Celebrate Creativity

George Bartley
  • 4.8 (5)
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This podcast is a deep dive into the world of creativity  - from Edgar Allan Poe and Walt Whitman to understanding the use of basic AI principles in a fun and practical way.

  1. Macbeth Is Not Hard

    8H AGO

    Macbeth Is Not Hard

    Send a text Macbeth is not hard. It’s human. Here’s the whole play in one simple truth: Macbeth made Macbeth. Let me say that again: The witches tempt. Lady Macbeth pressures. But Macbeth chooses. They light matches all around him—but Macbeth decides to set the house on fire. This story is not fate winning. This story is choice repeated until it becomes character. HOST: Here is Macbeth in five easy steps. Temptation — an idea enters. Choice — a line is crossed. Habit — violence becomes a method. Collapse — control breaks down. Consequences — the bill comes due. Temptation. Choice. Habit. Collapse. Consequences. That’s the whole play. Now we’ll walk it. Support the show Thank you for experiencing Celebrate Creativity.

    24 min
  2. Macbeth’s Last Days

    22H AGO

    Macbeth’s Last Days

    Send us a text Macbeth’s tragedy ends when fear disappears—not because he becomes brave, but because he becomes numb and falsely certain. Now let’s locate ourselves. HOST: We’re in the final stretch. Act 4 Scene 1: Macbeth returns to the witches for more prophecy. Act 5: the kingdom turns, the signs pile up, the “impossible” begins to happen, and Macbeth faces the end. This is the arc: uncertainty → prophecy → false certainty → collapse. And that’s exactly what happens to a human mind when it starts feeding on its own “guarantees.” ACT 4.1: PROPHECY AS A DRUG (10–14 minutes) HOST: Macbeth goes back to the witches because he can no longer live with doubt. And here is the key psychological point: Macbeth doesn’t seek truth. Macbeth seeks reassurance. He isn’t asking, “What is real?” He’s asking, “Tell me I’m safe.” He wants a prophecy that will let him stop thinking. And the witches give him exactly the kind of information that creates delusion: statements that sound absolute. Now listen to this carefully: The more certain Macbeth feels, the more dangerous he becomes. False certainty produces real cruelty. When Macbeth feels invincible, he becomes reckless. This is the turning point: the prophecies don’t guide him toward wisdom; they guide him toward overconfidence. And overconfidence is a form of blindness. Let’s simplify Macbeth’s delusion into three false comforts: Comfort #1: “I know the enemy.” He hears “Beware Macduff,” and he thinks knowledge equals control. He confuses information with safety. But Knowing a danger is not the same as defeating it. He hears the famous “none of woman born shall harm Macbeth,” and he treats it like immortality. Support the show Thank you for experiencing Celebrate Creativity.

    24 min
  3. Hell Is Murky!

    2D AGO

    Hell Is Murky!

    Send us a text HOST (George): In Macbeth, evil rarely arrives waving a pitchfork; it arrives wearing a suit and offering a reasonable argument that elections are no longer necessary. That’s how it works in public life—and it’s how it works in this play. And Lady Macbeth is the clearest example. Here’s the main idea of this episode. Lady Melania - I mean lady macbeth -doesn’t begin as a monster. She begins as a person who treats conscience like a problem to solve. Let me say that again, because this is the entire episode: She doesn’t argue that murder is good—she argues that hesitation is weak. Macbeth has brakes. Lady Macbeth calls the brakes “cowardice.” And I’ll say it again—because repetition is the way understanding sticks: This episode is about how people talk themselves into the unthinkable by making it sound practical. We’ll follow Lady Macbeth through five key stops: Act 1 Scene 5: she reads Macbeth’s letter and decides to push. Act 1 Scene 7: she persuades Macbeth when he tries to back out. Act 2 Scene 2: the murder happens, and we see who can function in the moment. Support the show Thank you for experiencing Celebrate Creativity.

