The Nash Attack
Welcome to The Nash Attack—my take on media and what makes us watch. I’m Jonathan Nash, a lifelong movie and TV fan who’s spent my career at the intersection of Hollywood and technology. Each episode starts with a question about media I can’t stop thinking about. I bring together firsthand experience, industry history and my own perspective to make sense of how we got here, where we’re going and why it matters. OK. Let's attack something.
The Nash Attack
What Is The Nash Attack?
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
Before we attack anything, I thought we should start with the obvious questions: Why did I start a podcast? And why the hell would you care? This is a quick introduction to me, the show, and what you can expect when you listen.
Why Did I Start A Podcast?
SPEAKER_00I've got a question. Why did I start a podcast? And why the hell would you care? Seriously. I'm not a media mogul. I'm not a Hollywood journalist. I'm definitely not a celebrity. I'm just a guy who's loved movies and TV his entire life. And I grew up and I turned it into a career. And now I'm doing a podcast? So before I attack anything, I should probably explain who I am, what this is, and what this isn't. I'm Jonathan Nash, and this is the Nash Attack. My take on media and what makes us watch.
The Fanboy Becomes The Expert
SPEAKER_00I was a fanboy long before I ever worked in entertainment. I was the kid who kept his movie stubs. I had VHS tapes, DVDs, a bookshelf full of DVDs. You know, the place where you're supposed to put books. I wrote movie reviews for my high school newspaper. Then my college paper. I started this little entertainment website before I understood what a blog was. And my friends used to call me IMDB. Not only because I knew the celebrity gossip, but I also knew the crazy details. Who made the movie? Who owned the rights? Why one character could appear somewhere but another couldn't. I didn't just love movies. I loved understanding how the machine worked. And at some point, I decided I want in. So I moved to Los Angeles, I went to USC for business school, specifically to break into entertainment. And somehow, it worked. Disney, Fox, Roku, Apple, DirecTV, Google. And no, there wasn't some 20-year master plan. Careers don't work like that. At least mine didn't. But looking backwards, I got incredibly lucky with the timing. I entered the business when traditional Hollywood still dominated. Then I got a front row seat as streaming completely transformed it. Different companies, different parts of the business, different perspectives on the same enormous change. But here's the important part. I wasn't running these companies. I wasn't sitting in every boardroom. And I'm not going to pretend I know why every decision was made. Some things I'll talk about I experienced firsthand. Some are established facts. And some are just my opinion. I don't have all the answers. But I've seen some shit. And I've got some thoughts.
What This Is
SPEAKER_00So what exactly is the Nash attack? Every episode starts with something about media I can't stop thinking about. Usually a question. Why are there Disney people? Why did Fox sell Hollywood? How the hell did Roku survive? Then I attack it. I look at how we got there. What changed? Sometimes something I experienced firsthand. And eventually, I tell you what I think. Not necessarily the answer, but my answer. And you can decide whether I'm completely full of shit, or just 50%. That's part of the fun. I've also spent a lot of time mentoring and talking to people, trying to break into the industry. And I've realized I genuinely enjoy trying to make sense of how the business works. Because from the outside, it can look like a huge chaotic mess. Sometimes it's a huge chaotic mess from the inside. So part of this is simply sharing what I've learned along the
What This Isn't
SPEAKER_00way. There's also a few things this show is not. It's not gossip. I'm not here to tell you who the assholes are. That would take too long. It's not a weekly recap of headlines, and it's not my resume. My career has given me perspective, but it's not the subject of the show. I've worked at companies I've loved, I've worked at companies that drove me batshit crazy. And usually, they were the same company. And that's actually more interesting. Because I love this industry. And I've had the benefit of studying it and living it. And this isn't some retrospective. I'm still in it, and I plan to be for a long time. I'm genuinely interested in understanding where we've been and where we're going. Not 20 years from now, when hindsight makes everything look obvious. I'm on the media roller coaster with the rest
Why “The Nash Attack”?
SPEAKER_00of you. Now the important question. Why the Nash attack? And despite everything I just said, the answer has absolutely nothing to do with media strategy. Like all good things, it comes from 90s nostalgia. A little show called Say by the Bell. If you're of a certain age, you know where this is going. There was an episode when Zack and the gang form a band. Zack Attack. It's a dream episode. Zack imagines the band's entire rise and fall. And when I started thinking about doing my own creative thing, boom, Nash Attack. And just like Save by the Bell, don't overthink
Let's Attack Something
SPEAKER_00it. So that's it. I've spent most of my life loving this stuff, and somehow it's become my career. I've learned some things, I've gotten some things right, I've gotten plenty wrong. And there's still a lot of this business I want to understand. I've got questions, I've got stories, and I've got some opinions. Okay. Let's attack something.
