As Told To

Everybody's got a story to tell. Sometimes they need a little bit of help. Veteran ghostwriter Daniel Paisner talks shop with his fellow collaborators and shines a light on what it means to pursue a writing life on the back of someone else's story.

As Told To is a arts podcast hosted by Daniel Paisner, with 146 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80.

Daniel Paisner hosts As Told To, a arts show with 146 episodes published.

Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.

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  As Told To

  Between the Lines: You Had to Be There

  Sep 28, 202614 min

  "Our desire to celebrate this magical moment is a tribute to youth, to everyone's youth, when working and playing with your best friends is a dream you never want to end." That's As Told To podcast guest Nick Davis , writing in the companion volume to his critically-acclaimed documentary " You Had To Be There: How the Toronto 'Godspell' Ignited the Comedy Revolution, Spread Love & Overalls, and Created a Community That Changed the World (In a Canadian Kind of Way) ," which opened the 2025 Toronto Film Festival and is currently playing in theaters across the country. The documentary, with a mouthful of a title, shines meaningful light on the storied 1972 production of the Stephen Schwartz musical, with a cast that included a then-unknown Martin Short, Gilda Radner, Eugene Levy, Andrea Martin, Victor Garber, Dave Thomas and Paul Shaffer—"a Rosetta Stone of funny people," according to The New York Times . The companion book , which shares the film's mouthful of a title, is now available for pre-order. It will be published in November by Broad Brook Press, and was written in collaboration with Nick's wife and producing partner Jane Mendelsohn and Tony Award-winning producer Stewart F. Lane. Part oral history, part production memoir, the book tells the remarkable story of that "magical moment" a half-century ago, when the stars aligned and helped to stage a production that became a launching pad for some of North America's most influential entertainers, and the center of a community that valued creativity, generosity, and connection. Nick Davis is a writer, producer, and filmmaker. His previous films include the multi-part documentary about the 1986 New York Mets, "Once Upon a Time in Queens," which aired as part of ESPN's "30 for 30" series; and "Ted Williams: The Greatest Hitter Who Ever Lived," which he produced and directed for PBS's "American Masters" program. His 2025 documentary "This Ordinary Thing," recounting the stories of non-Jews who risked their lives during the Holocaust to rescue Jewish strangers, was nominated for the Cinema for Peace Dove for the Most Valuable Documentary of the Year at the 2026 Cinema for Peace Awards in Berlin. Learn more about our guest: Nick Davis Instagram Nick Davis Facebook Nick Davis Threads "You Had To Be There" Instagram Please support the sponsors who support our show: Ritani Jewelers Daniel Paisner's Balloon Dog Daniel Paisner's SHOW: The Making and Unmaking of a Network Television Pilot Heaven Help Us by John Kasich Unforgiving: Lessons from the Fall by Lindsey Jacobellis Film Movement Plus (PODCAST) | 30% discount Libro.fm (ASTOLDTO) | 2 audiobooks for the price of 1 when you start your membership The Darling Killers Podcast Film Freaks Forever! podcast, hosted by Mark Jordan Legan and Phoef Sutton Everyday Shakespeare podcast A Mighty Blaze podcast The Writer's Bone Podcast Network Misfits Market (WRITERSBONE) | $15 off your first order Film Movement Plus (PODCAST) | 30% discount Wizard Pins (WRITERSBONE) | 20% discount

