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What does it take to find the story that only you can tell — and then muster the courage to go get it? In this episode of PeppTalk, Coby sits down with Daniel Voll — journalist, playwright, and screenwriter — for a wide-ranging conversation on curiosity, craft, community, and the future of storytelling. From reporting in war zones and tracking down war criminals to executive producing the hit Netflix series Escaping Twin Flames and currently filming a 9/11 documentary at Guantanamo Bay, Daniel’s career has taken him to some of the world’s most complex and consequential stories.Fresh off serving as a guest speaker for Seaver College's “Directing for the Screen” course this spring, Daniel opens up about how storytelling is sometimes more about questions than answers — and why the best journalists, filmmakers, and playwrights are really just people brave enough to interrogate themselves. He reflects on what it means to enter dangerous subcultures with a tape recorder and no agenda other than to listen, and he has earned trust from the most unlikely of characters by simply giving them a space to speak. Coby and Daniel dig into the creative tension between the solitary work of writing and the collaborative electricity of theater and film and consider why Daniel believes the age of AI is not the death of human storytelling — but possibly its greatest invitation yet.His message to aspiring storytellers is clear: take notes, follow your obsessions, interview your parents, and don't be afraid of the darkness in your own imagination. The only way out is through.Daniel Voll is a journalist, playwright, screenwriter, and executive producer whose work has appeared in Vanity Fair and Esquire. His new book, On the Run with Mad Bombers, Outlaw Lovers, and Movie Stars, is available now.Get the book here - https://www.amazon.com/Bombers-Outlaw-Lovers-Movie-Stars/dp/1958861421Learn more about Pepperdine University - https://www.pepperdine.edu/Connect with Pepperdine: Like us on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/pepperdine Follow us on Twitter - https://twitter.com/pepperdine Follow us on Instagram - https://instagram.com/pepperdine
By Pepperdine University5
66 ratings
What does it take to find the story that only you can tell — and then muster the courage to go get it? In this episode of PeppTalk, Coby sits down with Daniel Voll — journalist, playwright, and screenwriter — for a wide-ranging conversation on curiosity, craft, community, and the future of storytelling. From reporting in war zones and tracking down war criminals to executive producing the hit Netflix series Escaping Twin Flames and currently filming a 9/11 documentary at Guantanamo Bay, Daniel’s career has taken him to some of the world’s most complex and consequential stories.Fresh off serving as a guest speaker for Seaver College's “Directing for the Screen” course this spring, Daniel opens up about how storytelling is sometimes more about questions than answers — and why the best journalists, filmmakers, and playwrights are really just people brave enough to interrogate themselves. He reflects on what it means to enter dangerous subcultures with a tape recorder and no agenda other than to listen, and he has earned trust from the most unlikely of characters by simply giving them a space to speak. Coby and Daniel dig into the creative tension between the solitary work of writing and the collaborative electricity of theater and film and consider why Daniel believes the age of AI is not the death of human storytelling — but possibly its greatest invitation yet.His message to aspiring storytellers is clear: take notes, follow your obsessions, interview your parents, and don't be afraid of the darkness in your own imagination. The only way out is through.Daniel Voll is a journalist, playwright, screenwriter, and executive producer whose work has appeared in Vanity Fair and Esquire. His new book, On the Run with Mad Bombers, Outlaw Lovers, and Movie Stars, is available now.Get the book here - https://www.amazon.com/Bombers-Outlaw-Lovers-Movie-Stars/dp/1958861421Learn more about Pepperdine University - https://www.pepperdine.edu/Connect with Pepperdine: Like us on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/pepperdine Follow us on Twitter - https://twitter.com/pepperdine Follow us on Instagram - https://instagram.com/pepperdine