Think Again - a Big Think Podcast

151. Jessica Abel (cartoonist, creative coach) – Practical Magic


Listen Later

On an  earlier episode of this show the Turkish novelist Orhan Pamuk said something that I’ve never forgotten. He said that writing programs shouldn’t teach about plots or characters or how to structure a story. Instead, they should  teach writers to manage their own psyches. To be the captains of their own creative ships across the rough daily waters of fluctuating emotions and energies. This kind of self-management, he suggested, is what makes the difference between people who keep producing art and those who don’t. 

My guest today is Jessica Abel. She’s an accomplished artist herself—a graphic novelist who did a kind of graphic docu-novel called OUT ON THE WIRE about how some of the greatest radio shows and podcasts are made, including Snap Judgment, Radiolab, and This American Life. In the course of figuring out how to steer her own creative ship she’s learned invaluable lessons about how to help others do the same. Her most recent book GROWING GILLS and her Creative Focus Workshops offer creatives a personalized process for figuring out what they want to make and how to balance those goals with the rest of their busy lives.

Surprise conversation-starter clips in this episode

Radiolab’s Jad Abumrad on storytelling as shamanism

Bret Weinstein on how evolution explains religion

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Think Again - a Big Think PodcastBy Big Think / Panoply

  • 4.5
  • 4.5
  • 4.5
  • 4.5
  • 4.5

4.5

552 ratings


More shows like Think Again - a Big Think Podcast

View all
Bookworm by KCRW

Bookworm

572 Listeners

On Being with Krista Tippett by On Being Studios

On Being with Krista Tippett

10,224 Listeners

This American Life by This American Life

This American Life

90,536 Listeners

TED Radio Hour by NPR

TED Radio Hour

22,017 Listeners

London Review Bookshop Podcast by London Review Bookshop

London Review Bookshop Podcast

125 Listeners

The Psychology Podcast by iHeartPodcasts

The Psychology Podcast

1,837 Listeners

Hidden Brain by Hidden Brain, Shankar Vedantam

Hidden Brain

43,863 Listeners

Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso by Lemonada Media

Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso

1,276 Listeners

Oprah's Super Soul by Oprah

Oprah's Super Soul

31,902 Listeners

The Paris Review by The Paris Review

The Paris Review

789 Listeners

The Happiness Lab with Dr. Laurie Santos by Pushkin Industries

The Happiness Lab with Dr. Laurie Santos

14,386 Listeners

Morning Meeting by Air Mail

Morning Meeting

223 Listeners

The Ezra Klein Show by New York Times Opinion

The Ezra Klein Show

15,459 Listeners

Journey Through Time by Goalhanger

Journey Through Time

425 Listeners

Try Hard by Alex Sujong Laughlin

Try Hard

6 Listeners