Field of Streams

An aubade is a parting song, often sung at dawn as lovers farewell. This idea of singing our loves away was the inspiration for this episode, where the love is our creation - our work - and we must sing it on its way to find roost in the world. Listen in!

This is an audio reading of the post "The bird who must be aubade" originally published on February 6, 2023. Additional creative inspirations can be found at that link. https://www.jumpinthestream.com/the-bird-who-must-be-aubade/

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About Field of Streams
This podcast provides audio readings of The Stream newsletter's main feature. The Stream is written by Janeen McCrae, and aims to provide a weekly dose of personal essays and creative inspirations that'll get you revved up to 'make the thing.'

Dip a toe into the stream and sign up for my free ramblings here 

Just like the 400 meter hurdles, you cannot complete a creative project without completing the steps in between. 

The Intelligencier article I reference in the intro “The Singular Beauty of the 400 Meter Hurdles” is here: https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2021/07/the-singular-beauty-of-the-400-meter-hurdles.html

This is an audio reading of the post ”The Steps in Between” originally published on February 13, 2023. Additional creative inspirations can be found at that link. https://www.jumpinthestream.com/the-steps-in-between/

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About Field of Streams
This podcast provides audio readings of The Stream newsletter's main feature. The Stream is written by Janeen McCrae, and aims to provide a weekly dose of personal essays and creative inspirations that'll get you revved up to 'make the thing.'

Dip a toe into the stream and sign up for my free ramblings here 

Have we simply forgotten how to sit in the nothing of the moment? To sit in the silence without reaching for a phone? Sit. Take note of what's around you. Don't let frivolous things take you out of it. 

This is an audio reading of the post "The calm before the storm within" originally published on January 30, 2023. Additional creative inspirations can be found at that link. https://www.jumpinthestream.com/the-calm-before-the-storm-within/

Support the show

About Field of Streams
This podcast provides audio readings of The Stream newsletter's main feature. The Stream is written by Janeen McCrae, and aims to provide a weekly dose of personal essays and creative inspirations that'll get you revved up to 'make the thing.'

Dip a toe into the stream and sign up for my free ramblings here 

 Inspired by the phrase, “Use the whole buffalo” today’s episode encourages you to use the whole ‘buffalo’ of your life and experience to create your art. 

Here’s the TED video explaining how the title of this episode is grammatically correct: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWbzjGIec20

This is an audio reading of the post “Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo” originally published on January 9, 2023. Additional creative inspirations can be found at that link. https://www.jumpinthestream.com/buffalo-buffalo-buffalo-buffalo-buffalo/

Support the show

About Field of Streams
This podcast provides audio readings of The Stream newsletter's main feature. The Stream is written by Janeen McCrae, and aims to provide a weekly dose of personal essays and creative inspirations that'll get you revved up to 'make the thing.'

Dip a toe into the stream and sign up for my free ramblings here 

Are you right or left brained? Is that even a thing? And would you trust how your brain responds to an optical illusion to tell you so? Here’s something I wrote inspired by a little animation of a horse walking backward… or is it forward? 

Here’s the illusion. Which way does the horse walk for you? https://x.com/juliabradbury/status/1431221260860764162

This is an audio reading of the post “This horse has a name and its name is” originally published on January 23, 2023. Additional creative inspirations can be found at that link. https://www.jumpinthestream.com/this-horse-has-a-name-and-its-name/

Support the show

About Field of Streams
This podcast provides audio readings of The Stream newsletter's main feature. The Stream is written by Janeen McCrae, and aims to provide a weekly dose of personal essays and creative inspirations that'll get you revved up to 'make the thing.'

Dip a toe into the stream and sign up for my free ramblings here 

Have you ever heard of vitrification? Crudely put, it’s the process where super-hot liquids cool rapidly and turn to glass. In this episode, I explore how hot ideas, if cooled too quickly, turn to glass and shatter. You need to cool those ideas down by degrees if you want them to survive. Listen in. 

I filmed a behind the themes video to go with this episode, and you can watch that here: https://janeenmccrae.substack.com/p/behind-the-streams-six-degrees

If you want to read about the glass brain man, you can do that here: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/vesuvius-turned-a-roman-mans-brain-into-glass-now-scientists-reveal-how-the-extremely-rare-preservation-happened-180986145/ 

And here’s a story about the frescos: https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2025/03/dionysian-fresco-pompeii/

This is an audio reading of the post “Six Degrees of Ideation” originally published on March 26, 2025. Additional creative inspirations can be found at that link. https://www.jumpinthestream.com/six-degrees-of-ideation/

Support the show

About Field of Streams
This podcast provides audio readings of The Stream newsletter's main feature. The Stream is written by Janeen McCrae, and aims to provide a weekly dose of personal essays and creative inspirations that'll get you revved up to 'make the thing.'

