Always Choose Orange

Artists of every kind — writers, musicians, painters, sculptures — spend their lives creating pieces of art that become their legacy, their body of work. This episode, and the Body of Work series as a whole, explores the concept of the Body of Work, follows the careers of specific creators, and immerses us in their complete works. We'll discover their natural talents already present in their f...

In this episode, we'll embark on a line-by-line breakdown of "Middle of June" by Noah Gundersen from his 2009 EP  Saints & Liars . We'll look at the song structure, explore a few different interpretations of the lyrics, and perhaps even discover why — almost 15 years later — this is one of my favorite songs of all-time. DISCLAIMERS:   Under section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976...

In 1686, Matsuo Bashō wrote a short poem about a frog jumping into a pond. That poem ended up becoming arguably the most well-known haiku of all-time. In this episode, we dive into Hiroaki Sato's  One Hundred Frogs , a collection of more than 100 different translations of Bashō's famous haiku. We'll look at the ways the various translators approached the text and how their personalitie...

Back in the summer of 2014, I went to Warped Tour and watched the pop-punk bands Yellowcard and Bowling For Soup play back-to-back sets. Seeing how each band handled the expectations of their fans was a fascinating lesson. Join me this episode for the full story and to hear some thoughts on responding to the belief (internal or external) that your best art is already behind you.

In a recent Q&A about his new novella  The Narrow Road Between Desires , author Patrick Rothfuss talked about his extremely intricate editing process (he edited Name of the Wind 800 times and spent 30 hours eliminating every superfluous instance of the word "that" from The Wise Man's Fear). This made me think a lot about how to slow down and enjoy the process of making art. Join me...

Do you find yourself getting distracted easily when trying to complete creative tasks? One moment you're writing, or drawing, or songwriting, and all of a sudden, you're doing something else entirely? If so, you're not the only one! This week I share a new technique I've been using (with great success) to help myself lean into discomfort for the sake of my creative growth.

When talking about his reading practice, author Richard Powers once said, "I like to keep one work of fiction and one of nonfiction going at once, and I’ll use them to triangulate against each other to conjure up some third space." In this episode, we talk about this idea of the "third space" that arises when we read more than one book at the same time and how it can transform our...

This week, my brother Andrew joins me to talk about our favorite books we read in 2023. The two of us use the six questions below to guide our discussion and take a few detours along the way to explore different aspects of reading (including how we get oriented when we start reading a new book in a markedly different style than what we just read).  What is the most ambitious book you read this yea...

Have you ever experienced a moment where you were sure you understood something and suddenly, a whole new world opened up based on something someone said? Words have tremendous power to enact change. In this episode, I talk about three pieces of language we can adjust in order to transform our perspectives and completely alter the actions we're able to take in our lives.

Today, we'll look at goal-setting from another angle - what are some simple things we can do that will have a ten-year impact? Tune in to hear me talk about childhood memories, toilet seats, and a quote about the sacrificial nature of true gift-giving.

Welcome to 2024! This time of year, there's a lot of talk around resolutions, goals, and hopes. I wanted to share a few thoughts about this threshold period where we simultaneously reflect and look forward to what's to come. We'll start with a story about running in the snow and move on to a short review of brain plasticity, and end with the relationship between growth and discomfort.

Back in June 2019, while going through  The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron , I went on an Artist's Date to Barnes and Noble and had a chance meeting with a stranger that led to a… cool guided meditation? Visualization exercise? I have no clue what to call it but it was profound! Tune in to hear the full story and try out the exercise for yourself.

Rob Bell (@realrobbell) is the New York Times Bestselling author of fourteen books and plays which have been translated into 25 languages. He creates visual art that can be seen on his Instagram, makes music in a band called HUMANS ON THE FLOOR, and hosts a podcast called The RobCast. In this episode, Rob and I have an in-depth discussion about his most recent book,  Where'd You Park Your Spac...

Hunter Morris (@creationphotography.co) is a lifestyle photographer based out of Panama City Beach, Florida. Through his work, he helps people see themselves and their story through a lens of love. In our conversation, Hunter shares how his approach to photography stems from his relationship with Jesus and how taking pictures professionally was not something he ever expected to do. He also opens u...

Paige Thammavong (@hey.halle) is a graphic designer and handletterer based out of Portland, Oregon. Her company HeyHalle specializes in event design and branding and has worked with companies such as Burgerville (shout out to Burgerville), Lulu Lemon, Paper Source, Miss Hannah's Popcorn, and the Portland Trailblazers on a wide array of digital design, handpainted murals, handlettering, layout,...

DeAnna Lozensky is a regenerative grain farmer based in central North Dakota. In 2020, her and her husband Kelly started Guardian Grains, a company that sells whole grain, stone milled flour, flaked barley, and artisan pasta across the Midwest and beyond. In our conversation, we talk about soil biology, regenerative farming practices, pasta making, and a whole lot more! DeAnna graciously offers an...

I spent over half of the year voraciously reading my way through what have been called "classic" graphic novels and manga. In April 2023, I stumbled across r/graphicnovels' Top 100 list on Reddit and decided to read at least one volume of each entry to learn what it is that makes a piece of sequential art truly great. Now that I'm 51 entries in, what's the verdict? Tune in to h...

Gina Ariko is a Japanese-American figurative painter based in Seattle, WA. Growing up, she spent every other summer visiting family in Kokura, Japan, where her ojichan and obaachan first taught her to paint. Despite the language and distance barriers between them, they learned to connect through a shared love of painting. Her interest in art and storytelling overlapped at Santa Clara University, w...

Joe Hunsaker (@smokeyjoepaintco), is a painter, muralist, and entrepreneur based out of Phoenix, Arizona. His custom portraits are in high demand and his mural work can be seen in Air BnBs, gyms, local businesses, and personal residences across the Phoenix metro area. In our conversation, we talk about Joe's path to becoming a full-time artist, constantly redefining his artistic style, the les...

Jonathan Wilson is the lead vocalist of Fian, a progressive rock band based out of Orcas Island, WA and the surrounding Seattle area. Fian's self-titled debut album came out in 2015 and their most recent album  Notes from the Underground , was released in 2022. In our conversation, we talk about Jonathan's lyric writing process, the challenges in writing melodies to alternate time signatur...

Welcome to the first episode of Always Choose Orange! Today, you'll learn the story behind the podcast name and the vision behind the show. Hint: it has to do with spreadsheets, guessing games, and a humungous stack of paint samples.