The best podcasts for how art and creativity help us flourish.

I am a podcaster, documentary filmmaker, and instructor. The podcast I produce and host is called Art Heals All Wounds. The role of art as a necessary part of well-being for us as individuals, communities, and societies is something that I'm passionate about. Art and creative practices have been a way through so many negative experiences. While going through a decidedly NOT amicable divorce where I experienced out of control rage from my departing husband, I survived by playing the piano. For hours. But really I did more than survive, I actually felt great after those long sessions of play. I should say that I'm not a very good piano player, which didn't seem to matter at all. I had the epiphany that art didn't just help me to cope, it helped me to heal. And that it was something that anyone could do when they needed it. I didn't have to be a good piano player to reap the benefits of regular sessions of creativity. I thought about the artists I knew who were doing work that not only healed themselves, but transformed the participants who made that art with them, or the people who later engaged with that art. I realized that I knew a fair number of artists who were doing significant work. I created Art Heals All Wounds to tell their stories, not realizing that hearing these stories and sharing them was going to become a significant tool in my own ability to flourish.

The premise of my podcast is that if we want to creative beneficial change in the world, art is going to be fundamental to that. I highlight artists who are doing work for public engagement that has profound effects on those who engage with it. What I hope the take away of the show is, though, that art is for everyone. Not just as a frivolous side activity, but something that is necessary for all of us to flourish. I also have a really expansive idea of what art is. I believe that if someone practices an activity that engages them creatively, they are practicing art. The great thing is, all of these ideas are not my original thoughts or unique to my experience. There is a world of people who also believe this.

My podcast playlist is about how art and creativity can help us flourish. There are so many great podcasts out there that exemplify this. Not every podcast on my list is strictly about art, but they all at the very least incorporate storytelling, one of the most profound creative practices that exist, as a way to heal.