Let's Talk Media with Vedant Akhauri

Let’s Talk Media is an interview podcast hosted by media professional and award-winning podcaster, Vedant Akhauri. Expect a blend of personal takes and in-depth interviews with filmmakers, writers, academics, and creators across film, TV, and the wider creative world - delivering real, unfiltered conversations about the craft, careers, and chaos behind making (and appreciating) media.Follow @letstalkmediava on Instagram. New episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays. Guest submissions open.Disclaimer: Guest opinions are their own and do not necessarily reflect my views.

Let's Talk Media with Vedant Akhauri is a arts podcast hosted by Vedant Akhauri, with 192 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80.

Vedant Akhauri hosts Let's Talk Media with Vedant Akhauri, a arts show with 192 episodes published.

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  Episode #54

  HorrorFix: Championing Indie Horror, Micro-Budget Filmmaking, and Building a Genre Hub (ft. Founder, Ash Hamilton)

  Oct 1, 202635 minS7

  How can independent filmmakers break through an oversaturated media market to bring micro-budget horror stories to life? In this episode of Let's Talk Media , host Vedant Akhauri sits down with Ash Hamilton, founder of HorrorFix, an online hub dedicated to giving the "indie-est of indie" horror creators visibility, resources, and a platform to reach wider audiences. Ash shares his journey from watching midnight Saturday horror movies with his mother as a child to launching his own film projects and media ecosystem. Together, we explore the pragmatic realities of low-budget filmmaking, the art of creating memorable characters over subgenre gimmicks, and how to pitch investors in the modern digital age. In this episode, we discuss: The Saturday Night Ceremony: How watching late-night horror films with his mother sparked a lifelong passion for the genre, alongside his love for 1980s "rockstar" horror, Universal Monsters, Hammer Horror, and Italian Giallo cinema. Building HorrorFix: Why Ash created a dedicated digital platform to elevate independent horror projects that get overlooked by mainstream media outlets. "Write a $700 Movie": Crucial advice for aspiring filmmakers on assessing assets versus limitations. Character First, Device Second: Why relying solely on horror tropes (slasher, werewolf, creature feature) falls flat without characters that audiences love or love to hate. Pitching Investors Realistically: What investors and executive producers actually look for. Inside the Horror Fix Slate: A look at Ash's alien abduction mockumentary Holes in the Sky: The Sean Miller Story , the apocalyptic anthology Final Days: Tales from the End Times , his upcoming documentary Examining Evil , and his 1984 nuclear-scare audio drama Dislocated . Timestamps: 00:00 – Introduction to Horror Fix & Giving Indie Creators a Platform 02:15 – Childhood Saturday Nights: The Origin of Ash's Love for Horror 04:10 – The "Rockstar" Era: '80s Horror, Heavy Metal, & Practical FX 06:00 – Ash's Fine Art Roots: From '90s Indie Comics to Hot Rod Airbrushing 09:00 – Oversaturation & Overcoming Challenges in Modern Media 11:00 – Inside the Horror Fix Slate: Holes in the Sky , Final Days , & Mangled 15:00 – The "Write a $700 Movie" Rule: Balancing Assets vs. Limitations 17:00 – Why Horror Remains the Ultimate Launch Vehicle for Indie Directors 21:00 – Avoiding Cliches: Why Character Investment Beats Subgenre Devices 22:30 – How to Pitch Horror Investors: ROI, Marketing Reach, & Attached Talent 24:30 – Audio Dramas & Publishing: Dislocated and Upcoming Horror Books 26:00 – Where to Connect with Horror Fix & Closing Remarks To explore indie horror reviews, podcasts, and upcoming releases, visit horror-fix.com . If you enjoyed this conversation, please subscribe and leave a rating to help us share more stories from creators across media. You can follow the show on Instagram @letstalkmediava . New episodes drop every Tuesday and Thursday.

