Spark & Fire: Fuel Your Creativity
WaitWhat
Every creative work you’ve ever loved has a hero’s journey behind it. On Spark & Fire, you'll hear creators tell the story of bringing one beloved work to life.
Iconic creatives — like Wicked composer Stephen Schwartz, Pixar director Domee Shi, comedian Patton Oswald, musician Wynton Marsalis, and novelist Isabel Allende — share the endless iterations, the inevitable setbacks, and the breakthrough ideas along the epic process of creation. But this isn’t an interview show. It’s a story — told entirely in the artist's own words.
With host June Cohen, co-founder of WaitWhat and the former executive producer of TED Talks.
Transcripts and images for every episode are available at sparkandfire.com
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Top 10 Spark & Fire: Fuel Your Creativity Episodes
Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best Spark & Fire: Fuel Your Creativity episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to Spark & Fire: Fuel Your Creativity for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite Spark & Fire: Fuel Your Creativity episode by adding your comments to the episode page.
Introducing ... Spark & Fire
Spark & Fire: Fuel Your Creativity
12/10/20 • 4 min
Every creative work you've ever loved has a hero's journey behind it. The first spark. The endless iteration. The inevitable setbacks. The magical people who appear to help. And the breakthrough idea.
On each episode of Spark & Fire, an iconic creator tells their own story about the crooked path to creation. No host. No interview. It's the creator – entirely in their own words – against the backdrop of original music for the prepared piano.
In this trailer, you’ll hear Season 1 guests, including the book designer Chip Kidd, author Susan Orlean, cellist Yo-Yo Ma, novelist Isabel Allende, screenwriter Kemp Powers, architect Thomas Heatherwick, and the choreographer Bill T. Jones. And look forward to episodes with director Rian Johnson, Homegoing author Yaa Gyasi, Apollo Theater executive producer Kamilah Forbes, artist Mark Bradford and more…
What really happened to them on the road to success? You’re about to find out.
Spark & Fire is a WaitWhat original series in partnership with Skillshare.
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Season 2 – Coming Soon
Spark & Fire: Fuel Your Creativity
10/20/22 • 2 min
Every creative work you’ve ever loved has a story behind it. On Season 2 of Spark & Fire, we will hear what really happens on the road to success — the moments of inspiration, setbacks, collaboration, pivots, and breakthroughs until something new is brought into the world. Regardless of your creative field, there are endless discoveries in each story that could transform the way you approach your own creative practice.
Stories from comedian Patton Oswalt, "Wicked" composer Stephen Schwartz, actor & producer Joseph Gordon-Levitt, best-selling author Ann Patchett, "Frozen" composers Kristen Anderson-Lopez & Robert Lopez, Pixar director Domee Shi, and many more.
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Be utterly honest: Musician Ben Folds on “Whatever and Ever Amen”
Spark & Fire: Fuel Your Creativity
04/12/23 • 38 min
Capturing an honest moment is one of the riskiest ways to create. But the results are real, and they stand the test of time. As musician Ben Folds tells the story of creating his breakout album “Whatever and Ever Amen” with the Ben Folds Five, you’ll hear a very specific story about a rock band recording an album in a house, instead of a studio, with piano instead of guitar, with lyrics drawn from newspaper clippings. But it’s also a universal story for any creative in any field at any time, about the choices — and pressures — that keep you honest.
Follow along (with transcript and photos) at sparkandfire.com/benfolds.
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How to build trust: Apollo Theater’s Kamilah Forbes
Spark & Fire: Fuel Your Creativity
02/01/23 • 37 min
“I want to make this into theater, in a way that’s never been done before.” When Kamilah Forbes first reads Between the World and Me, by her friend Ta-Nehisi Coates, she’s moved, shaken, gutted by its truth and beauty. She dreams of presenting it at Harlem’s Apollo Theater, a legendary space for Black art and excellence. First step: convince Ta-Nehisi. In this episode, Kamilah shares the work’s journey from book to stage to HBO — during a pandemic — in a story of collaboration and trust, joy and challenge.