Dip a toe into the stream and sign up for my free ramblings here 

At the start of 2023, I made a pact with myself: for the next year, I vowed to be Prolific AF.* I made the vow, then I wrote myself this pep talk, which I will happily read to anyone who needs it. Be prolific! Hope to see you out there, making stuff. 

This episode is somewhat of a follow on from the episode "What does it mean to be The Best?", which you can listen to here: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2194216/episodes/17104737

This is an audio reading of the post “What is this, your dumb diary?” originally published on January 16, 2023. Additional creative inspirations can be found at that link. https://www.jumpinthestream.com/what-is-this-your-dumb-diary/

* The vow is still in play in 2025, with slight alteration to be Professional AF

Support the show

About Field of Streams
This podcast provides audio readings of The Stream newsletter's main feature. The Stream is written by Janeen McCrae, and aims to provide a weekly dose of personal essays and creative inspirations that'll get you revved up to 'make the thing.'

Dip a toe into the stream and sign up for my free ramblings here 

Inspired by a listicle in Rolling Stone magazine's "The 200 Greatest Singers of all Time", I got to thinking about what being The Best actually means? The Best by whose standards? What are you The Best at? Is that the point of making things? Hmm...Let's talk about being The Bestest. 

The Rolling Stone 200 Greatest Singers List https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-singers-all-time-1234642307/

This is an audio reading of the post “What does it mean to be the best?” originally published on January 2, 2023. Additional creative inspirations can be found at that link. https://www.jumpinthestream.com/what-does-it-mean-to-be-the-best/

Support the show

About Field of Streams
This podcast provides audio readings of The Stream newsletter's main feature. The Stream is written by Janeen McCrae, and aims to provide a weekly dose of personal essays and creative inspirations that'll get you revved up to 'make the thing.'

Dip a toe into the stream and sign up for my free ramblings here 

Difficult emotions, if left neglected, can take on a life of their own and cause all sorts of mischief. Similar to the Japanese myth of tsukumogami, where simple tools such as umbrellas and lamps can develop and spirit after 100 years of life and come back to haunt you, these emotions can play tricks on you. In this episode, I argue for the value of these difficult emotions. They are still tools you can use - just acknowledge their presence and show them some love.  

Go behind the scenes of this episode and learn more about tsukumogami, here: https://www.jumpinthestream.com/behind-the-streams-objects/

This is an audio reading of the post "The Objects of my Afflictions" originally published on March 10, 2025. Additional creative inspirations can be found at that link. https://www.jumpinthestream.com/object/

Support the show

About Field of Streams
This podcast provides audio readings of The Stream newsletter's main feature. The Stream is written by Janeen McCrae, and aims to provide a weekly dose of personal essays and creative inspirations that'll get you revved up to 'make the thing.'

Dip a toe into the stream and sign up for my free ramblings here 

The things we make - our art, our poems, our preciousprecious things that I call in this episode "Glitter Spuds" - are special to us. Special and nutritious and sparkly. But people will only see that if we SHARE our Glitter Spuds with the world. It's possible someone will turn our glitter spud to mash, but that fear should not hold you back. Take a chance. Share your precious spuds!

Related listens mentioned in episode:

"Anting: It's not just for the birds" https://fieldofstreams.buzzsprout.com/2194216/episodes/13106573-anting-it-s-not-just-for-the-birds

"Caution: Resistance is Hostile" https://fieldofstreams.buzzsprout.com/2194216/episodes/12978427-caution-resistance-is-hostile

This is an audio reading of the post "Glitter Spuds for Everyone!" originally published on November 28, 2022. Additional creative inspirations can be found at that link. https://www.jumpinthestream.com/spud/

Support the show

About Field of Streams
This podcast provides audio readings of The Stream newsletter's main feature. The Stream is written by Janeen McCrae, and aims to provide a weekly dose of personal essays and creative inspirations that'll get you revved up to 'make the thing.'

Dip a toe into the stream and sign up for my free ramblings here