    23 min
  4. Macbeth's Morality

    3D AGO

    Macbeth's Morality

    Send us a text Macbeth does not become evil because he’s confused. He becomes evil because he learns to call evil “reasonable.” Let me repeat that, because that’s the whole episode: He starts using good logic for a bad purpose. That’s how a smart person goes wrong. Shakespeare makes Macbeth understandable on purpose. He shows you the self-talk. We’re picking up right after the witches in Act 1 Scene 3. Macbeth has heard “king hereafter,” and now his mind is buzzing. Then: Act 1 Scene 4: Duncan names Malcolm heir. This is the moment Macbeth stops thinking “maybe” and starts thinking “how.” Stars, hide your fires; Let not light see my black and deep desires. The eye wink at the hand, yet let that be Which the eye fears, when it is done, to see. Act 1 Scene 5: Lady Macbeth reads Macbeth’s letter and decides to push him. Only look up clear. To alter favor ever is to fear. Leave all the rest to me. Act 1 Scene 6: Duncan arrives at Macbeth’s castle — and he’s gracious. That matters.  See, see our honored hostess!— The love that follows us sometime is our trouble, Which still we thank as love. Herein I teach you How you shall bid God ’ild us for your pains And thank us for your trouble. Support the show Thank you for experiencing Celebrate Creativity.

    22 min
  5. Macbeth and the Witches

    4D AGO

    Macbeth and the Witches

    Send us a text People call Macbeth a monster. But Shakespeare’s trick is sharper than that: he shows you a man who can still choose—and then shows you the exact moment he starts outsourcing his choices to ambition, marriage, and prophecy. Macbeth—thane, hero, newly honored… and about to discover that wanting something is not the same as deserving it. Now to most of you in the United States, the word THANE might be unfamiliar. It simply means a basically a Scottish noble—a trusted local lord who holds land from the king and, in return, owes loyalty and military service. So when you hear “Macbeth, Thane of Glamis” (and later “Thane of Cawdor”), think: Title + job: a high-ranking lord Power base: he rules an area/estate for the king Obligation: he’s expected to fight for the king and keep order Status: important, but below the king (not royalty) So you can think of “Thane” as “Lord.” Macbeth is Lord of Glamis, then gets promoted to Lord of Cawdor. In other words, “A thane is a king’s landholding lord—part governor, part military commander.” The play begins with the three witches, and it just makes common sense to begin by interviewing them. Notice how the witches don’t “force” Macbeth—but they weaponize suggestion: they speak in a way that makes Macbeth supply the missing steps. They plant a framework (“you are destined”), then let his ambition build the staircase. But first let me briefly quote from the very beginning of the play where the three witches - also known as weird sisters - speak FIRST WITCH  When shall we three meet again? In thunder, lightning, or in rain? SECOND WITCH  When the hurly-burly’s done, When the battle’s lost and won. THIRD WITCH  That will be ere the set of sun. FIRST WITCH  Where the place? SECOND WITCH  Upon the heath. THIRD WITCH  There to meet with Macbeth. FIRST WITCH  I come, Graymalkin. SECOND WITCH  Paddock calls. THIRD WITCH  Anon. ALL  Fair is foul, and foul is fair; Hover through the fog and filthy air. Support the show Thank you for experiencing Celebrate Creativity.

