The Big Lie is an immersive seven part audio drama that follows FBI special agent Jack Bergin (Jon Hamm), who is sent to investigate three blacklisted filmmakers—Academy Award-winning writer Michael Wilson, Academy Award-nominated producer Paul Jarrico, and director Herbert J. Biberman—who were inspired by a New Mexico labor strike to make a movie that dramatized their pro-labor, pro-feminist beliefs. Convinced the film is a recruitment tool for the Communist Party, Jack will do whatever is necessary to shut the production down.

Featuring a star-studded cast that also includes Giancarlo Esposito, David Strathairn, Lisa Edelstein, Raymond Cruz, Troy Evans, Kirk Baltz, Bradley Whitford, John Getz, and Lela Loren, The Big Lie is an explosive story of conspiracy, betrayal, and temptation that resonates with today’s divided America and reminds us all that fear spreads faster than the truth.

©2022 Fresh Produce    

Like many people, after the world shut down in March of 2020, an increasing sense of isolation pushed me away from visual media toward the calming, more intimate experience of podcasts. At first, contemporary podcasts, and then I discovered these great old BBC radio plays by Samuel Beckett and Tom Stoppard, which really pulled me in. When my friends at Fresh Produce Media asked if I had anything that would work as a multi-part audio fiction piece, I said yes. The fact is, every writer keeps a story in his back pocket in case someone asks, and The Big Lie was mine. 

The true story of three Blacklisted artists at the height of the Red Scare—who somehow managed to make Salt of the Earth when the whole world was trying to shut them down—was a story that had to be told because it’s a story that resonates with what’s going on in the world today. Union-wise, there’s another “big lie” being told right now—a big lie that WGA and SAG-AFTRA members simply refuse to accept—that there’s somehow a new fiscal model in the entertainment business that simply doesn’t allow writers and actors to be paid a living wage, that there’s not enough to go around. I imagine how Paul Jarrico and company would respond to this current big lie, and I know in my heart that the unions will prevail, no matter how long it takes. 

—John Mankiewicz

The Big Lie was created by John Mankiewicz from a story by “Salt of the Earth” producer Paul Jarrico, co-written by Jamie Napoli, directed by Aaron Lipstadt, with an original score by David Mansfield. It is an Audible Original, produced by Fresh Produce Media. 

John Mankiewicz (Executive Producer and Series Creator) 
John Mankiewicz is a screen and television writer whose most recent show is Interrogation on Paramount+. A multiple Emmy nominee, Mankiewicz has served as an executive producer on House of Cards, Bosch, and House. His film credits include an adaptation of Joyce Carol Oates’ Rape: A Love Story. A former journalist, he has contributed to Rolling Stone, Esquire, and The New Yorker.

Aaron Lipstadt (Director) 
Aaron Lipstadt is a director and producer with television work ranging from Miami Vice to Bosch. He abandoned his PhD thesis to take a job with legendary low budget producer Roger Corman. Shortly after, he went on to direct the cult film Android, which led to a career lasting more than thirty-five years in television, directing multiple pilots and producing a half dozen series, including the Emmy-winning Medium.

Jamie Napoli (Writer) 
Jamie Napoli is a writer and producer whose films have screened at South by Southwest and the Palm Springs International Film Festival. He started his career at the USC School of Cinematic Arts, during which time he co-wrote a feature adaptation of Don Quixote for Rabbit Bandini Productions. He co-wrote the upcoming Gunpowder & Sky audio horror series Summoners, and wrote and produced the upcoming documentary podcast series Cardiac Cowboys about doctors and engineers who pioneered open heart surgery.

As an Emmy-nominated creative studio, Little Cinema is at the forefront of reimagining stories into captivating experiences across various forms of media and entertainment. Little Cinema has played a pivotal role in shaping the immersive world of The Big Lie, through audio-to-performance reimagination, content creation, stage direction, and shadow design. Their visionary approach to storytelling pushes boundaries and transcends traditional narratives, captivating audiences and leaving a lasting impact that extends far beyond the realm of entertainment.

Paula Rebelo (Honor)  
Paula Rebelo is a Brazilian-American-Portuguese actress based in Los Angeles. Select credits include Do You Feel Anger (Circle X Theatre), Cry It Out (Company of Fools), The River Bride (Arizona Theatre Company), The Clean House (Boise Contemporary Theater), Theatre Movement Bazaar’s Grail Project and Big Shot (South Coast Repertory, Bootleg Theatre, and tours to China and Scotland), Four Larks' The Temptation of St. Antony, and Prometheus Bound (Getty Villa). Rebelo has received two Ovation Awards for her work in LA theater and holds a BFA from CalArts.

Mark Skeens (Jack)  
Mark Skeens is a theater maker and associate artist of Los Angeles–based Theatre Movement Bazaar. Their productions have come to life at Bootleg Theater, Boston Court Pasadena, South Coast Repertory, The Kennedy Center, REDCAT, 24th Street Theatre, LA Theatre Center, and the Getty Villa. International tours to China, Russia, Edinburgh, and the UK have been a delight!

Wesley Mann (Gus/Neil) 
Wesley Mann has worked in film, television, theater and all manner of performing arts for the last thirty-five years. Seen most recently at A Noise Within Theatre in Pasadena in Much Ado About Nothing. He will also be seen in the upcoming series Palm Royale on Apple TV+ this fall.

Matt Hill (Creative Director/Stage Director) 

Luke Neher (Video and Projection Designer) 

Andrew Schmedake (Technical Director)

Max Pava (Director of Client Services and Executive Producer) 

Jay Rinsky (Founder and CCO, Little Cinema)