Storytelling Breakdown

10 Episodes
Subscribe

By: Ben Clemmer, Caleb Meyer, Stephen Stachofsky, Larissa Whitaker

Storytelling Breakdown is a podcast deep dive into the way our favorite films, shows, books, games, and more reach us in all sorts of ways. Hosts Ben Clemmer and Caleb Meyer bring you a pop culture audio adventure recorded in Fort Wayne, Indiana. From the terrifying resonance of an eighty year old clown to the entire life of Caesar, from the cutting edge animation of an entire Spider-Verse to a card game from the late nineties that’s so Star Wars it hurts, and from the indelible mark of one of comics’ most creative writers to a museum dedicated to supe...

SB Movie Share II: Almost Famous, Derek DelGaudio's In & Of Itself, Edge of Tomorrow & Howl’s Moving Castle
#39
08/25/2023

As we near the end of summer, the Storytelling Breakdown team decided it was time for Movie Share II: Electric Boogaloo. 


The rotation from last time has been reversed. Stephen has Ben, exploring more works of Hayao Miyazaki with Howl’s Moving Castle. Ben has Larissa, and the two opened the episode with a trip back to the 1970’s with Cameron Crowe’s Almost Famous. Larissa has Caleb, and she put Derek DelGaudio's In & Of Itself on his radar. Caleb has Stephen, who put on his headphones and sat down for Live, Die, Rep… wait, Edg...


What Makes A Good Indy Film?
#38
07/28/2023

Film goers of a certain age have grown up with Indiana Jones. For the Storytelling Breakdown team, that meant seeing Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Last Crusade on VHS, sharing the first viewings with parents and siblings, and probably seeing Temple of Doom a little later in the ol’ childhood. We got Kingdom of the Crystal Skull in 2008 and 15 years ago it looked unlikely that Indiana Jones would go out on top. 


Ben, Caleb, Larissa, and Stephen saw Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny together. Just a couple days later, they sat...


Two Cakes: A Deep Dive Into Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse
#37
06/30/2023

When Storytelling Breakdown debuted in 2020, our first episode dedicated to a single movie was dedicated to Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. Our guest for that episode was Autumn Schultz. With a new Spider-Verse film capturing the imaginations of audiences worldwide, Caleb and Larissa have invited Autumn back to the podcast to discuss the Web-Head’s latest outing. She is joined by another guest bringing his own Spider-Man expertise to Storytelling Breakdown, Apollo Lymon. The four of them will explore the many elements that set Across the Spider-Verse apart from other animated works, even its predecessor. 


Thi...


It’s Never Sunny At The Emmys
#36
06/16/2023

Before the start of Storytelling Breakdown’s third season, our community update episode served as an official welcoming of Stephen Stachofsky and Larissa Whitaker as co-hosts of the podcast. We went down the rabbit hole of everyone’s media histories and Larissa mentioned a show we will cover in depth in this June episode, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. 


Despite sixteen seasons of staying power, Sunny has never received Emmy consideration for anything other than stunts, with three nominations and no wins. Larissa and Caleb come into this episode with a for your conside...


Are You Summer Blockbuster Experienced?
#35
05/26/2023

You pull into the drive-in for a double feature. Maybe you tilt your seat back and settle in for the latest entry in a franchise with decades of staying power. The floor is sticky. The popcorn is almost gone by the time the trailers finish. These thoughts could remind you of when you were a kid or maybe you're the one bringing the kids along. They could also remind you of a commercial featuring Vin Diesel or an SNL parody of the same. As the weather gets warmer and we look ahead to summer movie releases, Ben, Caleb, Larissa...


Firefly Flashback: Out of Gas
#34
04/28/2023

Take my love, take my land, take me where I cannot stand… 


We are finally getting around to a Firefly episode. Ben, Caleb, and Larissa revisited the series for the first time in a while and started out with what currently sits as the highest rated episode in the series on IMDB, Out of Gas. 


To again paraphrase Robert McKee, “true character is revealed in the decisions human beings make under pressure,” and this episode puts the crew of Serenity in peril from the episode’s first moments. Out of Gas als...


Cinematic Icons: Pirates of the Caribbean
#33
03/31/2023

Before this episode starts, we want to boost the signal for a GoFundMe to support the Hall of Heroes. Ben and Caleb visited the museum in 2019 for the finale episode of Storytelling Breakdown’s first season. The museum was broken into on March 19 and several valuable items in the museum were taken. Our team is heartbroken that some of this amazing history that the museum holds may be lost and we hope you will support the Hall of Heroes. If you love comics and are anywhere near the midwest, we also hope you take the opportunity to see the Ha...


Playing Out Internal Struggle, D&D Storytelling Through Stranger Things & The Legend of Vox Machina
#32
02/24/2023

We cover a lot of movies on Storytelling Breakdown. This entertainment is bite-sized compared to the time you can spend getting to know a character through a TV show. And both of these are dwarfed by the time you can spend getting to know a character in a D&D game. 


Dungeons & Dragons has permeated the pop culture landscape in recent years, becoming even more popular through shows like Stranger Things and The Legend of Vox Machina from Critical Role. When the villains are fantastical, the stakes can be apocalyptic, and the emotional struggles c...


The Storytelling Breakdown Movie Share Of 2023
#31
01/27/2023

“Wait, you haven’t seen…” 


We know how this interaction goes. On one end of the conversation you have someone who hasn’t seen a film and is about to get a recommendation that might be going on a list they have been working through at an somewhat uneven pace. The other person gets to share one of their favorite movies and looks forward to hearing what the other person has to say about it. 


We’re tackling four movies simultaneously. Each Storytelling Breakdown host was assigned another host with whom to s...


The Storytelling Breakdown Team Attempts The Tomb Of Horrors
#30
12/31/2022

Ben said it during the introduction for this episode, but truly this felt inevitable. After many standard episodes and campaign diaries dedicated to Dungeons & Dragons, the Storytelling Breakdown team is attempting one of the most famous dungeon crawls of all time, the Tomb of Horrors. 


First released in 1978, our adventurers will be attempting the fifth edition version as Ben takes on the role of Dungeon Master. Caleb will step into the talons of Keeoth Krackerjack, the kenku rogue. Stephen will take up the hammer of Olfric Stormjaw, the northman fighter, and Larissa will channel w...