    30 min
  6. Romeo and Juliet in New York

    5D AGO

    Romeo and Juliet in New York

    Send us a text Today I’m taking that same Shakespearean blueprint and placing it in a new world: the 1961 film West Side Story. I’m going to do this in the simplest and clearest way possible: I’m going to tell the film’s story in a straight line. As we go, I’ll point out the matching Shakespeare “parts” — not as trivia, but as the engine that makes both stories run. And one clear rule: no lyrics, no musical quotations. I don't wanna get in trouble, and besides We don’t need them. This story is Shakespeare before anyone sings a note. Lantern lit. Curtain up. Let’s put the pieces on the board. Tony is your Romeo figure: once connected to the Jets, now trying to step away from violence and build a different future. Maria is your Juliet figure: young, protected, watched, expected to choose within her group and remain loyal to it. The Jets and the Sharks are the Montagues and Capulets: rival “houses,” reimagined as rival street groups. Riff is Mercutio-energy: Tony’s friend, charismatic, proud, full of swagger, and emotionally committed to the feud. Bernardo is Tybalt-energy: Maria’s brother, protective, quick to escalate, and intensely driven by honor and group identity. Anita is the confidante figure — like a Nurse-energy role but tougher and more adult: she’s protective and practical, and later becomes crucial to the catastrophe. Chino is the approved match, a Paris-function figure — and later becomes the instrument of tragedy. That’s enough. Now we move. Support the show Thank you for experiencing Celebrate Creativity.

    28 min
  7. The Accelerants

    6D AGO

    The Accelerants

    Send us a text Welcome back. Verona is split by a feud. Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet fall in love, marry in secret, and attempt to outrun a culture trained for violence. Then comes the turning point: Tybalt confronts Romeo, Mercutio fights, Mercutio falls, Romeo kills Tybalt, and Romeo is banished. Juliet faces a forced marriage to Paris. A desperate plan depends on a message. The message fails. Tragedy follows. Tonight we interview three figures who did not cause the feud—but who, in different ways, accelerate the catastrophe: Mercutio: wit as weapon The Nurse: love under pressure Friar Laurence: good intentions, bad architecture George (announcer tone): A civic bulletin from Verona: The Prince has threatened death for further public brawls. Citizens pretend this will work because threats are easy to announce. But the feud continues, because feuds are not ended by decrees. They are ended by changed habits— and habits are slower than anger. Meanwhile, young men patrol their reputations like soldiers. Servants learn violence as a dialect. And in this atmosphere, a private love story becomes a public emergency. Back to our guests. George I’m going to ask each of you the same guiding question: Which moment did you tell yourself you were helping—when you were actually making it worse? We’ll take you one at a time, and then—because this is theatre—we’ll let you answer each other. Mercutio. You first. “I thought I was keeping Romeo alive” George Mercutio, you’re not a Montague by blood. Not a Capulet. And yet you are at the center of the storm. Why? Support the show Thank you for experiencing Celebrate Creativity.

    28 min
  8. Story of Woe

    FEB 3

    Story of Woe

    Send us a text JULIET (calm, surprising firmness): They call me a child because I am young. But children don’t usually bury their own futures with their own hands. George (gentle): Then let us speak plainly, Juliet. Not as an emblem. Not as a tragic ornament. But as a mind at work inside a storm. George If you’re joining us now: Verona is split by a feud between Montagues and Capulets. At a Capulet feast, Romeo Montague meets Juliet Capulet. They fall in love at speed, marry in secret, and try to build a private world inside a public war. Then a street conflict erupts: Mercutio falls, Romeo kills Tybalt, and Romeo is banished. Juliet’s parents arrange a marriage to Paris. A desperate plan depends on a message. The message fails. Tragedy follows. Tonight, we speak with Juliet—often treated as “the girl on the balcony,” when in truth she is one of the sharpest minds in the play. First it might be useful to ask the question - Who is Juliet?” George Before we begin, a brief character file—because Juliet is often misread. Juliet Capulet is: young, yes, but not simple devoted, but not passive romantic, yet fiercely practical when forced trained by obedience, until obedience becomes impossible Her superpower is not beauty. It’s clarity under pressure. All right. Juliet—let’s begin where the world begins to lean on you. Support the show Thank you for experiencing Celebrate Creativity.

    23 min
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About

This podcast is a deep dive into the world of creativity  - from Edgar Allan Poe and Walt Whitman to understanding the use of basic AI principles in a fun and practical way.

Information

  • Creator
    George Bartley
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2026
  • Episodes
    597
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Celebrate Creativity
  • Show Website
    Celebrate Creativity