Our guest, Barry Dean, is a double threat. Not only is he a writer of No.1 country and pop songs but he's also the CEO of Luci, a company dedicated to creating smart wheelchair technology for individuals with disabilities, like his daughter Catherine. Our conversation is one of the most compelling we've had on the show -- he's a fantastic, funny, and wise storyteller. He talks about his journey from aspiring rock star (at 19 he "ran out of brave") to businessman and shadow artist to songwriter (...
Jul 10, 2025•1 hr•Season 4Ep. 8
In this episode, I talk with documentarian Abby Epstein about her creative journey becoming a theater and film director and women’s health advocate. A co-creator of the landmark film, The Business of Being Born , Abby tells honest women’s stories — from periods to menopause and everything in between. She shares her experiences in creating compelling documentaries, the importance of creative partnerships, and the challenges faced when your creativity rocks society's boat. Abby also talks about he...
Jun 26, 2025•42 min•Season 4Ep. 7
In this episode, I’ve invited three women on the show who also happen to be my dear friends — they don’t know each other, but I’ve known them for decades. And in this past year, I’ve watched each of them explode with creativity. Carolyn Blank Cary published a cookbook, which became a mini memoir; Beth Huddleston developed an app introducing infants and toddlers to the sounds of languages and music from around the world; and Amy Meyers pivoted from a lifetime of executive recruiting and political...
Jun 12, 2025•54 min•Season 4Ep. 6
Vince Gill is a music icon, winning armloads of awards over his 50-year musical career, including 22 Grammys, 8 Academy of Country Music Awards, and 18 CMA awards. He’s collaborated with every possible country music great like Dolly Parton and Reba McEntire, but also music legends in other genres like Sting and Barbra Streisand. Along with his unforgettable tenor voice, Vince is an extraordinary guitar player, and has shared the stage with guitar legends like Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, B. B. King,...
May 29, 2025•50 min•Season 4Ep. 5
Devin Finigan, chef owner of Aragosta at Goose Cove in Maine, is an award-winning chef who never attended culinary school. In our conversation, she shares her unconventional journey into the culinary world, highlighting her passion for cooking, the artistic process behind plating a dish, and the importance of mentorship and travel in her growth as a chef. With unmatched enthusiasm, she discusses the challenges and lessons learned from opening her first restaurant, the importance of nature and se...
May 15, 2025•47 min•Season 4Ep. 4
Shannon Cason is a master storyteller -- seen on Snap Judgment, TEDx, and The Moth stages to name a few -- and is the host of the podcast Homemade Stories. In his words, he's also a late bloomer, and with his trademark wit, wisdom, and incredible sense of timing, he shares how the right perspective can turn life's rough patches into life-changing art. Check out Shannon's website . Watch his story Late Bloomer . Don't miss My Father's Camera . Learn from his TEDx talk . And subscribe to his podca...
May 01, 2025•42 min
Starting Over with a Creative Life featuring Nell Painter In this episode, we talk to the renowned historian and bestselling author Nell Painter, who left her wildly successful academic career to enter art school at the age of 65 — an experience she documented in her book, Old in Art School, A Memoir of Starting Over, which was named a National Book Critics Circle finalist. We talk about working with constraints, overcoming unfair criticism, healthy creative addictions like yarn and ink, and we ...
Apr 17, 2025•46 min•Season 4Ep. 3
Depending on where you were in 2018, you may or may not remember former Nashville mayor Megan Barry’s story. The Washington Post’s headline said, “Megan Barry Resigns as Nashville Mayor, Weeks After Admitting Affair with the Security Chief” and The New York Times declared, “Megan Barry, Nashville Mayor, Pleads Guilty to Theft and Agrees to Resign.” It was a monumental lapse in judgment that played out on the national stage. Before this public reckoning and while she was still in office, Megan lo...
Apr 03, 2025•45 min•Season 4Ep. 2
We all first met Kim as the glowing young bride in the movie “Father of the Bride” with Steve Martin. She’s acted ever since, adding NYTimes bestselling author to her credits with her book “Where The Light Gets In," which chronicles her mother’s battle with dementia. In this episode, we dive into Kim’s own health struggle — losing her voice for nearly two years, an experience that Kim says saved her life. We talk about staying resilient, finding the good in the bad, and tripping on psychedelic m...
