The LFG episodes are the fortnightly recorded checkins between Andrew and Nathan, that they hope help inspire your curiosity and creativity. These are different from typical guest episodes as they are less focused on conversation.

Catch up after a month-long break. Andrew shares stories from his vacation in Vancouver, including navigating a "snowmageddon" and attending unique theater performances like an interactive murder mystery dinner. Nathan gives an update from Puerto Rico, where he's exploring sustainable energy solutions, visiting non-profits, and navigating the complex bureaucracy of microgrids. This sparks a broader conversation about the challenges of innovation and the "analysis paralysis" that plagues both government and business. Andrew also shares major company news, discussing the decision to shut down a profitable app to focus on new AI-driven projects and the frustrations of building for restrictive app store ecosystems.

Support the pod: https://3reate.com, https://ko-fi.com/3reate or https://patreon.com/3reate

Today we speak with Melissa, an arts administrator, who moved back to her rural hometown of after 13 years in Minneapolis Minnesota's vibrant arts scene. Driven by a desire to give back to her community and a love for the tranquility of rural life, she discusses her work as Executive Director of Mainspring, a community arts organization that aims to make art accessible and foster connections. They explore the challenges of funding, misconceptions about art in rural areas, and the unique creative opportunities that arise from constraints. The two also touch on are the difficult conversations communities need to have and challenging one's prejudices.

About Melissa: Rural community storytelling is at the heart of Melissa Wray’s creative practice, told through writing, textile art, and audio stories. Her roles include founding director of Mainspring – a nonprofit arts and cultural center in Caledonia, MN – and program director at the multidisciplinary rural arts organization Lanesboro Arts.

Find local arts: Springboard for the Arts, Arts Midwest

Explore the Driftless Region: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Driftless_Area

Read what Melissa's reading: Tar Beach by Faith Ringgold

Support the pod: https://3reate.com, https://ko-fi.com/3reate or https://patreon.com/3reate

In this episode, Andrew revisits with Christine, who is now five months into her role at Essance skincare, after transitioning from a decade in recruiting. They discuss her learnings, challenges, and surprises in the new role. Key topics include the unexpected positive dynamic of working with her long-time friend as a boss, the challenges of limited resources, strategies for building a brand in a saturated market, the importance of customer experience, and utilizing data to make decisions. Christine shares insights on company culture, the value of feedback, and offers advice for others navigating career changes. They emphasize starting with a focus on adding value to customers, and the importance of being clear on who you are as a brand. They touch on the value of taking a pause before posting on social media and the value of rest in the creative process. They also discuss how the next job opportunity happens through conversations and being top of mind by adding value and creating relationships.

Christine has built high-performing teams for startups and Fortune 500 companies, specializing in HR and recruitment. Now, as VP of Operations at Essance Skincare, Christine focuses on sustainable and innovative beauty initiatives, blending eco-conscious practices with operational excellence.

Support the pod: 3reate, https://ko-fi.com/3reate or https://patreon.com/3reate

The LFG episodes are the fortnightly recorded checkins between Andrew and Nathan, that they hope help inspire your curiosity and creativity. These are different from typical guest episodes as they are less focused on conversation. This episode centers around Andrew's recent frustration with a lack of intellectual curiosity and evidence-based reasoning in society. He argues that this trend, fueled by social media, has led to the "death of liberalism and empiricism" where uninformed opinions are valued as highly as expert knowledge. He illustrates this point with a personal anecdote about a Thanksgiving dinner conversation where he was challenged on his expertise in AI.

Andrew then delves into his own career journey, explaining how he transitioned from psychology to technology, highlighting the value of saying "yes" to opportunities and the importance of developing intellectual grit. He concludes by emphasizing the need to combat societal toxicity and encourage genuine curiosity.

Support the pod: https://ko-fi.com/3reate or https://patreon.com/3reate

Dmitri Kalashnikov is a climate scientist and National Science Foundation postdoctoral research fellow at the University of California-Merced. Having created Convolutional Neural Network-based predictive models for lightning in the western United States; he is currently working on applying these predictive models to climate models to project future changes in the climatology of lightning storms in the western United States.

The humans discuss Dimitri’s journey into a Ph.D, climate change as a dynamic system, the challenges of communicating climate science; bomb cyclones and the impossibility of humans creating or steering hurricanes.

Learn more about Dmitri

Read what Dmitri is reading: The Happiness Trap by Dr. Russ Harris

Support the pod: https://3reate.com, https://ko-fi.com/3reate or https://patreon.com/3reate

The LFG episodes are the fortnightly recorded checkins between Andrew and Nathan, that they hope help inspire your curiosity and creativity. These are different from typical guest episodes as they are less focused on conversation. This episode delves into Andrew’s experiences as a solo software founder, navigating the complexities of company structuring, fundraising, and product development. He criticizes the unsustainable practice of relying on venture capital and free user bases, advocating for a more direct and honest approach to monetization. Andrew laments the decline of information literacy and critical thinking in the face of social media algorithms and political polarization. The two underscore the importance of individual responsibility and action, encouraging listeners to engage in constructive dialogue and challenge prevailing narratives. Also, dinner with strangers via Timeleft?!

