From Oprah and Eckhart Tolle’s A New Earth Online Class: Sharon (audience member): I have close relationships to people who suffer from depression. And in talking with them, I find that there’s an inwardness and a strong identity that they have as people who suffer from depression. Eckhart Tolle: Whether it is a physical condition … Read moreEckhart Tolle On Depression
Actor and teacher Jeffrey Tambor describes how fear can impact presence and creativity in performances and auditions, and how to shift the experience of fear. “I think the main idea behind my teaching is the issue of fear and how we use that to our advantage,” he writes. “We are all fear-based creatures. And fear … Read moreJeffrey Tambor on using fear
A major political party in a major swing state bets on a new leader: a total political outsider. How does that work out for them? Prologue: In 2022, Michigan Republicans ran anti-establishment candidates who claimed the last presidential election was stolen. And they lost big. Now, the state party regroups and must decide whether to … Read more820: It Wouldn’t Be Make-Believe If You’d Believe In Me
Janet Fitch is an author and teacher of fiction writing. A profile on her site says she is “the author of the #1 national bestseller White Oleander, a novel translated into 24 languages, an Oprah Book Club book and the basis of a feature film, Paint It Black, also widely translated and made into a 2017 film, and an epic … Read moreWriting from Personal Experience: Janet Fitch on using the deep parts
Susan Glasser, the former editor of Politico and Foreign Policy, writes the “Letter from Washington” column for the The New Yorker. Her most recent book, written with Peter Baker, is The Divider: Trump in the White House, 2017-2021. “There’s a great benefit to leaving Washington and then coming back, or frankly leaving anywhere and then … Read moreLongform Podcast #565: Susan B. Glasser
Addictive behavior can interfere with our creative life “I tried to drown my sorrows, but the bastards learned how to swim, and now I am overwhelmed by this decent and good feeling.” – Frida Kahlo During her life artist Frida Kahlo “underwent a total of 35 surgeries, including bone grafts, and became addicted to pain killers and … Read moreAddiction and Creative People
Music Reviews (The Hives AB) Time can be unkind to a band like the Hives. Despite not releasing an album in 11 years, the Swedish rock band has stayed active without pause, presumably considered by most to coast on their early 2000s success. But no one can accuse them of ever running out of gas, … Read moreMusic Review: The Death of Randy Fitzsimmons – The Hives
People finding themselves in situations that are worse than they thought and deciding to really go with it. Prologue: A Boston woman takes her dog for a walk and suddenly finds herself in a terrible situation she never anticipated. The strange thing is, it helps her. (9 minutes) Act One: Two college friends try to stop … Read more821: Embrace the Suck
~~~~ Amy Tan Teaches Fiction, Memory, and Imagination – MasterClass page “Amy Tan was 33 before she first explored her voice as a fiction author. A few years later, her debut novel, The Joy Luck Club, spent 40 weeks on The New York Times bestseller list. Now she’s showing you her approach to the challenges … Read moreAmy Tan on Writing and Depression, and Using What is Beyond Our Ordinary Senses
In SherryBaby (2006), Maggie Gyllenhaal portrayed Sherry Swanson, who returns home after serving a prison sentence to reestablish a relationship with her young daughter. Gyllenhaal described for Interview magazine her experience with the character, and the big change in her attitude toward appreciating roles that are “not so wayward.” Maggie Gyllenhaal: “We shot Sherrybaby in … Read moreMaggie Gyllenhaal on working with the dark and light