Podcasts by The Creative Muscle
Creativity is a muscle. The more you use it, the more it grows. We’re here to debunk the myth that creativity is JUST for artists: it’s not, it’s for everyone. Each episode, through various interviews, discussions and performances, hosts Nathan Michael, Jonny Mendez, Jon Guerra, Valerie Guerra, and Dan Sumpter take you on a deep dive into the process of channeling your creativity to make a better life for yourself and the world around you.
Further podcasts by Low Res
Podcast on the topic Kunst
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Universal Standard Brings Elevated Fashion to All Bodies from 2019-09-20T16:57:30
Together with cofounder Polina Veksler, Alexandra Waldman created Universal Standard in 2015 to obliterate the dividing line of size—a style barrier which often determines who has the privilege ...
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How the Co-Founder of Kickstarted Decided What to Do Next from 2019-09-06T11:30
Imagine you co-found something enormous and culture-shaping like, say, Kickstarter. Where do you go from there? How do you decide what to do next? Charles Adler i...
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Peter Dunn Helps People Do Good Work On-the-Go from 2019-08-23T11:30
As we prepare to enter the third decade of the 21st century, fewer people than ever are working in traditional offices. Many of us do our work in coffee shops, ai...
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Two Lost Girls, One RV, and the Wild World of Vintage from 2019-08-09T11:30
Six years ago Sarah Azzouzi and Kyla Embrey started a locally-owned, woman-owned and minority-owned small business called Lost Girls Vintage, a pop-up shop operat...
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Ello Combats Single-Use Plastic With Style from 2019-07-26T11:30
So many people go into creative work because they want to make something that will be noticed or make an impression. But what about the kind of creativity that's ...
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There Is No “I” in Beer from 2019-07-12T11:30
Do all craft brewery taprooms have to be industrial spaces with loud music blasting over guys drinking hoppy beers at tables made of reclaimed wood? Samantha Lee ...
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Lyric Opera Fight Choreographer Nick Sandys Makes Violence Look Real...for the Good of the World from 2019-06-28T11:30
In many operas and plays you see characters get stabbed, shot or killed in a fight. Or course, no one’s really dying or getting hurt, but it has to
A Gunshot Victim, an Artist, and a Psychologist Walk Into a Glassblowing Studio from 2019-06-14T11:30
It’s no secret that there are astonishingly high levels of gun violence in Chicago, particularly among young people. Could creativity be part of the solution? Pro...
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Victor Saad Took the Leap from 2019-05-31T11:30
If you want to learn and grow, do you have to go back to school and get a Master’s Degree? Victor Saad designed his own Master’s by completing 12 projects in 12 m...
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Teri Turner Wants No Crumbs Left On Your Plate from 2019-05-17T12:00
If you’re freaked out by a recipe with more than ten ingredients, if you don’t know what to make for dinner tomorrow, if you’re ready to take your cooking game to...
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A New Generation of Art Buyers from 2019-05-03T11:30
Why does it seem like art is so expensive? How much money goes to the artist and how much goes to the middle man? Where can people turn if they value quality art ...
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Chilly Gonzales Wants You to Channel Your Negative Impulses into Art from 2019-04-19T19:14:38
From collaborations with Feist, Drake and Daft Punk to breaking the Guinness World Record for Longest Solo Piano Performance in history (27 hours), Grammy-winning...
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Erika Sánchez is Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter from 2019-04-05T12:59:53
Growing up, Erika Sánchez did not see anyone who looked like her represented in the books she was reading. So she decided to solve the problem herself by putting ...
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The F Word from 2019-03-22T11:00
Ok, we can’t avoid it any longer. It’s time to talk about the F word. Probably not the one you’re thinking of. We’re finally broaching the dreaded topic of...finances. Specifically, the Top 5 Fi...
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Lauren Asta Says Success is 50% Talent, 50% Follow-Through from 2019-03-08T13:17:59
Today is International Women’s Day, and we are featuring one of our favorite female artists in town: celebrated muralist Lauren Asta, whose public art has become recognizable from the Bay Area a...
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Jahmal Cole Used to be Homeless. Now He’s a World-Changing Social Entrepreneur. from 2019-02-22T12:00
Jahmal Cole thought his only career options were to be a basketball player or a rapper because that’s all he could see in the neighborhood where he grew up. It wa...
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Hire Yourself from 2019-02-08T12:00
What should you do when no one’s hiring you to do the kind of work you want to do? How do you find the balance between creating things that make money vs. the thi...
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Steven Dyme Thinks Flowers Can Do More Than Just Make You Smile from 2019-01-25T12:00
A lot of people have developed their skills and passions into successful careers that bring satisfaction and profit. But what if businesses could be more than jus...
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Italian-born Chef Bruno Abate Wants to Transform the American Prison System from 2019-01-11T13:00
When you find a problem in the world that needs to be confronted but it falls outside your area of expertise, what should you do? Start over? Go back to school and get a whole new degree? Born i...
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Best of 2018 from 2018-12-28T20:16:39
It's been a year full of ups and downs, surprising turns and new revelations. Events in the news like soccer players trapped in a cave, the royal wedding, Senate Judiciary hearings and the March...