Support the pod: https://ko-fi.com/3reate or https://patreon.com/3reate

Tom Grier is a retired Professor of Mass Communication at Winona State University. Tom was the founder and Director of the Navajo Oral History Project, from 2006 through 2016. Additionally he was the Founder and Director of the Aerial visual Communication Lab at Winona State University from 2013 through 2021. They discuss the evolution of media and its impact on attention spans and critical thinking including the shift from in-depth reporting to soundbites, the rise of algorithmic bias, and the decline of grit and perseverance in education. They also touch upon the importance of seeking diverse perspectives and the need for more nuanced public discourse.

Read what Tom is reading: Think Out of the Box by Mike Vance | The Habit of Noticing by Darden Smith

Support the pod: https://ko-fi.com/3reate or https://patreon.com/3reate

Ania Korsunska, founder of Zemlia, discusses her vision for a new social platform that prioritizes user well-being and societal benefit over advertising revenue. She highlights the negative impacts of traditional social media, including addiction, misinformation, and the loneliness epidemic. Ania emphasizes the importance of intentionality, sustainability, and community building in creating a platform that empowers users to achieve personal and collective goals. She also shares her insights on the challenges of building a company that goes against the grain of capitalism and the importance of personal growth and lived experience knowledge sharing.

Ania Korsunska brings a decade of experience in interdisciplinary research, data science, user-centered design, communications, creative work, and community building to Zemlia. Led by the guiding principles of empowerment and collaboration, she manifests these values through tangible actions that contribute to a better future for everyone. Prior, Ania was the project lead of the ROADMAP, the first description of the state of rare disease drug repurposing, and Community Lead at Climate Vine. She completed her PhD in information science from the Syracuse iSchool in May 2024.

Zemlia is a social network platform empowering individuals at the intersection of health, data privacy, and sustainability. Our ad-free platform provides a secure space for personal growth and meaningful connections, prioritizing user control over data and offering insights through analytics and habit tracking. We aim to create a safe, secure space for users to connect deeply, learn continuously, and grow together, leveraging a knowledge-sharing community for social and environmental impact. By addressing the need for a non-addictive digital environment, Zemlia facilitates meaningful connections and real-world positive change, helping users achieve personal goals and contribute to collective social action.

Watch what Ania is watching: https://www.thesocialdilemma.com/

Read what Ania is writing: Nevertheless

Listen to Ania is saying: Along The Same Lines

Read: Doughnut Economics https://doughnuteconomics.org/about-doughnut-economics

Support the pod: https://ko-fi.com/3reate or https://patreon.com/3reate

Pat Cheung is an entrepreneur who is completely dedicated to supporting podcasters. As the founder and CEO of Fanlist, his objective is to empower podcasters to understand, expand, and generate revenue from their audience.

His passion for audience development ignited in 2011 during his tenure as Head of Product at EQAL, a pioneering celebrity and influencer network in Los Angeles. In this role, Pat spearheaded the design of their social platform to foster fan engagement and cultivate fan communities. Over 40 influencers within their network utilized this platform to monetize brand partnerships, resulting in over 20 million monthly fan interactions.

Currently, Pat serves as the founder and CEO of Fanlist, a dedicated fan page platform tailored for podcasters and creators. In essence, Fanlist empowers podcasters to establish online fan pages where fans can actively engage through various actions such as leaving messages, posing questions, offering tips, purchasing perks, subscribing to paid content, and more.

This episode features Pat Chung, CEO of FanList, a platform designed to enhance fan engagement for podcasters. Chung discusses his transition from real estate software to the podcasting industry, driven by his passion for podcasts. He delves into the evolution of technology, lamenting the shift from consumer-focused innovation to complex B2B solutions. He critiques the over-reliance on UI in modern product design, advocating for a return to simpler, more intuitive UX principles, drawing from his experience with a successful product that originated from hand-drawn sketches. Chung also touches upon the impact of AI, emphasizing its potential as a tool while acknowledging concerns about its societal implications. He shares his appreciation for tactile experiences like stationary and hand-written notes, highlighting their benefits for creativity and productivity.

Listen to what Pat is listening to: "This Past Weekend" by Theo Von & "Huberman Lab" by Andrew Huberman

Read more about Pat: patcheung.com/bio

Support the pod: https://ko-fi.com/3reate or https://patreon.com/3reate

This episode presents an informal conversation between podcast hosts Andrew and Nathan, who discuss their ongoing projects, thoughts on time management and entrepreneurship. Nathan shares his struggles with prioritizing tasks, using the analogy of the jar and rocks, while also mentioning his 'Clockwork Orange' headband project and challenges with bureaucratic processes in Puerto Rico. Andrew, a seasoned entrepreneur, recounts his experience navigating Apple's App Store approval process and outlines his plans to launch his app on the Google Play Store. He highlights the strategic use of procrastination, emphasizes the importance of user feedback in product development, and discusses the benefits of Google's startup grant and building an advisory board for solo founders. The conversation offers candid insights into the realities of entrepreneurship, time management, and the value of seeking external perspectives.

Support the pod: https://ko-fi.com/3reate or https://patreon.com/3reate