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  As Told To

  Episode 119: Nick Davis

  Sep 21, 20261h 9m

  Nick Davis is a writer, producer and documentary filmmaker . His latest film, " You Had To Be There: How the Toronto 'Godspell' Ignited the Comedy Revolution, Spread Love & Overalls, and Created a Community That Changed the World (In a Canadian Kind of Way) ," opened the 2025 Toronto Film Festival and is currently playing in theaters across the country. The documentary, with a mouthful of a title, shines meaningful light on the storied 1972 production of the Stephen Schwartz musical, with a cast that included a then-unknown Martin Short, Gilda Radner, Eugene Levy, Andrea Martin, Victor Garber, Dave Thomas and Paul Shaffer—"a Rosetta Stone of funny people," according to The New York Times . Storytelling is in Nick's blood. Filmmaking, too. His grandfather, Herman Mankiewicz, was the celebrated screenwriter behind "Citizen Kane" and other Hollywood classics. His grand-uncle, Joseph Mankiewicz , wrote and directed dozens of films, including "All About Eve" and "Cleopatra." His father, Peter Davis, directed the Academy Award-winning Vietnam documentary "Hearts and Minds." Together with his wife and producing partner Jane Mendelsohn, the noted American novelist, he runs a New York-based film production company and keeps on the constant lookout for stories he might tell in his singular way. The two have collaborated on a companion volume to their "Godspell" documentary , to be published by Broad Book Press in November 2026. Nick's 1990 novel Boone , a wild mash-up of performance art, improv, and oral history, written with his lifelong friend Brooks Hansen, was named by The New York Times as one of the most notable books of the year. His memoir Competing with Idiots , a dual portrait of his grandfather and granduncle, was published in 2021 to critical acclaim. His previous films include the multi-part documentary about the 1986 New York Mets, " Once Upon a Time in Queens ," which aired as part of ESPN's "30 for 30" series; and " Ted Williams: The Greatest Hitter Who Ever Lived ," which he produced and directed for PBS's "American Masters" program. His 2025 documentary " This Ordinary Thing ," recounting the stories of non-Jews who risked their lives during the Holocaust to rescue Jewish strangers, was nominated for the Cinema for Peace Dove for the Most Valuable Documentary of the Year at the 2026 Cinema for Peace Awards in Berlin. Learn more about our guest: Nick Davis Instagram Nick Davis Facebook Nick Davis Threads "You Had To Be There" Instagram Please support the sponsors who support our show: Ritani Jewelers Daniel Paisner's Balloon Dog Daniel Paisner's SHOW: The Making and Unmaking of a Network Television Pilot Heaven Help Us by John Kasich Unforgiving: Lessons from the Fall by Lindsey Jacobellis Film Movement Plus (PODCAST) | 30% discount Libro.fm (ASTOLDTO) | 2 audiobooks for the price of 1 when you start your membership The Darling Killers Podcast Film Freaks Forever! podcast, hosted by Mark Jordan Legan and Phoef Sutton Everyday Shakespeare podcast A Mighty Blaze podcast The Writer's Bone Podcast Network Misfits Market (WRITERSBONE) | $15 off your first order Film Movement Plus (PODCAST) | 30% discount Wizard Pins (WRITERSBONE) | 20% discount

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  As Told To

  Between the Lines: I Will Follow You Anywhere

  Sep 14, 202612 min

  Ghostwriter, developmental editor, and book coach Charles Daly joins us for our "Between the Lines" segment of As Told To: The Ghostwriting Podcast , to share a reading from his latest collaboration—a powerful account of the struggles of first responders in the aftermath of the September 11th attacks on the World Trade Center. Written in collaboration with noted advocate and activist John Feal, an Army veteran who worked as a demolition supervisor at Ground Zero until a disabling injury five days into the clean-up, I Will Follow You Anywhere: The True Story of the 9/11 Responders Who Took on Congress is the untold story of a true American hero who turned trauma into a call to action. In these pages, the authors share John's remarkable story of grit and resolve, alongside the accounts of his fellow responders, presenting their shared "recipe" for getting things done—including the passage of the 9/11 Victims Compensation Fund . Published on the 25th anniversary of the attacks, the book has been highlighted in major national publications, as well as on CNN, "The Daily Show," and CBS News. Learn more about our guests: John Feal Instagram John Feal Threads John Feal Facebook Charles Daly website Charles Daly LinkedIn Charles Daly Instagram Please support the sponsors who support our show: Ritani Jewelers Daniel Paisner's Balloon Dog Daniel Paisner's SHOW: The Making and Unmaking of a Network Television Pilot Heaven Help Us by John Kasich Unforgiving: Lessons from the Fall by Lindsey Jacobellis Film Movement Plus (PODCAST) | 30% discount Libro.fm (ASTOLDTO) | 2 audiobooks for the price of 1 when you start your membership The Darling Killers Podcast Film Freaks Forever! podcast, hosted by Mark Jordan Legan and Phoef Sutton Everyday Shakespeare podcast A Mighty Blaze podcast The Writer's Bone Podcast Network Misfits Market (WRITERSBONE) | $15 off your first order Film Movement Plus (PODCAST) | 30% discount Wizard Pins (WRITERSBONE) | 20% discount