Follow along (with transcript and amazing photos) at https://sparkandfire.com
Subscribe to the Spark & Fire weekly newsletter for images, stories and creative prompts: http://eepurl.com/hkmyMr
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How to begin: Susan Orlean on "The Orchid Thief"
Spark & Fire: Fuel Your Creativity
03/01/23 • 45 min
How do you move past that "wobbly moment" in your creative journey? Just move. From the moment she heard about it, Susan Orlean knew she had to tell the story of "The Orchid Thief" – a wild, true story of obsession set in the swamps of Florida. But somewhere deep in the telling, she risks losing her own footing. Spark & Fire follows Susan as she pursues the story that "set her brain on fire," pushing past a creative crisis to write the magazine article and then book that in turn inspired the film "Adaptation." She tells her story in her own incisive, honest and very funny words – with insider details you haven’t heard, and actionable advice for anyone at any stage of their creative journey.
Susan Orlean is a journalist and nonfiction writer who became a staff writer at the New Yorker in 1992. Her works of literary nonfiction include The Orchid Thief, The Library Book, and most recently, On Animals. Follow her on Twitter: https://twitter.com/susanorlean
Follow along (with transcript and photos) at http://sparkandfire.com/orchidthief/
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5 strategies for overcoming failure
Spark & Fire: Fuel Your Creativity
02/27/23 • 28 min
Failure is a normal part — even an essential part — of any creative journey. But that probably isn’t what you want to hear after experiencing failure yourself. It’s easy to just want to crawl into a hole for a while. Today on Spark & Fire, we’re going to crawl out of that hole long enough to hear from 5 iconic creatives who have learned how to overcome failure to create something truly great.
Featuring actor and writer Randall Park on Always Be My Maybe, novelist Ann Patchett on The Dutch House, songwriting duo Kristen Anderson Lopez and Robert Lopez on Disney’s Frozen, producers Allan Scott and William Horberg on the hit series Queen’s Gambit, and singer/songwriter Ben Folds on the breakout album Whatever and Ever, Amen.
Follow along (with transcript and photos) at sparkandfire.com/overcomingfailure
Listen to the full episodes that inspired this mixtape:
“Always Be My Maybe” writer and actor Randall Park: https://sparkandfire.com/randallpark/
“The Dutch House” author Ann Patchett: https://sparkandfire.com/annpatchett/
“Frozen” songwriting duo Kristen Anderson Lopez and Robert Lopez: https://sparkandfire.com/frozen/
“Queen’s Gambit” producers Allan Scott and William Horberg: https://sparkandfire.com/queensgambit/
Singer/songwriter Ben Folds: https://sparkandfire.com/benfolds/
Subscribe to the Spark & Fire weekly newsletter for images, stories and creative prompts: http://eepurl.com/hkmyMr
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Turn memory into art: Isabel Allende on “The House of the Spirits”
Spark & Fire: Fuel Your Creativity
12/28/22 • 38 min
How do you write the stories of your life? Any time, any place, any order. Isabel Allende was 39, and a refugee from her native Chile, when she started writing a letter to her dying grandfather – recounting the family stories he'd told her – of love, loss, memory, magic. This letter evolved into her first novel, the beloved epic "The House of the Spirits.” With her trademark warmth and wit, Isabel shares how she found the time and space to write as she rebuilt her life – and how her 500-page typed manuscript, heavy with correction fluid and coffee stains, found its way to the agent in Madrid who made it an instant international sensation. Throughout the story – told entirely in Isabel's brilliantly chosen words – you'll hear never-before-told details about her creative process and journey, including ideas on story structure and writing rituals; first readers and family politics – all of which can fuel your own story-telling.
