or not it's okay to write a "dated" book.

Shame Shelf: Treasure Planet

May 15, 2025 1h 16m

Jonathan gets Matt to finally watch the infamous Disney flop Treasure Planet! Is it a secret masterpiece?

Shame Shelf: Vertigo

May 01, 2025 1h 8m

In our second full episode, Matt shames Jonathan into finally seeing Alfred Hitchcock's 1958 film Vertigo. The Sight and Sound Critics Poll ranks it as the second greatest film of all time...Will…

Frequently Asked Questions

How many episodes does A Good Story Well Told have?

A Good Story Well Told has published 22 episodes since April 2025, covering topics in Education, How To.

Is A Good Story Well Told still active?

A Good Story Well Told is currently active with new episodes every 2 weeks. Average episode length is 1h 8m.

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