And The Writer Is...with Ross Golan

Today’s guest is one of the fastest-rising voices in modern country — a songwriter whose honesty, wit, and emotional precision have turned deeply personal stories into songs heard everywhere. She just became the 10th woman of the century to top the Billboard 200.

Before the sold-out shows and chart-topping records, she was a college student playing small gigs with her dad and brother, trying to figure out where music might fit into her life.

One honest song at a time, she began building a catalog that feels both timeless and unmistakably her own.
Now, with a growing fanbase and a string of hits helping shape the sound of modern country, she’s writing the next chapter of her career in real time.

And The Writer Is… Megan Moroney!

In this episode of And The Writer Is… Megan opens up about:

• The unexpected moment that pushed her toward learning guitar
• Growing up around music and playing early shows with her family
• The traumatic accident that jumpstarted her music career
• Finding her voice in the Nashville songwriting community
• Why honesty and humor are essential to her writing
• How she stood out in early co-writes
• And much more…

Hit subscribe and turn on notifications.Every week, we go deep with the most interesting creatives in music.

Follow us on socials: @andthewriteris

A special thank you to our sponsors…
Our lead sponsor, NMPA — the National Music Publishing Association. Your support means the world to us.And @splice — the best sample library on the market. Period.

Chapters
0:00 Intro
5:00 Moving to Nashville: The First Steps
6:00 Working in the Music Industry Before Releasing Music
7:00 The Advice That Started Her Career
10:00 Growing Up Around Music in Georgia
13:50 “I Went to School to Be an Accountant”
16:30 Musical Theatre and Feeling Out of Place
18:56 The Accident That Started Everything
24:01 The Sorority Event That Led to Georgia Theatre
32:25 Learning the Business of Music in School
33:00 The Internship That Changed Everything
35:00 Creating the Tennessee Orange Cover Art on Her Phone
38:45 Writing Every Day and Building a Network in Nashville
40:20 NMPA — Our Lead Sponsor This Season
41:00 Splice
41:45 The Story of Tennessee Orange
45:50 How Influencing Helped Pay the Bills
47:10 Megan’s Writing Process
52:15 Exploring the Studio
54:10 Working With Ed Sheeran
58:42 A Full-Circle Moment With Kacey Musgraves
1:09:00 The Story of “Beautiful Things”
1:15:55 Rapid Fire
1:21:26 Megan Gives the Podcast Flowers

Hosted by Ross Golan
Produced by Joe London & Jad Saad
Edited by Jad Saad
Post-Production VFX by Pratik Karki
Watercolor Art by Michael White
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today’s guest is the frontman of one of the most defining bands of the 2010s — a songwriter whose voice helped shape an era of alternative pop that still echoes today.

Before arenas. Before permanence. Before “Sweater Weather” became cultural shorthand.

Now, after over a decade of hits, reinvention, and evolution, he looks back on the long arc of The Neighbourhood with clarity — and with honesty about what success did and didn’t solve.

And The Writer Is… Jesse Rutherford of The Neighbourhood!

In this episode of And The Writer Is…, Jesse opens up about:
• Growing up in the industry before he understood it
• The unlikely formation and endurance of The Neighbourhood
• His journey through childhood acting, getting discovered, + losing his dad on the brink of success
• The advice he’d give himself before it worked
• And much more…
Hit subscribe and turn on notifications.

Every week, we go deep with the most interesting creatives in music.
Follow us on socials: @andthewriteris

A special thank you to our sponsors…
Our lead sponsor, NMPA — the National Music Publishing Association. Your support means the world to us.

