The Fabulous Follow Your Curiosity Archive, Part 2
Five more favorites from just over five years
Welcome to Part 2 of my attempt to limit myself to ten favorites from the podcast archives. I’ll admit here that I mostly punted the task of coming up with the next five to this week, because coming up with the first five was not easy, so we’ll see how this goes. I’m optimistic!
Kate Powers
If I had to pick one favorite episode, my brain might explode, but my conversation with Kate Powers would definitely be way up on the short list. One telltale sign of a great episode is that I get goosebumps, and I got them not only during the interview itself, but when I was editing it. And not just because it validated my fangirlish love of Shakespeare, though that certainly didn’t hurt.
You see, Kate Powers goes into maximum security prisons, teaches and directs productions of Shakespeare, and literally changes lives. (Dang, the goosebumps are back.) Why? Because Shakespeare gives incarcerated folks the chance to explore sides of themselves and their relationships in a way nothing else does, and that often creates hope in their lives where nothing else has. It shows them who they are and who they can be.
If I say anything else, I might not write about anything else for the rest of this newsletter, and you might not bother to go listen, so for the love of all that’s holy… if you need to hear something that will renew your faith in humanity—and these days, who doesn’t??—go listen. Right now. And then send the orgs that do this work some money so they can keep doing it, please (links are in the show notes).
John Roedel
You may or may not know
’s name, but if you’re on Facebook, you’ve probably read one of his poems, which tend to go viral there. One in particular made the rounds during the early days of lockdown, when it felt like everything was falling apart, and we read (or perhaps “performed” is a better word) when John first was on the show in 2022. (I got to play God. Ha!)
John never thought he’d be a writer. His family owned a pharmacy in Wyoming and his English teacher told him he couldn’t write. He’s done theatrical improv (there’s that “Yes, and…” again!), and started writing his “Hey, God! Hey, John,” poems as a joke. They didn’t stay that way, as you can see from the one I linked above. He’s tapped into a part of himself he now helps others mine for themselves, as we discussed when he came back last year. (Yes, I’m cheating again. Work with me here. It’s my list and I’ll cheat if I want to… 😉 )
Domenic Sciortino
I think people thought I was crazy when I started this show and said I wanted to focus at least as much on “ordinary” people as better-known folks. Who was going to care about people they’d never heard of? Well, me, for a start, and I hope my listeners do, too, because the “ordinary” people—people just like you and me—are the ones who prove to us that we can do the things we love, too. We don’t have to be a movie star or a famous author. We can be ourselves and still do the things we love.
I’ve known Domenic Sciortino for most of my life—he was just a few years ahead of me in high school, and his dad cut my hair when I was a kid—and he’s such a great example of doing what you love no matter what. He’s a barber (he and his sister inherited their dad’s shop) who is in a Beastie Boys tribute band and at least two other local bands, and the first time we talked, had just started writing and performing his own music. He’s always talking up the arts, and that episode gave us one of my favorite quotes:
He came back earlier this year to catch up and talk about what he’s learning about the intersection of art and commerce. If you missed that one, you can find it here.
Annie P. Ruggles
Boy, if there are two words that tend not to go well together, or go together incredibly uncomfortably, or are constantly at odds with each other, those two words are really likely to be “sales” and “creative,” and that’s just part of why I loved talking to Annie. She’s also a ton of fun, on top of being a sales genius who knows how to sell without feeling sleazy or like your integrity’s been assaulted.
In addition to the nitty gritty of how to do that, Annie and I also talked about the all too pervasive myth that arts and humanities degrees are “useless” (you’ll love her great examples of how untrue that is), and how buying and selling are actually things all of us do all the time, whether we realize it or not. If you need a different perspective on sales, I really encourage you to check this episode out, and even if that’s not what you’re looking for, it’s still a lot of fun—and I guarantee you’ll learn something.
Lydia Kang
Lydia Kang is a doctor who never expected to do any writing, much less become a bestselling author. She started writing as a way to deal with some of her job experiences, and eventually tried writing fiction. Her novels include The Impossible Girl and Opium and Absinthe.
Not surprisingly, Lydia mostly writes novels where medicine is somehow a factor, and she’s also ventured into nonfiction with books like Quackery: A Brief History of the Worst Ways to Cure Everything.
I met Lydia through Tosca Lee, another author with a great story (listen for the deal she made with her very wise dad when she was young).
Dr. Kelly Flanagan
Those of you who’ve been keeping count know this is actually #11, but I can’t end this list without including
. He helped me get this podcast party started with a great one-two punch alongside that conversation with Robert Shearman in January 2019, and he’s been back since—and I am so sure we haven’t seen the last of each other (in fact, I’ve been thinking it may be getting to be time for interview #3!).
Kelly is the author of three great books, including Loveable, which is his first and the one I managed to be reading right at the moment when it was describing what was happening in my life to a degree that actually freaked me out (in a good way!), which is how I ended up emailing him in the first place. I highly recommend the book (and his Substack!).
Our first conversation was more general, focusing more on the psychological benefits of creativity, and it’s the first place I ever heard someone really clearly delineate the connection between engaging in our creative call and the amount of energy we feel on any given day. He also talks about the diminished role of creative play in our kids’ lives, and how they’re losing touch with their creative selves as a result.
Our second conversation coincided with the publication of Kelly’s first novel, and is a look into how that process was different for him, along with some topics touched on in the book, like where we find our worth, getting back in touch with our wild nature, and the spiritual side of creativity.
There you have it: my favorite ten episodes, with more than a few cheats to sneak in a couple of extras. There are others I wanted to list, but even I can’t cheat that much, so here are some very honorable mentions:
Witness Underground: How music helped Ryan Sutter and several of his friends leave their strict Jehovah’s Witness upbringing.
Miami Vice in Fact and Fiction with Michael Hearns: What was it like on the real Miami Vice? And how does it translate to fiction? Michael Hearns has done both.
Art and Politics with Maria James-Thiaw: Can you separate art from politics? My good friend Maria and I dig in to this question.
Happy Accidents with Anthony Wilson: Sometimes life just seems to lead you where you need to be, as Anthony Wilson has discovered.
Coming Out of the Cave with Eddie Louise: Eddie’s lived a remarkable life under circumstances that most people think should have grounded her from high school. If you think you can’t, let Eddie show you that you can.
And now I’m making myself stop so I can’t just list them all. 🤣
On a side note, I’ve manage to max out my transcription minutes for the month (oops!) as I’ve put this list together, so I can’t add them for Lydia Kang and anyone below on the list, but I will as soon as I can when the minutes reset in about two weeks.
So… which has been your favorite? Is there one you love that I didn’t include here? Someone you think I should talk to? Let us know below!
Aw, thanks for including me, Nancy!