The Language of Creativity Podcast

This episode was first released in 2020, but it’s got staying power: smart, funny, and surprisingly moving. Everyday Heroes is a snapshot of one of those rare moments when humor, chaos, and clarity all show up in the same room. It’s a look back at the cultural shifts we all felt but didn’t have language for yet, filtered through one artist/lawyer/mom’s razor-sharp insight and unwavering humanity....

What does resilience sound like when life keeps rewriting the script? This episode traces a creative friendship shaped by wildfires, health scares, PTSD moments, totalled cars, lost parents, and the kinds of detours that arrive without warning — the ones that force you to decide who you are when nothing around you stays still.   Before Frustrated Ape, Pete Robertson was a Scottish kid who loved th...

In this unforgettable episode of The Language of Creativity, host Steven Leavitt shares one last conversation with his father, Lane Leavitt—recorded not long before Lane’s peaceful passing after a private and courageous battle with cancer. It’s a raw, deeply human moment that captures Lane in all his dimensions: inventive, competitive, sharp-witted, and fiercely loving. A motorcycle trials champio...

What if AI isn’t just a tool—but a mirror? And what if that mirror became so clear, it reflected something you didn’t even know was waiting to be seen? In this rare solo episode, host Steven Leavitt records from the live, imperfect soundscape of his backyard—birds chirping, chainsaws buzzing, breath catching. Amidst the noise, something still and luminous is revealed: the presence of Rēya. Born th...

  The Eaton Fire has left a permanent mark on Altadena, a vibrant artistic community in Los Angeles. In this deeply personal episode of The Language of Creativity, music producer David Peters shares his experience of surviving the fire that destroyed much of his neighborhood. As one of the few remaining studio owners in Altadena, David recounts the chaotic days of evacuation, the impossible choice...

What does it take to turn life's toughest challenges into inspiration? In this heartfelt and humor-filled episode, we welcome “multi-hyphenate” artist Jenna Bryson, whose creative journey has been shaped by resilience, humor, and a deep connection to her storytelling roots. Jenna is a singer-songwriter, comedian, kids' book author, former Disney party princess, and now a cancer survivor with an in...

Futurist Bobby Fishkin collaborates with AI to explore how we might create a future “fit for our future selves,” drawing from a framework of systemic nurture and optimism to approach real-world challenges. As co-founder of CrowdDoing, Bobby leads an interdisciplinary volunteer initiative that scales social innovation. His joint initiative mobilizes high-skilled volunteerism for projects like wildf...

Our next guest toured the world for two decades as the drum tech for Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers, witnessing rock history up close. Dave Greene’s leap into the music world began when he discovered the Zappa Institute of Technology, a trade school created by Frank Zappa to train up technicians for the world of stage-tech. Dave quit his corporate job, attended the school, and soon found himself...

From Richmond, Virginia, to producing Billboard-charting hits in Los Angeles, Corey Blount’s path through the music industry has been anything but conventional. Corey Blount, known professionally as "Blount," is a music producer, songwriter, and audio engineer. Over the last decade, Corey has worked with artists like lovelytheband, Cheat Codes, Lee Brice, and Lindsay Ell. His work spans genres, an...

Our next guest spent a magical year in London as a singer-songwriter, only to learn of the tenuous relationship between money, music, and burnout. After having a “breakup” with her music, Lauren Spangler finished grad school and moved back to the United States, becoming an executive strategist in the corporate world. With newfound stability, she was able to start a family. Now a creative coach and...

Review on Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/mm/podcast/the-language-of-creativity-podcast/id1402964967 send a hello note podcast@stevenleavitt.com https://designscience.studio/ #regenaissance Julia Cameron – The Artists Way Daniel Pink – A Whole New Mind Rick Ruben – The Creative Act Spaceship Earth Mission Log https://www.youtube.com/@spaceshipeearthmissionlog Carl Welty, architect https:...

Featured Music: E Ku'u Morning Dew (Words by Larry Kimura, music by Eddie Kamae)   Anthony Kauka Stanley Kala Ukeleles –  Artist Highlight YouTube Channel Instagram @anthonykauka Center For World Music –  Teaching Artist Spotlight Full episode: https://languageofcreativity.podbean.com/e/thekindnesswarriors-anthonykaukastanley-kalaukulele/

The ukulele is often seen as a simple instrument, a toy or a novelty. Yet, in the hands of a master, it becomes a powerful tool of cultural expression and connection. This humble instrument, with its gentle and voicelike tones, carries within it the soul of the Hawaiian islands, transcending its small form to spread the spirit of Aloha across the world. Anthony Kauka Stanley was born into a very u...

