Documentary First Podcast

Documentary First is a weekly podcast about the people behind documentaries and how the work changed them. Host Christian Taylor, director of the award-winning The Girl Who Wore Freedom, talks with filmmakers from Ken Burns and PBS American Masters creator Susan Lacy to first-time directors, across more than 290 episodes. Each week brings one of two formats: a long-form conversation with the people behind films for HBO, Netflix, PBS and independent film, or The Deep Dive, where Christian takes one insight from a recent conversation and follows it wherever it leads. Listen Notes ranks the show in the top 5% of all podcasts worldwide. New episodes every week.

Host: Christian Taylor

Christian Taylor has spent four decades in the entertainment industry as a voice actor, casting director, producer, and on-camera talent—but it was an unexpected encounter in Normandy while accompanying her son's Army unit to a D-Day commemoration that changed everything. That trip became the spark for her directorial debut, The Girl Who Wore Freedom, which has earned over 25 international awards. She stepped into the director's chair midlife, but she brought a lifetime of industry experience with her when she did. Now Christian hosts the Documentary First Podcast, where she's spent 200+ episodes talking craft, business, and survival with documentary filmmakers at every level—drawing on over a decade of podcast hosting experience. Up next: Heroes of Carentan, continuing her commitment to preserving stories of service, sacrifice, and freedom.

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