A Good Story Well Told
Episodes
Guilty Treasures: Hardball, with Austen Rachlis
21 May 2026
Contributed by Lukas
It's the final episode of our Guilty Treasures season! Award-winning podcaster Austen Rachlis stops by to profess her affection for Hardball, in w...
Guilty Treasures: Big Trouble in Little China, with Kate Milford
07 May 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Acclaimed children's author Kate Milford joins us to talk about one of her favorite movies, John Carpenter's cult classic Big Trouble in Littl...
Guilty Treasures: Tremors, with Benjamin Zelkowicz
23 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
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 ol...
Guilty Treasures: The Intern, with Peter C. Hayward
09 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
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 reaction...
Guilty Treasures: Ace in the Hole, with Keir Graff
26 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
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...
Guilty Treasures: The Brave Little Toaster, with Betsy Bird
12 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
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...
Guilty Treasures: Beau is Afraid, with James Kennedy
26 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
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 Jo...
Guilty Treasures: Girls Just Want to Have Fun, with Grace Lin
12 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Can a quickie movie adaptation of a song, which did not have the rights to use Cyndi Lauper's version, actually be a good movie?? Superstar author...
Guilty Treasures: Hook, with Lindsay Eagar
29 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
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 a...
Guilty Treasures: Real Steel
15 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
We continue our Guilty Treasures series, where we (or guests) make the case for critically maligned works! This episode, can Jonathan convince Matt of...
Guilty Treasures: The Scorpion King
01 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
The second season begins! This season, Matt, Jonathan, and guests will be extolling the virtues of commercially unsuccessful or critically derided wor...
Bonus Episode: KPop Demon Hunters
28 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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 se...
Shame Shelf: Anne of Green Gables
14 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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 Mont...
Shame Shelf: Beloved
24 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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 sl...
Shame Shelf: Kill Bill
10 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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
26 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Matt shames Jonathan into finally watching The Good, The Bad and The Ugly! Note for clarity, since we use actor and character names interchangeably: C...
Shame Shelf: Never Let Me Go
12 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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 sto...
Shame Shelf: Slaughterhouse-Five
29 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Matt forces Jonathan to finally read "Slaughterhouse-Five" by Kurt Vonnegut, and much discussion is had about whether or not it's okay t...
Shame Shelf: Treasure Planet
15 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Jonathan gets Matt to finally watch the infamous Disney flop Treasure Planet! Is it a secret masterpiece?
Shame Shelf: Vertigo
01 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In our second full episode, Matt shames Jonathan into finally seeing Alfred Hitchcock's 1958 film Vertigo. The Sight and Sound Critics Poll ranks ...
Shame Shelf: The Giver
17 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Matt finally reads Lowis Lowry’s classic kids dystopia THE GIVER — and Jonathan reveals a surprisingly relevant war story from his Screenwriting d...
Introduction to A Good Story Well Told
17 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Welcome! In this episode, we talk about who we are, how we got to know each other, and what we'll be doing in this podcast!.