John Swartzwelder, known for creating some of the best Simpsons episodes, has opened up about the show’s heyday – and why Homer is a big talking dog

The reclusive Simpsons writer John Swartzwelder, who is credited with creating some of the most popular episodes in the show’s 31-year history, has given his first interview since leaving the hit series 18 years ago.

The screenwriter, who wrote 59 episodes between 1990 and 2003 – including the James Bond parody You Only Move Twice and Homer the Great, which memorably featured the Stonecutters sect – spoke to the New Yorker’s Mike Sacks via email. Introducing his subject, Sacks described Swartzwelder as a cult figure for his offbeat work on the show, “conjuring dark characters from a strange, old America: banjo-playing hobos, cigarette-smoking ventriloquist dummies … pantsless, singing old-timers”.