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Special Holiday Episode: Be Yourself at Christmas from 2018-12-21T16:49:24
WARNING: Do not go home for the holidays without first listening to this episode! We're in a season of joy, celebration and twinkly lights, but sometimes there are hard things hidden beneath the...
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Interview: Jayson Home - Jay Goltz and Caroline Scheeler from 2018-12-03T14:56:41
As a young person, Jay Goltz tested well in math, so people said he should become an accountant. But after earning an accounting degree Jay decided what he really wanted to do was start a framin...
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Group Discussion: The Gift of Feedback from 2018-11-16T15:31:24
Creativity doesn't happen in a vacuum. From the conception of an idea to planning to production to editing and finally delivery, there are a number of voices that speak into the process of creat...
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Group Discussion: Editing from 2018-11-05T14:48:29
When asked about the difficulties he must have encountered when sculpting a black of marble into his masterpiece David, Michelangelo famously replied, "It was easy. I just chipped away ...
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Interview: Shani Crowe from 2018-10-19T20:04:06
Whether coiffed or disheveled, sleek or tousled, thick or thin, hair tells a story about our personality, our history, o...
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Group Discussion: Highs and Lows from 2018-10-05T11:30
As we all know, the creative life is just one long unending stream of successes and prosperity and bliss and fame and gain and triumphs. Right? Oh wait, it isn't? So then what? How do we grapple...
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Interview: Mike Michalowicz from 2018-09-21T20:47
You've heard all the entrepreneurial axioms and tropes before: "Do what you know," "It takes money to make money." Mike Michalowicz has made a career out of turning those ideas on their head and...
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Interview: Unsexy Business - Jack Berdan from 2018-09-07T18:29:05
We all want the flashy gig, the high profile project, the notable client, the award-winning work. But what about the unsexy business that fills most our time and lives? Jack Berdan came from a t...
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Interview: Kevin Coval from 2018-08-24T15:00
Studs Terkel called Kevin Coval’s voice “our hope for a new world of peace, grace and beauty.” The co-founder of /Louder Than a Bomb,/the country’s largest youth poetry slam, and Artistic Direct...
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Group Discussion: Inspiration from 2018-08-10T15:00
“Oh you’re an artist? That must be so inspiring.“ Is it? This week we take a look at one of the most talked about and frequently misunderstood aspects of the creative life: inspiration. What is ...
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Interview: John Berardi - Precision Nutrition from 2018-07-09T14:06:53
If you want to learn to play the piano you can't just read books about it. At some point you're going to have to sit down and touch the keys. People do not change by thinking, they change by doi...
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Special Episode: You Are Not Alone from 2018-06-23T18:28:15
Kate Spade. Anthony Bourdain. Robin Williams. Kurt Cobain. Why have so many creative, prolific, talented artists over the years struggled with depression and mental health? How can artists and c...
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Interview: LIVE at LOW RES with Stephanie Izard from 2018-06-12T20:02:41
Who is the girl and who is the goat in The Girl and the Goat restaurant? On this week's special LIVE episode of the Creative Muscle, we sit down with chef and entrepreneur Listen
Interview: James McLaughlin - Intelligentsia from 2018-05-25T19:37:07
James McLaughlin didn't happen upon a job posting on CareerBuilder.com or wait around for a position to open up at the coffee company he admired most. He ...
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Group Discussion: Creativity and Relationships from 2018-05-11T20:30:43
Creative people are not forged in a vacuum. All of us have been shaped by important relationships that set us on a course for the creative life or tried to steer us in another direction or maybe...
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Interview: Jonathan Neman - Sweetgreen from 2018-04-27T19:46:57
Every day, Jonathan Neman and his friends asked themselves the same question: "What are we going to eat?" They felt limited by the options available, so they took things into their own hands and...
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Interview: Marty Neumeier from 2018-03-30T15:00
Most designers go to art school. But should they go to business school instead? On the one year anniversary of the Creative Muscle we interview award-winning author Marty Neumeier, whose books <...
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Interview: Emily Fiffer + Heather Sperling - Botanica from 2018-03-16T15:00
Emily Fiffer and Heather Sperling saw something missing in food culture, so they decided to roll up their sleeves and do something about it. They opened their own...
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Interview: Amy Grant from 2018-03-02T21:30
Signed to a label just few weeks before her 16th birthday, iconic pop legend Amy Grant has sold 30 million albums worldwide, earned 6 Grammy Awards, 22 Dove Awards, and a star on the Hollywood W...
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Interview: Alicia Haywood from 2018-02-16T16:00
Have the words "connection" and "engagement" been hijacked by social media? How can we be responsible, discerning citizens of a connected world? What questions should we ask about the media we c...
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Interview: Jordan Critz from 2018-02-02T21:50:19
Jordan Critz is an award-winning composer and producer whose work has been featured on film and television including National Geographic, Disney, Apple and so muc...
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Interview: Gregg Latterman - Aware Records from 2018-01-19T16:00
When Gregg Latterman was 10 years old, his father came home one day to find him on the phone with a famous Green Bay Packer whom he had cold called. Thus began La...