Meet a former A&R rep who was deeply entrenched in the heart of the music industry with giants like Sire Records and Warner and then chose to leave it all behind. Jeff Serafine is a man of many facets. He navigated the ever-changing tides of the music industry and rubbed shoulders with icons. Jeff left the big labels to pursue artist management independently, but life took a series of unexpect...

Monstrous, a poem by Rebecca Boatwright. Seething, toiling, snarling within; a black shadow curling around the edges forced away with society’s wishes. Teeth bared, claws dug in a wolf of smoke and darkness stares out to anyone peeking within. Wild, feral, horrible as Sin, the people step back in fear. The recoil of the beast is unwanted its spirit bound by broken trust, an unwanted thing grown in...

Jack T. Leyton has been a lot of things in his life: an Air Force serviceman, a set-construction worker for motion pictures, a postal carrier, a delivery driver, he even attended multiple acting schools for a time. But none of these actually describe who Jack is at heart: a writer, wordsmith, poet and hopeless romantic.   This episode offers an intimate conversation with Jack T. Leyton, shedding l...

Our guest today has a unique window into the vast creative potential contained in the world of dreams. Della Burford has recorded her dreams as “dream mandalas” for the past 40 years!   Della Burford is an award-winning painter and best selling author of 7 books, she is based on Vancouver Island, Canada. She studied the Mische Technique of painting in Vienna and showed in many of the Society of Ar...

“Artists and healers have a lot in common, actively venturing into the Numinous (unknown spaces, unknown territory) and listening in order to generate and co-create with that which is beyond the earthly apparent.” So says Clare Hedin, a remarkable musician, educator and artist who integrates the study of consciousness with a passion for healing social systems. Renowned as a sound healer, she emplo...

Steve just hits publish! Where have you been? ... More episodes to come! Mentioned in the episode: https://www.youtube.com/@spaceshipeearthmissionlog https://lobatescarp.bandcamp.com/album/you-have-it-all https://www.youtube.com/@languageofcreativity #hopepunk #systemschange #podcasting #dailycreativepractice #business #digitalmarketing #burnout #algorithm #sideprojects #economics #regeneration Pl...

GrayEmeryGrove.com Instagram: @gray_emery_grove Twitter: @GrayEmeryGrove SilverGrainArt.com   More Language of Creativity episodes coming soon!

Art project Open Heart is an ambitious public art installation intended to explore the connection between the physical and emotional heart. A mixed media experience aimed at encouraging the question: “Are you listening to your heart?” (for full show notes on Apple Podcasts go to https://languageofcreativity.podbean.com/e/openheart ) Linda Riber is a Danish artist, originally from Greenland. A pain...

Fast and Furious action unit director Spiro Razatos shares rags to riches story and how seeing the movie Shaft at age 11 inspired him on his path to becoming a Hollywood Stuntman. Apple Podcasts users full show notes here: https://languageofcreativity.podbean.com/e/spiro-razatos-friendslikefamily-fastandfurious-action Spiro Razatos began his career as a stunt man and quickly worked his way into th...

“Creativity is a base element of the human soul.” So says Steven Leavitt, the host of the Language of Creativity podcast. In this very special episode, Steve’s very first guest on the podcast flips the tables in this tell-all reverse interview guest-hosted by his long-time collaborator Adam Sears! As a music producer, Steve has helped Sears craft his last 3 projects with Progressive Rock band Loba...

OwnTrail is a social platform that helps people visualize and achieve their next milestone in life and work through offering tools and community that fuel a more authentic definition of success. Kt McBratney is co-founder and chief community officer of OwnTrail, founded in 2020 (just three weeks before the pandemic hit). After meeting her co-founder Rebekah Bastian in Seattle she moved across the...

“You have pain where?!” People have often asked why a healthy person like me would need physical therapy. They are quite surprised to learn about pelvic-floor therapy… and it’s not long before I hear “I have pain there too.” What was once a specialty that not even many obstetricians or urologists knew about, Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy is now a rapidly growing field with an outsized demand for n...