Podcast Episode Script with Cold-Open Hook

Script a {{duration}}-minute podcast episode. Show: {{show_name}} — {{show_premise}}. This episode's topic: {{episode_topic}}. Host(s): {{host_names}}, tone: {{tone}}. **Cold open (0:00–0:30) — before any intro music:** The single most arresting moment from the episode, pulled forward: the counterintuitive claim, the "wait, what?" fact, the mid-story cliffhanger. Script it word for word. Then: "I'm {{host_names}}, and this is {{show_name}}." Music sting. **Intro (0:30–1:30):** Frame today's question as a question the listener now needs answered. Tease the 2–3 stops along the way ("we'll get to X, and stick around for Y — it's not what I expected"). No "welcome back to another episode of" — cold-open momentum dies there. **Body — 3 segments with signposts:** For each segment: a spoken signpost transition ("So that's the myth — here's what the data says"), the content beats in script or detailed-outline form (per my materials below), and one retention device per segment: an open loop ("more on that in a minute"), a concrete story with a name and a place, or a genuine host reaction moment. Mark [BREATH] where pacing needs a beat of silence. **The turn (~70% mark):** Every good episode has one — the complication, the counterargument, the "but here's where it gets weird". Script this pivot explicitly; episodes that coast downhill after minute 5 lose finishers. **Outro (last 90s):** The takeaway restated in one fresh sentence (not a summary list). Next-episode tease in one line. ONE call to action only — pick per my goal: {{cta_goal}}. Multiple CTAs = zero CTAs. My raw material/research for the episode: {{episode_material}}