And @splice — the best sample library on the market. Period.
Chapters:
0:00 Intro
2:09 I Never Wanted To Be Alternative

4:02 Why Thousand Oaks Produces Massive Bands
7:39 Becoming a Child Actor at 6

8:35 “My Self-Worth Is Tied to Entertaining”

9:55 Discovered in a Movie Theater at 5

14:16 Reconnecting With His Dad Before He Passed

17:28 Success Without the Fame He Expected
27:10 High School Metalcore Bands
33:17 How The Neighbourhood Formed

36:06 The First Riff of “Sweater Weather”

40:00 Getting Discovered Online by Their Manager

44:23 His Manager’s Warning…
47:20 Writing the Lyrics to “Sweater Weather”

48:42 Pop Writing Rules

55:23 Learning to Let Go of Instant Validation

59:32 Daddy Issues

1:02:30Watching Your Own Lyrics Affect Relationships

1:10:01 Why He Needs Alone Time
1:10:23 Feeling Invisible, the “Chip Chrome” Era

1:11:17 Touring the Same Venues & The Plateau Feeling

1:12:31 Why Chip Chrome Became His Favorite Creative Risk

1:13:48 “You’ve Got to Get People to Look to Listen”
1:16:00 Creative Direction as Identity Control

1:19:30 Self-Sabotage vs Reinvention

1:32:00 Band Brotherhood & Growing Up Together

1:36:00 Legacy, Impact & What Really Matters
1:41:00 Advice to His Younger Self

Hosted by Ross Golan
Produced by Joe London & Jad Saad
Edited by Jad Saad
Post-Production VFX by Pratik Karki
Watercolor Art by Michael White
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today’s guest is a Grammy-winning songwriter, global pop architect, and one of the most quietly influential voices shaping modern music across borders.
Before the world heard her voice, she spent years training inside the K-pop system — learning discipline, structure, and endurance long before recognition ever arrived. When the system didn’t know what to do with her, she pivoted. Slowly. Intentionally. And built a career that would eventually be heard everywhere.
Now, as a songwriter whose work spans K-pop, pop, animation, and beyond — and as an artist stepping into her own voice — she represents a different kind of success: one built patiently, shaped by pressure, and defined by longevity rather than speed.

And The Writer Is… Ejae!
In this episode of And The Writer Is…, Ejae opens up about:
The reality of the K-pop training system and what it actually teaches you about discipline and survival
Rejection and why her voice didn’t fit the moment — and how that shaped her writing
Learning to work alone after years inside a rigid system
How songwriting became a safer, more powerful entry point than performing
The pivot that reframed her career and led to global success

And much more…

Hit the subscribe button and turn on notifications.
Every week, we go deep with the most interesting creatives in music.

Follow us on socials: @andthewriteris

A special thank you to our sponsors…
Our lead sponsor, NMPA — the National Music Publishing Association. Your support means the world to us.
And @splice — the best sample library on the market. Period.

Chapters:
0:00 Intro
1:30 Early life & finding music
6:10 Inside K-Pop training
9:00 Ejae's writing process...
28:00 Rejection from auditioning to be a K-Pop Idol... and $5 Karaoke training to pass.
41:00 Ejae sings her first song
41:37 Sponsor Spotlight: NMPA
42:18 Sponsor Spotlight: Splice
14:45 Discipline, pressure, and identity
23:20 Being let go by the system
26:19 The truth about the K-Pop system
30:40 Rebuilding in isolation
39:15 Discovering songwriting as power
50:00 K-Pop's ultimate evaluation: Auditioning to debut
50:37 Ejae's rejection and rock bottom... and the pivot that would change everything
56:10 Global songs & delayed recognition
1:00:00 How she wrote her first songs
1:04:00 Writing her first song for film
1:07:00 Writing 'Psycho' for Red Velvet at her first session
1:13:00 K-Pop vs Pop music... And the reference to 'Psycho'
1:14:00 K-Pop Demon Hunters
1:20:00 The story behind 'Golden'
1:26:00 The original 'Golden' voice memo...
1:30:00 The process of co-writing the songs for K-Pop Demon Hunters

Hosted by Ross Golan
Produced by Joe London & Jad Saad
Creative Directed by Jad Saad
Post-Production VFX by Pratik Karki
Watercolor Art by Michael White
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today's guest is a festival headliner, Grammy-winning songwriter, and the architect of a sound that accidentally changed the course of folk, country, and alternative music forever.

From singing as a family around a kitchen table to headlining arenas with banjos and mandolins, Marcus Mumford built something no one saw coming — and has spent years learning not to get in his own way once the stakes got real.
Now, as a solo artist and band leader, he's as honest about the creative process as he is about the pitfalls of ego, overthinking, and the quiet ways success can sabotage itself.

