Follow Your Curiosity

Happily Homeless with Alison Miller

Alison Miller describes herself as an uncertain adventurer and determined warrior goddess, and as you'll hear in this interview, she's earned both titles. Alison has lived on the road on her own since the death of her husband six and a half years ago, following her own inner compass the entire way. She's crossed the country eight times, carrying the names of those loved by people around the world on her pink teardrop trailer, seeking out love and adventure as she goes. She listens only to her own guidance, discovering that there are no mistakes that can't be corrected, and that love really is everywhere. Recently, she's been making a documentary about her journey, which she plans to show as she continues her travels.

Alison Miller is a remarkable spirit, "Happily Homeless," as she calls herself online, and one whose story will stay with you for a while.

Check out the show notes, including links to Alison's Facebook group at fycuriosity.com,and join the conversation on Facebook and Instagram! You can rate and review the show here. Thanks!

Replay: Modeling Disease Outbreaks with Robert Smith?

In the last few weeks, as we've watched the coronavirus pandemic evolve, I've thought so many times of this interview from last year that I decided to release it again, off-schedule. If you missed it the first time, or are more curious now that we're hearing about statistics and mathematical models on the news so often, it's well worth another listen.

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We think of creativity as something associated with the arts—dance, music, poetry, etc. That's why I wanted to talk to Robert Smith?, a mathematician who creates models that help improve disease control. He gained some fame a few years back for modeling zombie outbreaks—and that work has proven useful in the real world. Robert has also written several books about Doctor Who. If you're skeptical about math as a creative pursuit, or a math agnostic/atheist yourself (I hear you!), I promise you'll see things differently once you listen to this interview.

(Note: In October 2020, Robert transitioned and is now known as Stacey Smith? Because of the quantity of material predating the transition, Stacey has chosen to credit Robert for items before October 2020.)

You can find show notes at fycuriosity.com, and join the conversation on Facebook and Instagram! You can rate and review the show here. Thanks!

Giving Ourselves Permission with Sam Kimberle

Sam Kimberle, the founder of Creative Life Scholars, joins me this week to talk about how she got started leading groups of women toward their creative goals. We talk about how the factory-inspired education system deprives us of creative energy, how denying our creative call can fuel anxiety and depression, the power of groups to keep us on track (including doing those exercises in the books we read—the ones many of us tend to skip on our own), and the power and importance of giving ourselves permission to do our creative work and be who we really are.

Check out the show notes, including links to the Creative Life Scholars program and Sam's upcoming retreat, at fycuriosity.com. You can also join the conversation on Facebook and Instagram, and rate and review the show here. Thanks!

Music, Mathematics, and Code with Michael Smith

Michael Smith is a software engineer turned musician—or is it the other way around? He's worked for Google, Swiftkey, and fuboTV, all while staying active as a musician and actor on the side.

I wanted to talk to Michael about how he balances the two, and also about the creative side of coding, which sounds to so many of us like a highly uncreative activity. We also talk about just what an algorithm is, how he chose whether to focus on code or music, the mathematics of music, and why the delicate balance of math and music is so important to him.

Check out the show notes—including the Bach video he mentions—at fycuriosity.com, and join the conversation on Facebook and Instagram! You can rate and review the show here. Thanks!

Harnessing Your Brain Power with Katy-Rose Bye

Katy-Rose Bye is a well-being teacher and reinvention mentor whose curiosity led her to earn degrees in psychology and neuroscience on her quest to understand everything she can about what makes people tick. She uses neuroscience, coaching and cognitive strategies to help her clients reinvent themselves without burning everything to the ground.

We talk about everything from how awareness and willpower work to the way your brain influences how you perceive how much you've eaten to how quantum mechanics may explain energy healing, and a whole lot more.

Check out the show notes at fycuriosity.com, and join the conversation on Facebook and Instagram! You can rate and review the show here. Thanks!

From Tech to Theatre with Rupert Goodwins

As a young child, Rupert Goodwins was equally fascinated by science and gadgetry, and by the English language. He followed both into a career as a tech journalist, both in print--his weekly diary was one of the first blogs--and on radio and TV. He now co-writes The Big Data Show, a play that educates kids about data and hacking, and his BBC Radio 4 essay series, "Let There Be Dark," chronicles the loss of his eyesight and the process of adapting to it.

We talk about how he got hooked on technology, how Clive James influenced his writing, how to find a second (or third!) career path in midlife, the ups and downs of social media, and more.

Check out the show notes at fycuriosity.com, and join the conversation on Facebook and Instagram! You can rate and review the show here. Thanks!

"Yes, and..." with Jennifer Nasta Zefutie

This week, I'm talking to Jennifer Nasta Zefutie, who has accomplished what many people think is impossible: she's a working actress, and the co-founder and co-producing artistic director of the Pegasus Theatre Company in Bordentown, New Jersey.

Jennifer has one of the most interesting (and unlikely) creative journeys you're likely to hear, and our wide-ranging conversation also covered loss aversion, why failure is essential, defining success for ourselves, and the theatrical improv rule of "Yes, and...," both as a creative principle and a way of life.

Check out the show notes and links at fycuriosity.com, and join the conversation on Facebook and Instagram! You can rate and review the show here. Thanks!

Off to a Good Start with Kate Hutcheson

At the beginning of a new year, many of us think about new projects we want to pursue before the calendar flips 12 months later—so I wanted to talk to someone who can help us make those projects happen more efficiently than they might otherwise. Kate Hutcheson, project manager and virtual assistant, is here to tell you how planning can be your friend rather than your creative enemy, with insights into how and why things work better with a plan—and the good news that your plan doesn't have to be written in stone.

We also talked about how our perceptions of our creative abilities can be skewed, how guilt gets in our way, and even how tough it can be to claim the word "creative" for ourselves in the first place. I think you'll find a lot to chew on in this conversation with Kate Hutcheson.

Check out the show notes and links at fycuriosity.com, and join the conversation on Facebook and Instagram! You can rate and review the show here. Thanks!

Replay: The Gifts of Creativity with Dr. Kelly Flanagan

For the holidays, my gift to you is a replay of one of the inaugural episodes of this podcast: my conversation with Dr. Kelly Flanagan, which I hope will inspire your creative pursuits for 2020.

Kelly Flanagan, clinical psychologist and author of Loveable: Embracing What is Truest About You So You Can Truly Embrace Your Life, joins me to talk about why following our creative dreams is a vital part of being true to ourselves, and how uncovering and embracing those dreams makes us more human and more whole. 

Find show notes at fycuriosity.com, and join the conversation on Facebook and Instagram. You can rate and review the show here. Thanks!

Happy Accidents with Anthony Wilson

Anthony Wilson's varied pursuits almost all came to him accidentally: he is a teacher, composer, and writer—in fact, he co-authored the Doctor Who-related book BOOKWYRM with previous guest Robert Smith?. In this conversation, he shares his accidental path to teaching and writing, how he dealt with the worst criticism he's ever encountered as a musician, and what we can learn from kids. We also talked about the importance of structure and how YOU are the most important audience for your work.

(Note: In October 2020, Robert transitioned and is now known as Stacey Smith? Because of the quantity of material predating the transition, Stacey has chosen to credit Robert for items before October 2020.)

Find show notes and links at fycuriosity.com, and join the conversation on Facebook and Instagram. You can rate and review the show here. Thanks!