ur-grue Episode Concept Generator
What This Skill Does
Generates 6–8 fully developed episode concepts aligned to a podcast's format, theme, and audience — each with a title, premise, guest or source approach, and core listener question.
When To Use This Skill
- You are planning a new content batch and need episode ideas that fit your show's established format
- You have run out of obvious angles on your core topic and need fresh conceptual territory
- You are launching a new podcast and need to populate your first content calendar
- You want to see which unexplored corners of your subject area could generate strong episodes
What You Need To Provide
Required: Podcast name and topic focus; target audience; episode format (interview, solo, narrative, roundtable, hybrid); approximate episode length Optional: 3–5 recent episodes you have already done (so the assistant can avoid repeating them); any themes or angles you want to explore but haven't found the right angle for; whether you want seasonal/thematic concepts or standalone episodes; guest-based or topic-based preference
How the Assistant Approaches This
- Maps the topic space of the podcast — the full range of subjects, perspectives, and audience questions that are relevant but not necessarily obvious
- Identifies under-explored angles: the contrarian take, the practitioner perspective, the historical origin story, the failure case, the audience question that goes unasked in most episodes on this topic
- Generates concepts across different episode types: the debate episode, the deep-dive explainer, the personal story, the expert interview, the myth-busting episode, and the "what no one talks about" episode
- For each concept, specifies the core listener question (what the audience will have answered by the end), the ideal guest or source profile, and one hook sentence for a show notes description
- Closes with a "Next Step" recommendation: which concept to book first based on guest accessibility, and whether to run guest-research-brief or interview-question-builder as the immediate next skill
Output Format
6–8 numbered episode concepts. Each concept includes: Episode Title, Core Listener Question, Premise (2–3 sentences), Guest/Source Approach, and Hook Sentence. Total length: 500–700 words. Concepts are ordered from most immediately executable to most ambitious. Output ends with a "Next Step" note: which concept to pursue first (based on booking ease) and which skill to run next — guest-research-brief to prepare for outreach or interview-question-builder once a guest confirms.
Quality Criteria
- Each concept has a distinct angle — no two concepts answer the same core listener question
- Every concept specifies a guest type or source approach, not just "an expert"
- At least two concepts are immediately executable without specialist access
- At least one concept takes a counterintuitive or under-explored angle on the show's topic
- Hook sentences are specific enough to work as a draft show-notes opening line
- No concept is simply a topic — each has a specific angle or question driving it
- Output includes at least one concrete next action the user can take immediately (which concept to pursue first and which skill to run next: guest-research-brief or interview-question-builder)
Example
Input
Podcast: A podcast about personal finance for people in their 30s navigating major life transitions (buying a home, having children, career changes) Format: Interview, 45–55 minutes Audience: Adults 30–42, financially aware but not financially expert, skeptical of generic advice Recent episodes: mortgage process basics, emergency fund size, negotiating salary, freelance tax, whether to pay off student loans early Length: ~50 minutes
Output
1. The Couple Who Disagreed About Money (And How They Sorted It) Core Listener Question: How do you navigate fundamentally different financial values in a long-term relationship? Premise: Most money conversations between partners fail not because of math but because of values. This episode goes inside a couple's real disagreement — one spender, one saver — and how they built a system that worked for both. Guest: A couple willing to speak honestly + a financial therapist as context Hook: "They argued about every purchase over $200. This is what changed."
2. The House They Bought (And Wish They Hadn't) Core Listener Question: What do regretful homebuyers actually wish they had known? Premise: Homebuying advice focuses on how to buy. This episode talks to people who bought — and regret it — to map the specific decisions they'd reverse. Counterpoint to the standard aspirational homeownership narrative. Guest: 2–3 homeowners who made different types of regret-worthy decisions (wrong location, over-budget, wrong timing) Hook: "Nobody talks about the buyers who wish they'd waited."
3. What Parental Leave Actually Costs Core Listener Question: How do you plan financially for parental leave when the income drop is real and the advice is vague? Premise: The financial reality of parental leave — the income gap, the identity cost of returning early for financial reasons, the planning that actually helps — told by someone who has been through it recently. Guest: A financial planner who specializes in family transitions + a parent who navigated a specific difficult scenario Hook: "The leave is 12 weeks. The financial hangover can last a year."
4. The Financial Advisor Who Tells People Not to Use Financial Advisors Core Listener Question: When do you actually need professional financial advice, and when is it a waste of money? Premise: A contrarian episode with a fee-only fiduciary advisor who is candid about when their profession overcharges and underwhelms — and when it genuinely helps. Guest: A fee-only financial advisor willing to speak critically about the industry's incentive structures Hook: "He charges $300 an hour and will tell you when you don't need him."
5. The Inheritance Nobody Was Ready For Core Listener Question: How do you handle an unexpected inheritance without making decisions you'll regret? Premise: Inheriting money in your 30s — through a parent's death, a grandparent's estate — is one of the most emotionally and financially complicated events in this age group. This episode explores what to do in the first year, when nothing feels right. Guest: A financial planner who works with inheritance situations + someone who inherited unexpectedly in their 30s Hook: "The money arrived at the worst possible moment."
6. When Career Change Means Financial Reset Core Listener Question: What does the financial math of a career change actually look like? Premise: Career change episodes focus on the decision. This episode runs the numbers: what a major downward salary transition costs in the short and long term, and what makes it survivable. Guest: A financial planner who specializes in career transition clients + someone who made a significant voluntary pay cut Hook: "She took a $40,000 pay cut. Here's the spreadsheet she made before she did it."
7. The Emergency That Wasn't Covered (And What They Did Next) Core Listener Question: What happens financially when something goes seriously wrong and your plan doesn't cover it? Premise: Most financial planning advice is preventative. This episode talks to someone who had the thing happen anyway — the job loss, the medical event, the home disaster — and how they navigated the aftermath. Guest: 1–2 people with different types of financial emergency experience Hook: "The plan didn't work. This is what happened next."
Known Limitations
- Concepts are generated without knowledge of what has been covered on similar podcasts; run a quick search before committing to an angle to verify you are not duplicating a widely-covered episode from a competitor show
- Guest availability is outside the scope of this skill — "a couple willing to speak honestly about their financial disagreements" may be harder to find than the concept suggests; assess booking feasibility before committing
- For narrative or documentary-style podcast formats, this skill's interview-based structure may need significant adaptation