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  Episode #53

  The Business of Podcasting: Booking Guests, Studio Production, and Fighting Burnout (ft. Richard Wilmore)

  Sep 24, 202629 minS7

  In this episode of Let's Talk Media , host Vedant Akhauri sits down with podcast producer and host Richard Wilmore (founder of Make Your Day Richer LLC ) for an unfiltered look into the behind-the-scenes craft of podcast production and guest booking. Inspired as an 11-year-old by the celebratory, judgment-free warmth of The Rosie O'Donnell Show in 1997, Richard discusses his mission to bring classic daytime talk show energy into modern digital media. The conversation explores what makes a guest stand out beyond their job title, how solo creators can navigate burnout by redefining creative "seasons", and why human stumbles and unscripted moments remain far more compelling than hyper-polished AI content. Timestamps 00:00 – Intro & Podcasting Craft : Vedant introduces Richard Wilmore to explore guest booking and studio production. 02:15 – The 1997 Rosie O'Donnell Spark : How 1990s daytime television inspired Richard's approach to inclusive media. 05:00 – Studio Logistics & Booking Strategy 08:00 – What Makes a Standout Guest 10:00 – Consistency & Creator Fatigue 13:00 – Studio Aesthetics vs. Authenticity 16:00 – Human Imperfection vs. AI 20:00 – Preventing Burnout as a Podcaster 26:00 – Monetization & Industry Trends 31:00 – Wrap-Up : Final reflections and where to find Richard's work If you like what you hear, please subscribe and leave a rating to help us share more vital stories. You can find Let's Talk Media with Vedant Akhauri on all major podcast directories and follow the show on Instagram @ letstalkmediava .

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  Episode #52

  Inherited Grief: Being Gen Z in a Post-9/11 World

  Sep 11, 202630 minS7

  Marking the 25th anniversary of September 11th, host Vedant Akhauri breaks from the standard interview format of Let's Talk Media for a solemn reflection on how Gen Z carries the weight of 9/11. For those who were infants in cribs or born into the post-9/11 era, the tragedy doesn't exist as a personal "where were you" memory, but as a world understood secondhand through stories, history textbooks, and media artifacts. In this episode, we discuss: Media as a History Teacher: How a generation pieced together a national tragedy through pop culture - from Bollywood cinema like My Name is Khan, Kathryn Bigelow's Zero Dark Thirty , and Jon Stewart’s raw Daily Show monologue. The Generational Watershed: Tracing the razor-thin boundary between high school cohorts (such as the Class of 2018 and 2019) that marked the final transition between high-school students born before 9/11 and those born entirely into its aftermath. Living in the Aftermath: A candid reflection on growing up Indian-American in a post-9/11 America without any personal memory of the world before it. Preserving Living Memory: A respectful call for older generations to step up as "historians" for younger listeners, ensuring the human weight, empathy, and memory of the nearly 3,000 lives lost are preserved for generations to come. If you like what you hear, please subscribe and leave a rating to help us share more vital stories. You can find Let's Talk Media with Vedant Akhauri on all major podcast directories and follow the show on Instagram @letstalkmediava . New episodes drop every Tuesday and Thursday! This episode is dedicated to the innocent lives lost in the September 11th attacks, the troops lost in the War on Terror, and to those who carry their memories with grief and remembrance. Released on September 11th, 2026 at 8:46 A.M Eastern Time.

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  Episode #52

  Not a Real Enemy: The True Story of a Hungarian Jewish Man’s Fight for Freedom (ft. Co-Author, Robert Wolf)

