CJ Casciotta is a writer and communicator who is passionate about helping organizations and individuals discover their inherent uniqueness. In his debut book, Get Weird, CJ asks the question, What if the outrageous, imaginative, crazy ideas that live inside your wildest dreams are actually there on purpose, divinely preinstalled to help others?

He says, Knowing what makes you weird is the best thing you can offer your art, your business, your friends, your family, and yourself. It's the essence of creativity, the stuff of movements, and the hope for humanity. It's time to quit painting by numbers, conforming to patterns, and checking off boxes. It's time to GET WEIRD.

In this episode CJ and Stephen discuss the ideas he presents in his book and unpack what it means to live fully and truly as that unique version of ourselves we were designed to be.

Hildegard von Bingen was a German Benedictine abbess. She was a writer, composer, philosopher, playwright and visionary.

Guest host: Vesper Stamper

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Get Tickets to The Breath and The Clay 2026 featuring Malcolm Guite, Jon Guerra, and Jonathan Pageau! March 20-22 in Winston Salem, NC.

Hildegard von Bingen was a German Benedictine abbess. She was a writer, composer, philosopher, playwright and visionary.

Cole NeSmith is the founder and Executive Director of the Creative City Project and producer of IMMERSE, an annual performing and interactive arts event in the heart of Downtown Orlando. Cole started the award-winning Creative City Project in 2012 to cultivate creative community locally and to help shape the global perception of Orlando as a place known for creativity and innovation. In this episode, Stephen talks with Cole about the role of the arts in cultural transformation. 

Creative City Project

Cole NeSmith

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Music Provided By: Fascinating Earthbound Objects

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Join the Makers and Mystics Creative Collective

Get Tickets to The Breath and The Clay 2026 featuring Malcolm Guite, Jon Guerra, and Jonathan Pageau! March 20-22 in Winston Salem, NC.

Cole NeSmith is the founder and Executive Director of the Creative City Project and producer of IMMERSE, an annual performing and interactive arts event in the heart of Downtown Orlando. Cole started the award-winning Creative City Project in 2012 to cultivate creative community locally and to help shape the global perception of Orlando as a place known for creativity and innovation. In this episode, Stephen talks with Cole about the role of the arts in cultural transformation.

Howard Finster was a folk artist and backwoods preacher from rural Georgia. He was known for his elaborate visions and the creation of his own Paradise Gardens. During the eighties, Howard's collaboration with the bands R.E.M. and Talking Heads catapulted him onto a global platform for his art and message. 

Music Provided by: Seamonster

Introductory Audio Clips by Calvin Burgamy & Kenny Gray

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Visit Howard Finster’s Paradise Gardens

Soundscapes by Ben Stamper

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Join the Makers and Mystics Creative Collective

Get Tickets to The Breath and The Clay 2026 featuring Malcolm Guite, Jon Guerra, and Jonathan Pageau! March 20-22 in Winston Salem, NC.

Howard Finster was a folk artist and backwoods preacher from rural Georgia. He was known for his elaborate visions and the creation of his own Paradise Gardens. During the eighties, Howard's collaboration with the bands R.E.M. and Talking Heads catapulted him onto a global platform for his art and message.

Watch Ben’s Film: Begotten

Watch Ben’s Visual Haiku

Book Discussed: The Poetics of Space

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GRISHA (trailer)

The Deep Place

Ben Stamper Vimeo Page

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Join the Makers and Mystics Creative Collective

Get Tickets to The Breath and The Clay 2026 featuring Malcolm Guite, Jon Guerra, and Jonathan Pageau! March 20-22 in Winston Salem, NC.

Ben Stamper is a filmmaker and artist based in the northeastern United States. His work spans narrative, documentary and contemplative genres with a particular interest in the patterns of nature and human movement.

Ben has worked with groundbreaking artists and institutions, including Meredith Monk, the Paul Taylor American Modern Dance Company, New Chamber Ballet, and Matthew Rushing of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.

Ben’s recent projects include Grisha, which is a sign language film based on a short story by Leo Tolstoy, (C)arbon, which is a three-gallery video installation at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in collaboration with choreographer Andrea Miller and Gallim Dance.

In this episode Stephen talks with Ben about his intuitive approach to flmmaking, the role perception plays in our understanding of the world and the form of art he terms as “Visual Haiku.”

Music provided by:

Ketsa

Songs of Water

Support The Podcast

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Support the show

Join the Makers and Mystics Creative Collective

Get Tickets to The Breath and The Clay 2026 featuring Malcolm Guite, Jon Guerra, and Jonathan Pageau! March 20-22 in Winston Salem, NC.