Emmy Award Winning Producer Kurt Engfehr and NAACP Image Award Nominee Ray Nowosielski Team Up With iHeartPodcasts For New Series “George Bailey Was Never Born”

The 10-part series takes a definitive look at “It’s a Wonderful Life,” one of the most popular movies of all time, the story of Americans’ decades-long love affair with this cultural institution and how it may offer a light down the path we walk today

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NEW YORK – November 21, 2023 – Today, iHeartPodcasts, Emmy Award-winning producer Kurt Engher and 2022 NAACP Image Award Outstanding Podcast nominee Ray Nowosielski announced the release of “George Bailey Was Never Born,” a one-of-a-kind podcast experience that takes a definitive look at “It’s a Wonderful Life,” one of the most popular holiday movies of all time. The new series is available now on the iHeartRadio app and everywhere podcasts are heard.

The series is a co-production of iHeartMedia and Double Asterisk, in association with True Stories, created by Engfehr, editor-producer of Oscar- and Palme d’Or-winning documentaries from director Michael Moore, and Nowosielski, producer of “Gumbo Coalition,” which began streaming on Max Nov. 6th, and a story producer on “The Super Models,” streaming on Apple TV since September.

Joseph returns to narrate the podcast, reprising the character who tells fellow angel Clarence the story of Jimmy Stewart’s George Bailey over the 1947 Frank Capra directed classic.  The podcast features conversations with Stewart's daughter Kelly Stewart Harcourt, co-star Donna Reed's daughter Mary Owen, Capra's grandchildren Frank Capra III and Monica Capra Hodges, original story writer Philip Van Doren Stern’s grandchildren and others, as well as American influencers, artists and real modern small-town corollaries to the characters from the movie.

“George Bailey Was Never Born” details many never-before-told stories, ranging from the failure by Rashida Jones’ grandfather to renew the film's copyright to how Republic managed to regain control of it in 1993, from how the New York Times helped start a popular phenomenon of upside-downing the meaning of “It’s a Wonderful Life” to the abolitionist and anti-fascist intentions behind the movie’s creation, with implications for the MAGA movement today, and much more.

Three episodes take listeners inside the "real" Bedford Falls, Seneca Falls, New York, one spotlighting community banker Menzo Case's efforts to bring affordable housing there through his own Seneca County Habitat For Humanity Bailey Park.  Case passed away suddenly of a heart attack on October 13th, leaving that initiative in doubt.  Double Asterisk is donating a portion of proceeds to Bailey Park and encouraging listener donations to that, to their local Habitat for Humanity and to AFSP, in honor of the movie's twin causes of affordable homeownership and suicide prevention.

“George Bailey Was Never Born” is distributed by iHeartPodcasts. 

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Link To Cover Art here

Visit iHeart.com/apps to download iHeartRadio and listen to “George Bailey Was Never Born” on your favorite device.

About Double Asterisk
Double Asterisk, Inc., is the documentary and podcast media company of John Duffy and Ray Nowosielski.  DA’s first major podcast series, After the Uprising, was nominated for a 2022 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Podcast.  Visit DoubleAsteriskMedia.com for more company information.

About iHeartMedia, Inc.

iHeartMedia (NASDAQ: IHRT) is the number one audio company in the United States, reaching nine out of 10 Americans every month. It consists of three business groups.

With its quarter of a billion monthly listeners, the iHeartMedia Multiplatform Group has a greater reach than any other media company in the U.S. Its leadership position in audio extends across multiple platforms, including more than 860 live broadcast stations in over 160 markets nationwide; its National Sales organization; and the company’s live and virtual events business. It also includes Premiere Networks, the industry’s largest Networks business, with its Total Traffic and Weather Network (TTWN); and BIN: Black Information Network, the first and only 24/7 national and local all news audio service for the Black community. iHeartMedia also leads the audio industry in analytics, targeting and attribution for its marketing partners with its SmartAudio suite of data targeting and attribution products using data from its massive consumer base.

The iHeartMedia Digital Audio Group includes the company’s fast-growing podcasting business -- iHeartMedia is the number one podcast publisher in downloads, unique listeners, revenue and earnings -- as well as its industry-leading iHeartRadio digital service, available across more than 500 platforms and 2,000 devices; the company’s digital sites, newsletters, digital services and programs; its digital advertising technology companies; and its audio industry-leading social media footprint.

The company’s Audio & Media Services reportable segment includes Katz Media Group, the nation’s largest media representation company, and RCS, the world's leading provider of broadcast and webcast software.

Visit iHeartMedia.com for more company information.