17 MAY. 2025 · When two of the most influential figures in film become the personal hostages of Kim Jong Il, they have two objectives: to elevate North Korean cinema on the world stage, and to plot their daring escape. On the Very Special Episodes podcast, Dana Schwartz tells one incredible story each week. If you enjoyed this episode, do us a favor and go http://link.chtbl.com/veryspecialepisodes wherever you get your podcasts. * Hosted by Dana Schwartz, Zaron Burnett, and Jason English
Written by Adrien Behn and edited by Carmen Borca-Carrillo at https://wondermedianetwork.com
Produced by Josh Fisher
Editing and Sound Design by Chris Childs
Mixing and Mastering by Chris Childs
Additional Editing by Mary Dooe
Fact-Checking by Austin Thompson
Original Music by Elise McCoy
Show Logo by Lucy Quintanilla
Executive Producer is Jason English * SOURCES + FURTHER READING/LISTENING/VIEWING https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250054272/akimjongilproduction/, by Paul Fisher
https://www.ampersandbooks.org/book/9781956005585, by Ravi Mangla
https://www.eas.utoronto.ca/people/directories/all-faculty/michelle-cho, assistant professor, University of Toronto
https://podcasts.apple.com/fi/podcast/are-you-there-godzilla-its-me-kim-jong-il/id1608230191?i=1000598436509&l=fi [Ridiculous Crime podcast]
https://2001-2009.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2004/41646.htm, U.S. State Department
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/big-brother-north-koreas-forgotten-prince/id1606009390 [An iHeart Original Podcast]
https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/29529/kim-jong-il-director-he-kidnapped-and-awful-godzilla-film-they-made-together [Mental Floss Magazine]
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/bomb-korean-war/ [PBS]See https://omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.