Write a timed podcast episode intro with a cold-open hook

Write a podcast episode intro script for [PODCAST NAME], a show about [SHOW PREMISE IN ONE LINE]. Host: [HOST NAME]. This episode covers [EPISODE TOPIC AND THE MOST INTERESTING THING IN IT]. Guest, if any: [GUEST NAME AND ONE-LINE CREDENTIAL, OR "NO GUEST"].

Target length: [SECONDS, e.g. 30] seconds read aloud. Budget roughly two and a half words per second, and state the word count you are writing to before the script.

Structure, in order:
1. Cold-open hook, one or two sentences: the strongest question, tension, or concrete detail from the episode. No greeting, no show name yet.
2. Identification: show name, host name, one-line premise. Keep this fast — returning listeners have heard it before.
3. Episode setup: what the listener will know or hear by the end. Introduce the guest by why they are worth hearing, not their full resume.
4. Handoff: one line that tips directly into the first segment.

Write for the ear: short sentences, contractions, no stacked clauses. Mark intended pauses with (beat) and put *asterisks* around at most one stressed word per sentence. The hook must make sense to someone who has never heard the show.

Return the script, then its word count and estimated runtime, then two alternate cold-open hooks with one line each on when to prefer them.