Mar 20, 2025•52 min•Season 4Ep. 1
We’re launching Season Four this Thursday! To kick it off, I share the unforeseen complications that happened on the way to NYC to celebrate our Signal Award win. Exploding transformers, train trauma bonding, shouting expletives in a public setting, free peanut M&Ms, the love of friends, and the kindness of strangers all make an appearance. As always, what we don’t expect often leads to the most memorable stories!
Mar 17, 2025•14 min
In this bonus edition, we share some thrilling news! No Time to be Timid is one of eight finalists in the Arts and Culture category of the Signal Awards -- alongside notable shows like Oprah's Super Soul! Please vote for us for the Listener’s Choice award ! Voting ends October 17. I also share thoughts on my recent pilgrimage walking a portion of the Camino, particularly how walking and the creative process have the power to transform us. And the words of Mary Oliver make an appearance, too!...
Oct 11, 2024•8 min•Season 3Ep. 12
Bonus Episode: Eric Masterson Tells his Story of Hawks, Near-Death, and the Best of Humanity During this season in the United States, we’re repeatedly told about how divided we are as a nation, so I thought it was important to tell a few stories about how wonderful people can be. To illustrate the point, I interviewed my husband, Eric Masterson, who is an expert birder, author, and survivor of a catastrophic hang gliding crash four years ago this week. That experience profoundly changed both of ...
Aug 08, 2024•53 min•Season 3Ep. 11
I don't talk about politics on my show. I talk about creativity and I interview guests who can help all of us step into our creative selves. But then J.D. Vance started talking about "childless cat ladies," and as a woman without children, I have a problem with that. So I thought it was important to air a story I told on the StoryCollider stage some years ago about my ambivalence towards motherhood and my call to become an artist. The story is part of a larger piece I've been working on called "...
Aug 01, 2024•19 min
R. Eric Thomas is a creative powerhouse. First, he’s masterful on stage not only as a storyteller, but also as the long running host of The Moth StorySlams in Philadelphia. Second, he writes for every possible medium — he’s a television writer for shows airing on Apple TV and FX; an award-winning playwright; and the author of several books, including the national bestsellers Here For It, or How to Save Your Soul in America and his latest book, Congratulations, The Best is Over! Many people first...
Jul 25, 2024•40 min•Season 3Ep. 10
My neighbors, the NYTimes bestselling author Sy Montgomery and acclaimed author Howard Mansfield, have been married for 37 years. In that time, they’ve built and sustained a writing life that’s produced about 40 books between them. And even though they’re a unit, they’ve dedicated their lives to separate creative interests. Sy writes on behalf of animals — she’s best known for her books The Good, Good Pig and The National Book Award Finalist, The Soul of an Octopus — and Howard writes about arch...
Jul 11, 2024•46 min•Season 3Ep. 9
You know the saying, "bloom where you're planted"? My guest, Nora Fiffer, embodies it. She’s an actor, director, and producer in both theater and film and like me, she lives in rural New Hampshire. She moved here from Chicago about eight years ago, and since she's arrived, she's co-founded the award-winning Firelight Theatre Workshop, which is now in its seventh season; produced two short films using local talent; and is set to release her first feature film, Another Happy Day, this fall. Nora a...
Jun 27, 2024•51 min•Season 3Ep. 8
There are few individuals in the world who can convince people to get out of bed and start dancing at 6:00 am completely sober. Radha Agrawal, the co-founder, CEO and Chief Community architect of Daybreaker, the global morning sober dance and wellness movement, is one of them. And for the past 10 years, a half a million people across 33 cities and five continents have joined her. And here’s the thing. Radha — a social entrepreneur whose mission is to bring more joy and belonging to the world — s...
Jun 13, 2024•41 min•Season 3Ep. 7
At 84 years old, Laura Wilson could run circles around most of us. She throws herself into her creative projects — which often take years to complete — with high energy and optimism. She moves quickly, never dallying when pursuing her creative work (a missed opportunity to photograph John Updike still stings). And her work reveals the humanity and stories behind individuals, communities, and events that we rarely see -- cockfighting, cowboys, drug smuggling searches, debutantes, world-famous aut...
May 30, 2024•53 min•Season 3Ep. 6
Get ready to be inspired (and possibly cry). Richard Casper, co-founder of Creativets, shares his journey from combat Marine to champion of the arts. A wounded veteran — Richard’s Humvee was blown up four times in Iraq and he watched his dear friend die — Richard credits art and songwriting with saving his life. To help other veterans heal as he did, Richard co-founded Creativets, an organization that uses art and music to help wounded veterans heal from Post Traumatic Stress and brain injuries....
