Five Excellent Podcast Episodes About Creativity
Whether you’re looking for inspiration, commiseration, or just something to keep you company during a workout, here are five legitimately great podcast episodes about creativity — featuring writers, musicians, filmmakers, and the comedian who accidentally became the new public face of overcoming depression.
Hallelujah - Revisionist History (from July 2016)
Starting from a framework of Elvis Costello and Paul Cezanne, Malcolm Gladwell wanders his way through the creative process with his trademark amiable curiosity. The headliner here is an extended look at the evolution of Leonard Cohen’s 1984 epic Hallelujah, which went through dozens of verses in its conception and was reinterpreted by several artists before emerging as a pop standard more than a decade later. (Bonus points to Gladwell for recognizing Jeff Buckley’s gut-wrenching 1994 cover as the definitive version.)
Elizabeth Gilbert - On Being with Krista Tippett (May 2018)
There are a ton of Elizabeth Gilbert interviews available across virtually every platform, and it’s hard to go wrong with any of them. She’s a delightful guest in virtually any setting. But when it comes to podcasts I’ve shared with (or forced on) friends over the years, this 2018 conversation with the aggressively soft-spoken Krista Tippett might top the list. In terms of intellect, compassion, life experience, and clarity of purpose, I can’t think of anyone who scores higher across the board than Liz Gilbert. Seriously.
Andre 3000 - Broken Record with Rick Rubin (December 2019)
If you’re a fan of hip hop, that’s great… but it’s not a prerequisite for gaining something from this insightful conversation between legendary producer Rubin and Andre Benjamin (better known as Andre 3000 of Outkast). Hearing Benjamin talk about his early days in Atlanta, his approach to songwriting, and his struggles with anxiety and self-doubt in the shadow of his own superstardom is gripping, enlightening stuff. Highly recommended.
Andrew Patterson - Team Deakins (October 2020)
One of 2020’s most pleasant cinematic surprises was the indie sci-fi drama The Vast of Night. Writer-director Andrew Patterson joins iconic cinematographer Roger Deakins and wife/co-host James (also a veteran of more than 30 years in the movie business) for a refreshingly candid, irrepressibly optimistic conversation about self-financing his debut film, the technical intricacies of his beautiful cinematography, and how the hell a movie this good managed to be rejected by so many festivals before it finally arrived on the scene. Patterson’s story is inspiring and he’s a skilled, likable talker — which is helpful here, because for all the greatness of Team Deakins, conducting interviews is not their core competency.
Gary Gulman - The Moment with Brian Koppelman (October 2019)
It’s a dubious honor, but Gary Gulman is the perfect ambassador for talking to the masses about depression. After all, it wasn’t comedic talent alone that made him a household name — it was also his warm and friendly persona. But for many years that chipper stage demeanor masked a deteriorating emotional situation, and eventually Gulman broke down and dropped out of comedy. He moved back in with his mom. He tried electroconvulsive therapy. He managed to write just one new joke over a full two-year period.
If that all sounds grueling, it is — but Gulman recovered, and his resulting HBO special The Great Depresh is simultaneously a comic treasure and a deeply profound reporting on the day-to-day experience of mental illness. If you haven’t seen that yet, please seek it out. Then chase it with this excellent, bracingly honest dialogue between Gary and his longtime friend and confidant, writer-producer Brian Koppelman.