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  As Told To

  Episode 118: John Feal & Charles Daly

  Sep 7, 20261h 4m

  John Feal is a native New Yorker and Army veteran who worked as a demolition supervisor at Ground Zero until an 8,000-pound beam crushed his left foot during the clean-up. As he struggled with his own post-9/11 trauma, and scrambled to get out from under his also-disabling medical bills, he watched his fellow responders suffer and die from cancer and other ailments caused by the dust in the air they were told was safe to breathe. Forgotten by a broken healthcare system and lawmakers who had promised to #NeverForget, and inspired by the men and women who continued to suffer in the fallout from that fateful day, he resolved to fight. In I Will Follow You Anywhere: The True Story of the 9/11 Responders Who Took on Congress , he shares his remarkable story of grit and resolve, alongside the accounts of his fellow responders, presenting their shared "recipe" for getting things done—including the passage of the 9/11 Victims Compensation Fund. Working with ghostwriter, developmental editor, and book coach Charles Daly, himself a maritime first responder on the Atlantic coast of Ireland, John offers a rogue approach to the ground game of representative government, empowering readers in all walks of life to take on the system and win. Join us as John and Charlie commemorate the 25th anniversary of the September 11th attacks , and discuss how they worked together on their compelling new book—"A graphic but powerful reminder of the horrors of that day," according to Booklist , "and the horrors that first responders have faced ever since." Learn more about our guests: John Feal Instagram John Feal Threads John Feal Facebook Charles Daly website Charles Daly LinkedIn Charles Daly Instagram Please support the sponsors who support our show: Ritani Jewelers Daniel Paisner's Balloon Dog Daniel Paisner's SHOW: The Making and Unmaking of a Network Television Pilot Heaven Help Us by John Kasich Unforgiving: Lessons from the Fall by Lindsey Jacobellis Film Movement Plus (PODCAST) | 30% discount Libro.fm (ASTOLDTO) | 2 audiobooks for the price of 1 when you start your membership The Darling Killers Podcast Film Freaks Forever! podcast, hosted by Mark Jordan Legan and Phoef Sutton Everyday Shakespeare podcast A Mighty Blaze podcast The Writer's Bone Podcast Network Misfits Market (WRITERSBONE) | $15 off your first order Film Movement Plus (PODCAST) | 30% discount Wizard Pins (WRITERSBONE) | 20% discount

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  As Told To

  Second Printing: Lee Goldberg

  Aug 31, 20261h 16m

  This episode originally aired on Sept. 12, 2023. Novelist, screenwriter, producer and publisher Lee Goldberg knows what it is to work in collaboration. He has helped to write and produce a number of television shows, including "seaQuest" and "Monk," and he also served as a supervising producer and executive producer of the long-running series "Diagnosis Murder," starring Dick Van Dyke. While working on "Monk" and "Diagnosis Murder," he wrote several original tie-in novels based on those series. Lee is also an accomplished storyteller in his own right — the author of nearly 40 novels, including Lost Hills , True Fiction , and the first five books in the Fox & O'Hare series, written with best-selling mystery novelist Janet Evanovich. His book Malibu Burning , tells the story of an elaborate heist staged in the middle of a raging California wildfire, including two additional books, Calico and Dream Town . Since this interview kicked off our third season, Lee has released a number of books, including Fallen Star and the just-published thriller Murder by Design . His forthcoming novel Split Screen , the seventh novel in his popular Eve Ronin series, is now available for preorder. Note: during our conversation, talked turned to one of Daniel Paisner's long ago book projects, in which our As Told To host chronicled the making (and unmaking) of a CBS sitcom pilot. Lee, a student of all things television who just happened to have his own publishing imprint, was intrigued, and subsequently rescued the book, originally entitled Horizontal Hold , from the scrap-heap of out-of-print books. Under his Cutting Edge Books imprint, he reissued the book with a new title— Show —and a new introduction, and we humbly suggest you check it out. Join us for a fun and informative conversation on what it means to work in and around television, and how it is that one writer has been able to capture the imagination of audiences in a variety of mediums. Please support the sponsors who support our show: Ritani Jewelers Daniel Paisner's Balloon Dog Daniel Paisner's SHOW: The Making and Unmaking of a Network Television Pilot Heaven Help Us by John Kasich Unforgiving: Lessons from the Fall by Lindsey Jacobellis Film Movement Plus (PODCAST) | 30% discount Libro.fm (ASTOLDTO) | 2 audiobooks for the price of 1 when you start your membership Film Freaks Forever! podcast, hosted by Mark Jordan Legan and Phoef Sutton Everyday Shakespeare podcast A Mighty Blaze podcast The Writer's Bone Podcast Network Misfits Market (WRITERSBONE) | $15 off your first order Film Movement Plus (PODCAST) | 30% discount Wizard Pins (WRITERSBONE) | 20% discount

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