The Great Creators with Guy Raz

Paul Feig is an actor and director (Bridesmaids, Spy) and the creator of Freaks and Geeks, which is considered one of the best TV shows ever made, despite being cancelled after one season. He joins Guy to talk about why he stopped pursuing a career as an actor, what he learned from directing a prestige film that flopped, and how he strives to create an environment on set where everyone can be their most creative.

Links from the show:

Paul shows the kids how to dance in a scene from Heavyweights

A scene from Freaks and Geeks

The trailer for I am David

Paul breaks down a scene in Bridesmaids

The "gadgets" clip from Spy

Trailer for The School for Good and Evil

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Hrishikesh Hirway is a musician and the creator of the podcast and TV show "Song Exploder." He joins Guy to talk about bringing a musician's sensibility to storytelling, and his return to making music again.

Links from the show:

Trent Reznor on Song Exploder talking about "Hurt"

Dua Lipa on Song Exploder talking about "Love Again"

Hrishi's TED Talk about "what you discover when you really listen."

Video for "Between There and Here" (featuring Yo-Yo Ma)

Video for "Home" (featuring Jay Som)

Joshua Malina and Hrishi On Their "The West Wing Weekly" Podcast

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Dan Smith is the lead singer of the band Bastille. He sits down with Guy to discuss the meaning behind the band's breakout hit "Pompeii," why his best songwriting isn't about his own life, losing iPhones filled with lyrics that weren't backed up, and a critical review that damaged his confidence even as Bastille took the music world by storm.

Links from the show:

• Pompeii music video (700M views)
• Laura Palmer music video (debut single)
• Overjoyed music video
• Edit by Regina Spektor
• Ignoring Messages by Dan
• Happier music video (1B views!)
• Joe Strummer Foundation
• The Guardian's harsh review of Bastille's debut album "Bad Blood"
• From Devil's Breath: Leonardo DiCaprio climate documentary

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Actor Alan Alda played a starring role in two iconic ensemble TV shows, MASH and The West Wing, part of an award-winning career in television, film and theater that's spanned decades. He's also a writer and director. He talks with Guy about building chemistry in an ensemble cast, how he uses improvisational techniques in his acting and in real life, and how he is still taking on new roles at age 87, even as he copes with Parkinson's disease.

Links from the show:

Clear and Vivid with Alan Alda podcast

Alan as Hawkeye video compilation

Alan and Robert Alda sharing a scene in M*A*S*H

Alan and Martin Sheen on The West Wing

Alan on the Art of Science Communication

Alan interviews Malcolm Gladwell on Clear and Vivid

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Seth Meyers was a key player in creating some of the best seasons of Saturday Night Live. Now he's hosting Late Night in the very same building. In this episode of The Great Creators, you’ll hear how his two-person comedy show in Chicago randomly landed him in front of just the right person to get him an audition at SNL. He opens up about his anxiety having to compete with his extremely funny co-stars. And Seth explains some of the ways he has managed to lead Late Night to new heights. 

Links from the show:

Seth in Northwestern's improv troupe in 1992

Seth and his brother Josh on Late Night

Seth at the 2011 White House Correspondent's Dinner

Seth as David Zinger

Compilation of Seth and Stefon

A Closer Look from Late Night

Seth doing standup

Seth's Instagram

Seth's Twitter

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Singer Ellie Goulding has had 35 different songs chart in the UK, the most of any female artist ever. In this episode, Ellie shares how she first broke out of her shell performing original songs to her college classmates. She talks about finding her own sound by using her unique voice in collaboration with some of the biggest producers in the world of EDM. And she explains why she calls her new album "Higher than Heaven" her least personal record yet.

Links from the show:

The music video for Under the Sheets

Pitchfork: How Ellie Goulding Uses Her Voice as an Instrument

Ellie singing Your Song at the Royal Wedding

Higher than Heaven

Burn Music Video

Ellie's Instagram

Ellie's Twitter

Ellie's Spotify

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Ben Gibbard is the voice of the bands Death Cab for Cutie and The Postal Service. He joins Guy to talk about forming Death Cab and recording their classic album Tranatlanticism, how the band learned to defuse internal tensions, and how he approaches songwriting in middle age.

Links from the show:

Ben's Tiny Desk Concert

Ben breaks down his song "Black Sun"

Death Cab for Cutie video for "I Will Follow You Into The Dark"

Death Cab for Cutie video for "Soul Meets Body"

The Postal Service video for "Such Great Heights"

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Diplo is one of the most successful and influential DJ/producers working today. How did he get here? This episode traces his rise from nomadic childhood, to spinning records while working at a movie theater and zoo, to his big break that was years in the making, to performing in front of tens of thousands of fans and generating billions (yes, billions) of streams. You'll also learn exactly how he collaborates with artists like Sia and Madonna, why he approaches music like fashion, how he knows when a song is truly great, and how he plans to "age gracefully" in this next chapter of his career. Diplo's new album, "Thomas Wesley: Chapter 2 – Swamp Savant," is out now.

Interested in a Visual Map tracing Diplo's creative journey? We made one just for you. Check it out here.

Links from the Show:

• Paper Planes video: M.I.A. produced by Diplo
• Whosampled.com sample breakdown of Paper Planes
• Pineapple Express movie trailer feat. Paper Planes
• Skrillex and Diplo - "Where Are Ü Now" with Justin Bieber (Official Video)
• Diary of a Song (New York Times) "Where Are Ü Now"
• Major Lazer & DJ SNake - Lean On (feat. MØ) (Official Music Video)
• LSD - Thunderclouds (Official Video) ft. Sia, Diplo, Labrinth
• Diplo's less well-known collaborators: country artist Sierra Ferrell and songwriters Nija Charles and Starrah
• Diplo's Instagram page
• Visual Mind Map: Diplo's Creative Journey

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Actor Rainn Wilson is best known for playing Dwight Schrute on "The Office," but in recent years he has become a mental health and spirituality advocate through his books and production company, SoulPancake. He joins Guy to talk about the deep anxiety he faced as a young actor, his ensuing search for inner peace, and why he believes performing can be a spiritual act.

Links from the show:

Rainn and Steve Carell give a tour of the set of "The Office"

The documentary "Laughing Matters," produced by Rainn's production company with comedians talking about mental health

Rainn quizzes Billie Eilesh ("The Office's biggest fan")

Rainn on the difference between The Office and Saturday Night Live

Rainn and Steve Carell talk about pandemic-related stress and give advice about how to overcome it

Rainn and chess master Magnus Carlsen talk chess and metaphysics

Rainn and Russell Brand talk about life's big questions

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Nathan Lane has been called "the greatest stage entertainer" of the 2000s. But as you'll learn in this episode, that compliment rubbed him the wrong way... and motivated him to take on a wide range of complex, nuanced, "scary" roles on stage and screen. Nathan talks to Guy about performing singing telegrams as a young man, making it to Hollywood as part of a comedy duo, working with Mel Brooks on "The Producers," and the process he goes through to embody a character on stage.

Links from the show:

• Stack & Lane comedy duo routine on Norm Crosby's Comedy Shop in 1980
• Actor George C. Scott (Patton, A Christmas Carol): IMDb
• The NYT profile of Nathan that motivated him to pursue more challenging roles
• Nathan playing Roy Cohn in Angels in America
• The Producers (2005) movie trailer

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