Ben Blacker
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benblacker.bsky.social
Ben Blacker
@benblacker.bsky.social
The Writers Panel // Cut+Run: http://bit.ly/CutRunAudible // Hex Wives: http://bit.ly/HWtrade // Thrilling Adventure Hour // Dead Pilots Society

Re:Writing: benblacker.substack.com
In today's Writers Panel, I sample Star Trek! STARFLEET ACADEMY showrunners Alex Kurtzman (Picard) + Noga Landau (Nancy Drew) discuss what they look for in a collaborator, story from the inside out, learning storytelling through Trek + more.
benblacker.substack.com/p/star-trek-...
February 10, 2026 at 5:58 PM
Reposted by Ben Blacker
🚨BREAKING: Late night decision leads to late night posting of new double A-side single for #bandcampfriday!

tedleo.bandcamp.com/album/februa...
FEBRUARY 2026 DOUBLE A SIDE, by Ted Leo & The Pharmacists
2 track album
tedleo.bandcamp.com
February 6, 2026 at 2:13 PM
Reposted by Ben Blacker
1. It was not an accident.
2. It was not a staffer.
3. While the president may have dementia his racism is not due to dementia.
4. He isn’t sorry. He means every racist thought he shares.
5. His base agrees with him.
6. He will do it again.
7. No one in power will hold him accountable.
February 6, 2026 at 5:42 PM
Want to feel good for a few minutes tonight? Watch this.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8XF...
"The Obvious Child" - I'm With Her (LIVE on The Late Show)
YouTube video by The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
www.youtube.com
February 6, 2026 at 3:21 AM
Thanks for reading. We’re proud of the book! No plans for more since DC owns it and shut down that iteration of the label. The new Vertigo books look great though! Check those out.
@benblacker.bsky.social

Hello,

I finished reading Hex Wives and returned it to my local library yesterday. After looking for anything further I saw that the series had been cancelled.

I'm sure I'm not the first person to ask, but are there any plans/chances of a follow up happening someday?
February 4, 2026 at 5:10 PM
In today's Re:Writing, THE CONJURING writers The Hayes Brothers answer my 6 Questions about research, not making a plan B, their new writer-friendly evaluation tool, what they're suckers for in a script +more.
Ask your Qs this Sunday in our live Zoom Q&A!
benblacker.substack.com/p/6-question...
January 27, 2026 at 6:31 PM
A good one in today's Writers Panel pod. PONIES creators @davidiserson.bsky.social & Susanna Fogel on going from The Spy Who Dumped Me eight years ago to Ponies, comedy with stakes, American culture through a funhouse mirror, why pitching is a scam + more.
Listen: benblacker.substack.com/p/ponies
January 20, 2026 at 6:36 PM
Reposted by Ben Blacker
You have to block them immediately. The full nuclear. They are only here to make folks angry, and that can’t happen if we lock them out.
January 16, 2026 at 11:59 PM
In today's Writers Panel pod, I talk to PLURIBUS writer/director/EP Gordon Smith about the origins of the show, what gives it legs, story as algorithm, a non-mystery mystery, parsing notes, getting sand in your eyes + lots more.
Listen: benblacker.substack.com/p/gordon-smi...
January 13, 2026 at 6:39 PM
In today's Re:Writing newsletter, I wrote a post about goals (for your characters, but maybe they apply to you too?). Used three of my 2025 favorites by way of example, and there's some good advice in here too from David Goyer, @malcolmspellman.bsky.social + more.
benblacker.substack.com/p/goal-post
January 8, 2026 at 6:28 PM
Reposted by Ben Blacker
It’s one of my favorite days of the year! Here are my 50 Wonderful Things From 2025.

Thanks as always to the editors who help wrangle this bear.
50 wonderful things from 2025
Each year, critic Linda Holmes looks back on the year and compiles a list of the things that brought her joy.
www.npr.org
December 31, 2025 at 1:30 PM
Reposted by Ben Blacker
I met R2D2 on the street and he was not gracious at all. C3PO had to apologize for him like, he hasn’t had his crystals today. The crystals that he eats. He has to eat these it’s like cereal to him. He offered to take a pic w/me but I was like lol you are like the Ringo of this. You are below Wicket
November 24, 2025 at 10:49 AM
Reposted by Ben Blacker
I wonder if the fall of Rome was this goddamn stupid. Were Romans just walking around, gesturing wildly, 'can you believe this?'
December 30, 2025 at 6:23 PM
Reposted by Ben Blacker
Just a few days until the new year begins and movie releases suddenly collapse into the official two genres of January: “Horror” and “Whoops”.
December 28, 2025 at 12:27 AM
Reposted by Ben Blacker
To me, my X-Mas!
December 25, 2025 at 12:48 PM
Reposted by Ben Blacker
A Proposal for All Parents Worldwide
Santa Opens It Up
YouTube video by Varietopia with Paul F. Tompkins
youtu.be
December 24, 2025 at 12:23 AM
Reposted by Ben Blacker
Once when we wanted to show the ineffectual dithering of The Good Place Committee, we had one of them say, "There are rules, procedures. This is The Good Place -- we can't just *do stuff.*" We almost didn't include it, because we thought it was a little on the nose.
WELKER: Massie and Khanna say they are looking at options including impeachment and contempt for DOJ officials. Would you support those steps?

KAINE: I think that's premature
December 21, 2025 at 5:31 PM
Last Writers Panel of the year is a great one. Writer/director CRAIG BREWER (Song Sung Blue; Hustle & Flow) on dreamers, making a narrative out of a documentary, non-musical musicals, the beauty of “Save As,” the Faustian bargain of making art + lots more
benblacker.substack.com/p/craig-brew...
December 17, 2025 at 5:50 PM
Reposted by Ben Blacker
Virginia Heffernan wrote this shortly after the 2016 election and it still holds true
December 16, 2025 at 4:21 AM
Linda Holmes sums up so much of what we loved about Reiner and his films, an enormous part of which is the enormous amount of love in them.
For me it was When Harry Met Sally… which I saw too young and which defined “adult relationships” for me for good and for… misguided.
It’s perfect.
December 16, 2025 at 1:12 AM
Reposted by Ben Blacker
December 12, 2025 at 9:26 PM
Reposted by Ben Blacker
I wonder if calculators had only been invented 3 years ago, we'd be seeing a lot of statements along the line of "these computers can both understand and speak in math, the universal language! They're thinking about math, they're really thinking about it!"
December 14, 2025 at 3:48 PM
Reposted by Ben Blacker
The horrific tragedy at Brown University is the 389th mass shooting this year and the 230th gun incident on school grounds so far this year.

This is not normal and we don't have to live this way.

bradyunited.org
@bradyunited.org
December 14, 2025 at 1:04 AM