A novelist, storyteller and social activist, Isabel Allende is the author of The House of the Spirits and Eva Luna among many other novels; her nonfiction works include the powerful double autobiography Paula. Follow her at @IsabelAllende
Follow along (transcript and amazing photos) at https://sparkandfire.com/isabelallende/
Subscribe to the Spark & Fire weekly newsletter for images, stories and creative prompts: http://eepurl.com/hkmyMr
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Trust your instinct: Salsa legend Rubén Blades on the iconic song “Pedro Navaja”
Spark & Fire: Fuel Your Creativity
06/01/21 • 41 min
“It’s too long. It’s too sad. It’s not danceable.” Just some of the feedback salsa legend Rubén Blades got from DJs and record labels about his iconic song "Pedro Navaja" on the album "Siembra," which went on to sell 25m copies. That’s more than the Beatles' "White Album." And his story of creating this album with Willie Colón is a testament to three words: Trust your instinct. Don’t let anyone throw you off a creative vision you believe in. But also don’t assume that instinct is innate. You hone your instinct through a lifetime of reading, listening, looking, doing. And don’t believe anyone does it alone. Trusted collaborators are always a powerful, sometimes invisible force driving any creative vision, in any field.
Congratulations to Ruben for being named "Person of the Year" by the 2021 Latin Grammys!
Follow along (with transcript and photos) at sparkandfire.com/rubenblades
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Stay authentic to yourself: Randall Park on making "Always Be My Maybe"
Spark & Fire: Fuel Your Creativity
05/25/21 • 35 min
How do you create something an audience will love? Start with everything YOU love. Actor Randall Park ("Veep," "Fresh Off the Boat," "WandaVision"...) tells the story of a passion project that's become a beloved repeat-watch: the 2019 Netflix movie "Always Be My Maybe." It all started as a tossed-off remark by his friend Ali Wong: What if we made a romcom together? As Randall and Ali wrote the movie, they celebrated what mattered to them: family traditions, the food and music they love, even their favorite movie stars. Learn how you can take what authentically matters to you – and create work that will resonate for others too.
Follow along (with transcript and photos) at sparkandfire.com/randallpark
Subscribe to the Spark & Fire weekly newsletter for images, stories and creative prompts: http://eepurl.com/hkmyMr
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Introducing: Offsite Adventures
Spark & Fire: Fuel Your Creativity
04/17/24 • 20 min
From the team behind Spark & Fire, we're happy to share the first episode of Offsite Adventures, our newest show uncovering the gems, magical moments, and unique learnings in iconic business travel destinations.
Three minutes before midnight in Times Square, one of the most trafficked commercial centers in the world momentarily transforms into a vibrant digital art installation, providing a refreshing pause for locals and tourists alike. It’s called the Midnight Moment, and you won’t believe how something so unexpected came together. In this episode, Janet digs into the history of this unique collaboration between the advertising and arts communities before experiencing it herself with innovative, boundary-breaking artist Shahzia Sikander.
Offsite Adventures is a Masters of Scale Production presented in alliance with Capital One Business.
Special thanks to Jean Cooney and Times Squares Arts and artists featured as part of the Midnight Moment episode:
Artist: Shahzia Sikander | Title: Reckoning | Video by Tatyana Tenenbaum
Artist: Nora Maité Nieves | Title: Eyes of the Sea | Video by Tatyana Tenenbaum
Artist: LuYang | Title: DOKU: Digital Reincarnation | Video by Phatt Features
Special thanks to composer Du Yun for music featured in this episode.
See this story come to life in our video series on YouTube. Click here to watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERpUrWKdCjE
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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FAQ
How many episodes does Spark & Fire: Fuel Your Creativity have?
Spark & Fire: Fuel Your Creativity currently has 44 episodes available.
What topics does Spark & Fire: Fuel Your Creativity cover?
The podcast is about Leisure, Filmmaking, Architecture, Creativity, Design, Creative, Writing, Storytelling, Podcasts and Arts.
What is the most popular episode on Spark & Fire: Fuel Your Creativity?
The episode title 'Stay authentic to yourself: Randall Park on making "Always Be My Maybe"' is the most popular.
What is the average episode length on Spark & Fire: Fuel Your Creativity?
The average episode length on Spark & Fire: Fuel Your Creativity is 33 minutes.
How often are episodes of Spark & Fire: Fuel Your Creativity released?
Episodes of Spark & Fire: Fuel Your Creativity are typically released every 7 days.
When was the first episode of Spark & Fire: Fuel Your Creativity?
The first episode of Spark & Fire: Fuel Your Creativity was released on Dec 10, 2020.
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