I wanted to share another great piece of storytelling I recently encountered. For the past couple of weeks I have been blazing through the podcast series Dead Eyes. The podcast is hosted by comedian and actor Connor Ratliff, who tries to solve “a very stupid mystery” that has haunted him for two decades: why Tom Hanks fired him from a small role in the 2001 HBO mini-series, Band Of Brothers. 

Such a simple, narrow subject gives way to an amazing series of deep & interesting conversations with brilliant artists, creatives and performers (Jon Hamm, D’Arcy Carden, Elijah Wood, Damon Lindelof and many more) about the pitfalls of working in the entertainment industry, and the nature of rejection and ambition. While the central tale of his rejection from Band of Brothers forms the spine of the series, it branches out in unexpected and interesting ways that  And the whole tale is told in such a gentle, unassuming, entertaining way, that you can’t help but be swept along. 

You’ll have to listen to the series yourself to find out if he ever manages to solve the central mystery (or indeed if he gets to talk about it with Tom Hanks himself). Spoiler alert: The journey is as good as the final destination. Highly recommended listening!