When’s the last time you really let yourself daydream? When you just let your weird little brain wander wherever it wanted to go.

Most of us forgot how. But your best ideas didn’t.

In this episode of The Envy League, we’re finally giving daydreaming the credit it deserves as one of the most underrated creative tools you forgot you had.

And we’re not doing it alone!

Meet our very first guest: the brilliantly talented and beautifully unhinged (in the best way possible) Caroline Sweet — actor, writer, improviser, director and your imagination’s permission slip. Together, we explore how to tap back into the secret, wonderfully chaotic space of your mind and what you find when you let yourself go.

Today we're breaking down:

- Why daydreaming is where the real ideas hide
- How to unstick your brain with a set of daydreaming creative tools
- Tiered daydreaming and how to find your dominant style
- The magic of 30-minute daydreams (and why you should never self-edit them)
- Why your most original ideas don’t come from thinking harder, they come from letting go

If you’ve been over-editing your work, stuck in performance mode, or just forgot how to make things fun again, this episode is your permission to stop overthinking and start dreaming during the day like you used to as a kid.

Because your next idea? It’s already in you.

You just haven’t daydreamed it out yet.

You ever obsess over something you’re too scared to actually do?

In the spirit of spooky season, I’m diving headfirst (but not too far) into the weirdly thrilling world of secondhand obsession — when you become obsessed with an experience you never actually live. That place where you almost watch the horror movie, almost ride the roller coaster, almost press play… but instead, you binge the reviews, reaction videos, plot summaries, and watch someone else survive it first.

In this special Halloween episode of The Envy League, we explore why we crave the adrenaline of horror films without wanting to experience them. Why secondhand obsession isn’t cowardice — it’s emotional rehearsal. We talk scary movies, identity, fandom, borrowed bravery, and what it really means to envy the people who can fully feel the thing you’re still hovering around.

Because at some point, the trailer won’t be enough.
And envy? That’s the moment you stop outsourcing the feeling and start living it.

You know that feeling when your favorite show finally ends and you’re left wrecked and grieving?

In this episode of The Envy League, we’re talking about the strange, beautiful heartbreak that hits when a story you love finally comes to an end — and why that feeling is actually a sign of something great.

We’ll break down:
 – Why creative grief is real (and underrated)
 – The Five Stages of Post-Finale Grief
 – How fandom helps us process what we lost
 – And why grief might be the clearest way to know if something is envy-worthy

This one’s for anyone who’s ever mourned the end of a show, clung to the last page of a book, or chased that same feeling again trying to find something new to watch or binge. 

🎧 Hit play and let’s feel this one out together.

You don’t need a million ideas.
You just need the one that makes people jealous they didn’t think of it first.

In this episode of The Envy League, host Matthew Doherty walks you through the real creative math:
The Envy Ratio — 105:1.
That’s how many ideas it takes to get to the one that actually hits.

We’ll break down:
 – Why your first 20 ideas are supposed to be cringey
 – How to spot patterns hiding in your own thinking
 – What it feels like when the right idea clicks
 – And why most people stop right before they get there

Great ideas don’t just show up. You train your brain to recognize them. And when the right one finally hits? You’ll know.

If you’ve ever felt stuck in a swirl of half-decent ideas or jealous of someone else’s one great one, this episode is your way out.

🎧 Hit play and let’s get you to the one.

What does an Alien prequel TV show, a $2.98 Home Depot bucket, and Cardi B selling mixtapes on the subway all have in common? They all made me jealous this week.

In this episode of The Envy League, I’m unpacking the cultural moments that stopped me mid-scroll and made me hit save. From FX’s Alien Earth reverse-engineering Peter Pan into pure sci-fi horror, a dumb orange bucket becoming the hottest Halloween collectible, to Cardi B’s chaotic rollout for Am I the Drama?, I dig into why these things work, why they hit, and what we can take away from them.

Plus: MIT’s new study on what AI writing does to your brain (spoiler: it’s not great for your memory or cognitive debt), and the vibe-heavy Ambient Swim — Adult Swim’s chillest series for your nervous system.

Hit play. Class is in session.

The Envy League is where creativity meets pop culture trends — ideas, inspiration, jealousy, and the art of making and producing something new in advertising and entertainment.

