Gabriel Urbina

Gabriel Urbina is Costa Rican-American writer and director. His newest project, The Harbingers, was a 2025 Tribeca Selection and returns for its second season on September 9th. He is the creative mind behind the science fiction cult classic podcast Wolf 359, the Audible Original Hit Singles, among many others. He has won a multitude of awards for writing and directing, had original work premiere at the Tribeca Festival and the Austin Film Festival, and frequently teaches classes on audio fiction storytelling.

Describe The Harbingers in 10 words or less.
Two academics become magicians and change the world. 

OK now you have more words!
Adam Blackwell and Amy Stirling are two of the most famous people in the world. They are the first two people in the modern world that have figured out how to do magic. Like, real magic. Like, “yes scientists tested it and they are thoroughly convinced, we can't explain it but it's true” magic. Only problem is that Amy and Adam can't stand one another and fundamentally disagree on how magic should be used. Oops. Oh, and also back in the day they were graduate students in the same program and briefly dated which miiiight explain why they can't stand each other. Oops redux. 

Over the first five years after they each acquire the ability to cast magic, the two of them become global superstars, both revered and feared. And then… it all goes wrong. Their actions lead to a tragedy unlike any the world had seen before. Now, the world's first two magicians of the modern age must sort out their history, their powers, and their relationship between one another before more people get hurt. 

So…remind us what happened in season one.
God, an absolute ton. At the end of the first episode we reveal that at some point Adam used his powers to send the city of Boston to the moon, instantly killing everyone who lived there. The bulk of the first season is spent untangling the story of how that ended up happening, charting not just how our two characters got and figured out magic, but also how various forces maneuvered them into that terrible, horrible, very bad, no good day. And as their influence grew, they also got tangled up with other influential and powerful figures - Amy ended up being a key factor in a US presidential election, while Adam got embroiled in a billionaire’s attempts to develop a new kind of clean energy. 

That’s just scratching the surface - all kinds of wild shenanigans unfold over the course of the first season. Adam helps with an emergency heart transplant! Amy meets and marries a movie star! There’s adventures in ancient tombs, and rock star shows at Madison Square Garden, drunken bets during a Las Vegas sojourn, and so much will-they-won’t-they moments. Oh, and we even revealed that there’s five other people out in the world that also have magic, although we haven’t met them yet. We really did our best to pack a ton of fun, varied stuff into our first sixteen episodes! [Editor’s hint: Catch up with what’s happened so far with “The Story Thus Far.”]

Any feedback about season one you'd like to share?
A lot of listeners have wondered about why the governments of the world haven’t been more involved with Adam and Amy’s lives - why we haven’t seen a lot of efforts to take over and control the people in the world with magic. The honest truth is that, while we wanted the first season to largely give us room to get to know the characters, the intention was always for that aspect of the story to come into the fore. We’ll be seeing a lot more of the superpowers of the world reckoning with how they interact with literal magic in the course of our second season.

Did you know where season two was going when you were writing it?
Pretty early on, yeah! The idea was always that Season One would focus on Adam and Amy, while the second season and beyond would flesh out the other magicians in the world, and what happens when different magicians and nations’ governments come into conflict with each other. I can’t say exactly what the conflict is about - you’ll need to hear the show to find that out - but boy it’s pretty conflictive!

What surprised you the most about making season two?
It’s a much, much bigger. The cast hasn’t actually grown by that much - though we’ve added some terrific performers in some very exciting roles - but the story’s perspective feels immediately much more expansive and much more global just by zooming out a bit from the very constrained set of events we covered in the first season. It’s been a fascinating challenge to balance out among everything else that’s happening this second year!

How did you flesh out people who find the rings of magic? Any hints about the remaining magicians that listeners don't know about yet?
We’re gonna play things a bit close to the vest on this - no specific hints or clues on any of them specifically, but I can confirm that the season as a whole is about the strange, delicate relationship that exists between all the people in the world of the story that can do magic. And that it all gets pretty messy quickly!

Fill in the blank: you will like The Harbingers if you like: _____________ (can be person, place, food, other podcast, fast food restaurant, character from The Sopranos, country, brand of vodka, band, etc)
We always say that the show is a little like if Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell collided with The West Wing, with a little bit of Amadeus’s psychodrama and Hamilton’s swagger waiting in the wings. So if you like any (or all of those!) our show should be up your alley!

Why should people who think they don't like fiction listen to this one?
The Harbingers is a very dynamic show. We do a lot of things that I think a lot of people wouldn’t think about audio fiction as being a natural fit for. We play games with audience perspective. We do montages. We use songs and music in a very active way. And even as each episode tells a very specific story, it all weaves together into a larger tapestry. So if you think of audio fiction as being a very old-fashioned, stayed sort of a storytelling medium, we’d love to show you just how exciting and inventive it can be!

Why should people listen to fiction?
Because there’s no better way to get fully immersed in another human’s mind and perspective. And all truly great ideas start from a place of empathy and consideration for those around us.

Why do you think people who generally listen to nonfiction might like this one?
It’s fast-moving, it’s sharp, and its built around a central mystery that unfolds bit by bit. If you’ve been looking for a new thing that’ll keep you up until 2:00 in the morning going, “Just one more episode!” I think The Harbingers is exactly what you need.

Thanks, Gabriel!