Imagination & Junk

Bill Barol & Mat Ricardo
  • 5.0 (39)
  • PERFORMING ARTS
  • UPDATED BIWEEKLY

Thomas Edison said: "To invent, you need a good imagination and a pile of junk." Join writer Bill Barol in the US and variety performer Mat Ricardo in the UK for a freewheeling transatlantic conversation about creativity -- what it is, where it comes from and why it matters.

  1. Episode 25: Ghosts in the Machine

    10/16/2024

    Episode 25: Ghosts in the Machine

    This week we're talking about the things that aren't there. Plus: Trash drafts, Parrot Face, the dog that didn't bark, well-dressed clowns, empty piazzas, terrible silence, Mike Birbiglia, and the smell of space. (It smells like steak, apparently.)    This is the last episode of Season 3. We’ll be back soon with new episodes. In the meantime, keep your ears peeled for two Very Special Episodes™️ of our between-seasons experiment I Might Be Wrong But… , in which one of us tries to convince the other that some fringe cultural artifact he inexplicably loves is actually — y’know: Good?

    34 min
  2. Episode 24: Cynicism and Coffee

    10/02/2024

    Episode 24: Cynicism and Coffee

    How do you know if what you're creating is any good? This week: Juggling the internal and external critics. Plus: Humility, shouting at clouds, Idiots vs. Fools, marrying up, Baby Shark, shame, brainwashing, sometimes it's harder to suck, The Well of Metaphor, fact checkers, and getting the brushes back out.

    32 min
  3. Episode 23: Fred and Gene

    09/18/2024

    Episode 23: Fred and Gene

    People like to say the great ones make it look easy, but what are we really looking at when we see a great creator showing what looks like effortlessness? Plus: Spectacular failures, concerned murmurs, Jenny from the block, beautiful aliens, Henri Matisse, rubber band balls, drifting toward the abyss, ha cha cha and hot dogs by the sea.

    34 min
  4. Episode 22: Watch Out For The Shoe

    09/04/2024

    Episode 22: Watch Out For The Shoe

    This week we're talking about doing what you're bad at. Why do some people charge blindly full speed ahead, and others try to shrink into their own shoes? And what's to be gained from what can be a traumatic experience? Also: Noble pain, sociopaths, Norma Desmond, tinnitus, bad steak, Christmas island, horrifying plunky sounds and more Mel Cooley.

    33 min
  5. Episode 21: Somebody Hold Me Back

    08/21/2024

    Episode 21: Somebody Hold Me Back

    This week we're looking at limitations in creative work. When do they hurt? When can they help? And how can we become more agile creators by learning how to work with them, rather than around them? Also: Fake expertise, low ceilings, ukuleles vs. bowling balls, rich idiots, guitar control, speed wounds, bourgeois sharpnress, and I Kid Because I Love.

    33 min
  6. Episode 20: Brigadoonish

    08/07/2024

    Episode 20: Brigadoonish

    This week we're looking at a part of the job that comes hard for many creative people -- self-promotion. Is there a way to be an effective promoter without feeling awkward and cheap? We suggest that there is, and tell you a way forward. Also: Big asks, mug's games, the SEO scam, wide boys, Chelmsford, crying in coffee shops, lost luggage, bonbons and juggling for Jesus.

    35 min
  7. Episode 19: Less

    07/24/2024

    Episode 19: Less

    It's one of the paradoxes of creative life: the longer you do it, the more tools you acquire, the more it becomes the goal to get simpler. To do less. This week we're talking about the quest for simplicity, and about finding the sweet spot between brevity and clarity. Plus: Slow TV, phantom limbs, Robot Thatcher, greening, a blow to the head, Wesley Van Wesleyson, promises and threats, and content cubed.

    33 min
  8. Episode 18: Salad Bar

    07/10/2024

    Episode 18: Salad Bar

    Every creator likes think they're shiny and golden, dancing with their muse in a singular act of invention. But is that true? Is that how it works? Or is all creativity an act of remix? Are we inevitably treading on ground others have walked before us? And if there's no such thing as originality -- why do we bother? Also: Brain fizz and sparky fingertips, Woz, falling down, Pinwright's Progress, high blood pressure, how to breathe, grand larceny, DJ Kool Herc, Muskification, and 400,000 years ago (a Tuesday).

    32 min
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5
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39 Ratings

About

Thomas Edison said: "To invent, you need a good imagination and a pile of junk." Join writer Bill Barol in the US and variety performer Mat Ricardo in the UK for a freewheeling transatlantic conversation about creativity -- what it is, where it comes from and why it matters.

Information

  • Creator
    Bill Barol & Mat Ricardo
  • Years Active
    2021 - 2024
  • Episodes
    28
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2024 Bill Barol & Mat Ricardo
  • Show Website
    Imagination & Junk