Ever wonder why jealousy won’t leave you alone or why hating on something feels easier than explaining why you don’t like it?

The Anatomy of Envy is a two-part series about transforming the jealousy you feel over other people’s creativity into fuel for your own ideas. Instead of pretending this feeling is something to ignore, we map the strange, shifting states between jealousy and envy and reveal how navigating them can turn envy into your creative superpower.

And don’t worry, you don’t have to listen in order. Each part stands on its own, but together they reveal the full creative map.

In Part II, Matthew Doherty takes the expedition even deeper. Along the way you’ll stumble into places where admiration grows teeth, where ideas keep circling your head at 3 a.m., where copying finally flips into creating, and where hating tempts you to shut the door on curiosity and stop your work from ever getting better.

This isn’t a step-by-step guide or fluffy self-help. It’s a real look at the emotional swings every creative cycles through and how each one can either trap you or inspire your next big idea.

Sure, envy might be waiting for you at the end of the world. But it also might be the beginning of your next best idea yet.

Hit play and start the expedition.

Ever hear a name so good it made you feel something you couldn’t explain?

Welcome to The Envy League — the podcast that turns jealousy into creative ideas of your own.

In this episode, host Matthew Doherty explores the craft, chaos, and envy-fueled obsession behind naming and why the best names make you feel something before they even make sense. From Labubus, Voldemort, and Gestrals in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 to Sweetgreen, The Hunger Games, and his own naming conventions in his YA Fantasy Novel Nimbus and the Beast Within, we unpack how the perfect name isn’t just clever and made with puns, it’s emotional architecture.

Matthew breaks down how to use sound, rhythm, emotion, portmanteaus, worldbuilding, and linguistic tricks to land names that feel like they’ve always existed even if you just made them up.

Whether you're naming a novel, a new character, a tech startup, or just the group chat, this episode unpacks how creative envy turns into unforgettable names that stick in your head and live rent-free.

So hit play. This one’s got your name on it.

You ever feel like someone should just map out all the messy, chaotic, sometimes soul-sucking feelings that come with being a creative person?

Well… no one has. So I did.

Welcome to the Envy League, and welcome to Part I of The Anatomy of Envy — a two-part emotional expedition through the weird and winding terrain between jealousy and turning it into your creative superpower.

There’s no step-by-step guide here. No motivational fluff. Just one very curious creative (hi, I’m Matthew) trying to chart the uncharted.

In this episode, we set off into the creative unknown — tracing a non-linear, choose-your-own-adventure through the Wastelands of Jealousy, the deceptive calm of Admiration Station, and the uncanny weirdness of Imitation Island (where your favorite ideas start wearing your face).

Think less creative self-help, more creative side quest. So get in. We’ve got envy to explore.

You know the one. The idea that popped into your head and made you pause.
It was too simple. Too messy. Too “obvious” to say out loud (obviously).

So you didn’t.
And then someone else did.
Now their name’s all over it.

In this episode of The Envy League, host Matthew Doherty breaks down the fear of saying your big stupid idea — and shows why that throwaway thought might actually be your easiest win, your creative cheat code, or someone else’s breakout moment.

Through brainstorm confessions, creative truths, and three damn good reasons to speak up, you’ll learn:
• Why your messiest idea still matters
• How to spot the hidden gold in what someone else almost said
• And why “stupidly simple” might be the smartest thing you can say out loud

Plus: 4 creators who post ideas out loud so good, they’ll give you the push to finally say yours and instantly upgrade your algorithm with a follow.

Ready to stop overthinking and start saying your ideas out loud?
Hit play. Join the League. You’re already in.

What if one simple question could rewire the way you see every idea?

Welcome to The Envy League, a podcast that turns jealousy into your creative super power.

In this first episode, host Matthew Doherty explores what happens when jealousy spirals and how asking why—again and again—can flip it into something better: envy. The good kind. The smooth, smart, emotionally intelligent kind that fuels originality instead of blocking it.

Through stories of Harry Potter avoidance, Ari Aster obsession, and a spiral over KPop Demon Hunters, Matthew shows how chasing your whys uncovers patterns, sparks new thinking, and brings you closer to the big ideas in pop culture you wish you made first.

Hit play. Your initiation into The Envy League starts now.