Podbit · Last Podcast On The Left
Cars are omnipresent in King's fiction because they're omnipresent in life — and the most likely vehicle for a serious accident. King knows this personally: he wasn't hit in a car, he was hit by one while walking.
Where this was said
At 58:23 · chapter starts 56:20
Joe Hill explains the accidental shared-universe moment that produced one of modern horror's more charming publishing footnotes. While writing Nosferatu, he and his father were unknowingly creating nearly identical antagonists — supernatural predators who steal souls and energy from children. When they realized it, they had a choice: hide the similarity or run toward it. They ran. Stephen put Charlie Manx in Doctor Sleep; Joe inserted the True Knot into Nosferatu. Joe adds a second coincidence that's even harder to explain: around 2018, when he remarried and had twins, both he and his father separately wrote short stories about haunted baby strollers — neither knowing the other was doing it. His wife Jillian, pushing the actual twins' stroller while Joe recounted this, deadpanned: 'What inspires you?'
While writing Doctor Sleep and Nosferatu simultaneously, King and Hill independently invented energy-vampire antagonists that operated identically. Their solution: cross-pollinate. Stephen stuck Charlie Manx in Doctor Sleep; Joe inserted the True Knot into Nosferatu.
Around the time Joe Hill remarried and had twins in 2018, both he and Stephen King independently wrote stories about haunted baby strollers without knowing the other was doing the same.
Steven Pressfield's insight: don't wait for the commitment to feel real before acting like a professional. Set up the studio. Make the schedule. Show up. Commitment doesn't precede action — it follows it. You act like a pro first, and your brain catches up with justifications after. The action is the commitment.
Robby Hoffman isn't fearless — she's terrified all the time. The difference is she does it anyway, because not doing it feels worse than the fear itself.
John Mulaney texted Robby Hoffman out of nowhere saying he'd been a fan for a while and wanted to make a Netflix special with her. Robby called it 'shocking, horrifying, anxiety-inducing, surreal and thrilling' — and said yes.
Mulaney is buttoned-up, suit-wearing, classy. Robby is gritty, raw, and undefined. Together they made the collab nobody expected. Batman and Robin. Eminem and Dido.
Music had Pope Gregory forcing notation. Comedy has had 'magical thinking' — he's just got funny bones. But jokes work through discoverable, teachable mechanics. Writing down the rules doesn't kill the magic; it gives more people access to it.
Howard Ashman had one insight nobody else had: animated Disney films should be Broadway musicals. The third song of every great musical is the character sitting alone explaining what they want. That's 'Part of Your World.' That structure — combined with Alan Menken's compositions — generated Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and The Lion King, and turned Disney Animation into the most profitable creative engine in entertainment history.
The Lion King musical has been running for 30 years across Broadway, London's West End, and global touring companies. It has grossed over $11 billion in total revenue — more than Avatar, more than Avengers: Endgame, more than any album, more than any video game. It generates an average of $350 million in revenue every single year. Disney owns it outright.
The anonymous French artist Invader has hidden 1,500 pixelated mosaic artworks across Paris alone, with thousands more scattered across 80+ cities — affixed to the Eiffel Tower, the Hollywood sign, and even sent to the International Space Station. He might be even busier than Banksy.
The Flash Invaders app turns city streets into a treasure hunt, letting players scan Invader's hidden mosaics for points. Players have collectively logged over 47 million flashes. Unlike most mobile games that glue you to a screen, this one forces you to look up and engage with your surroundings.
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