--- description: Find out why "Blank Check With Griffin & David" is on TIME's list of the 100 best podcasts of all time. title: 'Blank Check With Griffin & David' Is on The 100 Best Podcasts of All Time image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5c85d58fcdb04fdb/6998c86e93610c2620c2fd4a/Best-Podcasts-2025-Blank-Check-011.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Jul 23, 2025 # Blank Check With Griffin & David On directors’ passion projects by [Eliana Dockterman](/author/eliana-dockterman/) ## Eliana Dockterman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Correspondent  **_Pop Culture_** Each new miniseries in this long-running podcast focuses on a different director’s filmography, from their first movie through the “blank check” moment when they produced such an undeniable hit that studios let them pursue their passion projects. Since 2016, _Atlantic_ film critic David Sims and actor Griffin Newman have analyzed the careers of dozens of filmmakers, from [Tim Burton](https://podcasts.apple.com/lb/podcast/pee-wees-big-adventure/id981330533?i=1000425459100 "undefined") to [Jonathan Demme](https://podcasts.apple.com/gy/podcast/caged-heat-crazy-mama-fighting-mad/id981330533?i=1000456353175 "undefined") to [Kathryn Bigelow](https://podcasts.apple.com/no/podcast/the-loveless/id981330533?i=1000392356780 "undefined"). The best episodes are often the ones that zero in on directors’ worst or most plagued films. Think: Cameron Crowe’s [_Elizabethtown_](https://open.spotify.com/episode/6Y0jf4IUsCXlE7Gt7ZCV0V?si=00cab259d3724842 "undefined"), Colin Trevorrow’s [_The Book of Henry_](https://open.spotify.com/episode/45D3QPkLBDnpVxbimnaF7J?si=f61024752ff84baa "undefined"), or Steven Spielberg’s [_War Horse_](https://open.spotify.com/episode/1E3YBcNNaB0H1Xdfp5P8Nt?si=9c14b40c56dc46ee "undefined") (not technically a bad film, but the _Blank Check_ episode is better than the movie). The co-hosts spend hours chatting with other film critics, culture writers, and filmmakers on how the artistic process paired with studio angst can lead a movie awry. The show has earned a die-hard fanbase (who call themselves “Blankies”) exactly because it is long, full of tangents, a little bit nerdy, and always funny. 'Blank Check With Griffin & David': 100 Best Podcasts ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-best-podcasts/7303052/blank-check-with-griffin-and-david/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-best-podcasts/7303052/blank-check-with-griffin-and-david/"},"headline":"Blank Check With Griffin & David","datePublished":"2025-07-23T11:01:22.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-03T00:51:43.331Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collections/100-best-podcasts/7303052/blank-check-with-griffin-and-david/","keywords":["podcasts","list","Podcast","Special Project"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5c85d58fcdb04fdb/6998c86e93610c2620c2fd4a/Best-Podcasts-2025-Blank-Check-011.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Eliana Dockterman","jobTitle":"Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/eliana-dockterman/"}],"creator":"Eliana Dockterman","articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5c85d58fcdb04fdb/6998c86e93610c2620c2fd4a/Best-Podcasts-2025-Blank-Check-011.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/podcasts/","name":"podcasts"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-best-podcasts/7303052/blank-check-with-griffin-and-david/","name":"Blank Check With Griffin & David"}}]}] ```