May 16, 2024•1 hr 1 min•Season 3Ep. 5
Singer/songwriter Lila Forde stands at a launch point in her career. She’s a self-sustaining, working musician, who’s been at it for years. And if you’re a fan of The Voice, you know that in Season 24 last fall, Lila earned a coveted 4-chair turn and went from a gigging girl in LA to one of the show’s top vocalists with adoring fans nationwide. Finishing among the five finalists, Lila continues to be compared to Joni Mitchell and her coach John Legend, describes her as magical. No doubt, she’s p...
May 02, 2024•52 min•Season 3Ep. 4
Dava Whisenant, founder and president of Cactus Flower Films, is a master storyteller who has stories to tell, and she tells them with honesty and humor. For more than 20 years, she’s worked in narrative and nonfiction film as an editor — from The Late Show with David Letterman to the Emmy-winning and Oscar- short-listed documentary short The Flagmakers — and now as a director. The award-winning documentary Bathtubs Over Broadway, was her directorial debut, for which she won Best Director at the...
Apr 18, 2024•44 min•Season 3Ep. 3
Becca Stevens, the founder and president of Thistle Farms, shares her journey from starting a 5-bed home for women survivors of trafficking, addiction, and prostitution to creating a global movement for women’s freedom. Born at the crossroads of where arts and crafts meets justice, Becca talks about how creativity has transformed the lives of women in her programs, the importance of a walk in the woods, and how one Thistle Farms candle was the catalyst for a birthday party including A-list celeb...
Apr 04, 2024•37 min•Season 3Ep. 2
We're starting Season Three with the most incredible duo, The War and Treaty, also known as the husband and wife team of Michael and Tanya Trotter, who are making some of the most exciting music today. Michael and Tanya have overcome hardships that would have flattened most of us. But they persevered and this year, they were nominated for two Grammy Awards. They’re currently featured in exhibitions at The Country Music Hall of Fame and The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. And they’ve travelled around...
Mar 21, 2024•56 min•Season 3Ep. 1
In celebration of International Women's Day, we're going to air one of my favorite stories I ever told on The Moth stage -- How to Act Like a Lady. You can see me perform the story here ! And this is our last mini episode before we launch Season 3 on March 21 -- we've got a terrific lineup. If you don't have your No Time to be Timid Manifesto yet, download it here !...
Mar 07, 2024•17 min
My producer Adam and I recorded the first interview for Season Three! And even though we were both feeling a little puny before the show, when we started making art -- making something out of nothing -- it put a skip into our step like few things can. And a quote from Neil Gaiman helps explain why. https://triciaroseburt.com/ https://www.instagram.com/triciaroseburt/ Mixed and scored by Echo Finch www.echofinch.com
Feb 22, 2024•4 min
Dinner with friends, a hit TV show, and a new stove ignite my creativity and inspire a new way for me to replenish it. Plus, the great Maya Angelou reminds us that the more you use your creativity, the more there is to go around. https://triciaroseburt.com/ https://www.instagram.com/triciaroseburt/ Mixed and scored by Echo Finch www.echofinch.com
Feb 08, 2024•5 min
If you've been wanting to start a project but can't seem to make it happen, then this episode is for you. We talk about the power of deadlines and cite the work of Season Two's guests Shannon Cason ( Episode 2 ) and David Crabb ( Episode 7 )....
Jan 25, 2024•5 min
I started off the new year re-reading a great creative resource, The Genius Zone by Gay Hendricks. In this mini-episode, we talk about Hendricks' advice to woo our creativity like a beloved and to ask ourselves the question, do you appreciate your creativity? Learn more here .
Jan 11, 2024•5 min
One of the highlights of this past year for me was seeing the Nick Cave exhibition at the Guggenheim, especially his Sound Suits. In this mini episode, we talk about why he makes them, and how his work can inspire all of us in 2024. Check out his work here and here ! And Happy New Year everybody!
Dec 28, 2023•5 min
Our holiday special! A story I crafted for a small town Christmas special makes it to The Moth Radio Hour and I'm reminded of how we never know how our creative ideas will grow. Plus, check out rock star choral director Jody Simpson .
Dec 14, 2023•5 min
