Making Media Now, presented by Filmmakers Collaborative and hosted by Michael Azevedo, is a podcast dedicated to presenting informative and enlightening conversations with creators of all stripes--filmmakers, writers, directors, editors, technical experts--about their process, their vision, their joys and challenges. Listen in to meet visionaries crafting media in a range of genres and for the full spectrum of distribution platforms.
Nick Beaulieu on "My Omaha," a Tale of Divisions and Efforts to Bridge Them
Joining host Michael Azevedo on this episode is documentary filmmaker Nick Beaulieu, the director of a personal and thought-provoking film called "My Omaha," which will have its broadcast premiere on the PBS series Independent Lens on Oct 5. The film will also be available on the PBS app and its YouTube channel on the same day.
Set in Omaha, Nebraska — where the legacies of Malcolm X, racial segregation, and political division still shape everyday life — the film follows filmmaker Nick as he documents his city’s racial justice movement while attempting to reconnect with his terminally ill father Randy, a staunch Trump supporter.
As Nick delves deeper into North Omaha’s struggle and resilience, the film becomes an intimate portrait of family, race, and the uneasy search for truth inside modern America.
At the same time, Nick begins filming a series of increasingly difficult conversations with his father Randy, a conservative Christian and devoted Trump supporter, whose sudden diagnosis of stage-4 cancer forces both men to confront the emotional and political distance between them before time runs out.
What begins as a documentary about political division gradually becomes something more intimate and unsettling: a reckoning with identity, legacy, community, and the unresolved contradictions at the heart of America.
Making Media Now—which is available on all podcast platforms including YouTube--is sponsored by Filmmakers Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting media makers from across the creative spectrum. From providing fiscal sponsorship to presenting an array of informative and educational programs, Filmmakers Collaborative supports creatives at every step in their journey.
About the host: www.writevoicecreative.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-azevedo/
Sound Engineer: A.J. Kierstead
28 Sept 2026
Documentary "More Than Medicine" Examines Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy
Joining host Michael Azevedo on this episode are Filmmakers Collaborative members Kerthy Fix and Paul Kloss to discuss their documentary "More Than Medicine" which follows four therapists navigating the emerging field of psychedelic-assisted therapy.
Paul and Kerthy have worked for the past 8 years doing the research, conducting the interviews, shooting and editing their documentary. They made the film because—as you’ll hear in our conversation— they saw people suffering and discovered how in many cases psychedelic-assisted therapy really worked.
"More Than Medicine" will be premiering at the Woodstock Film Festival on Oct 17th, 2026.
And Kerthy and Paul are continuing in their fundraising efforts to get the film in front of police chiefs, lawmakers, therapists, medical students, and the folks who are losing hope and giving up.
Making Media Now—which is available on all podcast platforms including YouTube--is sponsored by Filmmakers Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting media makers from across the creative spectrum. From providing fiscal sponsorship to presenting an array of informative and educational programs, Filmmakers Collaborative supports creatives at every step in their journey.
About the host: www.writevoicecreative.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-azevedo/
Sound Engineer: A.J. Kierstead
21 Sept 2026
Mary Mazzio & The Exhilarating Tale of The All-Female Crew of "Mighty Mary"
Host Michael Azevedo's guest on this episode is award-winning documentary filmmaker, former Olympian, and Filmmakers Collaborative member Mary Mazzio.
Mary’s latest film, conveniently titled "Mighty Mary" has been garnering all sorts of accolades and attention since it began its run in AMC theaters across the nation on September 11.
The response has been so enthusiastic that its big screen run has been extended!
Narrated by Elizabeth Banks and Hugh Jackman, "Mighty Mary" chronicles an amazing group of “we eat nails for breakfast” type of women: the first all-women’s sailing team to contend for the famed America’s Cup, the holy grail for one of sport’s most elite and exclusive racing events.
This groundbreaking team was comprised of a group of world class and Olympic sailors as well as Olympic rowers and included a deaf sailor, a Native Hawaiian sailor, and the first African American sailor to ever win an America’s Cup race.
What had been dismissed as a publicity stunt turned into something unimaginable.
In all her films, Mary Mazzio explores the concept of overcoming obstacles, whether it is a fight for social change, or issues of poverty and lack of opportunity.
All of Mary’s films are about ordinary people doing extraordinary things – defying expectations and challenging assumptions of what they can achieve.
Making Media Now—which is available on all podcast platforms including YouTube--is sponsored by Filmmakers Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting media makers from across the creative spectrum. From providing fiscal sponsorship to presenting an array of informative and educational programs, Filmmakers Collaborative supports creatives at every step in their journey.
About the host: www.writevoicecreative.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-azevedo/
Sound Engineer: A.J. Kierstead
Who has been a guest on Making Media Now
Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.
Chad Ervin
Lauren Curry
Jeff Bieber
Chad Freidrichs
Mickela Mallozzi
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
YouTube views
78,446,881
Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025
Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
20 ratings
Spotify
5.0 / 5
7 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 56 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
45
Social presence
0
YouTube
93
Engagement
77
Contact Making Media Now
Guest appearances
Does not typically book guests
Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.
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