And The Writer Is... Marcus Mumford of Mumford & Sons!

In this episode of And The Writer Is…, Marcus opens up about:
His theory of "catching" songs rather than forcing them
How Mumford & Sons structured equal ownership to stay together
What Bob Dylan said to him that he wants tattooed on his body
The Pharrell moment that reframed his entire relationship to success
Why showing up — again and again — is the only way judgment is earned
And much more...

Hit the subscribe button and turn on notifications...
Every week we go deep with the most interesting creatives in music.
Follow us on socials at @andthewriteris

A special thank you to our sponsors…
Our lead sponsor, NMPA — the National Music Publishing Association. Your support means the world to us.
And @splice — the best sample library on the market. Period.

Chapters:
0:00 Intro
1:00 Desert Island Mix: Radiohead
3:00 The Greatest Band of All Time?
7:00 A Hilarious Story About Bob Dylan — His Songwriting Grandfather
11:00 How Mumford & Sons Structured Equal Ownership
13:35 How Mumford & Sons Writes Music
17:00 Where Great Music Comes From
18:35 His Songwriting Ethos: "Catching Fairies"
22:00 Favorite Poetry and Getting Lost in Words Before Writing
23:46 Childhood
25:00 Growing Up in Church
33:50 Why Drummers Make the Best Producers
50:00 Testing Demos on the Road
52:00 Working on His Solo Record
58:00 The Empowering Pharrell Story
1:03:00 The Chris Martin Story
1:05:00 Rapid Fire
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today's guest is a multi-platinum DJ, producer, and songwriter who turned personal devastation into one of electronic music's most emotionally resonant careers.

From opioid addiction in high school to wilderness therapy at rock bottom, he rebuilt his entire life in Denver—sober, alone, and teaching himself music theory from scratch.

Now 13 years clean, he's become a voice for mental health in a scene built on excess, collaborating with Jon Bellion, Halsey, Teddy Swims, and countless others to create music that connects survivors.
His latest album, Odyssey, is a cinematic journey through heartbreak, recovery, and the sessions that saved his life.
And The Writer Is... Illenium!

In this episode of And The Writer Is…, Nick Miller (Illenium) opens up about:
* Moving every two years as a kid and never having roots
* Falling into opiates at 15 and hitting bottom by 2011
* Moving to Denver alone and getting sober at 21
* The Good Things Fall Apart session (and demo)
* How music saved his life entirely
and much more...

Hit the subscribe button and turn on notifications...
Every week we go deep with the most interesting creatives in music.

Follow us on socials at @andthewriteris

A special thank you to our sponsors…
Our lead Sponsor, NMPA— the National Music Publishing Association. Your support means the world to us.
And @splice — the best sample library on the market. Period.

Chapters:
0:00 Intro
1:00 Childhood and Moving Every Two Years
5:00 Getting Into Music Through Tiesto's Album
6:30 The Electronic Artist That Inspires Industry Musicians
9:00 Getting Sober—His Rough Patch in 2011
10:00 Escapism and Addiction
12:30 The Wilderness Program That Saved His Life
16:30 Getting Lost in Music and How He Learned to Create
17:30 Illenium's Roots
18:00 Learning From Other Producers and YouTube
20:00 Thinking of Sound as a Picture
21:00 World Building and Finding His Brand… and His Purpose
23:00 Ross Opens Up on How Music Saved Him
24:00 The Personality Trait All Successful Creatives Have
26:00 How He Popped Off
31:00 Working With Unknown Artists and How He Picks Them
33:00 How to Find Your Sound
34:30 NMPA and Splice Midroll
41:00 Touring—The Downs After a Show
44:00 Good Things Fall Apart
47:00 Collaboration in DJ Culture
49:00 Why He Doesn't Chase Big Songs
54:24 COVID
1:13:00 Gaming on Tour
1:17:00 Good Things Fall Apart Demo

Hosted by Ross Golan
Produced by Joe London and Jad Saad
Creative Direction by Jad Saad
Post-Production VFX by Pratik Karki
Guest Watercolor Art by Michael White
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.