E21: Jason Carman on Building Story and Inspiring The Next Generation of Technologists through SciFi

Episode Summary

Executive Summary: The conversation follows Jason Carman’s evolution from aerospace-adjacent creative to founder of Story, a sci-fi film studio built with friends, bootstrapped revenue, and a philosophy that science fiction is modern philosophy. He discusses making Planet as a painful learning exercise, the business strategy behind videos and documentaries, the need for better sci-fi to inspire technological progress, and his views on governance, space warfare, and the future of media.

Main Topics: Building Story and making Planet (Priority: 5/5): Jason explains how Story grew from one person to a 15-person team, and how Planet was the company’s first major creative milestone. He frames the project as a learning-heavy, imperfect production that sharpened the team for future feature films. Science fiction as modern philosophy (Priority: 5/5): He argues that science fiction is the 21st century’s equivalent of philosophy: a framework for thinking about technology, society, human agency, and the future. He sees sci-fi as a cultural force that can shape innovation. Governance, agency, and survival in the future (Priority: 5/5): Jason explores future governance, especially around advanced technology, war, and civilizational stability. He emphasizes agency as the core moral principle and worries about increasingly democratized destruction. Space warfare and the future of conflict (Priority: 4/5): He critiques unrealistic depictions of space combat and discusses orbital mechanics, satellites, and interplanetary deterrence as the real shape of future warfare. Company building, leadership, and team culture (Priority: 4/5): Jason reflects on hiring friends, learning to collaborate, becoming less harsh as a leader, and teaching people on the job. He emphasizes trust, honesty, and protecting the soul of the story. Marketing, video strategy, and audience building (Priority: 4/5): He explains why consistent publishing, launch videos, and YouTube essays are central to Story’s growth, brand, and research process. He views content as both distribution and creative R&D. Media industry shifts and future projects (Priority: 3/5): Jason comments on streaming platforms, especially Apple TV, Netflix, HBO, and YouTube, and says Story is developing nonfiction shows and future theatrical films to build toward a larger cinematic brand.

Key Arguments: Story is intentionally bootstrapped and revenue-based; Planet was funded from client work rather than outside investment. Writing is the hardest part of filmmaking, and good fiction requires repeated iteration, research, and starting from prose/novels before screenplay adaptation. Science fiction is not just entertainment; it is the modern form of philosophy and a tool for shaping how society thinks about technology and the future. The next major sci-fi frontier is not just gadgets but governance, safety, transhumanism, and how to preserve agency as technology becomes more powerful. Future conflict will be increasingly shaped by space infrastructure, orbital mechanics, satellites, and deterrence rather than movie-style planet destruction. Hiring close friends was risky but ultimately strengthened the company because of trust, accountability, and shared history. Consistent publishing cadence is the main driver of audience growth; branding and attention are built over years through repetition. Video will become standard for company announcements because it communicates quality, identity, and excitement better than text alone.

Data Points: Company team size: about 15 full-time people - Jason describes Story’s growth from a solo operation to a small team plus contractors. Time since company start: 80–90 weeks old - He estimates the company’s age while discussing what he had to learn. Dedicated time spent on Planet: about 6 weeks - He says only a small portion of his time over the company’s life was devoted to the film. Planet budget: around $100,000 - He says the short film cost significantly more than expected, funded from business revenue. Original Planet budget expectation: $40,000–$50,000 - His initial estimate for making Planet was much lower than the final spend. Project timeline: 15–16 months - He references the period since the last conversations and the development of Planet and Story. Principal photography duration: about 1 week - He says most filming for Planet happened over a short shoot window. Pickup photography duration: 2–3 days - He adds that there were extra pickup days after principal photography. Additional filming for location inserts: 3–4 days - He describes shooting extra city and Palace of Fine Arts material. Followers on Twitter two years ago: 300 - He uses this to illustrate how small the audience was before consistent publishing. Current total followers: over 200,000 - He cites this as evidence of slow but steady audience growth. Current monthly word count: 8,367 words so far this month - He references his website’s public word counter to show writing output. Video length: 15–20 minutes - He describes the length of the YouTube science videos he produces. Revenue mix for past 18 months: about 90% client work - He says most revenue came from commissioned work rather than owned media. Target future revenue mix: about 90% streaming shows - He wants the business to shift toward original shows over client work. Estimated moon colony timeline: China in 5 years; America uncertain - He gives a speculative forecast when discussing space competition. Global launch-video trend: in 2025 and beyond, every major announcement should have a video - He argues that companies without announcement videos are making a mistake.

Pivotal Quotes: "The human species' latest version of philosophy is science fiction." — Jason Carman: He frames sci-fi as the modern successor to philosophy and central to thinking about the future. "Easily the biggest risk I took in founding the company was hiring all my friends." — Jason Carman: He reflects on the founder decision that shaped Story’s culture and collaboration. "If you are in 2025 and beyond a company announcing something big or small and not releasing a video with it, you're making a mistake." — Jason Carman: He explains why video has become a necessary communication format for companies.

Implications: The episode positions sci-fi studios as both cultural producers and strategic technology influencers. For listeners, it suggests that strong stories, consistent publishing, and agency-centered thinking may shape the next generation of founders, engineers, and media companies.