Descend a few rungs on the old evolutionary ladder with us in this, the season 2 finale of Clever Creature. Mordant, multitalented Australian songwriter and actor Tim Minchin , the lyricist of the musicals MATILDA and GROUNDHOG DAY, talks with Jason about creative evolution, cultural devolution, and not taking yourself too seriously. There's short fiction by Jason that takes us to the outer limits of optimism. And a song by the one and only Jerm Boor , a deep soul with a deep voice. Special than...
Sep 01, 2021•1 hr 11 min•Season 2Ep. 9
“If your castle’s made of sugar, don’t blame the rain when it melts.” Sometimes, you’ve just got to kill your darlings. You're a cuttlefish, say, and something’s got your arm in its jaws? No worries. Just eject it! It’ll grow back later . . . In biology, that’s called “autotomy”. In this episode, legendary theater director Andre Gregory talks to Jason about acts of self-reinvention and past selves left behind. There's short fiction about a utopian Christian community that keeps its peace at a hi...
Aug 18, 2021•1 hr 22 min•Season 2Ep. 8
“He will come back with scars and with stories to tell…” This episode is about new beginnings that lead to surprising outcomes. Poet and essayist Ross Gay talks to Jason about precious things beheld and forgotten. There’s a twisted fairytale about weed farming, big box stores, and grand designs. And Jason goes solo with a tune of prayer and self-forgiveness. From warm, dark places, something new is born. Special thanks to Jamie Mayberry for the word of the episode. To Emre Gots for the theme son...
Aug 04, 2021•1 hr 15 min•Season 2Ep. 7
Word by word, a story emerges. Neuron by neuron, consciousness emerges. The story, song, and conversation of this episode are about that mysterious process whereby things become bigger than the sum of their parts. Cambridge mycologist Merlin Sheldrake talks with Jason about how fungal networks solve complex problems, and how LSD and polyphonic music have helped him understand them. There's fiction by Jason about an unhappy man who finds freedom from the outside in. And a hypnotic instrumental bl...
Jul 21, 2021•1 hr 13 min•Season 2Ep. 6
From the reassuring sound of our mother's heartbeat to our last breath, our lives are bounded by rhythm. In music, poetry, meditation, and prayer, rhythm is the trance that lets the spirit fly. In grounding us, it can free us. And it can sometimes become a dangerous drug, lulling us to sleep. In this episode Jason talks with anthropologist Bia Labate of Chacruna Institute for Psychedelic Plant Medicines about the rhythms of ancient indigenous life and of life in the global north as they relate t...
Jul 07, 2021•1 hr 3 min•Season 2Ep. 5
At first glance, the word of this episode is impossibly, mind-bogglingly big. "Transition" applies to everything. There's nothing in the known universe (or anywhere else, for that matter, I'd bet) that isn't, at some level, in a state of change. But as always, god, the devil, and everything in between is in the details . . . This week, Ajahn Amaro, a Buddhist monk of 45 years in the Thai Forest tradition talks to Jason about his transition from skeptical rebel to rule-bound monk. There's a story...
Jun 23, 2021•1 hr 22 min•Season 2Ep. 4
“The higher up I go, the less I need to know…” “Crown shyness” is social distancing for treetops. It’s a botanical mystery, the fact that certain trees give each other space in the canopy. Are they sharing sunlight? Protecting each other from disease and infestation? Perhaps they just prefer to be alone… A story, a song, thoughts, and a conversation about growth and separation. The poet and essayist Aimee Nezhukumatathil , author of WORLD OF WONDERS on love and the natural world. A short story f...
Jun 09, 2021•1 hr 35 min•Season 2Ep. 3
“I was so in love with images, I forgot the native art…” A story, a song, thoughts, and a conversation about what goes on underneath the words and the skin. Somatic therapist Resmaa Menakem , author of MY GRANDMOTHER’S HANDS , on racialized trauma in black, white, and police bodies. A short story from Jason about a birthday party gone so wrong, it’s almost right. And a love song to…can you guess it? Can you guess it? Special thanks to Eric Sanders for the word of the episode, to Helix Lamont for...
May 26, 2021•49 min•Season 2Ep. 1
“I never saw a sun so bright as on that day…” Season Two of the podcast Indiewire calls "a case study in artistic drive" opens with a word of power, this spring especially, as the world anxiously, hopefully starts to open back up again. SANDMAN and AMERICAN GODS author Neil Gaiman on the on the strange comfort of scary (fictional) places and of having your whole year’s schedule cancelled by COVID. Short fiction by Jason Gots about finding Joy on the map and deciding not to stay there. And a fath...
May 12, 2021•1 hr•Season 2Ep. 1
The show Indiewire called "a case study in artistic drive" is back with nine wild, open new episodes featuring short fiction, conversation, and original songs. Each is an "experimental variety show" based on a single world having something to do with the natural world. Writer and podcaster Jason Gots talks with fantasy writer Neil Gaiman, poet and essayist Aimee Nezhukumatathil, Cambridge Mycologist Merlin Sheldrake, somatic therapist Resmaa Menakem, singer-songwriter Tim Minchin, Buddhist monk ...
Apr 07, 2021•2 min
Season 1 finale. A father besieged in his videogame-obsessed son's bedroom. Graphic novelist Jerry Craft on race, class, and middle school. And a genre-defying barn-burner of a rock tune.
Aug 18, 2020•1 hr 11 min•Season 1Ep. 8
Could this be the most uplifting episode yet? A dung beetle risks everything for a life beyond drudgery. Actress and writer Mary-Louise Parker on risking failure and ignoring ridicule for those perfect moments when everything works. And a pop-rock tune to get you through tough times.
Aug 04, 2020•1 hr•Season 1Ep. 7
David Sedaris joins Jason from lockdown to talk about creative risks that might get him cancelled. In this week's fiction story, a tuba zealot begs his brother not to go electric. And an acoustic tune about brunch inside the neutral zone, with ennui and avocado toast.
Jul 21, 2020•51 min•Season 1Ep. 6
Mushrooms, love, and anarchy on an alien prison colony. Etgar Keret on taking your art too seriously. And a beat-driven tribal-futurist tune about life in the substrate.
Jul 07, 2020•1 hr 4 min•Season 1Ep. 5
The word of the episode—"Lace"—plants a seed that grows into a trip-hop tune about cognitive biases, an existential weird-fiction detective story, and a deep dive with Consciousness Medicine author Françoise Bourzat on psychedelics and psychological healing.
Jun 23, 2020•1 hr 8 min•Season 1Ep. 4
An imaginary city with a feral pig problem. Radiolab's Shima Oliaee on rallying yourself through the twists and turns of a creative career.
Jun 09, 2020•59 min•Season 1Ep. 3
Deeper and darker. A Northwestern Gothic coming-of-age tale. An elemental steampunk blues. Novelist and thinker Gish Jen on losing religion, finding art, and taking creative risks.
May 26, 2020•48 min•Season 1Ep. 2
A lost man converses with his gut flora. A song about deserts real and imaginary. Jason and his son discuss the Ice Cream Desert and its denizens.
May 12, 2020•40 min•Season 1Ep. 1
Coming 5/12/20, with David Sedaris, Mary-Louise Parker, and other guests: a different kind of variety show: a story, a song, and a conversation, all inspired by one random word.
Feb 25, 2020•2 min