  Sep 7, 202630 minS7

  How does one family survive the brutal Nazi forced labor camps of World War II, only to find themselves trapped under the paranoid surveillance and repression of Stalin’s Soviet regime? In this episode of Let's Talk Media , host Vedant Akhauri sits down with retired radiologist and co-author Dr. Robert Wolf . Dr. Wolf joins the show to discuss his award-winning biography of his father, Not a Real Enemy: The True Story of a Hungarian Jewish Man’s Fight for Freedom (co-authored with Janice Harper). The book, currently stocked at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington DC, recounts the incredible life of Robert's father, Ervin Wolf: A Hungarian Jewish physician who, with his wife, had to survive two back-to-back nightmares: the physical horror of the Nazi occupation, followed immediately by the soul-crushing political surveillance of Stalinist communism. In this episode, we discuss: The Realities of the Forced Labor Service: Dr. Wolf sheds light on the brutal, mobile Hungarian labor camps, grueling paramilitary services with a mere 5% survival rate where Jewish men were used as human landmine detectors. A Four-Time Escape Artist: Ervin's survival, including the bizarre, miraculous moment a "missed" escape attempt actually saved his life. Friendship in the Darkest Times: How Ervin's best friend, Frank, used his skills as an architect to map their grueling steps and keep them both alive. Frontliners in the 1956 Hungarian Revolution: A behind-the-scenes look at the uprising against the Soviets, where Ervin worked 24/7 as a trauma surgeon and Robert's mother ran the Budapest blood bank as a medical student. The War on Historical Denial: A passionate call to action on why preserving firsthand family memoirs is our strongest weapon against modern, rising global antisemitism and the digital spread of misinformation. Not a Real Enemy has won four major book awards and is available now on Amazon in Paperback, Hardcover, Kindle, and as an Audiobook. You can also find it stocked at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington DC. To learn more about the upcoming documentary and Dr. Wolf's work, visit notarealenemy.com . If you like what you hear, please subscribe and leave a rating to help us share more vital stories. You can find Let's Talk Media with Vedant Akhauri on all major podcast directories and follow the show on Instagram @letstalkmediava . New episodes drop every Tuesday and Thursday!

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  Episode #50

  Courtroom Realism vs. Fiction Thrillers: How to Write Legal Suspense (ft. Author, Jon Gegenheimer)

  Sep 6, 202652 minS7

  How does a former military counterintelligence interrogator and veteran trial lawyer use his high-stakes real-world experience to write authentic, deeply gripping legal suspense, and what does Hollywood get completely wrong about the courtroom? In this episode of the media interview series, Let's Talk Media , host Vedant Akhauri sits down with veteran trial attorney, elected court official, and former counterintelligence specialist Jon Gagenheimer . Jon discusses the intersection of law, history, and creative writing, showing how his decades in the judicial system fuel his career as a literary novelist. We explore how real-world military interrogation training translates directly to cross-examining witnesses on the stand, why popular television legal dramas violate basic rules of evidence, and how to build authentic, realistic suspense across a narrative without overwhelming your readers with dry legal jargon. (Note: As with all our guest interviews, Jon’s discussion of history, world relations, and modern politics are entirely his own personal opinions, shared here in the spirit of open, thoughtful dialogue) In this episode, we discuss: The Interrogator in the Courtroom: How Jon’s military counterintelligence background in the U.S. Army trained him to read physical mannerisms, decode body language, and spot lies on the witness stand. Calling Out Unrealism in TV: Why standard TV legal dramas are fundamentally unrealistic, and how Jon uses actual direct examinations, objections, and realistic judicial temperaments to construct authentic trial scenes. Ripped from New Orleans History: How the real-life, controversial 1960s Clay Shaw trial in New Orleans, and the booming baritone of DA Jim Garrison inspired the central murder mystery in Jon's whodunit, The Griffin Murders . Sigmund Freud & C.S. Lewis Team Up: Inside Jon’s novel The Canon Code , which takes a highly analytical, empirical approach to solving Charles Dickens' unfinished final book, The Mystery of Edwin Drood . Churchill vs. H*tler: The wild, high-concept premise behind Churchill vs H*tler , featuring a high-stakes, secret golf match in neutral Sweden patterned after the iconic cheating match in James Bond's Goldfinger . Ditching the Outline: Why Jon rejects rigid paper outlines when writing fiction, choosing instead to write freely and navigate narrative surprises the same way a trial lawyer must pivot on their feet when caught off guard. Jon's novels are available on Amazon , Barnes & Noble, and through regional book distributors. If you like what you hear, please subscribe and leave a rating to help us share more vital stories. You can find Let's Talk Media with Vedant Akhauri on all major podcast directories and follow the show on Instagram @ letstalkmediava . New episodes drop every Tuesday and Thursday!

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