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Kicking Off 2018: New Beginnings from 2018-01-12T16:00
It's 2018, and we're back with a special episode on New Beginnings! Featuring three mini-interviews with people who are using creativity to move forward through grief and turn their trauma into ...
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Best Of 2017 from 2017-12-27T16:00
To close out 2017, we take a look back at some of the best moments, most insightful quotes, and favorite lessons learned throughout this exciting year of interviewing a diverse array of creative...
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Special Episode: Around the Holiday Table from 2017-12-01T15:00
Pull up a chair at the Creative Muscle holiday table to get your yuletide fill of stories, laughter, live performances, and cookies! Well, you might be on your own for the cookies, but we've got...
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Interview: Audrey Assad from 2017-11-17T15:00
Audrey Assad is the daughter of a Syrian refugee, an author, speaker, producer, and critically lauded songwriter and musician. She releases music she calls "sound...
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Interview: JQ - The Q Brothers from 2017-11-03T16:22:43
How do you take something old and update it, re-frame and re-present it to a new audience in a fresh and engaging way? What if the thing in question is considered...
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Interview: Marc Malnati - Lou Malnati's Pizza from 2017-10-20T15:20
Marc Malnati is the son of Chicago pizza legend Lou Malnati and the current chairman of the board of the Malnati Organization. When his father passed away in 1978, Marc stepped into a leading ro...
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Live from Soho House from 2017-10-06T15:31:17
This week we bring you a special live episode recorded at Soho House and broadcasted on Chicago 105.5 FM as part of their Pop-Up Radio program. The Creative Muscle Crew returns to the very place...
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Interview: Jess Cates from 2017-09-22T14:58:36
What do Backstreet Boys, Martina McBride, The Jonas Brothers, LeAnn Rimes, Nick Lachey and Clay Aiken have in common? They have all recorded songs written by this week's guest, Jess Cates. He te...
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Special Episode: It Starts at the Table from 2017-09-08T16:43:21
This week we pause our usual programming to consider the events of the world around us. In light of recent events in Charlottesville, the hosts discuss ways the c...
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Interview: Jason Peterson - Havas from 2017-08-25T14:55:07
Maybe you have a creative side hustle and you aren't sure if you should tell your employer about it. Well, this week's guest won't hire you if you DON'T have a side hustle. Jason Peterson is the...
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Interview: Corbett Drummey - Popular Pays from 2017-08-11T14:12:21
Does it pay to be popular? What can your audience buy you? This week we are joined by Corbett Drummey, the co-founder of Popular Pays, for a fascinating crash course on the changing landscape of...
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Interview: Heather Headley from 2017-07-28T15:18:16
From her childhood in the Caribbean island of Trinidad to gracing the stages of Broadway, the West End and the White House, Tony Award and Grammy Award-winning pe...
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Interview + Musical Performance: Andrew Belle from 2017-07-14T15:57:11
Winner of MTV's Chicago Breakout Artist of the Year, local singer-songwriter Andrew Belle has been awarded a John Lennon Songwriting Contest trophy, released critically-acclaimed albums, has mor...
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Interview: Ainsley Arment - Wild + Free from 2017-06-30T15:55:08
Ainsley Arment is the trailblazing leader of a counter-cultural collective of hip parents who have made bold choices about raising their children in non-traditional ways that foster creativity a...
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Interview: Maxwell Ryan - Apartment Therapy from 2017-06-16T14:48:18
What, exactly, is an apartment therapist? Is that a thing? This week, in a surprisingly moving interview with Maxwell Ryan, the founder and CEO of Apartment Therapy and The Kitchn, we learn abou...
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Interview: Michael Kiser + Stephen Morrissey - Uppers&Downers from 2017-06-02T15:59:21
Time for a drink! This week on The Creative Muscle, we turn our focus to the two most popular and in-demand beverages in the world. Sip on some sweet words from Good Beer Hunting's<...
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Interview: Seth Godin - Pt. 2 from 2017-05-19T14:50:30
Do plumbers get plumber's block? Is a banana hemp shake with cashew milk the key to creativity? In Part 2 of our discussion with extraordinary author and entrepreneur Seth Godin, he cracks open ...
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Interview: Seth Godin - Pt. 1 from 2017-05-05T13:25:58
In this week's episode, author, entrepreneur and marketer Seth Godin exposes the cultural systems and societal pressures that keep everyday people from being creative. Godin draws upon decades o...
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Interview: Jeni Britton Bauer - Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams from 2017-04-21T16:45:01
Another James Beard Award-winning author and entrepreneur, Jeni Britton Bauer has been making splendid ice creams for the past two decades. Combining her love of physical work, her background in...
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Interview: Paul Kahan + Donnie Madia - ONE OFF Hospitality from 2017-04-07T15:02:48
"Every day we rolled up our sleeves and got to work." James Beard Award-winning restauranteurs Paul Kahan and Donnie Madia discuss what it means to define good taste,...
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Pilot: The 4 Elements of the Creative Life from 2017-03-29T02:21:17
An art director, entrepreneur, singer-songwriter, administrator, and a social worker walk into a bar... Actually, scratch that - they just sit down at a table and dis...
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