Hello!

It’s a bank holiday weekend in the UK, so this newsletter might the last thing you’ll read before heading out for the long weekend. If you’re not in the UK, I can only sympathise - we’ll all get back to you on Tuesday. I’ve made some suggestions for longer video and podcast formats in today’s newsletter, in case you’re looking for something to watch/listen to on your break.

I’m developing the next series in our Attention Matters newsletter, which will kick off in September and explain how to use value propositions to help develop formats and get attention. If you don’t already subscribe, hit the button below!

Right then - on to the links!

Matt

Why Brands Are Going All In On Episodic Videos (7-min read)

Capturing 20 Years of Motherhood on Mobile Phones (8-min watch)

Formats Unpacked: A View, From A Bridge (5-min read)

What It’s Like To Be A Homicide Detective (33-min listen)

Casey Newton’s Productivity Tools (10-min read)

How Hubspot does Audience Development (5-min read/31-min watch)

Michael Chabon’s Missing Playlist (4-min read, longer playlist)

Why Zippers Were An Unlikely Invention (43-min listen)

What’s In David Byrne’s Bag? (8-min watch)

Fantastic Lofi Web Game (Probably not longer than 100secs)

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Why Brands Are Going All In On Episodic Videos (7-min read)
We run a lot of episodic formats for our clients at Storythings, so it was great to see this Adweek article, and this quote stood out as something we talk about a lot: “Episodic content is really useful for brands because you can build a world, and once it’s built, there are so many infinite directions that you can take it,”

Capturing 20 Years of Motherhood on Mobile Phones (8-min watch)
If you came to our The Story conference back in the day, you would have seen filmmaker Victoria Mapplebeck show a short film called 160 Characters, telling the story of the absent father of her son through their text messages. Mapplebeck has now released Motherboard, the story of 20 years of motherhood, told through her camera phone footage. The film is getting rave reviews, and the link above is to a short interview with her about the making of the film - I love her reframing of the infamous ‘hero’s journey’ model in relationship to motherhood.

Formats Unpacked: A View, From A Bridge (5-min read)
Hugh is back with another Formats Unpacked, this one about a remarkable, but elegantly simple format - a conversation with someone standing on a bridge as the camera slowly pans out. As Hugh says, the bridge is not just a location: “The bridge is a stage, and it’s also a character. It’s a space between things, where people are open to reflection.”

What It’s Like To Be A Homicide Detective (33-min listen)
I’m very very late to discovering this podcast format, in which Dan Heath asks people what it’s like to do their jobs. If you work in B2B marketing, this is exactly the kind of storytelling you should be doing about your work! The two questions they ask if you want to suggest your job for a future episode are brilliant as well.

Casey Newton’s Productivity Tools (10-min read)
I’m a big fan of Casey Newton’s Platformer newsletter, and I also love people sharing the tools they use in their job. So this post is right up my street. I like Newton’s openness about what is and isn’t working for him - its a really honest and important corrective to the idea that AI tools are changing the way we all work.

How Hubspot does Audience Development (5-min read/31-min watch)
Creator Spotlight is a fantastic newsletter/podcast/video series from Beehiiv, with great guests and practical insights. Their latest episode interviews Jonathan Hunt, VP of Hubspot Media, who has a storied career in online media including stints at Vox, Vice and NatGeo. His recommendations for ‘intent metrics’ are very good, and something I’ll be discussing more in our next Attention Matters series.

Michael Chabon’s Missing Playlist (4-min read, longer playlist)
Another newsletter recommendation is Michael Chabon’s Tragic Magic. This episode is about a playlist he keeps of tracks that disappear from streaming services, including an absolute banger from 70s kids TV show The Banana Splits. I googled them for the newsletter, and every time I do, they look scarier than I remember.

Why Zippers Were An Unlikely Invention (43-min listen)
Articles of Interest was recently included in Time Magazine’s 100 best podcasts of all time, and I love their deep dives into everyday objects. This one on zippers is typically great, including stories about why the Amish find them ‘too modern’, and how they were a novelty for years before they took over the world.

What’s In David Byrne’s Bag? (8-min watch)
My final format recommendation for your long weekend is Amoeba Record’s What’s In Your Bag? It’s a great example of how a simple format can get great stories out of wildly different guests. In this episode with David Byrne, the story is how Fela Kuti influenced so much of Talkings Heads’ Remain In Light era music.

Fantastic Lofi Web Game (Probably not longer than 100secs)
After all these newsletters, podcasts and video series, you need something short and sharp as a palate cleanser. So this incredibly minimal web game is perfect. If you can play if for two minutes, you’re better than me!

So there you go - ten links to add to your to do lists for this weekend. I hope you get time off in the sun this weekend, regardless of whether you have a bank holiday or not. If you’ve read this far, here’s a bonus link from Letters of Note - a lovely message from the recently departed Tom Lehrer to rapper 2 Chainz.

Have a great weekend!

Matt, Anjali, Hugh and the rest of Team Storythings