'Safe' also has another connotation of being not willing to take risks or to push a boundary.

Michael R. Jackson is the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of A Strange Loop, a play into which he poured almost 20 years of self-investigation. He’s also fresh from a Tony Award for Best New Musical as well as being named one of Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People of 2022.

In this episode, Jackson talks about what it means to be fearless as an artist, the lies of our “if this, then that” culture, and how the illusion of identity is a powerful means to foster understanding.

"A Strange Loop"

Time Magazine's "100 Most Influential People of 2022"

"When We All Get to Heaven"

Gestalt Therapy

Peabo Bryson

Jeffrey Osborne

Luther Vandross